How do we study the Bible? Teaching the faith once delivered to the saints – Bible study #26 by Nolan McFadden “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” -Jesus (Luke 11:28) The Holy Bible is God’s Word to mankind (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, John 10:35; 12:48-50; 17:8, I Thessalonians 2:13). Our Lord Jesus promised that we will be blessed if we hear and keep God’s Word. However, in order to correctly obey the Bible, we must correctly understand the Bible. To correctly understand the Bible, we must study the Bible. Studying the Scriptures involves reading, interpreting and applying the text to our lives. The word interpret means to explain or to tell the meaning of something. How we interpret the Bible is very important. Why? How we interpret the Scriptures determines what we believe. What we believe will determine where we will spend eternity (John 5:38-47; 8:24). What we truly believe will determine how we live (I Thessalonians 2:13). As Christians, how we live will determine our rewards in Heaven (II Corinthians 5:10). How do we interpret the Bible correctly? We must use sound principles of interpretation. What are they? Let’s consider eleven. I. The Bible itself is its own best interpreter. A. Identify Scriptures that provide the interpretation of other Scriptures. For example, in Luke 8:9-15 Jesus gives the interpretation of Luke 8:4-8. Likewise, John interprets John 2:19 in John 2:21. John 5:18 provides the interpretation of John 5:17. Revelation 17:1-11 is interpreted in Revelation 17:12-18. B. There is only one true interpretation of each text of Scripture (John 8:43-47, Luke 8:10). The only exception to this is regarding Bible prophecies with more than one fulfillment. There are many applications of an interpretation. Be sure that you have the correct interpretation since it is the basis of your application. C. According to John 2:21, to what temple was Jesus referring in John 2:19?____________ _________________________________________________________________________ D. The words of Jesus in John 5:17 were understood as a declaration, “…that God was his F__________________, making himself e________________ with God” according to John 5:18. E. In Revelation 17:18 “the great whore” of Revelation 17:1 is clearly defined as, “that great c________________, which r________________________ over the kings (rulers) of the e_________________.” F. What is the seed of verse five as revealed in Luke 8:11? _________________________
2 II. Always interpret the Scriptures in their regular, literal meaning except where it is obvious that the writer is speaking figuratively. Then, identify the regular meaning of the figure of speech. A. For example, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” See John 6:48-58. Jesus did not mean that He was a literal loaf of bread or that He would later become a literal piece of bread in a religious ceremony (as practiced in the Catholic mass). Christ meant this to be understood in a spiritual sense. See John 6:51. Jesus was referring to the fact that He would give His flesh (body) as a sacrifice for sins (Note Hebrews 10:10-14, I Peter 2:24). B. In John 6:51 our Savior explains how His teaching should be understood. Jesus said, “..and the b______________ that I will g_______________ is my f_______________, which I will g______________ for the life of the world.” C. “Who his own self bare our _______________ in his own _________________ on the tree, that we, being dead to _____________, should live unto _______________________: by whose _________________ ye were healed.” I Peter 2:24 III. In prayer, always ask the Holy Spirit to give you spiritual understanding of the text (I Corinthians 2:10-14). A. “Which things also we speak, not in the words which ________________ wisdom teacheth, but which the ____________ __________________ teacheth; comparing _______________________ things with ______________________. But the natural man ______________________ not the things of the ________________ of God: for they are ________________________ unto him: neither can he _________________________ them, because they are spiritually _________________________.” I Corinthians 2:13-14 B. What is the ministry of the Holy Spirit for believers according to the first part of John 16:13?_________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ C. According to Acts 16:14, why did Lydia attend to the message of the apostle Paul? Explain. __________________________________________________________________ IV. Be sure that you understand the actual meaning of the Bible words. A. Use a reliable lexicon or Bible concordance to define Bible terms not interpreted by the Scriptures themselves. Vine’s, Young’s or Strong’s are recommended. B. Why should we regard all the Scriptures as important according to II Timothy 3:16?____________________________________________________________ C. According to Matthew 4:4, why is every word in the Bible important?_______________ _________________________________________________________________________ V. Always interpret the Scriptures in their true history, grammar and context. A. History - Ask who, what, when, why, where and how concerning the text. To whom was the text written? When was the text written? Why was the text written? Where was the text written?
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B. Grammar - Pay close attention to the structure of the text. Word usage determines word meaning. Note verb tenses, position of words and relationship between words. C. Context - Follow the author’s thought. Identify the primary theme or themes of the text. Look at how the words fit into their surrounding Scriptures. Why? A text twisted out of its context is a pretext. D. To whom was Galatians written as recorded in Galatians 1:2?_____________________ E. According to Galatians 1:7, why was it necessary for Paul to write this epistle?________ F. To whom was the Old Testament law given as set forth in Deuteronomy 1:3? _________ _________________________________________________________________________ VI. Do not impose human theories or opinions on a Bible text. Instead, let the Scriptures test the human theories and opinions. A. Never read into a Bible text the meaning or view that you want to get from the text. This is called eisegesis. God’s Word condemns the twisting of the Scriptures to fit an opinion or theory (II Corinthians 4:2, II Peter 3:16-18). B. According to II Peter 3:16, what do the unlearned (ignorant) and unstable often do with the Scriptures? ______________ _________________________________ _________________________________ C. For what were the Bereans commended as revealed in Acts 17:11? _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ VII. Never attach false or incorrect meanings to Bible terms. A. This action creates a lie. See Romans 11:6, Galatians 1:6-10 and II Corinthians 11:3-4. All the false religions engage in this practice. B. Yet, we should not cease using Bible terms just because a false religion misuses them. Rather, we should use the words with their true meanings. We must remember that even the original words of the Bible were chosen by God (Deuteronomy 11:18, II Samuel 23:2, Ezekiel 3:10, I Corinthians 2:13, II Timothy 3:16). We must not change or set aside what God has said. C. According to Galatians 1:6-9, there were false teachers in Galatia who were defining the term g_________________ differently than the Scriptures. Because they were preaching a different g_________________, they were accursed of God. VIII. Never spiritualize, allegorize or rationalize the Scriptures to acomodate the false assumptions of humanistic psychology. A. Why? Man’s wisdom is very different from God’s wisdom
4 (Isaiah 55:8-9, I Corinthians 3:18-21). God’s wisdom is perfect (Psalm 19:7-9). The wisdom of mankind is distorted by sin (Romans 3:23; 5:12). B. “Beware lest any _____________ spoil you through _______________________ and vain deceit, after the ____________________ of men, after the __________________ of the world, and not after___________________.” Colossians 2:8 C. How does God regard the world’s wisdom according to I Corinthians 3:19?___________ _________________________________________________________________________ IX. Don’t look for a “type” in every verse. A. Definition of type: A person or event in the Old Testament which foreshadows another person or event in the New Testament. B. The only certain types in the Bible are those interpreted as types by other Scriptures. Avoid getting preoccupied with speculative types. The danger of becoming preoccupied in type hunting is that it often results in misinterpretations and teachings based on false human speculation. C. According to Hebrews 9:9, the Old Testament tabernacle was a “____________ for the time then present,...” X. Use an accurate translation of the Scriptures. A. Why? Every word in the Bible is very important (Matthew 4:4, John 17:6-8, I Corinthians 2:13). To accurately study the Bible, it is essential that we use a literal\formal equivalent translation (also known as total-linguistic translation) of the Bible. In a literal equivalent translation, the Scriptures are translated word for word. B. In English, the King James Version is the Bible we recommend for two primary reasons. 1. It is a literal (formal) equivalent translation of the Scriptures. 2. It is the translation based on the Textus Receptus Greek New Testament. The Textus Receptus is based, for the most part, on the Majority Text or Byzantine (Syrian) family of manuscripts which originated in Asia Minor (in the area of Antioch, Ephesus, Philippi and Thessalonica). C. Why reject the modern translations? 1. Most contemporary Bible translations are based on the dynamic equivalency model of translation. This model follows a thought for thought approach to translation. It is not a word for word translation method. The New International Version and the Living Bible are examples of this approach to translation. 2. Most new Bible translations are translated from Greek New Testaments that are based on the revised Greek text of B.F. Westcott and F.J.A. Hort. Westcott and Hort’s edition of the Greek New Testament was, for the most part, based on two corrupted families of manuscripts-the Alexandrian and Western (Roman Catholic). XI. Applying the Scriptures to daily living A. Look for S.P.E.C.S. Sins to forsake Promises of God to claim Examples to imitate or reject
5 Commands to obey Stumbling blocks to avoid B. Memorize specific verses. C. Meditate on specific verses. Do you know the author of the Bible? Have you repented of your sins and personally received Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Yes / No / Not sure If you are not saved, or if you are not certain that you are saved, you need to repent and accept Christ Jesus as your LORD and SAVIOR today. If it is your desire to be saved, pray this prayer of faith out loud to God our Father in Heaven: Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for my sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead for me. I repent of my sins. Please forgive my sins and come live in my heart forever. Please save my soul and make me a child of God by Your Holy Spirit. Thank you my Lord for the gift of salvation. Amen. Record in your Bible the date of your decision to believe the biblical message of salvation and personally receive our LORD JESUS CHRIST in prayer. In Romans 10:13 the apostle Paul proclaimed, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord (JESUS) shall be saved.”
1997, 2001, 2008 revised Nolan McFadden
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