These are the answers to the August Bible Study that accompanies the August Devotional for the Encourager’s Devotional Series. 

Information

Read Hebrews 5:11-6:12.

The writer of Hebrews starts off this passage by saying he has much to explain. According to 5:11, it was hard for him to explain these things because the Christians he was writing to were no longer trying to “understand.”

5:12 says “by this time you ought to be teachers.”

Being a teacher does not mean you have to be in front of a classroom. Look up Deuteronomy 6:6-9 where the Lord told His people to be sure they teach their children His commands. When, where, and how was this teaching to occur?

when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up, use symbols as reminders, write them down and post them

Deuteronomy 6:20-25 further instructs the people on how to answer their children when they ask questions about what the laws of the Lord mean. Notice that they were to answer these questions by being able to tell the story of what God had done for his people. Compare this to 1 Peter 3:15 which tells us we are always to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

According to Hebrews 6:7-8, what danger do we face when we only “drink in the rain” and do not then use that nourishment to produce a crop?

the danger of being cursed and burned

Meditation

Reread and think on Hebrews 5:12. Pray about whether or not you are becoming the teacher you should be.

Reread and reflect on the questions from the devotion:

• Am I more concerned about being fed, or about feeding others?
• Am I involved in the church more for what I get out of it or for what I can give to it for others?

Record any thoughts or convictions you may have.

Application

The picture above shows a “Report Card” I used with a Sunday School class. I’ve included it as an example of creating a way to do a self-evaluation from a scriptural text. I thought you might want to complete it on your own to reinforce the need to use the Word to evaluate our progress and indicate areas which might need improvement. You might want to make up your own “report card” for any passage of Scripture you want to live by and use as a measure of your spiritual growth. If you did, what texts might you chose (some possibilities are listed in the devotion)?

Go through the suggestions at the end of the devotion and note any that you might want to do. List any additional ideas you may have thought of on your own.

Dedication

What do you specifically want to do in response to this month’s devotion?