HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

I. WHAT IS THE BIBLE?

1. The Bible is God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). It was written over a period of about 1600 years by over 40 different human authors, who were under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).

2. The word "Bible" (biblos) means "book." Even though the Bible is one book, it has two major parts--The Old Testament, which is comprised of 39 individual books, and the New Testament, which is comprised of 27 individual books. The word "Testament" (Heb. Berith; Gk. Diatheke) means "covenant, or arrangement between two parties."

3. God gave the Old Covenant or Testament to Moses for the people of Israel (Exodus 24). Later, the prophet Jeremiah announced that God would make a new covenant with all His people (Jeremiah 31:31-34), which Jesus did at the Last Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-25; Matthew 26:28).

4. Today, all people are required by God to live under the New Covenant or New Testament.

• "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law" (Galatians 3:24, 25). (See also Hebrews 7:19; 8:6; 9:23).

5. Although we live under the New Covenant, we should still study the Old Testament because it is the inspired Word of God. It teaches us about the nature of God, and it provides us with examples of how we are to live and not to live (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11).

II. WHY STUDY THE BIBLE?

A. WE SHOULD STUDY THE BIBLE BECAUSE IT IS OUR DUTY.

1. I could plead with you to study the Bible for personal edification; I could appeal with you to study the Bible for personal happiness; I could beseech you to study the Bible because it would be the most fulfilling and rewarding educational experience of your life. But ultimately the main reason why we should study the Bible is because it is our duty.

• "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
• "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
• "For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel" (Ezra 7:10).

2. For a Christian, Bible study is not an option. It is our duty.

III. WHY DO SOME PEOPLE DISREGARD BIBLE STUDY?

A. SOME PEOPLE DO NOT READ THEIR BIBLES BECAUSE THEY THINK IT IS TOO HARD TO UNDERSTAND.

1. It is true that in some places the Bible is not easy to understand (2 Peter 3:16). But for the most part, the Bible is simple to read and understand. If we can read the newspaper, we can read the Bible. In fact, I would venture to guess that more difficult words and concepts are expressed on the front page of a newspaper than on most pages of the Bible.

B. SOME PEOPLE DO NOT READ THEIR BIBLES BECAUSE THEY THINK IT IS BORING AND IRRELEVANT TO THEIR LIVES.

1. The Bible is the most relevant and exciting book that has ever been produced.

a. Martin Luther once said, The Bible is alive, it speaks to me. It has feet, it runs after me. It has hands, it lays hold of me.

IV. IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN READING THE BIBLE AND STUDYING THE BIBLE?

A. THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN READING AND STUDYING.

1. Reading is something we can do in a leisurely way, something that can be done strictly for entertainment in a casual manner. But study suggests labor, serious and diligent work.

2. Most people read their Bibles but do not study their Bibles. Reading the Bible is valuable (Nehemiah 8:2, 3) and there is a time and place for it. But Studying the Bible is also valuable and is necessary in striving to understand God's truths (Ezra 7:10). This class is going to be geared towards learning how to study not read the Bible.

V. BASIC TOOLS RECOMMENDED FOR BIBLE STUDY.

• Listed below are some basic study tools that I recommend for Bible study. This is not an exhausted list. There may be many other good books on the market that are not listed. The * sign at the end of some of the references means that they are expensive.

A. A GOOD BIBLE TRANSLATION.

1. When studying the Bible, we should use not just one translation but many well-chosen translations. We should do this in order to get the best possible meaning from the text.

2. We should buy a Bible that is as close as possible to the original Hebrew and Greek wording as it left the inspired writers hand and a Bible that we can understand. Below, are some of the best translations on the market. This is not an exhausted list.

• The New American Standard Version.
• The New King James and King James Versions.
• The Revised and New Revised Standard Versions.
• The New International Version.

B. A GOOD BIBLE DICTIONARY.

1. A Bible dictionary provides valuable information about all aspects of the Bible. It provides historical, chronological, archaeological, geographical, social, theological, and biographical information.

• The New International Dictionary of the Bible (Zondervan).
• New Bible Dictionary (Eerdmans).
• The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Eerdmans).*
• Zondervan's Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Zondervan).

C. A GOOD WORD STUDY BOOK.

1. A word study book provides definitions for the Hebrew and Greek words.

• A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature by Arndt & Gingrich (Chicago).* You must know the Greek alphabet in order to use this volume.
• Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nelson).
• Expository Dictionary of Bible Words by Lawrence Richards (Regency).
• The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament by Spiros Zodhiates (AMG).
• Dictionary of New Testament Theology by Collin Brown (Regency).*

D. A GOOD COMMENTARY.

1. The best way to buy commentaries is to buy them one at a time when you begin to study a specific Bible book. Each commentary is normally written by one author and expresses his or her interpretation of the Bible book. Commentaries that are based on the Greek and Hebrew texts are the best.

• The Expositor's Bible Commentary Set (NIV, Regency).
• The Word Commentary Set (Zondervan).*
• The Living Word Commentary Set (ACU Press).
• The New International Commentary Set (Eerdmans).
• The New Century Commentary Set (Nelson).
• I have mentioned four tools for Bible study: a good Bible translation, Bible dictionary, word study book, and commentary. Of course, there are other kinds of tools, but for studying the Bible these are the essential ones.

VI. MATTERS TO CONSIDER WHEN STUDYING THE BIBLE.

A. BEFORE WE STUDY THE BIBLE, WE SHOULD PRAY.

1. As we come to hear what God has to say, we need to talk to Him.

• David prayed, "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from your law" (Psalm 119:18).

a. This ought to be our prayer as we come to study the Bible.

2. In our prayer we should invite the Holy Spirit to join us in our study.

a. After all, the Holy Spirit according to (John 16:13) is here to guide us into all truth.

3. In our prayer we should ask for forgiveness of sins. If God used holy men of God to write His book, He wants holy men of God to interpret His book. If one is not in a proper relationship with God, it is not realistic to think he will be able to interpret the Bible correctly.

B. BEFORE WE STUDY THE BIBLE, WE SHOULD CLEAR OUR MINDS OF UNNECESSARY THOUGHTS SO THAT WE WILL BE TOTALLY FOCUSED ON THE BIBLE.

• "I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways" (Psalm 119:15).

1. There is no way we can meditate on God's Word unless we clear our minds of worldly concerns.

C. WHEN STUDYING THE BIBLE, WE SHOULD HAVE AN OPEN MIND.

ILLUSTRATION:

In Image Magazine, Tim Curtis writes, on the last day of 1944, Hiroo Onoda, a young lieutenant in the Japanese army, arrived on the island of Lubang, about 75 miles southwest of Manila. His assignment was to conduct guerilla warfare against the American forces who were expected to attempt a landing on Lubang and the rest of the Philippines within the coming weeks. When the Americans did mount a successful offensive on Lubang about a month later, something which to them was little more than a "mopping up" operation, Lieutenant Onoda led a small group of soldiers into the jungle and began the mission for which he had been trained: to conduct a covert operation of disruption against American forces for as long as possible.

Onoda was a man of exceptional valor and loyalty. Like many Japanese soldiers in World War II, he was prepared to take his own life rather than surrender, but in his case, specific orders were given not to take his life. He was to stay alive as long as he could in order to do maximum damage to the enemy. As he made his way to Lubang, he recalled the promise of his division commander: "Whatever happens, we'll come back for you." Onoda vowed to himself, "I will fight till that day comes." It did indeed finally come…30 years later.

On March 10, 1974, on the orders of his former commander, Hiroo Onoda formally surrendered to the Philippine authorities. For 30 years he had manned his post, unaware that the war had ended just six months after he had gone into the jungle. Two others had been with him for portions of that time. One died after 10 years, and the other was killed in a gun battle with Philippine police about a year before Onoda surrendered. At the time he was found, Onoda was making plans to survive another 20 years in the jungle.

One of the most remarkable things about Onoda's story was that several attempts had been made to find him and bring him home to Japan. Once Japanese officials learned that Onoda was continuing to fight a war that had long since ended, search parties spent months at a time trying to locate him. Leaflets and newspapers were dropped from helicopters. Loud speakers blared messages from several family members, including his father. Onoda, convinced that Japan would never surrender, misinterpreted these attempts to find him. He even twisted things around to believe that the Japanese army was using these efforts to secretly encourage him to stay in the jungle, the very opposite of what they were trying to do. In his autobiography, No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War, Onoda wrote that he and his two comrades "developed so many fixed ideas that we were unable to understand anything that did not conform with them. If there was anything that did not fit in with them we interpreted it to mean what we wanted it to mean."

1. Too often, people study the Scriptures looking for ideas that support their own interpretation of the Bible. In doing this, they misinterpret God's intended meaning.

a. Baptism for the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29).

b. Kitchens in church buildings (1 Corinthians 11:22, 34).

2. We must go into Bible study with an open mind and allow God's Word to dictate its own meaning. We must never bring our own theological heritage to the texts as we read them.

VII. HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE.

• The best way to study the Bible is to study it one book at a time. If God wrote us a letter, wouldn't He expect us to read that letter from the beginning to the end? It wouldn't make sense if we only read bits and pieces.

A. THE FIRST STEP IN BIBLE STUDY IS TO SURVEY A BIBLE BOOK.

1. Read a book two or three times without using any study aids.

a. Focus on the book as a whole.

b. Seek to understand its meaning as a whole.

2. When reading the book, look for several things:

a. Theme or the purpose of the book.

b. Who wrote the book and why?

c. To whom it was written?

d. Book's outline.

B. THE SECOND STEP IN BIBLE STUDY IS TO STUDY THE BOOK ONE PASSAGE AT A TIME.

1. Determine the passage boundaries.

a. What is a passage?

(1) A passage is a group of verses that usually has one major idea.

(2) It varies in length.

(3) It could consist of two sentences or it could consist of a whole chapter.

b. Example:

(1) (1 Corinthians 1:1-9) is one passage. It is the greeting section.

(2) (1 Corinthians 1:10-17) is one passage. It is describes the division that was taking place in the church in Corinth.

C. THE THIRD STEP IN BIBLE STUDY IS TO READ THE PASSAGE CAREFULLY.

1. Read the passage several times to try to figure out what it says.

D. THE FOURTH STEP IN BIBLE STUDY IS TO DETERMINE THE LITERARY STYLE OF THE PASSAGE.

1. After reading the passage several times, try to determine what style of literature it is.

2. God chose to use almost every available kind of literature to communicate His Word to us. Below are some examples of the different types of literature God uses.

DISCOURSIVE LITERATURE

1. Discoursive literature involves a presentation of ideas in an argumentative or logical form. It presents the truths in terms of a "chain of logic" or "ideas." Many times, commands are found in this type of literature.

2. The gospels and epistles use a great deal of discoursive literature.

3. How do we interpret discoursive literature? We must carefully observe the logical development expressed within the book or passage. We must be able to "trace the argument" in the book. Each major argument of the writer should be treated as a paragraph within the passage.

a. (Read Matthew 5:43-48) What is the primary teaching of this passage?

• We are to love our enemies.

b. (Read Ephesians 4:26, 27) What is this passage teaching?

• We must not sin when we get angry. We need to resolve our anger before we go to bed at night.

c. (Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-12) What is the primary teaching of this passage?

• A man in the church was having a sexual relationship with his father's wife, which was a sin, and the church was ignoring the situation. Paul told the church not to tolerate fl