It is worth remembering that the Bible has one great theme, Jesus Christ, two great covenants, Old and New, three great ages, Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian. Your Bible study will be well guided by that JUMP TO... Main Purpose | Central Theme | Context | Arbitrary Interpretation | Using Language Properly | Instant Expert |
This lesson looks at six simple principles that help us to read, study, and
When we study the Bible, we ought to study it with the purpose God has in mind. I once saw a man use a bottle to hammer a six inch nail into a solid piece of timber. However a bottle was not designed for that purpose. If you keep the right purpose for Bible study in mind, and keep to that purpose, your Bible study will be profitable
Acts 20:32 Paul stated the main purpose of God’s word this way: "I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified"
2Tm 3:15 Paul makes another purpose statement when he tells us that the scriptures are "able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus"
2Tm 3:16-17 Paul continues to describe the purpose of the scriptures, calling them "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work".
James 1:21 James tells us to "Receive the implanted word which is able to save your souls" and so the ultimate purpose of Bible study is our eternal salvation.
Rom 15:4 One more example of how the scriptures show us their purpose: "Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our learning, that through patience and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope".
The Bible is a collection of sixty six books and letters, written at different times and places, in various literary styles, by many different authors, for many different reasons. They are not even all in the same language, the Old Testament books having been originally written mainly in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Koine Greek. Within the covers of the Bible you will therefore find documents that differ widely from each other, yet these documents are all witnesses to one and the
The one central theme running through the whole Bible is the story of
Jhn 1:1,14 John calls Christ the Word. "In the beginning was the Word... and the Word became flesh...". The Bible is the word of God, and Christ is the central message of the Bible, hence
Jhn 5:39 Jesus said himself, "Search the scriptures... it is these that testify of Me".
Lke 24:27 Jesus understood the scriptures as being about himself. "He explained to them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures".
1Co 15:3-4 Paul understood the scriptures in the same way, for he says "...that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised the third day according to the scriptures".
Tit 3:9 When we get away from this theme, our discussions become "foolish... unprofitable and worthless".
It is worth remembering that the Bible has one great theme, Jesus Christ, two great covenants, Old and New, three great ages, Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian. Your Bible study will be well guided by that
Someone has said, "A proof text out of context is a pretext". In a later lesson, "What is this thing called context?" we discuss context in more detail, but for now we will just look at
Mtt 24:17 There is a story (which I doubt is true) that a preacher became concerned that the ladies were getting too fancy with their hairdos, so he preached on the subject and took as his text,
Col 2:21 I am a teetotaller (don’t drink anything alchoholic) but I would certainly never use this verse, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch" to support the practice.
John 3:7 A reincarnationist (who believes that when your body dies you are born into another body) once pointed out to me that Jesus said, "You must be born again". Had he examined the context, he would have seen that Jesus was not talking about reincarnation at all.
Acts 19:27-28 In this passage we find much praise for the pagan goddess Artemis or Diana. Note the words, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" It is clear however, as a simple example, that the Bible is not making this claim itself, but is merely recording that the followers of Diana do.
Sometimes we encounter quite arbitrary interpretations of Bible passages, in other words interpretations that stem from a person’s own thoughts and feelings without any comparison with other scripture, and therefore
Lke 2:22-24 One way of interpreting the Bible arbitrarily is to make a distinction where there is no difference. For example, in this passage you find the terms "the Law of Moses" and "the Law of the Lord". Would it be arbitrary to interpret these terms as referring to two distinct laws?
Heb 13:8 Another kind of arbitrary interpretation is reading into a scripture what isn’t there. For example people often quote "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, yes and forever" to prove that Jesus still empowers people to perform miracles with special gifts of the Spirit. Is that in the verse?
2Pe 1:20-21 Peter warns us that "No prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation". Those who spoke God word did not speak in any arbitrary manner. They did not speak according to their own thoughts and feelings. Nor should we interpret their words in that manner, making them say what we wish.
We have all had the experience of saying something, only to have our words twisted around to mean something we did not mean. There may have been nothing wrong in the way we expressed ourselves, but the wrong was in the way the hearer used our words. Obviously language has to be used properly. Somebody reads on the honey jar, "If honey has solidified, stand in hot water". So they stand in hot water
Lke 12:17-20, Ecc 8:15 Here we have a story in which a man quotes the scripture, "Eat, drink, and be merry" and yet he is called a fool. That’s because that scripture was written with irony in the face of futility. The last two verses of Ecclesiastes, by contrast, show how we are to approach our lives. The rich fool did not use the language of scripture properly.
Mtt 26:26-28 When Jesus said, "This is my body...this is my blood..." he was using language in the same way you do when you point to a photo of your uncle and say, "This is my uncle Fred". You are using language figuratively. Your uncle is not a piece of cardboard with a picture on it. We must be careful to understand figurative language figuratively and literal language literally.
Mtt 4:5-6, Psa 91:11-12 Satan quoted scripture to Jesus, "His angels... shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone". This is language of encouragement, but the devil used it as the language of incitement, as a dare to test God.
2Pe 3:15-16 It is a shame that some people "twist the scriptures to their own destruction". People should use the language of scripture properly so as not to distort its meaning.
You might observe that those who are quick to give an opinion are often those who have learned the least. Those who have learned much realise
2Pe 3:15-16 Some scripture is "hard to understand" and we should not rush in to interpretations of the hard passages. We should prayerfully study until we are equipped to handle such passages aright.
Tit 3:9 Paul instructs Titus to "shun foolish controversies". Such a controversy is usually one entered into by people who really don’t know what they are talking about, yet think themselves experts.
Jas 1:21 James advises us that "in humility" we should "receive the implanted word" so it follows that we should pass it on to others in a similar humble and gentle spirit allowing for our own weaknesses.
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