The purpose has been to teach the average Christian how to test doctrine against the Word of God and to “rightly divide” it.

 Some seem to enjoy it, while others seem a bit intimidated by the “big words”. But, I feel that a firm grasp of Scripture, even when difficult to understand, is invaluable. Thus, the “big words” remain.

Now, as I did with the class, I’d like to take a remedial look at what REAL Christianity is before we tackle the false teachings. Shall we..?

 When you think of false teaching, what (or whom) crosses your mind? Pastors with larger than life smiles and mega churches? Self-described “prophets” who heal through the power of striking people about the brow? Preachers who tearfully warn that God will kill them if they don’t raise a ridiculously large sum of money? If not these,… then what?

 What teachings a greater threat to well-intending church-goers? Blatantly heretical teachings, far removed from Scripture, or teachings peppered with enough actual Christianity to make them seem harmless?

“By mixing a little truth with it they had made their lie far stronger.” -C.S. Lewis

Q.Who is God?

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. -Genesis 1:1

⁵And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

 ⁶And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

 ⁷Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. -Exodus 34:5-7

¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? -Numbers 23:19

²⁴For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. -Deuteronomy 4:24

¹⁷For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: -Deuteronomy 10:17

⁴Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. -Psalm 54:4

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

 ²⁰He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death. -Psalm 68:19-20

²⁴God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. -John 4:24

¹³There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. -1 Corinthians 10:13

⁷Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

 ⁸He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

 ⁹In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. -1 John 4:7-9

Is this YOUR God? Is this how you understand the God of the Bible? If not… consult your Bible immediately!!! If so, carry on…

Q. What is the Holy Trinity?

⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. -1 John 5:7

Did you know this? Have you ever been told otherwise..?

Q. Who is Jesus Christ?

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6

⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

 ¹⁰That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

 ¹¹And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -Philippians 2:9-11

¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: -Colossians 1:15

²⁹The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. -John 1:29

¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. -John 3:17

¹⁷And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. -Matthew 3:17

¹⁴These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. -Revelation 17:14

¹¹And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

 ¹²His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

 ¹³And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

 ¹⁴And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

 ¹⁵And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

 ¹⁶And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. -Revelation 19:11-16

⁶Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. -John 14:6

⁵For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; -1 Timothy 2:5

 ¹⁵For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. -Hebrews 4:15

Doin’ okay? Is this the Jesus taught in your church?

Q. Was Jesus literally born of a virgin?

²³Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. -Matthew 1:23

¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. -Isaiah 7:14

Straight-forward, right?

Q. Did Jesus physically raise from the dead?

⁵And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

 ⁶He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

 ⁷And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. -Matthew 28:5-7

⁸Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

 ⁹Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

 ¹⁰For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

 ¹¹Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. -Romans 6:8-11

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, -1 Peter 1:3

Let’s be frank here… if you’re off on this one, by definition, you are not a Christian.

Q. Who is man?

²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. -Genesis 1:26-27

²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; -Romans 3:23

⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. -Isaiah 53:6

⁹The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? -Jeremiah 17:9

⁵Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. -Psalm 51:5

³The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. -Psalm 58:3

Hmmmm. We sound kinda awful for the most part…

Q. What is sin?

 ²But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. -Isaiah 59:2

Yes? You knew this…

Q. What must we do to be saved from our sins?

⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

 ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.

 ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. -Ephesians 2:8-10

²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

 ²⁹For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

 ³⁰Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. -Romans 8:28-30

¹³But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: -2 Thessalonians 2:13

⁴But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

 ⁵Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

 ⁶Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

 ⁷That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. -Titus 3:4-7

¹⁵And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. -Mark 1:15

⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:9

Notice that nowhere in Scripture does it tell us to “accept Jesus”. By definition, wouldn’t it be Jesus that accepts us?

Q. What is the Holy Bible?

¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

 ¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. -2 Timothy 3:16-17

²⁰Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

 ²¹For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. -2 Peter 1:20-21

⁶The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. -Psalm 12:6

⁸⁹For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. -Psalm 119:89

⁵Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

 ⁶Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. -Psalm 30:5-6

¹⁸For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

 ¹⁹And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. -Revelation 22:18-19

God takes His word VERY seriously. We should too…

Q. What is Hell?

⁴¹Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: -Matthew 25:41

²⁰And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. -Revelation 19:20

Hell is real. Plain and simple. This should concern us…

Q. Will Jesus really return one day?

¹¹Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. -Act 1:11

²⁷For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. -Matthew 24:27

³⁰And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. -Matthew 24:30

⁴²Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. -Matthew 24:42

²⁶And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

 ²⁷And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. -Mark 13:26-27

¹Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

 ²In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

 ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

 ⁴And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. -John 14:1-4

⁷Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. -Revelation 1:7

¹¹Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. -Revelation 3:11

This, I fear, is the greatest understated aspect of our faith. Jesus IS returning,… and we don’t know when. To wait to live for him is to be a fool.

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This, while far from exhaustive, is Biblical Christianity. Anything contradictory is NOT.

Test every doctrine against the authority of Scripture. God covers every base when it comes to a genuine understanding of His Word.

When considering what true Christianity, per Scripture, teaches us, remember this. It should contain the following basic doctrines. The five primaries of the Christian faith…

-deity of Christ

-salvation by grace

-the resurrection of Christ

-the inerrancy and divine inspiration of Scripture

-a monotheistic view of God

If a church or a teacher makes statements that unsettle these five doctrines… run.

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Basic as it is, I hope this has helped deepen your understanding of the basics of the Christian faith.

The next time we’ll begin examining the false teachings themselves. Should be a hoot!

To begin, we must first answer some questions concerning our understanding of salvation, as taught by the twenty-first century church in America.

Q: Who is the God of the Bible?
Many people have many different perceptions and concepts of who and what God is.
Is the God of the Bible the same God religions such as Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, and Native Americans worship?
Is God the “Big Guy”, “the Man Upstairs”, or “the Big G”?

A: The God of the Bible is the creator of the universe, the ruler of all things eternally.
God is sovereign (all powerful), righteous (perfect in every way and unable to do wrong), just (fair in all matters concerning Himself and man), immutable (unchanging), omniscient (He knows all things, even of the heart and mind), eternal (everlasting with no beginning and no end), love (willingly sacrificing the life of His own son that we may be saved), and wrath (rightly punishing those who refuse Him and choose to remain in their sin).
God is also triune (three beings in one; the Trinity or the Godhead). He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Many names are used to describe God. Names such as YHWH (Jehovah), I Am, Father, Refuge, Protector, Alpha and Omega, Strong Tower, El Shaddai (Almighty God),  Adonai (Master), Elohim (God), Jehovah-Jireh (the Lord will provide), Jehovah-Rophe (the Lord who heals), Jehovah-Nissi (the Lord is our banner), Jehovah-M’Keddesh (the Lord who sanctifies), and the list goes on.
Above all, God is kind and merciful. Consider for a moment that the very next breath you take is done solely because God allows it. God loves His creation and longs for His creation to seek after Him.

Q: Who is Jesus Christ?
Outside of Christianity, people take vastly differing views of Jesus. Was he was a great teacher and guru? Was he was a revolutionary? Was he was a prophet? Was he was con-artist? Was he fictitious? Was he an extra-terrestrial?
Is the Jesus of the Bible the same Jesus of other religions?
Was Jesus a man chosen by God or God Himself?

A: Jesus is the savior of man, and God in the flesh.
Yeshua Ben Josef, both fully God and  fully man was conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin, Mary of Nazareth. His step-father was Joseph (Josef), a carpenter by trade who was contracted to be wed to Mary at the time of Jesus’ conception.
Jesus, while on earth maintained constant communion with God the Father, but handicapped himself by taking on the frailties of man. While still God in the supernatural sense, Jesus Christ was susceptible to all things that humanity was faced with (temptation, injury, hunger, exhaustion, emotions, and physical need). Yet, while enduring all things, he remained sinless and thus perfect for the sacrifice for which he was intended.
Jesus lived the life of a common carpenter for thirty years, and then in the three years that followed, impacted the world so much through his teachings, miracles, and compassion that millions would willingly die for his name’s sake over two thousand years later.
He is the Messiah, the Savior, the Prince of Peace, the Rose of Sharon, the Redeemer, the Mediator, the Light of the World, the Lamb of God, the Son of Man, the Word Made Flesh, the Image of the Invisible God, the Son of David, the Great Physician, the True Vine, the Lily of the Valley, the Good Shepherd, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Jesus was sent into the world to live perfectly and die as an atonement for sinners, taking the wrath of God upon himself and saving us from the punishment that we deserve.
Jesus Christ died, not suffering the punishment of one man, but the punishment of every man, woman, and child who has ever and will ever live. According to the prophet Isaiah, “It pleased the Lord to crush him”.
Not because God is a masochistic tyrant, but because He is perfect and holy, and cannot bear to look upon sin. Only Jesus could take that sin and bear the brunt of God’s wrath. Moreover, only Jesus loved you enough to do so.

Q: Who am I?
Is man inherently moral? Is it possible to be a good person? If so, does God reward you for your goodness and kind deeds?

A: Man is God’s creation, put upon the earth on the sixth day of creation. Adam, the first man was created out of the dust of the ground and had the breath of God breathed into His nostrils to bring forth life in him. Eve, his wife, was created from his own body. Some say from a rib, but the original text says from his side.
Man is sinful from birth following “the fall”, when sin was first introduced into the world following Eve succumbing to the temptation of the devil. Man’s fallen nature drives him to sin, and that sin creates enmity between he and God.
Because of this, man cannot come to God without a savior to rescue him from the filth of his sin and to justify him before the throne of judgment.
Outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ, man’s primary love and affections are for himself, and himself alone. The natural character of man is a self-serving and idolatrous one, and apart from the work of the Holy Ghost, we can never be drawn to God.

Q: What is Salvation?
Is it baptism? Is it saying a prayer at an alter? Is it doing kind deeds and mimicking Jesus?

A: Man is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
No work that man is capable of can save him, as man is sinful in nature and an enemy of God as a result of that sin.
The Bible tells us this in Ephesians 2:8 and 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
People are often mislead to believe that by praying the “Sinner’s Prayer” at the alter of their church, that they are saved, but this is unbiblical. Primarily because it is supported nowhere in Scripture, but also because many time following “the Sinner’s Prayer” a pastor or congregation will welcome the individual as new Christian and declare them “saved”.
The truth is, we cannot judge the salvation of others, we can only see the evidence of it through the “fruit” that they bear. Salvation is an intimate relationship between a formerly ungodly sinner and their savior.
Salvation is an act of God, not an act of man.
While the Bible calls us to repent (apologize for and turn away from our sins) and believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation, it is the Holy Ghost the leads us to repentance and belief. The Holy Ghost is God’s manifestation within us, and in fact, Him beckoning us to Himself. No man seeks after God without the work of the Holy Ghost within him.
Salvation often comes in two steps. The first being when the sinner professes that they believe that Jesus Christ is the savior and that only through him can they be saved. The second is regeneration, a work of the Holy Ghost which crushes the sinful nature and creates a new man with new desires and a heart for God. Sometimes this happens immediately, but many times it happens as we continue to grow in the grace of God.
We seek after God because God first sought after us, and because He, through His immeasurable love sent His son Jesus to make us worthy to live forever with Him in the kingdom He has prepared for us.
To live for God, is to die to one’s self. To deny that which pleases you and seek that which pleases Him. No earthly pleasure can compare to the gifts God has prepared for us eternally if only we give our lives over to Him.

Hopefully this has broadened your understanding of God’s gift of salvation.
Soli Deo Gloria (glory to God alone).

It has been many, many months since I last posted something. But, I always come back…

As you may have noticed if you’ve read my blog before, I’ve done away with all previous posts. I felt that it was time for a brand new start, and by golly, I can do that sort of thing if I want to.

So,… let’s fill some cyberspace, shall we?

Of late, I’ve been concerned with a few matters of faith. But easily, the one that’s concerned me the most is the manner which the average Christian treats Biblical study.

A short time ago, a USA Today poll revealed that only 11% of Americans read their Bible everyday. More than half read it less than once a month or never at all. 18% of born-again Christians read their Bibles once a day, while 23% who professed to be Christians said they never read their Bibles at all.

My initial thought on these statistics was something to the effect of, “Whoa! That’s ridiculous!”. But, lo and behold…

As bad as all that sounds, Americans actually read their Bibles more that other countries with large percentages of professing Christians!

When asked if they’d read a phrase from the Bible in the past year (see: quotes on t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc.), 75 percent of American respondents said yes, while between 20 percent and 38 percent of respondents in the other eight countries said yes. Yikes! That means either they’ve neither purposely or accidentally been exposed to ANY form of Scripture, or even worse, if they were, they didn’t even recognize it as such!

In conclusion of the poll, the lowest were Spain with 20 percent, France with 21 percent, Italy with 27 percent, and Germany with 28 percent.

So, in a nation where the average household owns 3 Bibles, I can only assume we’re using them as paper weights, door stops, or presses for our hamburger patties… Because we’re certainly NOT reading them.

“I venture to say that the bulk of Christians spend more time in reading the newspaper than they do reading the Word of God.” -C.H. Spurgeon

This, of course is the BIG problem. But the problem I intend to address is this… The vast minority of Americans who actually do read their Bibles seem to have only a topical knowledge of the actual Word itself. They know there is “a God”, but they don’t truly know who God is. They know that Jesus “died for sinners”, but they don’t understand the depth of that statement. They may even know there is a Heaven and Hell, but they don’t grasp the necessity of treating that fact with somber urgency.

Consider for yourself what you know of the Bible and it’s contents. How do you stack-up in comparison to this Gallup poll..?

-Only half of adults interviewed nationwide could name any of the four Gospels of the New  Testament.

-Just 37% of those interviewed could name all four Gospels.

-Only 42% of adults were able to name as many as five of the Ten Commandments correctly.

-70% were able to name the town where Jesus was born, but just 42% could identify him as the person who delivered the Sermon on the Mount.

George Barna also polled Americans based upon their severe lack of true Biblical knowledge and found what follows.

-38% of Americans believe the entire Bible was written several decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection (While this is true of the New Testament, the entire Old Testament was written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ).

-12% of adults believe that Noah’s wife was Joan of Arc.

-49% believe that the Bible teaches that money is the root of all evil. (The love of money is said to be the root of all types of evil).

-75% believe that the Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves.

A phrase I like to use, that I’m relatively sure I swiped from somebody else goes like this. “Would you trust a doctor whose primary medical school study consisted of an hour of lecture time per week? How then can we expect non-Believers to put any more faith in us when that’s the extend of our commitment to the study of God’s Word?”

I’ve found from personal experience that until the time came that I willingly submerged myself in Theological study of Scripture, I never truly had an effective walk with God.

Why would anyone want to spend an eternity worshiping a stranger, when God has given us ample opportunity in His Word to get to know Him on a very personal and profound level?

As Americans, we are an ADHD people. Anything that requires lengthy thought and study is all-but-impossible for us. So, short of submitting ourselves to some sort of discipline, we will continue to have a remedial understanding of the Bible at best. But, is that good enough? No…

God holds His Word in very high regard…

¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. -2 Timothy 3:16, 17

We must consider that the Holy Bible is not merely a book, but the very means by which God communicates with us. Every question that we will ever need answered while on the earth can be found in the pages of the Bible.

“Bible reading enables us…to enjoy communion with God as He speaks to us from His word, encouraging us, instructing us, and revealing Himself to us.” -Jerry Bridges

So, as I endeavor to more deeply study the Word of God myself, I propose a challenge to you to do the same. Don’t merely read it then put it down. Read it, compare it to other (accurate) translations to help understand it (if necessary), and use study sources to examine the parallels and connections throughout Scripture. It can truly be fascinating. But, above all else, take the time to be alone with the Word and after reading it, pray and meditate on it. God is more than happy to reveal Himself  to those who seek Him. Bank on that!

“Merely reading the Bible is no use at all without we study it thoroughly, and hunt it through, as it were, for some great truth.” -D.L. Moody