How to Study the Bible #1

Intro

Peace Corp says if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach him how to fish you feed him for a lifetime.

I can teach you the Bible once or twice a week and you will grow, but nothing accelerates your faith like learning to study the Bible

If you commit to this class for the next 4-5 weeks I will equip you with the tools to study the Bible

From there it will open up a whole new world

Power of the Bible

There is power in the Word of God

The Word of God is living

It cuts like a knife

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Best-selling book of all time

Most studied & criticized

Oldest Manuscripts

400K manuscripts

Least amount of variants than any other book that age

More accurate that Odyssey

Dead Sea Scrolls

Fewest Errors

Books of the Bible

OT

Pentateuch

History

Poetry

Major Prophets

Called major because of the size of the books

Minor Prophets

NT

Gospels

History

Epistles

Prophecy

Literary Forms

Literary forms are the types of writing in the Bible

This is important to know these five types because they help you read, interpret, and apply it to your life

We take the Bible literally but that doesn’t mean that it is all literal

There are some scripture that are figurative

Some people believe most of the Bible is an allegory

You will hear them say that about the Pentateuch

Didn’t happen, was just stories to help us understand creation

Narrative

This includes all history, stories, and the author narrating

Epistles

These are the NT books that are letters from the Apostles to churches or people

Parables

These were short stories that Jesus used to illustrate spiritual points

Poetry

These are primarily the poetic books like Psalms, Proverbs, & SOS but can include some of the poetry in other books

Prophecy

27% of the Bible is prophecy

Over 1/4

Some is judgmental prophecy

God is going judge Israel unless they repent

Other prophecy is Messianic, pertaining to Christ’s birth, death, & Resurrection

Some prophecy is Eschatological

It talks about end times

Most prophecy in the Bible has been fulfilled

Methods of Study

Inductive: Pulls Out Facts

Deductive: Starts with Premise

Springboard: Shares Opinion

Inductive Bible Study

Observation

Read text several times

Record first impressions

Record who, what, when, where, and how

Interpretation

Interpret Literally

Study in Context

Let Scripture Interpret Scripture

NT takes precedence

Application

How should I respond?

examples to follow

sins to forsake

errors to avoid

promises to believe

commands to obey

actions to take