How To: The Bible

Welcome back again.  I apologize for the lapse in updating.  I was away for a week on a missions trip, and by the time I got back, I was drained.  Anyway, I hope the previous post got through to you.  Because I’m psychic, however, I can hear a few of you through my computer screen:

“Okay, I get it, I need to read the Bible.  But it’s just so... big!”

Yeah, it’s intimidating.  66 books is a lot, but don’t think about it as a whole like that.  Most of you have read that many books by the time you graduate from high school (at least, if you’re being good and doing your schoolwork like I never did).  As with the proverbial elephant, we eat this thing one bite at a time, and here’s a nice list of precepts to keep handy.  These will help you to no end in your study and reading of the Scriptures.  I know they helped me.  Unlike past posts (and future ones, too), today’s lesson won’t feature a whole lot of scripture to back up what I’m saying.  Not that it can’t, but I’m trying to keep these things to a manageable word count here.

1) Prayer

Absolutely never start digging into the Word without opening in prayer.  It doesn’t have to be long, or even all that deep, but start by getting your head right.  Remember that there is always something new to see and learn, no matter how familiar the passage.  Ask God to reveal his Truth, and you’ll be surprised at how often it happens.

2) Did you pray already?  Okay then.

3) Ignore verses, read passages.

I know this seems obvious, but the writers of the Bible never put numbers into their letters, in the same way that Shakespeare never put those little line numbers in the margins of his plays and sonnets.  Those were added at a later date as reference guides and research tools, and they have NO direct impact on the text itself.

The Bible is a series of stories and letters, so read like it.  Read whole sections, or even whole books if time allows.  Imagine that you are receiving this writing as a whole, as the churches did in the past.  By setting too much weight on the numbers and chapters, we’re tempted into taking verses out of context, and letting them stand alone, which by the way...

4) NO verse ever stands alone.

I actually had a gentleman come to my door once to try to get me to come to his church.  The problem was, this gentleman was a heretic, and espousing a completely false doctrine.  He also had exactly one verse in the entirety of the Bible to prove his statements with.  This is almost ALWAYS a problem.  The Bible can never, ever contradict its own theology.  The point is furthered when the passage this young man was quoting to me was preceded not two verses beforehand by a verse declaring it to be “a great allegory”, which of course this sect was taking literally.  This kind of stuff is much harder to do when you’ve trained yourself to see context at all times.

5) The Bible can never mean what it never meant.

Context, context, context.  I can not say it enough.  If you don’t know what the Bible says in context, then you’re so much more likely to fall prey to the twisting of the Scriptures by unprincipled men.  This should also go without saying, but the Bible wasn’t written in English.  Because of the myriad word choice we have in English for similar subjects and ideas, we have different versions of the Bible.  Wherever you see an interesting word choice, or a phrase that catches your eye, I highly recommend you look up the original wording.  My personal favorite site is biblehub.com, where you can look up any passage or verse and get the greek or hebrew concordance for the words.  As a study tool, this site is a must-have.

More important than the specific words, though, might just be the historical context into which the passage was written.  So much of the Bible is written to an audience that has the same reference pool, which we don’t have today.  When the Bible speaks in Revelation of overcomers being given a “white stone”, we have absolutely no idea what to do with that image.  By researching the world of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean in that time, we realize that a white stone was given to victors in the Olympic games as an entry token to the post-race celebrations.  Things like this are why study is so important.

6) The Bible interprets itself when interpretation is necessitated.

While concordances and the writings of scholars are great study aids, they should never, ever be taken above the Word itself.  The Bible (through the Spirit of God) will always reveal its own meaning to those who desire to learn.  While that can sound hokey, the alternative is to leave the Bible open to interpretation by any outside source.  Men who know comparatively little would attempt to define the meanings of ultimate truth and judge omniscience itself by lesser terms!  How can that be?

Some passages in the Bible are unclear.  We run into this most often when dealing with prophecy, though newer Christians can be tripped up by many passages due to the audience being different, as discussed above.  Never try to set your personal doctrine by unclear passages.  Confusion is a prime weapon in the Adversary’s arsenal, and he would welcome a chance to trip you up and get you doing something contrary to the true meanings of Scripture.  If you don’t know, seek counsel from a more experienced brother or sister.  But beware taking outside sources too literally, because...

7) NOTHING establishes doctrine aside from the Word of God itself.

The Bible has very little to say about the minutiae of daily life.  It shouldn’t need to, frankly.  Universal truth and doctrine is found within the 66 books of Biblical canon, and nowhere else.  Your pastor can not tell you with absolute certainty that going to a bar is a sin.  Your youth leader can’t compel you to stop listening to a kind of music by arguing that “God doesn’t like it”.  If it isn’t written in black and white (or especially red!) text, then it isn’t doctrine.

For specific examples in daily life, God reveals his will to each of us personally.  He speaks to us through the Word, but also through his voice and his Spirit, giving us hints as to what we should be doing with our time, money, and energy.  If God tells you that you shouldn’t go to that concert because it’s being played in a nightclub, then don’t!  You absolutely shouldn’t.  But (and this is a biggy, guys), that doesn’t mean that’s true for everyone else.  This is called specific revelation, and what God says to you is for you only, unless he specifically tells you it’s a message for the world or for the church as he did with the prophets of old, like Elijah.  But ask yourself how many prophets like that are around today, and be very, very clear about your calling before you try to step into that roll, becuase God doesn’t take a very kind view to people abusing his Word.

Signs you or someone else is doing it wrong:

- A passage or verse has been modernized to fit a situation.

- A word used in a verse doesn’t match up to the meaning of the original word in the original language.

Man, these just seem so obvious it hurts.  Paul never had a smartphone.  He has no opinions on whether or not they are the devil in disguise.

- There is only one verse in the entire Bible that can be used to back up an argument or philosophy.

This is almost ALWAYS in direct opposition to numerous other passages in the Bible that contradict it, which are always conveniently ignored (looking at you, Jehovah’s Witnesses...)

Anyway, there’s the basics.  Keep this handy, write them in the cover of your Bible if you wish, and you should have a much firmer foundation for reading.  Just remember to read.

More Than A Book

Glad to see you again.  Last week, we opened up a series on the Bible, and what it should mean to a growing Christian.  This week, I’d like to continue that thought.

If, as we discussed last Monday, the Bible is a true book—so what?  My math textbook is true also.  Surely truth is not exclusive to the Bible, right?  Well, that’s not quite as simple as it might sound.  To start with, the Bible doesn’t go through revisions.  It hasn’t been updated or abridged.  No new passages or fundamental truths are added at any point in history.  And the crazy part is that it all agrees with itself.

Think about that for a moment.  Just ponder over the idea of dozens of writers all writing the same thing, never contradicting the basic tenants of the writings, despite most living decades apart, if not hundreds or thousands of years after the rest.  I dunno about you, but that part kinda blows my mind on its own.

The fact is that as a believer, you can not treat the Bible like any other book, because it’s not like any other book.  No other book claims to be the inspired breath of God himself.  Many books claim to know truths, some even claim to be divinely inspired.  But only the Christian Bible claims point blank to be written by the very Spirit of God.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim 3:16, ESV)

“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Pet 1:20-21, NASB)

The Bible is the Rock of all true believers.  It is the compass by which we find our moral North, the map by which we find our way through the darkest of life’s passes.  This is not a book that can sit idly on your shelf if you call yourself a believer (and wow, does it ever hurt to write that sentence.  Talk about conviction...).  You can not call yourself an apprentice and never show up to work.  You aren’t a student if you never show up to class.  And you aren’t much of a Christian if you never read what God has to say to you.  Sitting in a pew and drinking up some doctrine is all well and good (assuming you have a good teaching pastor), but you don’t make it long in a desert with only a sip of water.

Next week, I’ll give out a list of precepts for reading the Bible; things you can use to make the study of the Scriptures much easier on yourself, but for the time being, I’m going to leave you all with this word, from Charles Spurgeon (and I HIGHLY recommend you take the time to read the full text of this most excellent oratory) (underline added):

“This Bible is a book of authority; it is an authorized book, for God has written it. Oh! tremble, lest any of you despise it; mark its authority, for it is the Word of God. Then, since God wrote it, mark its truthfulness. If I had written it, there would be worms of critics who would at once swarm upon it, and would cover it with their evil spawn; Had I written it, there would be men who would pull it to pieces at once, and perhaps quite right too. But this is the Word of God; come, search, ye critics, and find a flaw; examine it, from its Genesis to its Revelation, and find an error. This is a vein of pure gold, unalloyed by quartz, or any earthly substance. This is a star without a speck; a sun without a blot; a light without darkness; a moon without its paleness; a glory without a dimness. O Bible! it cannot be said of any other book, that it is perfect and pure; but of thee we can declare all wisdom is gathered up in thee, without a particle of folly.”

And a warning from the same (underline added):

“But let me say one thing, before I pass on to the second point. If this be the Word of God, what will become of some of you who have not read it for the last month? "Month, sir! I have not read it for this year." Ay, there are some of you who have not read it at all. Most people treat the Bible very politely . They have a small pocket volume, neatly bound; they put a white pocket-handkerchief round it and carry it to their places of worship; when they get home, they lay it up in a drawer till next Sunday morning; then it comes out again for a little bit of a treat, and goes to chapel; that is all the poor Bible gets in the way of an airing. That is your style of entertaining this heavenly messenger. There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write "damnation" with your fingers. There are some of you who have not turned over your Bibles for a long, long while, and what think you? I tell you blunt words, but true words. What will God say at last? When you shall come before him, he shall say, "Did you read my Bible?" "No." "I wrote you a letter of mercy; did you read it?" "No." "Rebel! I have sent thee a letter inviting thee to me; didst thou ever read it?" "Lord, I never broke the seal; I kept it shut up." "Wretch!" says God, "then, thou deservest hell, if I sent thee a loving epistle, and thou wouldst not even break the seal; what shall I do unto thee?" Oh, let it not be so with you. Be Bible-readers; be Bible-searchers.”