How Do We Study the Bible

Intro:

Psalm 119:11 NKJV

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

We concluded our study on the Insanity of Obedience last Sunday. I debated on what to study next and I feel we need to learn How to study the bible.

Play Video

What is your favorite story in the Bible or scripture?

I was reminded of a story I shared from the book the Insanity of God. Read from Page 152 and 163.

Read from Page

If persecution hit the United States and Christians were no longer allowed to gather in a public setting, could the church as it is today continue? Would parents be equipped to teach their children about God? Would families have enough Biblical knowledge to keep God’s story alive in their hearts and lives?

1 Peter 2:4–5 NKJV

4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:4-5

1 Peter 2:9 NKJV

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

These are the questions we must ask ourselves as leaders in our home. Because we are born again, our lives are built on Jesus, who is our foundation. As believers, we build our lives upon Him. Peter teaches that we are living stones and we are apart of a royal priesthood.

Old Testament priests would speak to God on behalf of the people. Then they would instruct the people based on what His word commanded and taught. As priests in our family, are we equipped to adequately train and teach our families from scripture?

Why do we need to know how to study the Bible?

What do you love most about the Bible?

Before we look at the intricacies of studying the Bible, let’s answer a few questions about the Bible.

1. How was scripture written?

When I was in my college speech class, one of my classmates gave a speech. I cannot remember everything he said, but one line has always stuck with me.

He asked, how can we build our lives on an ancient book (the bible), which was written with multiple authors all pursuing their own agenda? The fact is we cannot!

I have never forgot his lack of faith in the power of scripture. Let’s look at how the Bibles we carry and own are built on thousands of years of God’s truth explained to humanity.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NKJV

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Everything we know about God originates in scripture. Scripture was given to us by the inspiration of God to human authors. The word inspiration literally means, “God-breathed.”

“By divine breath and power, the Holy Spirit moved the (human authors) of the bible with such precision that the product accurately reflects the intention of God Himself.” -William Menzies and Stanley Horton in Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 3

of the Greek phrase used here, literally rendered as “born of water and spirit,” are meant to make Nicodemus realize that Jesus is inaugurating the age of renewal

“God worked through human authors, using their background, personality, cultural context, writing style, faith commitments, research, and so on, so that what they wrote was the inspired Word of God.” -Scott Duvall and Daniel Hays in Grasping God’s Word.

God is the Source and the Author of the Word of God. However, God used people to write His message. Because people were involved, their personality and their style come through the writing. But God is the One who INSPIRED, who inspired the words of the writer.

But God is the One who INSPIRED, who inspired the words of the writer.

2 Peter 1:20–21 NKJV

20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Why must we believe that ALL scripture is inspired by God?

2. How did we get the English Bible?

Deuteronomy 6:6–9 NKJV

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Dueteronomy 6:6-9

insert picture on how it is translated

Knowing that the Bible came from God is one thing, but how can we be sure what we have in our Bible is what God spoke to the original author? They spoke a different language, had a different culture, and lived in a different time.

Prior to the Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther, the Catholic Church kept people ignorant of what scripture said. Unlike today when Bibles are translated in nearly every language, at that point, there was only one version of the Bible, the Latin Version.

Unlike today when Bibles are translated in nearly ever language, at that point, there was only one version of the Bible, the Latin Version.

Why was this a problem? Latin ceased to be a common language in 476 AD. By this point in history, people spoke Spanish, English, German, Italian, or other languages unique to their country.

Only the educated learned Latin. The poor people were unable to read, and they really couldn’t read Latin. Furthermore, Bibles cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000. So if a peasant by chance could afford to get a bible, they couldn’t understand what it said. Only the educated, many who could read Latin. But here was another problem, the church kept all the bibles.

So if a peasant by chance could afford to get a bible, they couldn’t understand what it said. Only the educated, many who could read Latin. But here was another problem, the church kept all the bibles.

And when people went to church, the bible was read in Latin. See the problem? They heard a sermon in a language they couldn’t understand. So the church was able to tell the people whatever they wanted and no one could compare it to scripture.

So the church was able to tell the people whatever they wanted and no one could compare it to scripture.

With the advent the Gutenberg printing press the bible became more accessible, but what about the English Bible?

John Wycliffe translated the New Testament from Latin to English in 1380. He was accused of being a heretic and suffered persecution for his willingness to translate the Bible into the language of ordinary people.

William Tyndale produced an English New Testament in 1526 based on the Greek text of scripture, providing a more accurate translation of the text. He was executed and his body was burned for his commitment to translate the Bible.

King commissioned a translation of scripture from the Hebrew and Greek Text in 1604 and it was completed in 1611, producing the King James Version.

Since then, the King James Version has been updated, with the last update taking place in 1769. Since then other versions of scripture have come about, the New American Standard Version, the New International Version, the New Living Translation, or the English Standard Version, to name a few.

There are two approaches to translating, a formal and functional approach. The formal approach is literal or word-for-word. The functional approach is thought-for-thought.

How can we know the text is accurate?

There are over 5,300 ancient hand-written copies of the New Testament written in the original Greek that come from the third and fourth century. However, there is one fragment of the Gospel of John that was written around 125 AD, about thirty years after it was written.

This is remarkable, because of ancient literature, the oldest original copies of the works date anywhere from 350 to 1,300 years after the original work.

In 1947, archeologists found what they called the Dead Sea Scrolls. These had all or part of every Old Testament book, except for Esther. They came from as early as 250 BC. Almost three hundred years before Jesus was died on the cross.

These had all or part of every Old Testament book, except for Esther. They came from as early as 250 BC. Almost three hundred years before Jesus was died on the cross.

Why is it good to look at different versions of scripture?

3. What do we bring to the study of the Bible?

Matthew 24:35 NKJV

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Matthew

We bring preunderstanding, our preconceived notions and understanding of the scripture. including what we have been taught and what we think we know about the passage.

We bring familiarity of the passage we study. Is it something we have studied in depth before? Have we heard it over and over? Is it a story we could tell?

We bring our cultural understanding of the story or passage. We view the story from the lens of the present and not from the lens of history.

We should bring a willingness to learn and a desire to dig deeper into the passage, chapter, or book so that we might know more about the God’s word and what He wants to speak to us.

Discussion:

How often should we get into God’s word?

Why do we need to be better students of God’s word?

How can we become better students of God’s word?