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Hey God bless you all! I wanted to make a post about some tips and ways that would really help benefit your bible study time! These are ways that I have learned to study the bible. I have always been fascinated with the Word of God and I am pursuing a career in theology. So if you have any ways you study the bible a part from what I mention it would not only benefit the community but myself as well. God bless and I hope this edifies every reader!
Matthew 11:15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
This is quite obvious but this verse does not literally mean if you have ears to listen. So the message is quite simple when we study the bible we ourselves must have a willingness to open our hearts to what scripture says. "We pray to God for revelations but we do not receive one simply because we treat God's Word as an option". When I heard this it shook me and brought full circle as to why we may have ears but can not seem to understand the will of God. His Word requires obedience and is not to be treated as an option. With that said I hope you take it into heart to obey and know God's truth not based on man made customs (denominations) but what the Word says. (I identify as Pentecostal Christian in case anyone misinterprets).
After you have opened up your heart to what the Word and Spirit has to say to you now you get down into the actual pages.
First: learn the author of the book you choose to read. Get to know what the bible says about him and his story.
Learn about their profession, calling, struggles and victories. (Side note: learning dates is beneficial as well)
Why? Because each author has a powerful testimony that we can relate to on a personal level. You will also learn that God chose ordinary people to do great things. Further more you will fall into awe of the knowledge God reveals to these people about sciences that were not facts or even acknowledged up until modern days. Affirming a divinely inspired Word from God (2 Tim.3:16)
Secondly: when reading get to know the chapter as a whole and not just the sentence.
Why? Too often we read a verse and take it out of context.
Learn whom the author is speaking directly to (even though the Bible is for all generations knowing the initial reason for the writing will better your understanding the meaning of it and apply it in today's world).
For example: The book of Revelations is often misunderstood as a book of events to understand the end times which is false. Matthew 24:36 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." So anyone who claims to know how the world will end and what specific events will happen or the day and hour is a false prophet. (Matthew 24:24) Using what I have spoken about so far you would learn that John's writing in Revelations is to the churches in Asia. They were suffering persecution from Rome and so many of the symbols John uses represents Rome their persecutors and it is for that reason he uses symbols they would only understand to prevent Roman officials from intercepting a letter. Any word against Rome would have caused harsher persecution. So you learn that John is not giving a time line of events but he is actually encouraging the church of that time and every other generation to persevere in their faith and to remember "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelations 21:4. Revelations is a great study of encouragement which you can learn more about and its symbols.
SO as you can see learning about who the letter is being written to can be a huge eye opener. You will learn about "Why" and the struggle its application is associated with.
Thirdly: it is important to understand universal language in the bible versus cultural language.
Wait what does that mean?
Here is some scripture to help understand.
"Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard." Leviticus 19:27
First notice I changed the version of the bible I use. Wording is very important in translation but I will come back to this and why later.
Once again using what we have learned so far you would learn that this was a cultural law so that the people of God would not imitate a specific hair cut style (not shaving of the beard) that surrounding people used in their pagan worship.
Woah! Hold on so if this verse is just a cultural law and you claim there are others does that mean we not follow those laws? and why are they even in the bible if we don't need to follow it?
The most important aspect of the cultural laws in the bible that we must grasp are its principals. There are many forms of idolatry in our current culture that we blindly follow. Especially in a self image generation. Though specific to the Israelite's we need to grasp the meaning here and understand God wants his children to be set a part and not participate in idolatry whatever form it may be in. (Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Peter 2:9, Deuteronomy 14:2, Romans 12:2) I don't want to bombard you with too many verses here but these are some that show us God wants us to be set a part. This doesn't mean shun people because then the gospel becomes invalid it simply means to be a light and show people who God is through your love and actions.
I know it is difficult to discern what is acceptable and not acceptable in modern times as the bible does not specifically mention every little thing. This is where the willingness to accept correction from God comes in. Your prayer will be in vain if you present a certain area of your life to God to ask for direction to then only treat it as an option or to think "well God isn't saying anything so it must be okay". Do not confuse God's silence with His approval. Be diligent in prayer and be humble in your requests.
Before I move on here is some advice for decision making.
1 Peter 2:16 "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves."
1 Corinthians 8:13 "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall."
Moving on to universal language. Well do I really need to? It is quite obvious isn't it?
The bible says "do not murder" so whatever generation reads this murder is wrong, only God can give and take life.
Pray to God if you struggle with discerning between the two for guidance by the Holy Spirit.
Fourthly: here comes the different Bible versions!
Translations are difficult that is all. How do I know which translation is correct and accurate enough?
Each version of the bible was written by different denominations and backgrounds so according to that as well as the English language of the time it is written it can be difficult to read or hold different meaning. Understand language changes over time and that a Word can change meaning drastically over time.
For example the bible speaks of slaves. Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 4:1, and quite a few others including old testament speak of how we should treat slaves. So according to modern English we associate slavery with racial discrimination yet understanding this word in biblical times we learn that slaves were people who owed a debt to anotherperson. So they would have to work off their debt as a slave and many times people actually willingly entered into this service simply for the luxury of having a roof over their head and food to eat. Now the bible does speak of slavery that we now more commonly associate the word with here Exodus 21:16 "And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death."
With that said you can see how words change, meanings change and so it is important to use multiple versions of the bible to see the different language. I currently use KJV, NTL, NASB and occasionally NIV. Understanding that the word used then can mean something entirely different in today's world is important in your studies as well as knowing translations.
I would suggest you learn the definition of certain words in its original context as well, which would further your understanding of what is being written because sometimes a word is difficult to translate and so a different word in English is used to help get the idea of what is being said but it may not hold up as well as the actual definition of the word. Why then use that word? Simply because you would change too much of the authors original writings and the actual word in English may not fit properly in the sentence of the English translated version. (We don't want to seem uneducated now do we? right?)
Lastly: be careful with outside resources such as the internet.
The internet is a great place to help narrow things down and quickly find certain things as opposed to reading the entire bible and memorizing word for word so you can reference back to it (if you are capable of that you are beyond blessed no sarcasm intended). When using any outside resource be sure to compare notes on what the community of believers especially credited leaders, and theologians have to say about it. Sometimes people will add bias in the interpretations of scripture to push their own agenda so please be wise, pray and ask for discernment.
There you have it. This is how I study scripture. I hope this was edifying. Comments and feedback are welcome and remember if you have different methods please share as it will benefit all of us including myself. I want to leave this thread of with this final word.
Remember that knowledge without love is meaningless. It is not how well we speak or how much we know that will save people (though knowledge is important) but it is the love and transforming power of the Holy Spirit that will change the lives of your family, friends, coworkers and fellow human. Go in peace God bless you all.
Matthew 11:15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
This is quite obvious but this verse does not literally mean if you have ears to listen. So the message is quite simple when we study the bible we ourselves must have a willingness to open our hearts to what scripture says. "We pray to God for revelations but we do not receive one simply because we treat God's Word as an option". When I heard this it shook me and brought full circle as to why we may have ears but can not seem to understand the will of God. His Word requires obedience and is not to be treated as an option. With that said I hope you take it into heart to obey and know God's truth not based on man made customs (denominations) but what the Word says. (I identify as Pentecostal Christian in case anyone misinterprets).
After you have opened up your heart to what the Word and Spirit has to say to you now you get down into the actual pages.
First: learn the author of the book you choose to read. Get to know what the bible says about him and his story.
Learn about their profession, calling, struggles and victories. (Side note: learning dates is beneficial as well)
Why? Because each author has a powerful testimony that we can relate to on a personal level. You will also learn that God chose ordinary people to do great things. Further more you will fall into awe of the knowledge God reveals to these people about sciences that were not facts or even acknowledged up until modern days. Affirming a divinely inspired Word from God (2 Tim.3:16)
Secondly: when reading get to know the chapter as a whole and not just the sentence.
Why? Too often we read a verse and take it out of context.
Learn whom the author is speaking directly to (even though the Bible is for all generations knowing the initial reason for the writing will better your understanding the meaning of it and apply it in today's world).
For example: The book of Revelations is often misunderstood as a book of events to understand the end times which is false. Matthew 24:36 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." So anyone who claims to know how the world will end and what specific events will happen or the day and hour is a false prophet. (Matthew 24:24) Using what I have spoken about so far you would learn that John's writing in Revelations is to the churches in Asia. They were suffering persecution from Rome and so many of the symbols John uses represents Rome their persecutors and it is for that reason he uses symbols they would only understand to prevent Roman officials from intercepting a letter. Any word against Rome would have caused harsher persecution. So you learn that John is not giving a time line of events but he is actually encouraging the church of that time and every other generation to persevere in their faith and to remember "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelations 21:4. Revelations is a great study of encouragement which you can learn more about and its symbols.
SO as you can see learning about who the letter is being written to can be a huge eye opener. You will learn about "Why" and the struggle its application is associated with.
Thirdly: it is important to understand universal language in the bible versus cultural language.
Wait what does that mean?
Here is some scripture to help understand.
"Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard." Leviticus 19:27
First notice I changed the version of the bible I use. Wording is very important in translation but I will come back to this and why later.
Once again using what we have learned so far you would learn that this was a cultural law so that the people of God would not imitate a specific hair cut style (not shaving of the beard) that surrounding people used in their pagan worship.
Woah! Hold on so if this verse is just a cultural law and you claim there are others does that mean we not follow those laws? and why are they even in the bible if we don't need to follow it?
The most important aspect of the cultural laws in the bible that we must grasp are its principals. There are many forms of idolatry in our current culture that we blindly follow. Especially in a self image generation. Though specific to the Israelite's we need to grasp the meaning here and understand God wants his children to be set a part and not participate in idolatry whatever form it may be in. (Matthew 5:14-16, 1 Peter 2:9, Deuteronomy 14:2, Romans 12:2) I don't want to bombard you with too many verses here but these are some that show us God wants us to be set a part. This doesn't mean shun people because then the gospel becomes invalid it simply means to be a light and show people who God is through your love and actions.
I know it is difficult to discern what is acceptable and not acceptable in modern times as the bible does not specifically mention every little thing. This is where the willingness to accept correction from God comes in. Your prayer will be in vain if you present a certain area of your life to God to ask for direction to then only treat it as an option or to think "well God isn't saying anything so it must be okay". Do not confuse God's silence with His approval. Be diligent in prayer and be humble in your requests.
Before I move on here is some advice for decision making.
1 Peter 2:16 "Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves."
1 Corinthians 8:13 "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall."
Moving on to universal language. Well do I really need to? It is quite obvious isn't it?
The bible says "do not murder" so whatever generation reads this murder is wrong, only God can give and take life.
Pray to God if you struggle with discerning between the two for guidance by the Holy Spirit.
Fourthly: here comes the different Bible versions!
Translations are difficult that is all. How do I know which translation is correct and accurate enough?
Each version of the bible was written by different denominations and backgrounds so according to that as well as the English language of the time it is written it can be difficult to read or hold different meaning. Understand language changes over time and that a Word can change meaning drastically over time.
For example the bible speaks of slaves. Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 4:1, and quite a few others including old testament speak of how we should treat slaves. So according to modern English we associate slavery with racial discrimination yet understanding this word in biblical times we learn that slaves were people who owed a debt to anotherperson. So they would have to work off their debt as a slave and many times people actually willingly entered into this service simply for the luxury of having a roof over their head and food to eat. Now the bible does speak of slavery that we now more commonly associate the word with here Exodus 21:16 "And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death."
With that said you can see how words change, meanings change and so it is important to use multiple versions of the bible to see the different language. I currently use KJV, NTL, NASB and occasionally NIV. Understanding that the word used then can mean something entirely different in today's world is important in your studies as well as knowing translations.
I would suggest you learn the definition of certain words in its original context as well, which would further your understanding of what is being written because sometimes a word is difficult to translate and so a different word in English is used to help get the idea of what is being said but it may not hold up as well as the actual definition of the word. Why then use that word? Simply because you would change too much of the authors original writings and the actual word in English may not fit properly in the sentence of the English translated version. (We don't want to seem uneducated now do we? right?)
Lastly: be careful with outside resources such as the internet.
The internet is a great place to help narrow things down and quickly find certain things as opposed to reading the entire bible and memorizing word for word so you can reference back to it (if you are capable of that you are beyond blessed no sarcasm intended). When using any outside resource be sure to compare notes on what the community of believers especially credited leaders, and theologians have to say about it. Sometimes people will add bias in the interpretations of scripture to push their own agenda so please be wise, pray and ask for discernment.
There you have it. This is how I study scripture. I hope this was edifying. Comments and feedback are welcome and remember if you have different methods please share as it will benefit all of us including myself. I want to leave this thread of with this final word.
Remember that knowledge without love is meaningless. It is not how well we speak or how much we know that will save people (though knowledge is important) but it is the love and transforming power of the Holy Spirit that will change the lives of your family, friends, coworkers and fellow human. Go in peace God bless you all.