Radio Transcript

How To Study The Bible

Well it’s that time of year again. Many of us will be making New Year’s resolutions. Some will be making resolutions to break old habits. Others will be making resolutions to form new habits. I wish you success in your resolutions, providing of course those resolutions are noble. I hope that included in your plans for the coming year will be a program for reading the Bible daily. Notice how the Bible describes the Bereans: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11).

Friends, Bible study is important for a number of reasons. First, it is not possible for a person to have faith apart from the word of God. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Second, God’s word is able to save us. James wrote: "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21). Jesus taught that man is able to be set free from his sins by the truth, not by error. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32). Third, the Bible, not the creeds of men, serves as our authority in matters of religion. Notice Paul’s words to Timothy: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (II Timothy 3:16-17).

Often times a person may say that he doesn’t read the Bible because the Bible cannot be understood. But someone else has said, "Oh no, the Bible is crystal clear. It’s just so deep you can’t see the bottom." The point is simply this: We may never fully understand all the Bible teaches. We may never fathom all the great truths taught within its pages. But friends, a person can study the Bible and learn how to become a Christian. A person can learn how he is to worship God. A person can learn how to serve God acceptably. But in order to learn this, a person must enter into his study of the Bible with the right attitude and with a few basic rules in mind.

First, we ought to develop a love for the truth. In Jesus’ prayer to God he included the following words: "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth" (John 17:17). The wise man Solomon said: "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding (Proverbs 23:23). Sadly, Peter wrote of those persons who are willfully ignorant (II Peter 3:5). The Bible teaches some people will be lost because they "received not the love of the truth" (II Thessalonians 2:10). Friends, no matter what others may believe or say, we ought to want to know the truth.

Second, we ought to study the Bible with an open mind. Notice from our earlier reading from Acts 17:11 the Bereans received the word with all readiness of mind. Too often people study the Bible , not to learn what it teaches concerning a given subject, but rather to prove what they already believe concerning a given subject. Peter spoke of those persons who twist the scriptures. "And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, In which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (II Peter 3:15-16).

Third, don’t merely read the Bible, study. Surely, Paul’s admonition to Timothy ought to apply to us as well. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15). A good dictionary will be helpful in your studies. But remember, modern dictionaries don’t provide the meaning of a word so much as they provide the modern, accepted usage of a word. For this reason, I suggest you obtain a good Bible dictionary for your studies. When you come to a word in the Bible that you don’t understand, take the time to stop and find out what the word means. A Bible encyclopedia can also be helpful in your studies. You might also want to obtain a concordance as well as a set of Bible maps.

This reminds me of something else that is essential to a study of the Bible. Get a good quality copy of the Bible if you do not have one already. Make sure it has a good quality paper as well as print that can be easily read. Make sure it is a reliable translation of the Bible. I would suggest the King James Version, American Standard Version, or perhaps the New King James Version.

Fourth, when studying a particular subject, resist the temptation to reach a conclusion concerning that subject until you have studied all the Bible teaches about that subject. Imagine a number of people each witnessing the same car automobile accident. One person tells you the driver who was at fault was driving a red car. Another person tells you the car had four doors. Still another person tells you the driver ran a stop sign. Friends, there’s no conflict with what each person saw. But when you put all of their information together, you know the wreck was caused when a person driving a red, four-door car ran a stop sign.

Likewise, when we study the Bible, we ought to gather all the information the Bible provides about a particular subject. For example, consider the words of John 3:16: "For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." People often read this one verse and reach the erroneous conclusion that all a person has to do to be saved from his sins is believe. But when we read Acts 17:30 we learn we are also commanded to repent of our sins. When we read Matthew 10:32-33 we learn we are to confess our faith in Jesus Christ to others. When we read Mark 16:15-16 we learn we are commanded to be baptized in order to be saved. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Some people disagree with Jesus’ words and want to interpret Mark 16:16 to mean: "He that believeth and is saved shall be baptized." Friends, when we study all the Bible has to say concerning the all important question, "What must I do to be saved," we learn the Bible teaches we are to hear and believe the gospel, or good news, concerning Jesus Christ, we are to repent of our sins, we are to confess our faith to others, and we are to be baptized in order o receive the forgiveness of our sins.

Fifth, when reading a particular passage, consider the period in which it is written. The Bible includes three separate dispensations, the Patriarchal, the Mosaical, and the Christian. The Patriarchal age covered a period of roughly 2500 years, from the time of creation to the giving of the law of Moses. The portions of the Bible that are in this period begin with the first chapter of Genesis and extend through the twentieth chapter of Exodus. Some of the main characters who lived in this period are Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

The second dispensation of time is the Mosaical age. This period begins with the giving of the law of Moses, recorded in Exodus chapter twenty, and extends until the beginning of Christ’s reign, in Acts the second chapter. The Mosaic age covered a period of about 1,500 years. The offering of animal sacrifices observance of the Sabbath are characteristic of this period of time. Some of the main characters that lived during this period include Moses, Samuel, David and the prophets.

The last dispensation is the Christian age, the period of time in which we now live. On the first day of Pentecost after Christ’s ascension to heaven, Christ’s apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. Christ had earlier promised the apostles this would happen in order to guide them into all truth and bring to their remembrance all that Christ had taught them (John 14:26). It was on this day that the gospel was first preached in its entirety, that salvation was offered to in Christ’s name. The Christian age began with this day, recorded in Acts the second chapter, and will continue until the end of time as we know it. The Bible calls this period of time the last days (Acts 2:16ff).

Many people, though no doubt filled with good intentions, often practice error because of their failure to properly apply certain passages to the correct period of time. For example, some today observe the Sabbath, even though the observance of the Sabbath is not a part of the New Testament under which we now live. The old law, including the commandment to observe the Sabbath, was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Sabbatarians such as the Seventh Day Adventists will have you believe that only the ceremonial law was nailed to the cross, while the moral law was not, thus, the commandment to observe the Sabbath is still binding on us today. But friends, neither your Bible nor mine teach such a doctrine. Listen to Paul’s words recorded in Romans 7:4: "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." When Paul wrote that we are dead to the law, what law was he talking about? The law of Moses, including the commandment to keep the Sabbath. Notice further in verse seven: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Friends, what law said "Thou shalt not covet?" The same law that included the commandment to observe the Sabbath. The commandment to observe the Sabbath was written on the same stones as the commandment not to covet (Exodus 20:10-17). Also consider Nehemiah 9:13-14: "Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes, and laws, good statutes and commandments." Friends, did you notice that God made the Sabbath known at Mount Sinai, when the law was given to Moses. No one can make something known to you unless you have no prior knowledge of it. No one was commanded to observe the Sabbath prior to the giving of the law of Moses, and no one is commanded to observe the Sabbath during the Christian dispensation in which we live today.

Under the New Testament, we worship differently than those who lived under the law of Moses. For example, music that is offered in our worship to God must not include the use of mechanical instruments of music. To do so is sinful and unacceptable to God. Christians are to gather together on the first day of every week in order to observe the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7), preach and teach, pray, sing (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16), and give of their means financially (I Corinthians 16:1-2).

Sixth, we must be willing to take what we learn and put it to use. James wrote: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed" (James 1:22-25).

Yes friends, let’s all make it a practice this coming year to study the Bible daily. No other activity can be so profitable.

I thank you for your attention and may God bless you in your search for the truth.

Rod Halliburton