Educate Yourself
By Dr. Ken
Matto
When we look
around at the churches of today we see a sorry situation and that situation is
that most churches are compromised and there is gospels being preached which do
not match up with the Scriptures.
The Seminaries and Bible colleges of today are turning out confused and
compromised Christians which has resulted in weak churches and a weak testimony
to the world. That trickles down to
the congregations which sit under their teachings.
The modern day Christian has enough problems with the false and
manipulated gospels being taught today and they do not need a continuous flow of
graduates being placed in pulpits to add to the weakness of modern day
Christianity.
If you believe
that the Lord is edging you on to do some official studying, then it is time to
educate yourself. The Lord can use
a person who is not officially trained in a seminary or Bible college.
If you think about it, all you are doing is spending thousands of dollars
to go to a Bible college and then read books and tell the professors what they
want to hear and then you graduate.
Normally that takes seven years out of your life for Bible college and seminary
training plus tens of thousands of dollars.
It also takes you out of the Christian army whereby you will be unable to
get involved in ministry until you graduate because when school lets out in May
or June you will have to go to work to pay for next year’s schooling.
The great thing
about self-educating yourself is that you have access to the same books used in
seminaries and Bible colleges available on line through many book sellers.
This will save you tens of thousands of dollars plus while you are
studying the subjects at hand, you will be able to be involved in ministry
without having to wait seven years.
By time you complete seven years of ministry, you will be well versed in
scripture plus you will have much experience in ministry.
I am going to give you recommendations on what to study for a full
well-rounded Bible education and I will break it up into 4 segments with each
segment equivalent to about 32 credits.
If you follow this plan, you will probably know more than a seminary
graduate since you will be doing studies at your own pace absorbing the material
according to your own speed. If you
self-educate yourself you will not be rushed to learn a certain amount of
material in a set time, instead you can go at a leisurely pace so you can absorb
the material you are studying and you will also not have the anxiety of tests
which in itself proves nothing because anyone with a good memory can give the
answers but it is the Christian who absorbs the material in their heart is what
makes a good leader.
Initial Books needed for your library
These books are
those that you should have as part of your library.
These are considered reference books and you will be referring to them
for your entire Christian life.
Bible
Dictionary – Recommend Unger’s
Guide to the
Bible – Recommend Unger’s
Topical Bible –
Recommend Nave’s
Handbook to the
Bible – Recommend Eerdman’s or Unger’s
Bible Almanac –
Packer, Tenney, and White
Concordance –
Recommend Young’s or Strong’s
Bible Maps
If you have a
computer, the software I highly recommend is Sword Searcher, available at:
https://www.swordsearcher.com/
For your Primary Bible I highly recommend the
Reformation Heritage Bible King James Version which contains the Cambridge Text
and is available at:
https://www.heritagebooks.org/categories/bibles/reformation-heritage-kjv-study-bible.html
Semester 1
A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New
Testament: The Gospel Realized Edited by Michael Kruger (RHB) – SKU -
9781433536762
A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old
Testament: The Gospel Promised Edited by Miles V. Van Pelt (RHB) – SKU -
9781433533464
Bible Prophecy: Interpreting the Scriptures according to
the Scriptures by Dr. Ken Matto (A) ISBN – 1-64349-737-2
Zondervan Handbook of Biblical
Archaeology: A Book by Book Guide to Archaeological Discoveries Related to the
Bible (A) -
ISBN-13: 978-0310286912
Manners and Customs of the Bible by James Freeman (A)
ISBN-13: 978-0882700229
Archaeology of the Bible by James Hoffmeier (A) -
ISBN-13: 978-0745952260
Spiritual Warfare: A Biblical and Balanced Perspective by Brian Borgman and Rob
Ventura (RHB) SKU – 9781601782847
Romans by J.V. Fesko (RHB) – SKU -
9781601786197
Semester 2
From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya by Ruth Tucker (A) -
ISBN-13: 978-0310239376
Ready to Restore: Layman’s Guide to Christian Counseling
by Jay Adams (RHB) – SKU -
9780875520704
The History of Protestantism by J.A. Wylie (3 Volumes)
(RHB)
Chosen in Christ: The Glory
of Grace in Ephesians 1 by Richard Phillips (RHB)
SKU 9780875527925
Martin Luther: A Spiritual Biography by Herman
Selderhuis (RHB) SKU - 9781433556944
A History of the Reformation by Thomas Lindsay (2
Volumes( (RHB) – SKU 9781579102838
Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin (A)
ISBN-13: 978-0764232657
None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God by
Matthew Barrett (RHB) SKU -
9780801098741
Semester 3
A Case for Amillennialism by Kim Riddlebarger (RHB) –
SKU - 9780801015502
New Age Bible Versions by Gail Riplinger (A) ISBN-13:
978-0963584502
The Modern Version Incursion by Dr. Ken Matto (A) ISBN
978-1-64140-869-1
The Whole
Counsel of God - Volume 1 – God’s Mighty Acts in the Old Testament by Richard
Gamble (RHB) – SKU - 9780875521916
The Whole
Counsel of God – Volume 2 – The Full Revelation of God by Richard Gamble (RHB) –
SKU - 9781596381810
Biblical Preaching by
Haddon Robinson (A)
ISBN-13: 978-0801049125
Reformed Doctrine of
Predestination by Lorraine Boettner (A)
ISBN-13: 978-0875521121
(RHB) SKU – 9780875521121
Outlines of Theology
by A.A. Hodge (RHB) – SKU -
9780851511603
Semester 4
Genesis by Johannes Vos (RHB) – SKU - 9781884527203
Exposition of the Gospel of John by A.W. Pink – (A)
ISBN-13: 978-0310311805
Let’s Study
Ephesians by Sinclair Ferguson (RHB) - 9780851519074
Hebrews: Lectio Continua Commentary by Dr. David
McWilliams (RHB) – SKU - 9781938139017
Revelation: Reformed Expository Commentary by Richard
Phillips (RHB) – SKU -
9781629952390
New Testament Greek
Primer by S.M. Baugh (RHB) SKU – 9781596381629
Introduction to
Hebrew by William Fullilove (RHB) SKU – 9781629952710
The Gospel Call and
True Conversion by Paul Washer (RHB)
SKU – 9781601782633
(A) – Amazon Books –
https://www.amazon.com
(RHB) Reformation
Heritage Books -
https://www.heritagebooks.org/
What I have offered here
is not an easy Bible education but it is a thorough one and will be equal to a
Bachelor of Biblical Studies Degree.
These books will stay with you for the rest of your life and will be
referred to quite frequently. A
good Bible education is priceless and it does not have to cost you thousands of
dollars plus you do not have to be absent from your life for 7 years.
Remember you have a great study partner because the Holy Spirit has
inspired the Bible and he will guide you in your understanding of it.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of
truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of
himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you
things to come. (John 16:13)
How do I Study?
1) You must determine you will set aside time to study
each day, if you cannot commit, then do not buy any books or attempt to start.
2) Find a quiet out of the way place where you will not
be disturbed and that includes your phone and computer.
3) As you read through these books and find quotes that
you like, make notes and copy down the pages where you found such a quote for
future use and then alphabetize them.
4) If you can, purchase an electronic dictionary because
there will be words that you are not familiar with.
I have one and I still use it because there are many words I do not know
or have forgotten the meanings over the years.
As you begin to study you will establish a routine which
suits your situation the best. The
main thing is that once you commit you follow through.
Remember you do not have any time constraints to finish any book but that
does not mean you become lazy either.
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul
shall suffer hunger. (Proverbs
19:15)
By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through
idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
(Ecclesiastes 10:18)
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him
that is a great waster. (Proverbs
18:9)
As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the
slothful upon his bed. (Proverbs
26:14)