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| 1. Why should I read the Bible? God greatly desires to talk with you. He can communicate to you through circumstances as you pray, but the foundational and most reliable way He speaks is through the written words of the Bible. It is easy to be mistaken about what you think God is saying through circumstances and inner promptings - your desires and assumptions distort your perceptions - but the Bible is an objective, trustworthy standard of God's will, character, and truth. The Bible is your best source if you want to know: Who God is; What God desires; What God offers; God personally. The Bible tells you how to enter God's presence and live a secure, fruitful life in intimacy with Him. 2. How can I know that the Bible is reliable? Jesus: Matthew 5:18, "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of the pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Prophecies reveal the Bible's supernatural origin. The Bible makes numerous predictions, sometimes hundreds of years in advance, that were literally and accurately fulfilled. Archaeology and historical documents confirm it. The Bible has transformed more lives than any other book in the world. The Bible has amazing unity and great diversity. The Bible was written by thirty-five authors in two main languages over a time of about 1600 years. It is one book, with one message. The canonical councils were meticulous. 3. What should I remember when I read the Bible Take it seriously - it is divine. Enjoy it - it is news. Study it - it is personal. 4. How should I go about reading the Bible? Read it daily. Read it systematically. Balance devotional reading and study. Don't treat the Bible as magic. 5. How do I study the Bible? Overview; Observe: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How Interpret - Is this an introduction? - Is this a digression from the main argument? - How is this section related to what the author was talking about in the previous section? - Why does this passage occur in the Bible at all? - What does it have to do with his overall point in the book? One of the keys to interpretation is context. Interpret verses in light of the whole paragraph; interpret paragraphs in light of the entire book and the whole Scripture. Take into account the type of literature the author has chosen, and interpret poetry under the rules of poetry, prophecy under the rules of prophecy, parables as parables, and letters as letters. The point of studying is to let God make you more like Christ. Gaining knowledge without acting on it will puff you up and make you like the Pharisees Jesus condemned. Matthew 23:27-28, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." First, tell God you are ready to obey Him and ask him how He wants this passage to affect your life. Then, ask these questions. Is there a sin here for me to confess or avoid? Do I need to make restitution? Is there a promise to claim and live by? Does this promise apply to me, or just to the original readers? Have I met the conditions for claiming this promise? Do I need to change an attitude? How can I go about this? Is there a command to obey? Am I willing to do this no matter what I feel? Is there an example to follow or avoid? Is there something to pray or praise God about? What truth can I learn about God the Father, Jesus Christ, or the Spirit? What difference would it make to me? Listen to what God wants to do in your life, rather than to what you would like to achieve or concentrate on. This will require thought and prayer. 6. How do I read devotionally? Pray, Read the passage aloud, Meditate on it, Write out your thoughts about the meaning and your plan for application. 7. What if I try to apply a statement in Scripture and fail? "Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit" (1 Peter 2:1). Change is a process. Let God control the process. Let God go to the root of your habits. Luke 6:43-45, " No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Forgiving others is crucial. When we refuse to forgive, we put up a wall that blocks God from forgiving and changing us. Matthew 5:14-15, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." Knowing the Father is crucial. At the root of many bad behaviors lies a desire to be nurtured. We all crave to be loved, valued, and respected, and none of us had perfect parents. We have sought nurturing from many wrong sources: sex, money, food, possessions, work, drugs, status, and alcohol. The only way to become free of these false sources of nurture is to: recognize them for what they are: rotten bread and polluted water; seek God as the Source of true bread (John 6:35-59) and living water (John 7:37-39). John 6:35-59, "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father fives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day." "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: "They will all be taught by God." Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." "Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" "Jesus said to the, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up a the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum." 8. What does it mean to "claim" Biblical promises, and is this valid? To "claim" a promise to say (1) this promise applies to me; and (2) my actions are going to show that I trust God to keep this promise. To discern whether a promise applies to you, ask yourself: To whom does God make this promise in the original context of the passage? To all people? All believers? Jesus' disciples? Israel? An individual? Is there anything in the immediate context, the rest of the book, or elsewhere in the Bible that suggests that this promise applies to you? Are there any conditions attached to the promise? If so, have you met all of them? 9. How can I tell if someone is misusing the Bible? Is some person's group's, or book's interpretation of the Bible the real standard? In a cult, the leader(s) or some book other than the Bible is viewed as the real authority, and Scripture is interpreted in light of that other source. If you aren't permitted to challenge that other source, then the Bible is being misused even if the source's views on a particular subject happen to be biblical. Does the interpretation contradict what the whole Church has held to be true for two thousand years? Is the interpretation consistent with the whole of Scripture? |
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