The Easy Study Bible: Romans, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians

The Easy Study Bible translation, is the result of my twenty-six years in the Gospel Ministry, and from being a high school English teacher before that.

Many times over my early years as a pastor, I would grow frustrated in my efforts to teach the Bible for understanding to church members who didn't understand the basics of Hebrew and Greek. True, some passages jump out at anyone reading them, no matter which translation they use. My goal has always been that all who read the Bible would not only understand it the way God intended for them to, but also to be able to apply each truth to their lives. That, I think, takes greater understanding.

When I began teaching a Pastor's Sunday School Class in the early 1990s, I searched for a way to help my class understand better. I felt this was important since the class started out as a New Members Class. Too many new Christians become frustrated at their first attempts to study the Bible.

Well, the answer came to me from my English teacher background. Do you remember when you had to diagram sentences in your English classes? Please don't run away screaming yet! I know. They were usually painful experiences. I felt the same way when I was a student.

If you can get past the painful memories, please think about the finished product. Once you diagramed a long complicated sentence, it became much more clear to you. You could understand what was modifying what, and what the action was and what or who was causing it. In other words, it made the sentence much more understandable.

That is what I began to do with the Bible passages we studied in that class. I took the principles of the sentence diagram and adjusted it to fit verses of the Bible. Immediately, the whole class began to gain a better understanding of each passage we studied.

Over the years since then, I have used this method constantly, not only in small group studies, but also in church Bible studies with great success.

One benefit that I didn't expect is that this method helps tremendously in sermon preparation. When I begin to prepare a sermon, I take the focal passage and diagram it. This allows me to see how the verses naturally (the way I think God intended) fall into separate thoughts. Many times, this process will give me all the points of the outline without trying to make the passage say what it does not say.

Now, let's look at this project. Do we need another translation of the Bible? In a word, No!

I have long admired the Wycliffe Bible Translators whose goal is to translate the Bible into every language of the world so all will have the opportunity to read God's message to them. I've also admired the Gideons International whose goal is to place a Bible in every hand in the world.

My goal is a combination of the goals of the Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Gideons International. I want to take God's word and make it easier for everyone to read and understand.

Now, here is why we need a new translation of the Bible. Simply put, the major Bible publishers do not seem to be interested in a Bible version which is diagramed. Therefore, to avoid infringing on any existing copyrights, I had to start with my own translation.

You will find The Easy Study Bible translation to be as close to literal as possible while still preserving proper English grammatical structure. This is important to me. I find that many of the modern translations, especially ones that are more literal, are clumsy at best and grammatically inaccurate at worst.

James Free!

In order to give everyone an opportunity to sample the Easy Study Bible before purchasing it, the book of James will be available in E-Book version free. It will be available on my webpage, and other online distributors.

The book of James will soon be included in a new release, which will also contain 1 Peter and 2 Peter.

I want to hear from you as you use the Easy Study Bible translation. If you have suggestions, corrections, or any comments, please email me at trennis@trenniskillian.com.

How to Use the Easy Study Bible

You may read the Easy Study Bible it the same way you would any other Bible. Each of the releases will have a paragraph version in the back of the book.

The Easy Study Bible is most effective when used as a study tool. This is where the structure of the diagram allows for better understanding of each passage that you study.

I will use James 4:7-8 to illustrate how to do several of the actions that were mentioned in the introduction.

⁷ Therefore,

submit to God.

Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you.

⁸ Draw near to God

and He will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands,

sinners,

and purify your hearts

you double-minded.

First, if I were writing a sermon on this passage, I can immediately see the perfect three-point sermon in it.

I. Submit to God

II. Resist the Devil

III. Draw Near to God

Notice how easy that was. Next I would flesh out point II. a little.

II. Resist the Devil

He will flee from you

Next, point III.

III. Draw Near to God

He will draw near to you

How do we do this?

Cleanse our hands

Purify our hearts

You can easily see how to continue from there.

Second, for those who want to get to the full meaning of the passage, they can easily answer the following questions from the diagram:

1. What is the subject of this passage?

Submission to God

2. How do we do this?

Resist the Devil

Draw near to God

3. What will be the result of this action?

The devil will flee from you.

God will draw near to you.

Do you get the idea? It's easy and fun to study the Bible, especially when you understand it better each time you do.

Try it out, and if you discover new and different ways to use the Easy Study Bible, please let me know so I can share them with others.

My webpage will have a whole section devoted to the Easy Study Bible, and one page will be dedicated to reader feedback. There will also be a page of Hints & Tips.

www.trenniskillian.com

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Outline of Romans

Chapter One

God's Good News for Rome 1-7

Paul's Desire to Visit Rome 8-17

Gentile Guilt 18-23

Results of Gentile Guilt 24-32

Chapter Two

God's Judgment of the Jews 1-29

Chapter Three

Paul Answers an Objection 1-8

All Are Guilty before God 9-20

Righteousness through Faith 21-31

Chapter Four

Abraham Justified by Faith 1-12

The Promise Granted through Faith 13-25

Chapter Five

Faith Triumphs 1-11

Death through Adam—Life through Christ 12-21

Chapter Six

The New Life in Christ 1-14

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God 15-23

Chapter Seven

Dead to the Law but Alive to God 1-6

Chapter Eight

The Life-Giving Spirit 1-11

Ministries of the Holy Spirit 12-17

The Spirit Assures of Future Glory 18-30

The Spirit Assures of Final Victory 31-39

Chapter Nine

Israel's Rejection of Christ 1-5

God's Selection of Israel 6-13

God's Selection Is Just 14-29

Israel Seeks Righteousness by Works 30-33

Chapter Ten

Righteousness by Faith Alone 1-13

Israel's Rejection of the Message 14-21

Chapter Eleven

Israel's Rejection Not Total 1-10

Israel's Rejection Not Final 11-32

A Hymn of Praise 33-36

Chapter Twelve

Responsibilities Toward God 1-8

Christian Ethics 9-21

Chapter Thirteen

Responsibilities Toward Higher Powers 1-7

Responsibilities Toward Neighbors 8-14

Chapter Fourteen

The Law of Liberty 1-12

The Law of Love 13-23

Chapter Fifteen

Pleasing Others, Not Ourselves 1-6

Glorifying God Together 7-13

Paul's Purpose for Writing 14-21

Paul's Plans for Travel 22-33

Chapter Sixteen

Paul's Commendation of Phoebe 1-2

Greeting to Roman Christians 3-16

Warning against Divisive People 17-18

Paul's Conclusion 19-24

Glory to God 25-27

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Outline of 1 Corinthians

Chapter One

Greeting 1-3

Prayer of Thanksgiving 4-9

Divisions at Corinth 10-17

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God 18-25

Boast Only in God 26-31

Chapter Two

Paul's Proclamation 1-5

Heavenly Wisdom 6-16

Chapter Three

Immaturity 1-4

Fellow Workers with God 5-17

Accountable to God 18-23

Chapter Four

The Faithful Manager 1-5

Example of Humility 6-13

Paul's Fatherly Care 14-21

Chapter Five

Immoral Church Members 1-8

Church Discipline 9-13

Chapter Six

Lawsuits among Believers 1-11

Glorifying God in Body and Spirit 12-20

Chapter Seven

Principles of Marriage 1-16

Abiding in God's Call 17-24

Principles for the Unmarried 25-38

Remarriage 39-40

Chapter Eight

Food Offered to Idols 1-13

Chapter Nine

Paul's Example 1-27

Chapter Ten

Warnings from Israel's Past 1-13

Warning against Idolatry 14-22

Christian Liberty 23-33

Chapter Eleven

Public Prayer 2-16

The Lord's Supper 17-26

Self-Examination 27-34

Chapter Twelve

Diversity of Spiritual Gifts 1-11

Unity Yet Diversity in the Body 12-31

Chapter Thirteen

Definition of Love 1-13

Chapter Fourteen

Superiority of Prophecy 1-25

Exercising Gifts in Public Worship 26-40

Chapter Fifteen

Resurrection Essential to the Gospel 1-11

Resurrection Essential to the Faith 12-19

Christ's Resurrection Guarantees Ours 20-28

Resurrection Supported by Christian Experience 29-34

Nature of the Resurrection Body 35-49

Victorious Resurrection 50-58

Chapter Sixteen

Collection for the Jerusalem Church 1-4

Paul's Travel Plans 5-12

Final Exhortation 13-18

Conclusion 19-24

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Outline of 2 Corinthians

Chapter One

Paul's Thanksgiving to God 1-11

A Clear Conscience 12-14

A Visit Postponed 15-24

Chapter Two

A Sinner Forgiven 5-11

Macedonia 12-13

Christ Causes Us to Triumph 13-17

Chapter Three

Living Letters 1-6

New Covenant Ministry 7-18

Chapter Four

Christ Is the Theme of Ministry 1-6

Treasure in Clay Jars 7-18

Chapter Five

Our Future after Death 1-15

The Ministry of Reconciliation 16-21

Chapter Six

Giving No Offense in the Ministry 1-13

Separation to God 14-18

Chapter Seven

Joy and Repentance 2-7

Corinthians Response to Paul's Letter 8-16

Chapter Eight

Example of the Macedonians 1-6

Example of Christ 7-9

Purpose of Giving 10-15

Policies of Giving 16-24

Chapter Nine

Readiness in Giving 1-15

Chapter Ten

Paul's Apostolic Authority 1-18

Chapter Eleven

Paul and the False Apostles 1-15

Paul's Sufferings for Christ 16-33

Chapter Twelve

Sufficient Grace 1-6

Thorn in the Flesh 7-10

Signs of an Apostle 11-13

Paul's Concern for the Corinthians 14-21

Chapter Thirteen

Final Warnings and Exhortations 1-10

Conclusion 11-14

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The Easy Study Bible Diagram of Romans

Chapter One

God's Good News for Rome

¹ Paul,

a servant of Christ Jesus,

called as an apostle,

set apart

for the good news of God,

² which He promised

beforehand

through His prophets

in the holy Scriptures,

³ concerning His Son,

who was a descendant

of David

according to the flesh,

⁴ and was established

as the Son of God

with power

by the resurrection from the dead,

according to the Spirit of holiness,

Jesus Christ our Lord,