Better Bible Study #2

We are Looking at a Few Tricks and Tips to Help Us Have Better Bible Study

I’ve Learned a Few Over the Years

I’m Still Learning More All the Time

I’ve Found:

The More I Learn How to Study the Bible…

The More Enjoyable it Becomes

I Want This Congregation to Be Full of People Who LOVE Studying the Bible!

Studying Because You Enjoy it is So Much Better and More Beneficial…

Than Studying Because Your Have to…

Or Because You Feel Like Your Supposed to

I Hope By the End of This Series That Something (If Only One Thing)…

Causes You to Look at the Bible Differently…

And Truly Enjoy and Feel Competent Studying it

RECOGNIZE YOUR BIASES

Everyone Approaches the Bible With Biases, Opinions, and World-Views

We All Hold Certain Doctrinal Positions of Different Topics

We All Have Various Beliefs that are Deeply Engrained in Our Minds

That’s Not Always a Bad Thing

But it Does Need to Be Something We Recognize When We Study the Bible

We Need to Recognize That Our Biases Can Shape the Way We Study

None of Us are Capable of Approaching the Bible From a Purely Objective Position

It’s Important For Us to Recognize That

We Have to Remind Ourselves That:

What the Text Says is All that Matters

Not the Positions We Hold

Not Our Ways of Viewing Christianity or the World

Not the Popular Views Held in Our Churches

Not the Popular Views of Our Society

The Text is All that Matters

We Must Follow it Wherever it Leads

Even if it Leads to Some Places That Make Us Uncomfortable

Recognizing Our Biases and Trying to Study the Bible Objectively Means:

There Will Be Times When You Have to Say, “I May Be Wrong.”

And There Will Be Times When You Have to Say, “I Was Correct in My View On This Point, Regardless of What Society or the Church Says.”

Sometimes You Will Be Labeled Too Conservative

Sometimes You Will Be Labeled Too Liberal

But as Long as the Positions We Hold are Based On the Text…

And Not Based On Deeply Held Convictions…

Or What Our Society or Church Says…

Then We Have the Truth

Some People are Sectarians and Some are Truth-Seekers

Sectarians are Those Who Firmly Align Themselves With Their Group

They Will Always Defend the Views of Their Group

They Take for Granted and Assume that Their Group Has the Correct Views On Any Given Topic

Therefore, Any Person or Group Who Opposes Their Group’s View Should Be Opposed

We See this Throughout the Denominational World

And We See this Throughout Churches of Christ

Sectarians Can Be Liberal, Conservative, and Anywhere in Between

Truth-Seekers are Those Who are Always Willing to Consider the Views of Others and Examine Them For Truth

If a Different View Aligns With Scripture, a Truth-Seeker is Always Willing to Admit When They are Wrong

Truth-Seekers are Willing to Change Their Views…

Even if it Means Opposing Those Within Their Own Group

Even if it Means Admitting That an Opposing Group is Right on Any Particular Point

Truth-Seekers Can Be Conservative, Liberal, and Anywhere in Between

Sectarians Have a Stronger Allegiance to Their Group and the Views of Their Group

Truth-Seekers Have a Stronger Allegiance to Jesus Than Any Group or View

Sectarians are Concerned With WHO is Right

Truth-Seekers are Concerned With WHAT is Right

We Want to Be Truth-Seekers

We Shouldn’t Hold to Any Particular View Simply Because Our Group Holds that View

Let’s Be Frank:

We Shouldn’t Hold to Any Particular View Simply Because Churches of Christ Have Traditionally Held to That View

That’s Sectarianism

I’ve Seen this Far to Often in Churches of Christ

If Anything is Said From Certain Pulpits, We Automatically Trust it

If Anything is Said From Other Pulpits, We Automatically Don’t Trust it

If Anything is Said From Certain Preachers Who’ve Gone to Certain Schools, We Automatically Trust it

I’ve Seen and Heard Christians Eat Up False Doctrine…

Because it Was Said By an Influential Person in Our Group

Don’t Just Assume Because a Building Says “Church of Christ” on it…

That You Can Trust Everything You Hear

And Don’t Just Assume Because a Building Has Any Other Name On it…

That You Can’t Trust Anything You Hear

Follow the Text Wherever it Leads

Even if it Leads You Away From What You Previously Believed

Even if it Leads You Away From What Your Group Traditionally Believes

Exegesis vs. Eisegesis

Exegesis reads out of the text what the original authors meant to convey.

Eisegesis reads into the text what you want or believe it to convey.

These are 2 Technical Words for What We’ve Been Talking About

The Right Way to Study = Exegesis

Looking at the Text and Asking, “What Was the Original Author Trying to Tell the Original Audience?”

“And What Can I Learn From That?”

The Wrong Way to Study = Eisegesis

Starting With What You Already Believe or What You Want to Be the Case…

And Then Injecting Your Desires or Beliefs into the Meaning of the Text

It Involves Studying the Bible With the Purpose of Proving Yourself Right

Eisegesis is About Making the Bible Agree With Us

Exegesis is About Us Agreeing With the Bible

Sometimes Eisegesis is Relatively Harmless:

Believing There Were Only 3 Wisemen That Visited Jesus

Believing the Forbidden Fruit in the Garden to Be an Apple

But Many Times is Can Be Extremely Harmful

We are Very Prone to Studying With Confirmation Bias

Confirmation Bias = When We Only See or Favor Evidence that Supports Our Preconceived Ideas

Doctors are Guilty of Having Confirmation Bias

There are Many Occasions When a Doctor Will Diagnose Someone With the Wrong Illness, Disease, Injury, etc.

And Every Test They Run Will Only Seem to Prove Their Diagnosis Correct

We Do That When We Study the Bible

We Will Approach the Bible With Certain Beliefs and Convictions

And We Will Find Verses and Passages Everywhere that Seem to Confirm Our Beliefs

We’ll Also Find Verses that Seem to Justify Our Lifestyles

Example:

If I’ve Divorced and Remarried Multiple Times…

It’s Amazing How Easy it is to Find Verses That Justify My Situation

If I Believe Homosexuality or Abortion (Hot Societal Topics) are Okay…

It’s Amazing How Easy it is to Find Verses that Confirm My Belief

If I Believe Baptism Isn’t Necessary to Be a Christian…

It’s Amazing How Easy it is to Find Verses that Prove My Position Correct

This is All Eisegesis

Instead of Changing the Bible to Fit Our Beliefs, Desires, and Lifestyles…

We Need to Change Our Beliefs, Desires, and Lifestyles to Fit the Bible

If We Already Know What We Believe Before We Study a Text…

We are in Big Eisegesis Territory (That Means We are All in Danger)

We Need to Approach the Bible with Humility and an Open Mind

Even (or Especially) if it is Something We Have Studied in Depth Before

Read the Bible to Learn What to Believe

Not to Confirm What You Already Believe

Whenever You Approach Bible Study to Learn…

It Adds a Whole New Layer of Excitement

It Used to Scare Me to Death Whenever I Came Across a Passage That Seemed to Go Against What I Believe

Now I Get Excited

Not Because I’m Looking to Change My Mind, But I’m Looking to Learn

When I Discover Something New and Challenging…

I Know I’m About to Grow

Because it Will Either Help Me Have More Confidence in My Already-Held Belief

Or it Will Correct My Thinking and Bring Me Closer to the Truth of Jesus

When Studying the Bible:

We Have to Recognize Our Biases and Try Our Best to Set Them Aside

Be Truth-Seekers, Not Sectarians

Practice Exegesis (Draw Out the Meaning), Not Eisegesis (Put in the Meaning)

Example:

I Want to Try to Put What We’ve Talked About into Practice

We are Going to Look at the Topic of the Contribution

I’ve Found that There are Several Beliefs About the Contribution that are Very Common in the Church

You May or May Not Hold Them, But They’re Common

Here are a Couple:

Every Christian is Commanded to Give on the First Day of the Week

The Primary Goal of the Contribution is to Support Preachers/Missionaries

These are 2 Views I Grew Up Believing and Hearing Taught

We’ve Recognized 2 Biases

Now Let’s Try to Set Them Aside and Follow the Scriptures Wherever They May Lead

First, Let’s Look at Some Texts that Reveal the Motive Behind Giving to the Contribution

1 Corinthians 16:1–2 (NASB)

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.

Here Paul is Telling the Corinthian Church That They Need to Be Collecting Funds to Help the Jerusalem Church

He Told Them to Do it On the First Day of the Week

He Told Them Each Person is to Participate According to Their Means

Christians Have Used These Verses for a Long Time to Teach:

Giving On the First Day of the Week is a Command

It is a Deeply Held Conviction in the Church That Christians are Commanded/Must Give Each Sunday

But, Let’s Follow the Text Wherever it Leads

In Paul’s Next Letter, He Speaks More About the Corinthians Contribution to Helping the Jerusalem Christians

2 Corinthians 8:8 (NASB)

I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.

Now He Clarifies that He is Not Commanding Them to Give

But if They Give, it Would Prove the Sincerity of Their Love for Their Siblings in Christ

A Little Further Down He Makes the Same Point Again

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NASB)

Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Each Person Should Give With a Cheerful Heart What He Has Decided to Give

But No One Should Give Because They are Under Compulsion

Giving to the Work of the Church Was Always Voluntary and Done Out of Love

No One Should Give Because They Feel Like They Have to or Are Supposed to

Give Because You Want to

Give Because You’re Glad to

Give Because You Love Your Siblings and Want to Help Them With Your Money

In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul Wasn’t Commanding the Corinthians to Participate in the Contribution

His Concern Was When They Were to Contribute

His Command Was to Do it On the First Day of the Week…

So it Would Be Ready Whenever He Came to Collect it

It’s a Deeply Engrained Belief to Many Christians That Giving is a Command

And it’s a Habit to Refer to the Contribution as a Command

But When We Hold Such a View…

We Aren’t Holding a Biblical View

“But Jon, We Can’t Tell People That or Everyone Will Stop Giving!”

First, We Have to Tell People That Because it’s What the Bible Says

Second, If Christians Stop Giving Because They Know They Don’t Have to…

We Have a Much Bigger Problem on Our Hands

If Christians Don’t Love Their Siblings

If Christians Aren’t Willing to Sacrifice What We Have for the Benefit of Others

If Christians Can’t Be Cheerful Unless We Keep All of Our Money

If Christians Don’t Love the Lost Enough to Help Support Evangelistic Works

Then We Might as Well Shut Our Doors Right and Stop Meeting Together and Worshiping Right Now

Because We Aren’t Christians at All

Saying That We Should Give Out of Love Instead of Out of it Being a Command…

Should Cause Us to Want to Give More!

I’m Much More Willing to Help Someone in Need When I Do it By Choice…

And Not Out of Someone Making Me Do it

Now, Let’s Look at Some Texts that Reveal the Primary Goal of the Contribution

Let’s Start with the Very First Contribution

Right After 3,000 People Joined the Kingdom on Pentecost, We Read:

Acts 2:44–45 (NASB)

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

They Immediately Started Selling Their Own Possessions in Order to Take Care of Those Who Were in Need

Acts 4:32–37 (NASB)

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.

Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Again We See the Early Church Taking Care of Each Other

But Here We See the Money Collected By the Apostles, and Then Distributed to the Needy Among Them

Acts 11:27–30 (NASB)

Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.

And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

Now, for the First Time, We are Seeing One Church Put Together a Mission Effort to Help Another Church

The Christians at Antioch Decided to Put a Contribution Together to Send to the Christians in Jerusalem

Any Christians Who Were Able and Willing Were to Help in This

Then Saul and Barnabas Would Take it to the Elders in Jerusalem

The Money Was to Help Their Siblings in Jerusalem During a Famine

Romans 15:24–27 (NASB)

whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while—

but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.

For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.

Paul Tells the Romans He Wants to See Them

He Tells Them He Would Like to Be Helped By Them

He Was Probably Asking for Their Financial Support in His Mission Work to Spain

But at the Moment, He Was Going to Deliver the Contribution to Help the Jerusalem Christians From Macedonia and Achaia

We See 2 Reasons For the Contribution in this Passage

To Help Needy Christians (Like All of the Previous Passages)

And to Help Spread the Gospel

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul Talks About How Christians Should Support Those Who Preach the Gospel

And in 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul Talks to the Corinthians About Their Contribution in the Support of the Needy Christians in Jerusalem

When We Lay Our Biases Aside and Just Follow the Text Wherever it Leads, We Find:

The Contribution Was Never a Command

It Was to Be a Voluntary and Cheerful Sacrifice Made Out of Love

The Contribution Had 2 Primary Purposes

The First of Which Was to Help Needy Christians

I’ve Spoken Many Times On How We Need to Get Back to Making That the Primary Use of Our Contribution

Second, it is to Support Those Who Preach the Gospel

That’s Not to Say Anything Else the Contribution is Used for is Wrong

But We Need Recognize the Biblical Motivation and Purpose

We Can Only Do That When We Set Aside Our Biases and Follow the Scriptures