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· Bible Study ·
Gaining Knowledge of the Truth
Learning how to Read the Bible
· Learning how to read the Bible without the use of other publications, or even
other books of the Bible.
* No assumptions are made.
* No preconceived notions are allowed.
Just take the Bible for what it says, as it says it.
· The premise for this type of study is obvious. Those who received one of the
New Testament Epistles (Letters) from Paul or other writers, may not have had
the rest of the New Testament to reference with the Epistle. The persons
receiving the Epistle, must have just taken it for what it said, without further
explanation. When further Epistles arrived they were obviously read and used,
but were compared to what they had already received as truth. Thus making the
original Epistle stand on its own.
· Try this type of Bible Study. Read it word carefully and let each verse or
passage define the words and begin comprehension as
if you have no other reference publication or book of the Bible.
· At first some will object, saying that this might birth heresy or false doctrine.
But the opposite is true. It clears up thinking and promotes personal thought
and reflection. The reading and rereading of each verse or passage gives the
Lord opportunity to speak to us and we hear with comprehension.
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Comprehension without prior study
*
Anyone can understand
The Bible was written to all
Anyone can grasp its meaning.
* Education is not necessary.
* A library of references is not necessary.
* Understanding the original languages is not necessary.
* Comprehension of the culture at the time of writing is not necessary.
The Bible was written to people who do not know, so there is no requirement for
prior knowledge, language, culture or understanding. Some mistakenly think that
you must know the 1st grade in elementary school in order to start the 1st
grade. Of course this is ridiculous. You go to the 1st grade to learn what the
1st grade is about. Knowing how to read is not even a prerequisite.
The same is with the Bible, faith does not come by knowing how to read, "faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God".
The Bible can accomplish its purpose, faith, by simply being read aloud or
preached or sung.
* without referencing all over the Bible
* without earning a Bible degree
* without the use of commentaries
* without interpretations
The Bible assumes everyone is in the 1st grade and never graduates to the 2nd.
It should be read that way.
*
How to start
Acquire a King James Bible
* It is the easiest to understand, 6th grade level.
* It is not copyrighted, so can be copied.
* It was not translated to make money, this is why it is the only version not
copyrighted.
* It has the most beautiful prose, poetry and timing.
* It was translated for accuracy, not to appease the reader's taste
or supposed needs.
* Its use of out of date words is for a purpose. For instance the
Thee's and Thou's and Ye's (all are translated You by modern Bible versions),
are for disclosing whether the modern English You is singular or plural. You may
not be interested in this fact the first time or two you read your Bible, but
sooner or later all the words are important.
Read through the whole Bible
* do not try to study
* do not try to look up words
* do not slow down
* do not try to memorize (mark some interesting verses to come back later and
memorize, etc.)
Read through from beginning to end and simply learn the characters and how they
fit in relation to each other. Try to piece together the stories, especially the
main stories. Just know somewhat how some of it fits together. Even a vague
understanding is fine.
Pick a book in the New Testament
Most will pick one of the Gospels, because they relate a lot of interesting
stories and miracles.
Acquire an inexpensive Bible for notes
One that has reasonably large print, if possible. This will be the place for
all notes. If you have a computer and Bible program or can operate a Bible
program from the internet, the entire book can be copied and pasted on blank
sheets and double spaced for notes and drawings. Put these printed sheets in a
binder. Do not print front and back.
Acquire some color pencils
The dry type is best. They can be erased. A large array is not necessary. Eight
to twelve colors will be fine.
Acquire a Fine Point ball point pen with blue ink
Get one that does not ball up the ink. This will be used to write notes and draw
lines in your Bible or the printed out version.
A six inch plastic ruler will be handy
Many are give-aways, but stores also sell them.
Lists
Number natural lists in the Bible.
The Bible will list things like ...
"Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
II Timothy 3:7
Notice the word "and" which usually indicates a list of 2. In this case 1.
Learning; 2. Not learning truth.
Draw a circle by all the parts of a list, then write a number in the circle.
This will automatically draw your attention to the possibility of using this for
preaching notes.
Just as a side note, notice that learning may or may not have
anything to do with truth. Learning for learning's sake is not valuable.
Write down this list of questions
* Who is talking?
* Who is being talked to?
* Who is being talked about?
* Is there a repeating word in the chapter or book?
* Are there synonyms of the repeating word?
* Is someone or something causing something to happen?
* What is the cause?
* What is the effect or result of the cause?
* Begin to add to this list with questions of your own.
*
Read
Read the book of your choice
This is where intelligence plays a part and maybe the only part. Some can
read a passage or book of the Bible once or twice and have it memorized. Others
may have to read it five times. I usually must read the book about ten to twelve
times before I begin to get a feel for what it is saying as a whole. This is the
threshold for me to obtain comprehension and retention.
While reading, watch for words that repeat
Circle these words with the Fine Point pen and fill in the circle with the same
color pencil.
Watch for similar words, circle and color them the same color, too. Much of the
time, these words will indicate the theme of the passage or book. Pay no
attention to the outline that the Bible publisher offered. They are often wrong
or overstate the obvious.
Verses or passages will begin to standout as being priority or obscure
Try to fit the obscure verses with an explanation to go with the theme. They
often explain the rest of the verses. Do not assume the first theme that occurs
is correct. Really try to understand what the complete passage is saying. How
does it fit in with the other passages?
Once when teaching the passage in the Gospel of John on Foot Washing, the class
offered as many explanations as there were students. Everyone missed the point
which was for the disciples to forgive each other, like Jesus had just forgiven
them. Not for their salvation, which would take a complete washing, but for
continued fellowship, just washing their feet which had become dirty since
salvation. The same with the saints.
Obscure
The Gospel of Matthew offers in Chapter 7 the exhortation to not cast your
pearls before swine. This is almost impossible to understand, unless the reader
understands judgment in the previous verses and even then verse 1 usually throws
readers off for comprehension of the verses about the mote and beam. All taken
together makes the whole simple, clear and reveals and a principle to live-by.
Harmony
Remember when reading and looking for the meaning that every thought must fit
with the rest of the verses. There can be no contradictions or clashes with the
other verses, or anywhere else in the Bible
Be careful not to assume
In the same passage above, Jesus speaks to all twelve as if they were all saved,
but He carefully mentions that not all are saved. Judas was the betrayer.
You will learn some tricks as you go and will begin to grow in Bible
knowledge
As you grow, also learn to employ Bible principles in your life. Install
them one at a time. For instance in the above passage, determine to forgive
fellow saints and fellowship with them for more growth, not just fried chicken.
Exhort each other for bigger and better things.
The Purpose
The whole point of this type of study is to determine, is the Bible saying what
you think it is saying, or is it saying something else?
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G. Steven Andres
Psalms 45:17
Missionary Evangelist
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