Better Bible Study #2
Better Bible Study • Sermon • Submitted
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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
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:
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
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 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:
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