Understanding The Terms

RULES …we don’t particularly like that word do we? The rebel inside of all of us wants to find another way, even if the way that it’s supposed to be is best. Rules are not to constrain us, but to direct us. In school, you had rules. Your parents had rules for your home. There are rules in every business and corporation. Bible study is no different. There are rules to apply to how we interpret Scripture. False doctrine is everywhere. The transgender movement distorts Scripture so terribly that they use the ministry and teachings of Jesus to promote LGBTQ indoctrination. “How do they use the Bible to do this”, you may ask. They ignore the rules and they create their own. Every false teacher has a master’s degree in twisting Scripture. They say, “Jesus turned the water to wine so we can drink too”. They say, “James tells us that works are needed for salvation”. They say, “Peter preached that you have to be baptized to be saved”. I oppose all of these beliefs. But how do we respond? We respond by applying the number one rule for Bible study. What is the #1 rule of Bible study? Context . What is the context? The context is the setting of the passage. It answers questions like, “Who is speaking?” “Who is being spoken to?” “What was this message all about?” “What was going on at this time that was so important?” Finding the context is unlocking the door to understanding Scriptural truth. It has been said, “A text without a context is only a pretext”. Exhibit A : Did you know that the Bible says, “There is no God”? It’s true. The Bible says this. However, if I don’t just read that phrase in isolation, but take the time to read the whole verse, I can see the context. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God…” One of the easiest ways to find the context is to read the surrounding verses . Don’t just build a doctrine from one verse. Read the whole chapter. Better yet, read the whole book, or at least know the purpose of the book. Exhibit B: Those that support the belief that Christians can drink alcohol in moderation might say, “Jesus turned the water to wine”, or they may quote the verse that says, “be not drunk with wine wherein is excess”. So, we just can’t get drunk, right? Another way to find the context is to understand the theme of the passage . Ephesians 5 is not a chapter about alcohol. This part of the book is about the Holy Spirit. Alcohol is the analogy. Just as alcohol can overtake a body completely, so should we allow the Holy Spirit to overtake our lives. Using this verse to support drinking in moderation is sloppy and lazy at best. Exhibit C: Every false religion in the world teaches the same thing. Don’t believe me? What other religion in the world teaches that you don’t have to do anything to have eternal life except receive the Saviour by faith? They all teach a works-based salvation. Some will use James’ epistle to defend this. James 2 talks about our faith being dead if it has no works. Sounds like works are required for salvation, right? I don’t think so… A very important collection of questions you have to ask yourself is, “Who is speaking, and to whom are they speaking”? When you learn who the writer is and who the audience is , you gain clarity to the context. James 1 begins by addressing Jewish believers. The audience isn’t the lost, but the saved. James isn’t telling lost people how to be saved. He is probing believers to live out their faith with action. Closing thought… People are drinking the Kool-Aid poured out by these false prophets too often. The problem isn’t that we can’t know the truth. The problem is that we aren’t rightly dividing the Word of God by the rules of study that should be applied. Don’t fall prey to these wolves. What is the #1 to Bible study? Find the context first and then decide what the Word of God is truly teaching you.

1. No Faith Do you begin your Bible time with a defeated spirit? Imagine if you went into your job that way. “Well, I know I’m not going to accomplish much today, but I guess I’m here”. Guess what? You’re not going to accomplish much, and you’re not going to get anything from God with that spirit. God can and God will help you understand His Word if you approach it by faith. 2. Unconfessed Sin Sin is a separator. If you have problems with your spouse or your parents, you find that those problems make it difficult to communicate with each other. It may even make it hard to be in the same room together. It’s been said, “Keep the account short”. You shouldn’t have to go through a laundry list with God because it’s been days, weeks, months, or years since you’ve confessed your sins and asked for forgiveness. Confess your sins daily. 3. Stubbornness We live in a debate culture. Social media has heightened that for the sake of clicks and views. How many debates have you seen where someone changed their mind? They may have even been humiliated because their point was lacking evidence or the skill set to back it up. Still, they remain convinced that they are right. You have to go to God with an open mind and heart. 4. Only reading passages you enjoy and understand. What books intimidate you? What books are less exciting for you? Genesis is a great beginning book of the Bible because it covers so much history in one book. By the time you begin Leviticus, you may be discouraged because it doesn’t have the stories and drama that Genesis has. I encourage new converts to read the Gospels, the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. However, God gave us the whole Bible. Your lack of understanding a book should whet your appetite to know that book more. I have never studied a book to know it more and regretted it. Books that I use to think less exciting I see different now because I determined to know them more. Make it your mission to know the Bible completely. Take it one book at a time with books you don’t understand. 5. Reading books about the Bible in place of the Bible. This one is personal to me because I’ve written three devotional books. Devotionals, commentaries, and other Bible aids are not meant to replace your Bible. Those are all men telling you what the Bible says. When you read the Bible, you are listening to God tell you what His Word says. I made a decision a long time ago as a preacher when studying for sermons to first read through a passage and allow the Lord to work on my heart and make my notes before I open a book. Books about the Bible can be a help, but you can live without those. You can’t live without the Bible. 6. Failing to see the big picture. The sixty-six books of the Bible have different stories, themes, and were written in different timeframes. Amazingly, they are all connected by a common cord that unites their stories. The big picture is Jesus! The Old Testament is leading up to Jesus’ coming, and the New Testament is looking back and forward at Jesus’ 1 st & 2 nd coming. It’s all about Jesus. The Old Testament sacrifices were about Jesus and the New Testament church is about Jesus. Jesus is the common theme of all books of the Bible. Keep this in mind and look for pictures and truths that mirror the Saviour as you read.

FUN FACT: Did you know that the KJV is the only major English Bible that uses the word study in II Timothy 2:15? II Timothy 2:15 – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” R.A. Torrey, a contemporary and friend to D.L. Moody, said, “There is nothing more important for the development of a Christian’s spiritual life than regular, systematic Bible study. It is as true in the spiritual life as in the physical life, that health depends on what we eat and how much we eat. “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Matt. 4:4). The soul’s proper food is found in one book, the Bible.” Jesus, in his defense to Satan’s temptation, quotes the Old Testament and emphasizes that spiritual food is so important that it is MORE important than our physical food. So… WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? 1. Transformation John 6:63 – “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” The Bible changes lives! Plain and simple. You can only live off someone’s else’s nourishment for so long. Study the lives of great men and women of God. The common thread is simple. They had a personal time where they fed from the Word of God daily, and the fruit of their lives are a result of it. 2. Information We live in the information age. If you want to know something, ask Siri, or AI, and you can learn anything about anything. How is it that we have the Bible so readily available, yet we struggle so much to read and study it? Challenge: Can you list 5 verses on the following topics? - Salvation - Baptism - Eternal Security - The Church - Marriage You don’t have to be in full time ministry or be a pastor to be a Bible student. Now, you may not have the time to study the Bible like a preacher, but if you have time to study sports, movies/TV shows, politics, and scroll social media funnies (I like a good laugh like anyone), then you have time to know your Bible more. We live in an age of Bible ignorance. Illiteracy is the inability to read and write. The difference is that Christians live in willful ignorance. False teachers are having a hay day because we don’t know the Scriptures. 3. Application I John 3:2 – “Behold, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Jack Hyles said, “Let your principles make your decisions for you.” As you read and study the Bible, you should ask yourself, “What the big idea?” God wants you to take what He’s given you and put it into practice. How can the Bible help you in your day-to-day life? - to be like Christ - to overcome temptation - to give godly wisdom for everyday life - to teach others - to stand for truth - to know what church to attend - to better lead your family Conclusion… Your time in God’s Word is bigger than you think. The best part…you benefit the most from your commitment to your Bible!

 As a child, I was taught that my attitude was just as important as my actions. Obeying with the wrong spirit is hardly pleasing to the Lord. It’s been said that “attitude determines altitude”. Getting into the study methods, tools, and tips for Bible study is pointless without developing the right spirit before you even open your Bible. Allow me to submit to you a simple prayer to pray before you open God’s perfect Word. I read a list like this from a preacher when I was either a teenager or in college, and it has stuck with me. To the best of my ability, I have tried to pray a similar prayer to these points before I read the Word of God. When my attitude is hungry, tender, and right, it has paid tremendous dividends in my personal time with the Lord. I don’t recall the author that gave me these truths, but the truths made an imprint on me, and I pray that it will help you to “set the table” for your time with the Lord each day. 1. “Lord, I want to get something out of my Bible today.” Jeremiah 15:16 – “Thy words were found, and I did eat them…” Standing in front of the pantry with food on every shelf, I’ve often thought, “We have nothing to eat”. That wasn’t the truth. The truth was that I didn’t want what we had. I was hungry, but I was hungry for what I wanted, not for what was available to me. Are you hungry for God to speak to you? If you are truly hungry, you’ll consume what God has given to you. Let me tell you that His pantry is full and you will be glad to take what He has for you. 2. “Lord, I believe that you can show me something today.” Isaiah 55:11 – “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Sadly, many will open their Bible with a defeated mentality. They may not say it with their lips, but with their heart they say, “I don’t know if I’ll ever understand this”. That is the way of unbelief. Jesus passed through towns in His ministry and did nothing, not because He wasn’t able, but because they didn’t believe that He was able. God can help you if you have faith in Him and His Word. 3. “Lord, I will immediately receive what you show me today.” Acts 17:11 – “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind…” Our society programs us to be critical. You know that every promotion and advertisement usually has a catch and you are prepared to find the fine print before you go forward. “Do your homework”, you are told or you may make a terrible decision. God’s Word is perfect. God’s Word has no flaws. God’s Word has heavenly wisdom above anything this world can provide. God’s Word shows you the mind, the heart, and the way of the Lord. Knowing this, and more, you can and should receive what God shows you without hesitation. 4. “Lord, I will determine to put in to practice what you show me today.” James 1:22 – “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Hypocrisy is the definition of a Christian who shouts “AMEN!” in the church house but lives for the world in their own house. Put into practice what God gives you. After all, this is the purpose of your Bible time. You and I are wasting our time if we are reading for knowledge but fail to put in to practice what God tells us. There is nothing groundbreaking here, but I would challenge you to see the drastic effects that a prayer like this would have in your personal time with the Lord if we approach His Word this way.

 1. Set a time. Schedule it. I realize that words like plan and schedule might give an aneurism to some. Setting a plan is really saying, “This is a big priority in my life and I want to make sure that I get it done. I don’t want it to fall through the cracks, so I better set aside time to do this.” Choose a time of day that is best for you . Morning is a great way to start the day. Some say, “Bible before breakfast”. Maybe you are at your best at night. Let me encourage you to focus more on the quality of your time in the Word than the time of day. You’re not a better Christian because you read your Bible at 5 a.m., and you are not a lesser Christian because you read your Bible at 8 p.m. once the kids are asleep. 2. Choose your weapon. Remove distractions . Turn on that “do not disturb” setting on your phone. You’ll be amazed at how many things will come to mind during this time to distract you. Make a conscious effort. Choose your weapon . What “Sword” will you use? Your family Bible or an iPad? I’ll admit that I have changed in recent years. Because of the “do not disturb” setting, I read more digitally now than with my physical Bible. 3. Set a goal. Don’t “wing it”. If you don’t have a goal of what book you want to read or how much you want to read, then you are setting yourself up for failure. A friend of mine use to tell me that he just opened the Bible every day and whatever page it landed on determined what he would read. Can this be good? Sure. Is it best? No. Choose a starting and stopping point. If your goal is to read and study a book, set a time frame that you’ll dedicate to that study so you can move on to another book at some point. If your goal is to read the N.T. or the whole Bible in a year, then there are plans for this. For newer Christians, I’d advise reading the Gospels and the New Testament. Another good practice is to read a chapter in Proverbs every day, but I think you’d benefit from reading this in addition to the former readings. For most Christians, I’d advise reading the Bible through every year. The old way works. I love the practicality of the N.T., but there is still much to glean from the O.T. Personally, I love reading through the Bible by reading a couple chapters in the O.T. and reading a chapter in the N.T. each day, along with Proverbs and Psalms for wisdom and encouragement daily. Reevaluate often . This is YOUR walk. You can change it up and alter your plans whenever you’d like. Do you want to read more prophecy? Do you want to study the life of Elijah? Do you want to read through the Bible in 90 days? Make it your own. 4. Be accountable. Choose someone close to you. Your pastor or some speaker that you know is probably not the best person. Be accountable to your spouse, a sibling, a close friend, a Sunday School teacher, or someone that you are close to. Choose someone that sharpens you. It would not be wise to be accountable to someone you just led to the Lord. Maybe you offer yourself as an accountability partner to them, but you need someone that you know that sharpens your walk with the Lord. 5. Carry the Bible with you. What the “big idea”? Every time you spend time with the Lord, He is trying to make you to be more like Him. Do you remember what you read today? Have you thought about it? Did God bring someone in your life throughout the day that is connected to some truth that you read? There is a purpose in your walk and it is to be carried with you in your life. Carry it in your heart. Do you really expect me to bring my Bible to every appointment throughout the day? Proverbs tells us to take the truths of God with us in our hearts. Ask yourself, “What did I read today? What stood out to me? What encouraged me? What is something I need to study more? What can I think about throughout the day?”

Renewing Your Love