Some
Lessons Learned During Bible Study
· Remember
why the Bible was written and search within it for answers. From
our various teachers we have learned that the Holy Bible was written by a
number of authors who wrote under the influence of the Holy Spirit to bring to
mankind God’s message for the salvation of our souls through our Lord Christ
Jesus. (2 Timothy 3: 16-17; 2 Peter 1: 20-21; 3: 15-16)
· The answer
to each question invariably raises other questions, but the Scripture will
contain those answers as well. We just need to know where to look. There
is an important scripture verse that gives a clue as to why we should study. God
keeps things secret, in life and even within the Scripture, until He is ready
to reveal them. Then He expects man to believe them and act accordingly.
(Deuteronomy 29: 29)
· Rather
than reading the Bible from Genesis 1: 1 straight through to Revelation 22: 21,
don’t hesitate to “look ahead” by reviewing the scriptures “out of order”. For
example, the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis raise questions about
mankind and our eternal future that are not fully answered until the final
chapters of the Book of Revelation. Read them together. Also, the Book of
Daniel contains great messages of prophecy that link to the future as described
in the Book of Revelation. Note especially Chapters 2, 7, 9, 11 and 12.
· Take
special notice of the advice given by Myles Coverdale, who produced the first
complete English translation of the Bible in 1535. He
said “It shall greatly help ye understand the Scriptures if thou mark not only
what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what
time, where, to what extent, with what circumstances, considering what goeth
before and what followeth after.”
· Remember
that the Scriptures were written by numerous authors over a period of thousands
of years. The Bible itself
advises us that: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for
our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have
hope.” (Romans 15: 4-7)
· Bible
study is not a race towards completion. Take your time and consider
not only the words of Myles Coverdale, but also that many words and concepts can
have both a literal meaning / interpretation but also a potentially deeper
spiritual one.
· Do
not be afraid to use the “King James Version (KJV)” as the basic translation
for study. It was the initial translation, and most lends itself to
compatibility with other Bible study tools. Studying as though the King James
Version were written in a foreign language, I supplement the text with my key
reference: The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible –
Red Letter Edition , James Strong, LLD, STD, (1822 – 1894), published
by Thomas Nelson Publishers, reprinted and expanded in 2010. This reference contains a Hebrew and Aramaic
Dictionary, and a Greek Dictionary of the New Testament. Every word of the Bible
is indexed, and there are several useful Tables at the end. (Available through
“Amazon” and other sources)
· Also
do not be afraid to make use of other reference materials to aid in study. For example, more recent translations of the Bible
might provide different perspectives on the original text, but remember, they
are secondary to the original translation. Another more non-traditional reference
that can be helpful is the Internet. I
use the Google search engine to search for certain phrases or concepts whose
location in the Bible does not come readily to mind. I do not count on the
results I find there to be definitive, but they are generally broad enough to
be helpful guides, and frequently they expand my knowledge base. Again, they
are secondary, or even tertiary reference leads.
· Take
advantage of lessons and concepts stressed by Bible teachers who are more
learned in the Scriptures. Not every teacher is well-grounded in
what the Lord would have us know and believe, but the Scripture itself reminds
us that “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10: 17)
As Christians who have believed the Gospel, we have received the in-dwelling
Holy Spirit who will help us differentiate that which is true from that which
is not. (Romans 8: 26-28; 1 Corinthians Chapter Two) For example, some key points stressed by a
few of my teachers include:
1. Les
Feldick’s Two Bible Timelines - Revisiting the quote from
Myles Coverdale above, it definitely helped my understanding of the Scriptures after
Les Feldick (Les Feldick Ministries) stressed the importance of “rightly
dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2: 15) His reference led to the important
differentiation between how the Nation of Israel viewed the events and
prophecies of the Scripture, as compared to how we as believers in Jesus Christ
today view them. Those separate views relate to how each group sees Israel’s
Messiah / the Son of God, and God’s Plan for mankind. (See: https://www.lesfeldick.org/lestimel.html)
2. More
than One Gospel: One of God’s Mysteries Revealed – Both
Les Feldick and Joseph Prince (Joseph Prince Ministries: https://www.josephprince.org/) have
stressed that as Christian believers today we have received the eternal
salvation of our souls through the Grace of God. God’s Grace (unmerited
/ undeserved favor) is based on our faith in what our Lord Jesus accomplished
on our behalf when He suffered, was crucified, died and buried, and was resurrected
on the third day. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4, Romans 10: 9-13) It isn’t what we
do…but what He accomplished as our substitute, by shedding His holy blood
to atone for our sins. (Hebrews 9: 11-22)
Prior to those events, only Israel understood the Gospel of the
Kingdom, (Matthew 4: 17-23), which was based on their acceptance
of the Son of God (belief in the name of Jesus) as their Messiah who would fulfill
the Covenants made to Abraham and their other patriarchs. (Genesis 12: 1-3)
3. As
Christians, we are now “Ambassadors for Christ – (
1 Corinthians 5: 14-21) . (https://www.gotquestions.org/ambassador-for-Christ.html ) Another
of my teachers, Rev A. R. Bernard, (Christian Cultural Center: https://www.cccinfo.org/about-page ) introduced
me to the concept of “hermeneutics”, which is the study of the general
principles of biblical interpretation. (https://www.logos.com/grow/biblical-hermeneutics-guide/#:~:text=Biblical%20hermeneutics%20is%20the%20method%20of%20interpreting%20Scripture,reader%20interprets%20the%20Bible%20through%20their%20own%20hermeneutic.) As
representatives of our Lord Jesus in this fallen world, it is vital that we remember
that we engage non-believers on a daily basis. Some will have no knowledge of
the Bible. Others (even some who profess to being “Christian”), will have various
degrees of knowledge of the scriptures, but also various degrees of interest in
learning more. Hermeneutics teaches us to both consider and acknowledge that
these differences exist. Also many / most of those perceptions related to the
Bible have a basis of origin in their prior life experiences, whether they be
educational, cultural, religious or otherwise.
· The
importance of explaining to others that we are not “sinners” because we choose
to sin, but that we are sinners because we were born that way. Many
“good” people will lose their eternal salvation, as well as many blessings in
this earthly life, because they have not accepted the concept that they are “sinners”
in the eyes of God. (Romans 3: 23) It is
because they feel that they have lived “good lives”, and therefore have
“earned” eternal life…or they are indifferent. They do not identify themselves
with the people who have done “bad things”. (Romans 1: 18-32) The reality is
that when Adam sinned against God, he brought sin and death into the world. All
mankind inherited that sin-nature when we were born. (Romans 5: 12-19) That is
why our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that “Except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God.” (John 3: 1-7) Our
sinful soul / spirit cannot co-exist with God. (Romans 8: 1-8) As “Ambassadors
for Christ”, Christians have an obligation to help close that knowledge gap. More
will be discussed on this subject in a future post to this blog.
Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson
No comments:
Post a Comment