Russell Haffner
An accomplished business leader once said, "Be humble to see your mistakes, courageous to admit them, and wise enough to correct them." This is excellent advice, not only in the business world, but in Bible study as well. Sometimes when we study God's word we discover we were wrong in what we thought was being taught in the Scriptures. We must have the humility to see when we are wrong, the courage to admit our mistake and then the wisdom to correct our misunderstanding. The steps to help us through this process are very important.
- We need to see our mistake. This requires an honest study of God's word. It is important that we study the Scriptures without preconceived ideas. We must know what the Bible teaches, not what some person told us it teaches. God's word should be treated with respect. This demands humility, understanding that we don't know everything. If we do not have humility we will never see our mistakes.
- We must admit the mistake. The next important step is to admit that we sometimes get things wrong when it comes to the Scriptures. We will never be able to make a correction without this admission. We must have the courage to see our error and accept that we made a mistake. However, at times our pride stands in the way. Proverbs 16:18 warns, "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall." We will be better learners when we have the courage to overcome our pride.
- We must have the wisdom to make corrections. It would be foolish to make the same mistakes over and over again. If we persist in making the same mistakes, then we really haven't learned to improve our approach to the Scriptures. We want our study of the Bible to be a learning experience. The goal is to overcome and grow from the misunderstandings we have had in the past. By choosing to learn from our mistakes, not only will we become better students of God's word, but we will also grow in our wisdom.
It is often painful to learn we have made a mistake in our understanding of the Bible. That's why we should always strive to humble ourselves and admit our lack of knowledge. Remember, admitting when we are wrong is a sign of courage and readiness to improve.
Perhaps you have enrolled in the school but have yet to start your first course. Beginning your studies is easy to do. Once you login to your account simply choose the course you would like to study from the "Course Schedule" option located on the blue menu bar of the school website (http://890353b685.nxcli.net/course-schedule/). The "Course Schedule" reflects the designated order that Formal Students must follow. Informal and Auditing Students are recommended, but not required, to follow this schedule.
Once you have selected the course you would like to study you need to register for the course by clicking the "Register" button located on the course page. When this is done, you will have full online access to the course. You can begin watching the videos immediately by clicking the "Lesson 1" link. From each lesson page you will be able to view a 30-40 minute video lesson presentation.
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