How to Study the Bible (Part 3 of 8)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome Back! Let’s continue our with our series titled “How to Study the Bible” for our Christian walk with our Lord Jesus Christ…

How to Study the Bible (Part 3)

Interpreting the Bible

Once we read the Bible and know what it says, the next step is to find out what it means. Only when we've correctly interpreted a biblical passage can we then correctly apply it to our lives and bring glory to God through faithful obedience to His Word!

Interpreting the Bible

The Old Testament book of Nehemiah shows us the “science” of interpretation at work:

Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday… – Nehemiah 8:1-3a

Reading the Bible is where our "understanding" begins:

…before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law – Nehemiah 8:1-3b

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground – Nehemiah 8:5-6

The people responded to the "reading" of Scripture as they "worshiped" the Lord. Verse 8 is the key:

So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading – Nehemiah 8:8

That's what's involved in interpreting the text. To “understand” our “reading” we must read “distinctly” from “the book” – the Word of God!

The Apostle Paul also admonished young Timothy in this same manner:

Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine – 1 Timothy 4:13

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth – 2 Timothy 2:15

This is what “rightly dividing the word of truth” is all about! Sound “reading” leads to sound “exhortation” which leads to sound “doctrine.” Anything less leads to misinterpretation – which is the mother of all kinds of mania. For example, some cults teach their followers that since the Old Testament patriarchs practiced polygamy, so must they. Others say that women should suffer in childbirth as a divine punishment and to not use anesthesia. Such foolish misinterpretations arise when one doesn't "understand" what the Bible is really saying in context of the specific situation at hand... 

We must be "diligent" students of the Word of God regarding “all things pertaining to life in godliness” in Jesus Christ:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence – 2 Peter 1:3

 

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued investigation of How to Study the Bible…

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!

We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><

How to Study the Bible (Part 2 of 8)‏

Hello Friends!

Welcome Back! Let’s continue our with our series titled “How to Study the Bible” for our Christian walk with our Lord Jesus Christ…

 

How to Study the Bible (Part 2)

Reading the Bible ~ The New Testament

 

Last week we considered the Old Testament and our approach to reading its content. As for our approach to reading the New Testament, it is here where we should invest the majority of our study time…

 

The New Testament

 

The Apostle Paul says to the church in Colosse:

…of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,  the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints – Colossians 1:25-26

That “mystery” is the New Testament revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Paul also describes himself as an apostle of that “mystery” from “other ages” revealed by the “Spirit” of God:

how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),  which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets – Ephesians 3:3-5

The New Testament was the major thrust of Paul’s ministry. He constantly utilized the Old Testament – “as it is written” – to illustrate, elucidate and support the New Testament!

 

The New Testament embodies and engulfs all that was in the Old Testament. It also summarizes the content of the Old Testament and leads us into the fullness of God's revelation to mankind. Therefore, we must invest more time studying the New Testament because it explains the Old Testament. Also, the New Testament was written in Greek – a particularly complex language that emphasizes abstract concepts and subtle meanings. Therefore, studying the New Testament demands greater diligence. So, where does one begin? The following thoughts may be of some assistance…

 

The little book of 1 John is a good place to start. To begin with, simply read all five chapters. It will take you only twenty to thirty minutes. Do the same thing the next day and the next… After one month, you'll have a tremendous comprehension of 1 John! Once you have finished reading this excellent epistle, go on to a large book in the New Testament. Since you've already become familiar with the Apostle John's writing style, the Gospel of John is a good choice! Here is a helpful approach you may want to consider:

 

Divide the twenty-one chapters of the Gospel of John into three sections:

 

Read the first seven for thirty days

Read the second seven for thirty days

Read the third seven for thirty days

At the end of those ninety days you will also have mastered the content of John's Gospel! 

After finishing the Gospel of John, you might want to go back to reading a short book such as the epistle to the Philippians. Then perhaps consider the Gospel of Matthew. Then move on to the epistle to the Colossians. Then maybe to the book of Acts... And so on… By alternating your reading like this for thirty days at a time, you will complete the entire New Testament in two to three years. If you're going to read the New Testament anyway, you might as well read it so you can remember it! Scripture will stick with you for life if you keep up this practice of refreshing your mind with the text…

 

By reading the Bible repetitiously, you will find that your total comprehension increases dramatically. That's because the Bible explains the Bible! God didn't write it to trip us up. He wants us to understand His Word! 

Yet invariably you'll hear people say silly things like: "Whatever you do, don't read the book of Revelation; it's so confus­ing." However, the first chapter of Revelation promises its readers:

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy – Revelation 1:3

Ob­viously, God intends for us to “read” this excellent book of the “End Times” events too! However, you'll never fully understand the book of Revelation unless you also have a good “working knowledge” of the Old Testament books of Daniel, Isaiah and Ezekiel. It all begins to come together when you read the Word of God in its entirety… Herein lies the life-long and life-changing challenge in our study of God’s Word… 

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued investigation of How to Study the Bible…

 

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

 

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!


We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><

How to Study the Bible (Part 1 of 8)‏

Hello Friends!

The Bible is an awe-inspiring book. However, as Christians, we must not merely admire it – we must understand it and thus be able to live by it!

 

In fact, the majority of people who have an opinion about the Bible – either positive or negative – do not understand what it says. Such understanding is crucial because the Bible is the very Word of God – a fact that becomes especially apparent as we study it! Therefore we need to know how to study the Bible... 

 

This monumental endeavor encompasses four important aspects to consider regarding studying the Bible as we obey and in turn learn to live out God’s Word in our lives:

 

Reading

Interpreting

Meditating

Teaching

Please join us over the coming several weeks as we learn more about this very important aspect of the Christian life – Enjoy!

 

How to Study the Bible (Part 1)

Reading the Bible ~ The Old Testament

 

Obviously, Bible study begins with reading. Yet, quite frankly, many Christians never get to that point! At best, they simply “nibble” at the text. Although they may often read books about the Bible or devotional materials loosely based on it, they don't read the Bible itself. Good Christian books and magazines that supplement our Bible reading are wonderful to be sure. However, there is no substitute for reading the Scriptures!

 

The Old Testament

 

There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament. If you read about twenty minutes a day, you should be able to finish it in one year.

 

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, a comparatively simple language to understand. It doesn't have the nuances of Greek language of the New Testament. The Old Testament isn't a theoretical or philosophical language with a lot of abstraction. It is very concrete.

 

The Old Testament is a historical narrative interspersed with biblical laws, poetry and prophecies. It is best to read from Genesis straight through to Malachi, indicating in your margin or a journal the passages you don't understand. If you do that, you'll find an interest­ing thing happening: As time goes on you will be erasing many of your markings. Why? Because as you read and reread Scripture, you will have a broader perspective that will answer some of the questions you had originally. Incidentally, what you can't answer in your reading, you can study later with a commentary or other source that will provide for you the true meaning.

 

One potential cause for confusion in reading the Old Testament is that it is not always in chronological order. One resource to consider is The Narrated Bible which rearranges the entire Bible in chronological order – a helpful tool. For instance, in it you'll read the Psalms of David interspersed at the appropriate times in his life and the words of the prophets as they relate to the kings in power at the time. It is helpful for those who have never read the Bible before or who want a fresh perspective.

 

The important thing is to be reading through the Old Testament on a regular basis, because you'll be amazed at what you learn! For as the Apostle Paul states in the New Testament:

For whatever was written in earlier times [the Old Testament] was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope – Romans 15:4

Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued investigation of How to Study the Bible…

 

May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!

 

Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!

If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com

I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!

Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><

Encouraging Concepts

Truth for Today

"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"

Lighthouse Publications <><