How to Understand the Bible
Introduction
Have you ever heard someone state, “I have read the entire bible
___ times?”
I will admit, you should read the entire bible from cover to cover
before you begin to study it. The reason is simple, it familiarizes you
with where scriptures are located. In the back of your mind you will
retain most of what you read enough to know when something sounds
familiar.
In my experience as a Christian, I have
discovered three types of bible study being used in the church.
Unfortunately this also leads to three types of
people.
(1)
The
bible reader. This is the
person who reads the entire bible several times. They go to church every
Sunday and listen to the preacher. Some of this type will go to Sunday
School also, but not many of them. They don’t trust anyone but the
preacher to explain the bible to them. This type will avoid a discussion
on the bible at all cost, but they will fight tooth and nail for their
right to sin!!
(2)
The
bible study person. This is a
person who attends Church and Sunday School every Sunday as well as any
Bible Study they can. They usually sit quietly in the back of the room and
will participate very little. They never pick up a bible other than going
to church, and then only for appearances. They too will try to avoid any
discussion on the bible. When they do get caught in a discussion, they
will refer to what the preacher or the teacher said and never what the
bible says. They too will fight for their right to sin and they use the
bible to criticize others for their sin. This type is better known as
“Bible Thumpers.”
(3) Those
who understand the bible. This type of
person will go to Church and Sunday School as well as Bible Study.
However, they participate and they take notes. After they leave, they go
home and study the lesson for themselves using the Who, What, When, Where
and How method. They catch any mistakes the preacher or teacher make and
correct it with their family. Remember, Preachers and Teachers are human
too. They make mistakes and have bad days just like you do. A mistake is
NOT A
SIN unless it
goes un-noticed and leads someone to believe something other than the
truth about God and His word. This type will enjoy a discussion (not an
argument) on the bible. They understand the bible enough to try to live as
God intended us to live and are ashamed when they occasionally do sin.
They understand the bible enough to know the difference between sin and
temptation. These are the only ones of the three types that can truly say,
“I am Blessed.” They rarely criticize anyone, but try to live their lives
as an example to others.
“All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the
man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good
work.”
( 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
According to what Paul is telling Timothy
in this scripture, God inspired all scripture. That does not say God
dictated the scripture word for word. The author of this scripture is
Paul. He did not deviate from the inspiration, however, Paul did have his
own unique style of writing. Paul also (with God’s Blessing) inserted some
of his own ideas. These ideas were identified as his not
God’s.
Now comes the big question. Which
version of the bible should I
use for my study? The answer to that question is
simple, use the translation you find the easiest to read and understand.
God inspired the scripture, but He inspired it in the Hebrew, Aramaic and
Greek. He did not inspire it in English!!! There are those who claim the
1611 King James Version is the only authorized version of the bible. Ok,
who authorized it? God didn’t!! King James was the one who authorized the
translation to English. Do the scriptures contain mistakes, NO! Do the
translations (all of them) contain mistakes, YES!! As long as we
understand the scriptures, these mistakes in translation will become
apparent to us and we can avoid them.
I
use all the translations, because I teach at different churches. I always
ask the pastor which translation his congregation is most comfortable
with. It makes it easier to teach. I think you will find they all say the
same thing, they just use different terminology in a few places. This does
not change the scripture, it just makes it easier to
read.
Paul
tells us in 1 Corinthians 2, not to trust the wisdom of man but to seek
the wisdom of God. In order
to do this there are two things that must take
place:
(1) YOU
MUST BE BLESSED!
When most people say, “I am blessed” they are saying I am happy. That was
the simple definition given them by the teacher when they were a child and
no one ever changed it. If you study the definition of the word Blessed in
Matthew 5, you will find that happy is a result of being blessed not the
definition. The Greek word used in the original manuscript was (Makarios).
“Biblically,
one is blessed when God is present and involved in their life. The hand of
God is at work directing all their affairs for a Devine purpose, and thus,
in a sense, such a person lives
Coram
Deo, before
the face of God
(especially in revelatory activity: Mt 5:3ff; 13:16; 16:17;Lk 10:23; Jn
20:29: Tit 2:13; Rev 1:3). Blessedness
is sharing in the life of God, being favorably affected and influenced by
God, which involves, among other things, participating in the
kingdom
(Lk 14:14); forgiveness
(Ro 4:7,8), freedom
of conscience (Ro
14:22), the
Second Coming (Tit
2:13), the
Holy Spirit (1Pe
4:14),heavenly
rest (Rev
14:13), and
moral and spiritual purity (Rev
16:15). This
is why even in suffering and pain one can be pronounced blessed, for God’s
purpose behind it ensures that it is for the good of His creature and the
glory of His own name
(Mt 5:10, 11; Jas 1:25; 1Pe 3:14; 4:14; Sept.: Job 5:17), In
theological usage, the word “happy” is a rather inadequate translation for
Makarios for it tends to suggest merely an upbeat state of mind or
pleasant circumstances.” New
Testament Lexical Aids, The Hebrew—Greek Key Study Bible.
(2) YOU
MUST ASK FOR HELP THROUGH PRAYER!
God gave man free will and does not take that from us when we become
Christians. God will not do anything is our lives unless we ask. Our means of communications with
God is prayer. Be sure you pray before you study so He will be leading you
all the way.
Let
us now go to God in prayer and ask his guidance in the study to come. May
God be with you in your studies and with the final
exam.
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