Welcome!
And congratulations on taking this step of commitment to your future self. I hope that you will find what you are looking for in your search for guidance and encouragement as a disciple of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Your time is precious and there is a lot to cover today, so let’s dive straight in and see what is waiting for you …
Introduction
So, this is not really a “course”.
Although it is that, it is also something much more than that.
Another description would be a “Guide”, but this too falls short of what we believe the Spirit of our Lord has encouraged us to do here.
But then, a Guide to what?
Well, to Following Jesus, of course.
But then, why do we need a guide? For a Christian, surely that is what the Bible is? Or the Church?
Certainly it is, but as Jesus promised would happen, we live in the age of misinformation, where we are surrounded by false teachers and false prophets who twist the scripture to their own ends, and who use every tool at their disposal to bring confusion into the minds of God’s children.
And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
Matthew 24:11-12
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge
Hosea 4:6
Why this course?
Therefore, the purpose for this Course is to help you to steer clear of error and false teaching, while also being able to answer and even refute error and false teaching as it arises, and you will do it all from the Bible.
But then, how do we know that this Guide is not based on error or false teaching itself?
Mainly because what you will learn will be from the Bible itself, and also because this course is here to provide you with the tools and direction to be able to discern that for yourself.
In the first book after the Gospels in the New Testament, called the Acts of the Apostles – because that’s what it’s about – Luke records that the apostle Paul and his companion Silas were telling the people in a town called Berea about Jesus:
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Acts 17:11
And this is how we will know: we should always commit to following their example in that, although “they received the word with all eagerness“, they also did so while “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so“.
In other words, no matter what teaching you receive, what books you read, or what course you do or who gives it, it is never a replacement for the Word of God or the guidance of his Spirit within you. Therefore, this Guide stands or falls on how well it guides you in understanding and absorbing the truth of the Word of God! The same goes for any of the other resources you will receive, much as they are wonderful. The reason they are wonderful is because they were written by people who were in tune with the Spirit of God as they did so, which is why they are in many ways spiritual food themselves.
Therefore, you should never suspend your personal commitment to finding your own enlightenment in God’s Word by his Spirit that lives inside of you. Follow the example of these Noble Bereans, and cultivate a spirit of discernment by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you. We will talk about this more.
But to answer the question, although this course or “Guide” will not replace the Bible, it will be a Guide that helps to cut through the misinformation and error being propagated in the world of Evangelism today, and do so using solid scriptural principles at all times. It exists for the very reason that I have spent over a decade trying to sift through the error and false teaching that exists in such abundance today, to the extent that the true Gospel is being drowned out.
This is our ministry, as it has been given to us by Our Lord: to be a helper in Guiding his Sheep (or some of them at least) to green pastures and still waters, to the path that will bring them into right relationship with God, and to a place where their hearts and souls can drink freely from Living Waters and eat of the Bread of Life.
Who is it for?
You would think that this question should come first, but the fact that you are here allows me to presuppose that this Guide is for you, and that it can help you.
Having said that, it is important to specify that this is a course for someone who either considers themselves to be a Christian, or who is motivated to find the truth about God specifically and reality in general. Ideally, it is for someone who has a real desire to Follow Jesus and to know him more every day. That is who this course or guide is for, and not for anyone else.
If you find that this is not you, and you are here for some other reason, then you are welcome to go through the material and it is my prayer for you that it will guide you to the knowledge that Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and that without him you are without true Life, lost for all eternity, and dead in your sins.
However, please note that this is not a debate forum about other religions or atheism, or in fact anything that is not concerned with how to be a better follower of Jesus – we can do that on the Facebook Page, where you are welcome to engage with us on any such topic. Therefore, should you engage in the discussion spaces with disrespect and without that goal in mind, you will be removed from our community.
What we won't be doing
One of the challenges every Christian faces is discussions with non-believers around the subject of “proof” of what we believe. In particular, non-Biblical proof or evidence.
Now it’s not that this doesn’t exist – it does, and in enormous quantity – but there are already many fantastic resources for this out there, and it is not our aim to reproduce them.
However, we may well venture into some of these topics where appropriate, but always with a final indication as to where you can develop your understanding and knowledge of these topics, rather than trying to be the authority here. I encourage you to explore this area of knowledge of the truth, but not at the cost of relying on those sources rather than the Bible itself for your ultimate source of knowledge and truth.
How will it work?
The Pathway to Growth
After a great deal of thought and prayer, we have finally decided to structure this guide by beginning at the beginning, and going from there. The reason is simple: we don’t know what you don’t know and, even more importantly, it is likely that you don’t know what you don’t know.
So where is The Beginning?
Well it’s all in the name of this Guide actually: Following Jesus. Let’s break it down into the components:
- Who is Jesus?
- Who are we?
- Why should we follow him?
- What does it mean to follow him?
If that sounds simple then believe me it is not, because included in the answers to those few questions is the whole counsel of God, including the following:
- Who is Jesus?
The fact that Jesus is the perfect revelation of God and His Purpose means that when we ask who Jesus is, we are in fact asking who God is. So, the question actually is: do we know God? Furthermore, do we know what He is doing and why?
- Who are we?
Again, this sounds simple, but to answer the question about who we are as Jesus’ followers specifically – and we will – it also requires us to understand who people are generally, (particularly when it comes to God’s purpose, as above).
- Why should we follow him?
A simple question, but the answer is found along with the answer to Q1 – if we truly know who God is, the answer will become self-evident.
- What does it mean to follow him?
This is definitely not a simple question when it comes to following Jesus – if it was you probably would not be here, and I would not have bothered with this Guide. However, it is worth noting that, unless we have a good grasp on the questions above, then we have little to no chance of understanding this.
In any event ...
… it all comes down to this:
If God IS, and if he is who he says he is, then wanting to love him and worship him with all our heart should be an all consuming desire for us. The fact that we do not generally feel this way is proof of our condition, that we do not know him as we should, and that we need serious help.
Because “the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:23-24
The end of the pathway for this Guide – and my desire for all of us – is therefore simple:
That we may be found to be true worshipers, worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and on that final day each one of us will hear these words addressed to us by our Lord Jesus:
“Well done, my good and faithful servant“.
Because that is what it means to be Following Jesus.