Thank You Letter Followed By A Spiritual Evaluation
Greetings fellow Bible student:
Congratulations for completing the course and thank you for participating. After this thank you letter you will have the opportunity to complete a personal “Spiritual Evaluation”. This evaluation is to be done individually and there will not be an answer key provided for it. It is intended to assist you in examining yourself and comparing your life and your choices with the word of God. The spiritual evaluation answers should consist of truths concerning your decisions (meaning, if the answer is “no” please put “no”). However, God will only accept certain answers on the day of judgment which is why the evaluation is titled: “Where does the Bible say I will spend eternity?”. Upon taking this personal spiritual evaluation, if you need to make any changes in your life, it is our hope that you will see to them before it is everlastingly too late.
Hopefully this course did several things for you and your relationship with God. First, it is our hope that you have made the decision to come in contact with the blood of Christ by being buried with Him in baptism (cf. Revelation 1:5; Acts 22:16). Baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God and is what saves us if we believe that Jesus Christ is His Son (cf. 1 Peter 3:21; Acts 8:37). It is important to remember that Phillip told the Ethiopian Eunuch that he could be baptized if he did believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:35-38). Therefore, we know that those who are immersed into water against their will were not baptized into Christ because they did not first believe in Him.
Once we have believed that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, we must repent and make up our minds as to whether or not we have real, living faith (cf. James 2:24, 26). Our faith is proven through works of obedience to the word. When one’s belief leads them to repent and change their mind to do God’s will, then by faith they will confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God before men and be baptized for the remission of sins (cf. Acts 8:35-38). It is at the point in which one chooses to be baptized for the purpose of having their sins washed away that one is saved (cf. 1 Peter 3:21). One who has been baptized for any other purpose other than to have their sins remitted and to be saved in Christ must be baptized again (cf. Acts 19:1-5). Being baptized into Christ is how we put on Christ and is how we are saved and added to the church (cf. Galatians 3:27; Acts 2:40-41, 47).
Upon obeying the gospel (becoming like Christ by being buried with Him through baptism (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Romans 6:3-7)), it is also our hope that this course has encouraged you to remain faithful until death. Being saved by being baptized for the remission of sins is the beginning of a life filled with spiritual blessings in Christ. However, the devil does not need to waste his time with those who he already has. Satan wants those he does not have, those who are saved. Therefore, we hope that this course has encouraged you to continue obeying God so that you will not be cut off from Him (cf. Romans 11:22). Remaining faithful is done through a lifestyle and daily commitment of oneself to becoming more like Christ by obeying His doctrine. This is done by putting off the old man of sin and daily walking in the light by submitting to the words of Christ as given in the New Testament (cf. Colossians 3:5-15; 1 John 1:7). In following the doctrine of Christ and in order to remain faithful, we must not forsake the assembling of the church of Christ (cf. Hebrews 10:24-25). Moreover, in assembling with the body of Christ, it is imperative that we are diligent to present ourselves approved to God by worshiping Him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24).
When we worship God in spirit we do more than just merely “show up” and physically attend the assembly. To worship God in spirit is to have a spiritually minded attitude that includes fully focusing on our worship to Him. When we worship God in truth, we worship Him according to His authority and based on His commands as given in the New Testament through His Son. To worship God in truth is to worship Him on the first day of the week, taking communion by partaking of the unleavened bread and drinking the fruit of the vine, hearing the word preached, offering prayers, making melody in our hearts to God by singing songs of praise to Him, and bountifully giving to the collection as we purpose in our hearts (cf. Acts 20:7; 2:42; Hebrews 2:12; Ephesians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
We must remember that God disapproves of us adding to His word and offering acts of worship that He has not commanded of us such as offering incense, playing mechanical instruments of music, and the reciting of creeds (cf. Revelation 22:18-19). Although many various religions disregard what God has authorized in our worship to Him, we must remember that we cannot be conformed to this world but are to be transformed by submitting fully to God and His word (cf. Romans 12:1-2). God takes worship very seriously and there are many today who want to overlook the necessity of worshiping Him in spirit and truth; however, we must never forgot that we have examples of those who have been destroyed and died because they did not worship God according to what He had commanded (cf. Romans 15:4; Leviticus 10:1-2).
Finally, we hope that this course has given you an understanding of the necessity to teach others the saving gospel (cf. Mark 16:15-16). As you may have noticed, there is a page on this site entitled “Manage The Course”. This page is available to give you the opportunity to share The International Bible Course with others. On the page you can print out the PDF version of these lessons to use in face-to-face Bible study or to manage your own personal correspondence series. You also have the opportunity to visit the Durham church of Christ’s website at www.durhamcoc.com where you will also find many more Bible study resources.
Whether you take advantage of The International Bible Course website to in order to manage the course with another student of the Bible or simply use what you have learned as you strive to teach others, it is our hope that souls will be saved and God will be glorified as His word is planted into the hearts and minds of those who surround your daily life. Thank you again for taking this course and may you continuously and diligently grow closer to the Lord through His word and prayer.
May you trust in the Him,
The International Bible Course
Congratulations for completing the course and thank you for participating. After this thank you letter you will have the opportunity to complete a personal “Spiritual Evaluation”. This evaluation is to be done individually and there will not be an answer key provided for it. It is intended to assist you in examining yourself and comparing your life and your choices with the word of God. The spiritual evaluation answers should consist of truths concerning your decisions (meaning, if the answer is “no” please put “no”). However, God will only accept certain answers on the day of judgment which is why the evaluation is titled: “Where does the Bible say I will spend eternity?”. Upon taking this personal spiritual evaluation, if you need to make any changes in your life, it is our hope that you will see to them before it is everlastingly too late.
Hopefully this course did several things for you and your relationship with God. First, it is our hope that you have made the decision to come in contact with the blood of Christ by being buried with Him in baptism (cf. Revelation 1:5; Acts 22:16). Baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God and is what saves us if we believe that Jesus Christ is His Son (cf. 1 Peter 3:21; Acts 8:37). It is important to remember that Phillip told the Ethiopian Eunuch that he could be baptized if he did believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:35-38). Therefore, we know that those who are immersed into water against their will were not baptized into Christ because they did not first believe in Him.
Once we have believed that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, we must repent and make up our minds as to whether or not we have real, living faith (cf. James 2:24, 26). Our faith is proven through works of obedience to the word. When one’s belief leads them to repent and change their mind to do God’s will, then by faith they will confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God before men and be baptized for the remission of sins (cf. Acts 8:35-38). It is at the point in which one chooses to be baptized for the purpose of having their sins washed away that one is saved (cf. 1 Peter 3:21). One who has been baptized for any other purpose other than to have their sins remitted and to be saved in Christ must be baptized again (cf. Acts 19:1-5). Being baptized into Christ is how we put on Christ and is how we are saved and added to the church (cf. Galatians 3:27; Acts 2:40-41, 47).
Upon obeying the gospel (becoming like Christ by being buried with Him through baptism (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Romans 6:3-7)), it is also our hope that this course has encouraged you to remain faithful until death. Being saved by being baptized for the remission of sins is the beginning of a life filled with spiritual blessings in Christ. However, the devil does not need to waste his time with those who he already has. Satan wants those he does not have, those who are saved. Therefore, we hope that this course has encouraged you to continue obeying God so that you will not be cut off from Him (cf. Romans 11:22). Remaining faithful is done through a lifestyle and daily commitment of oneself to becoming more like Christ by obeying His doctrine. This is done by putting off the old man of sin and daily walking in the light by submitting to the words of Christ as given in the New Testament (cf. Colossians 3:5-15; 1 John 1:7). In following the doctrine of Christ and in order to remain faithful, we must not forsake the assembling of the church of Christ (cf. Hebrews 10:24-25). Moreover, in assembling with the body of Christ, it is imperative that we are diligent to present ourselves approved to God by worshiping Him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24).
When we worship God in spirit we do more than just merely “show up” and physically attend the assembly. To worship God in spirit is to have a spiritually minded attitude that includes fully focusing on our worship to Him. When we worship God in truth, we worship Him according to His authority and based on His commands as given in the New Testament through His Son. To worship God in truth is to worship Him on the first day of the week, taking communion by partaking of the unleavened bread and drinking the fruit of the vine, hearing the word preached, offering prayers, making melody in our hearts to God by singing songs of praise to Him, and bountifully giving to the collection as we purpose in our hearts (cf. Acts 20:7; 2:42; Hebrews 2:12; Ephesians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
We must remember that God disapproves of us adding to His word and offering acts of worship that He has not commanded of us such as offering incense, playing mechanical instruments of music, and the reciting of creeds (cf. Revelation 22:18-19). Although many various religions disregard what God has authorized in our worship to Him, we must remember that we cannot be conformed to this world but are to be transformed by submitting fully to God and His word (cf. Romans 12:1-2). God takes worship very seriously and there are many today who want to overlook the necessity of worshiping Him in spirit and truth; however, we must never forgot that we have examples of those who have been destroyed and died because they did not worship God according to what He had commanded (cf. Romans 15:4; Leviticus 10:1-2).
Finally, we hope that this course has given you an understanding of the necessity to teach others the saving gospel (cf. Mark 16:15-16). As you may have noticed, there is a page on this site entitled “Manage The Course”. This page is available to give you the opportunity to share The International Bible Course with others. On the page you can print out the PDF version of these lessons to use in face-to-face Bible study or to manage your own personal correspondence series. You also have the opportunity to visit the Durham church of Christ’s website at www.durhamcoc.com where you will also find many more Bible study resources.
Whether you take advantage of The International Bible Course website to in order to manage the course with another student of the Bible or simply use what you have learned as you strive to teach others, it is our hope that souls will be saved and God will be glorified as His word is planted into the hearts and minds of those who surround your daily life. Thank you again for taking this course and may you continuously and diligently grow closer to the Lord through His word and prayer.
May you trust in the Him,
The International Bible Course