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!
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 <><
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.