This podcast covers Lesson 8 of The God-Dependent Woman Bible Study.
Grasping Truth Protects You from Enemy Captivity
Recognizing someone who is taken captive away from Christ
- Influential fakers know how to get women to follow them. 2 Timothy 3:6-7
- Women who never recognize and grasp biblical truth will be taken captive by whatever flashy teachings that come along and live unsatisfied, unstable lives. Ephesians 4:14
Grasping truth protects from enemy captivity
- To protect yourself from enemy captivity, renew your mind through knowing the Bible, which is God’s truth and through letting the Holy Spirit implant that truth in your mind so you can understand it. Then, you can diffuse arguments against the knowledge of God that are influencing you, and you can take captive your thoughts, making them obedient to Christ.
- The writings of the New Testament are historically reliable and, therefore, can be trusted.
Dwell in truth you can know.
- To dwell in truth is to make your home there. That means God’s truth dominates your thoughts and attitudes, governs your life, and satisfies your heart.
- God gives us plenty of truth in the Bible that we can know and trust. 66 books, 1189 chapters!
- God wants us to know the truth He has revealed to us, to make our home in that truth. Ephesians 1:17-19
Humbly accept what you don’t know or understand.
- Some things we read in the Bible we don’t understand now but might in the future. There is much we can know now. But, there are things we’ll never know or understand. Deuteronomy 29:29
- We’ll never know all there is to know about God. There will always be some mystery about Him. But, there’s plenty enough revealed in the Bible to satisfy your desire to know Him truthfully and to know how to live your life in Christ truthfully.
Discern all teaching through the complete revelation of God’s Word.
1. Evaluate what you read and hear by comparing it with the whole Bible.
- Read any verse in the context of the passage where it is found—the paragraph, the chapter, and the book.
- Examine the original words to see what the writer meant and what the audience likely understood.
- Look at other verses with similar content to let the Bible interpret itself. And, you should always ask the Holy Spirit for understanding.
2. Avoid the “look-imagine-see dragon” when viewing any verse.
The “look-imagine-see” dragon shows up this way: someone looks at a verse or passage, imagines what they want it to say, then in their mind sees what they have imagined through twisting word meanings and interpretations. Once it starts, it’s like a fiery dragon burning truth in its path. Cultural influence on Bible study feeds this dragon.
- Tame the “look-imagine-see dragon” by considering the Bible as sufficient on its own, not needing to be “improved.”
- Tame the “look-imagine-see dragon” by basing your faith on what is in God’s Word, not something you’ve just heard about it and not something you’re imagining to be there.
- Tame the “look-imagine-see dragon” by following the inductive process for Bible Study—observation, interpretation, and application. Then, you can dwell in truth you can know.
Does God help those who help themselves?
True or False? “God helps those who help themselves. Our safety and survival in life do not depend on direct divine intervention, but on our ability to see and willingness to seize opportunities to save ourselves.” FALSE
This is very humanistic, saying basically you can do this if you are smart enough to seize opportunities to save yourself. As we have studied in 2 Corinthians, the Bible teaches that we are to depend on God and let Him show us how to respond to a situation.
Reasons why God wants us to depend on Him more than on ourselves
- So we can treat others with the humility and gentleness of Christ. (10:1)
- We need His power to demolish strongholds holding us captive. (10:3-4)
- We need His power to take captive our thoughts for Him. (10:5)
- So we use our authority to build others up and not tear them down. (10:8)
- To find our sphere of service He has assigned to us. (10:13)
- To confine our boasting to the Lord and the sphere of service He has assigned to us. (10:13)
- So we will seek our approval and commendation from Him rather than others. (10:17)
Let Jesus satisfy your heart with confidence that you can depend on Him. Then, live each day as a God-dependent woman!
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