How To Study the Bible
"How 2" Principles of Sound Bible Study
Now let's look at some of the nuts and bolts of how to study the Bible. The following two verses demonstrate how important it is to “correctly” handle God’s word and not be among those who “distort” it.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” - II Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
“His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” - II Peter 3:16 (NIV)
This part of our study is a bit more advanced. You may think of this section as more of a resource for your deeper and more thourough studies. However, these principles are not that hard to understand and implement.
I would suggest that you go over at least the first few principles listed here. Those are the ones that will prove to be the most useful to you.
Here are nine guidelines for learning how to draw the correct meaning out of a passage in the Bible. (Click on the little down arrow on the right to see the examples for each principle.)
1) Let Scripture Interpret Scripture
This is one of the most important principles we will cover. As you study the Bible, questions will arise. Seeming conflicts or contradictions may arise as well. Don’t rush to judgment. Take careful notes. Write your questions down. The rest of the Bible itself will eventually make things clear.
If we are patient and persistent, the Bible will eventually interpret itself. What does that mean? It simply means that a passage of the Bible can really only be properly interpreted by letting other scriptures in the Bible shed light on it.
What about a scripture that is hard to understand? The rule is: Let those passages of scripture that are clear and unquestioned help you interpret the meaning of a passage that is more difficult to understand.
Example:
In Matthew 7:1 Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (NIV)
Some people try to use this passage to suggest that if we say someone is wrong in what they are doing we are “judging” them and this is wrong. But if we let scripture interpret itself we find that another passage clears this up.
“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” - John 7:24 (NIV)
Here Jesus indicates that there is a correct kind of “judging” and an incorrect kind of “judging”. Incorrect judgment is when we judge by outward appearances: For example, “They look guilty!”
Correct judgment is when we make a judgment based on someone's actions. What they do.
2) The Literal Interpretation Principle
Someone once said, "Before we become evaluators, we need to be observers." Before we start trying to interpret a passage of scripture we need to make sure we understand exactly what is being said.
This first principle of sound Bible interpretation is, take every word of the Bible literally unless there is good reason to indicate otherwise. Like any other book, the Bible utilizes such literary devices as metaphor, simile, imagery, symbolism, foreshadowing, allegory, and hyperbole. Allegory and symbolism, are obviously not to be taken literal, but the overall message of the passage does remains literal.
For example Jesus is referred to as. "the Lamb of God". It is obvious that Jesus is not a literal lamb. However, the meaning of this symbolic imagery is literal. Jesus really is the true sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Example:
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating
that he had done.” - Genesis 2:2 (NIV)
In this passage Moses says that God completed His work and rested from His work on the seventh day. The entire story of creation unfolds on a day by day timeline. At the end of each creation periods Moses writes, "And there was evening, and there was morning...".
Many people want to make these “days” symbolic for vast periods of time. This kind of interpretation though clearly goes against the first rule of proper interpretation. There is no reason to make the “days” of creation anything but literal days.
Creation cannot be explained by science. By definition it transcends science. Even though the sun, moon and stars were not created until the fourth day, light itself was made on the first day. It seems impossible to our finite minds, but that's the way God did it. Trying to make a scripture symbolic because I don't believe the literal interpretation fosters the idea that we can make the Bible say whatever we want it to say. We need to simply take the Bible at face value by faith. If what God is saying seems impossible we should remember what Jesus said: "...with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 (NIV)
3) Textual Context
One of the most important rules of effective Bible study is to make sure we take everything we read in context. What is the immediate and broader context? We must consider all the verses leading up to the passage we are trying to understand as well as those that come after. How does this particular scripture fit into the message of the chapter or the book as a whole? We think it’s terrible when someone takes what we say out of context. How can we do this to the word of God?
Example:
Here is a quote from Job chapter four:
“A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?’”
Job 4:16-17 (NIV)
Now if you were to plop your Bible open to this verse and read it as is, you might think that you should follow this example and get some of your religious information from visions in the night. But when we look at the context (both before and after this verse) we find that this is not Job speaking but a friend named Eliphaz, one of several “friends” that came to Job in the midst of his trials to try to enlighten him as to why he was suffering. Near the end of the book God interrupts one of Job’s so-called friends with these words:
“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?” - Job 38:2 (NIV)
So even though the words Eliphaz spoke are in the Bible, God informs us that these are "words without knowledge."
So this verse, like all verses found in the Bible, has to be taken in context. We have to ask ourselves "who is speaking" and are their words approved by God.
4) Consider all passages on a given topic
No hand picking scriptures! We must study all of the passages that deal with any given subject in the Bible. Singling out just one or two passages and ignoring others can lead to gross misunderstandings. Only when we take all of the information found in God’s word on a given subject can we get the full picture.
We can never come to a true understanding of God’s word by lining up “our scriptures” and “their scriptures” on a chess board and trying to get them to do battle with each other. God is not the God of confusion. All scriptures exist in harmony with one another and any one scripture can only be understood in the light of all other scriptures.
Example:
Once again, I will refer to the example we used earlier. If you look at only one of these passages about "judging", you may come up with a lopsided view on the subject.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Matthew 7:1 - (NIV)
“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” - John 7:24 (NIV)
One verse is refering to judging someone based on apperances, not knowing their hearts. The other is making a judgment based on what you know to be fact. Jesus calls this, judging "correctly". It is right to make clear assesments about things that are right and wrong. For example, we can and should make a judgment about someone or something based on external evidence. After all, determining what is right and wrong is what keeps us safe from harm and evil forces in this world.
5) God’s Word is Progressive
Some people suggest that if God dealt with people in a certain way in the past, then that’s how God deals with us today. While it’s true that God’s character and values never change, that doesn’t mean that He always deals with man in the same way.
God deals with mankind in a “progressive” way. As the revelation of his person and his will became clearer and more powerful, culminating in Christ, God’s expectations for man became greater. This is an example of the progressive nature of the Bible. We do the Bible and ourselves a grave injustice if we try to apply every verse in the Bible directly to ourselves. Sometimes we have to remember that God may have dealt differently with the people we are reading about.
“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands
all people everywhere to repent.”
Acts: 17:30 (NIV)
Example:
God allowed divorce in the Old Testament; not because it was something God was in favor of, but because in His wisdom, God knew that they just weren’t ready for the teachings that Jesus would later set forth on the subject. In the gospel of Mark we
read an exchange between Jesus and the Jewish leader of the day:
“They said, ‘Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.’
‘It was because your hearts were hard that Moses
wrote you this law,’ Jesus replied…”
Mark 10: 4-6 (NIV)
6) Consider Genre - (The type of literature we are studying)
There are several types of literary “genres” used in the Bible. Wisdom Literature, Poetry, Prophecy, Apocalyptic Literature, and Historical Narrative. Many of the books of the Bible incorporate multiple genres.
Being aware of what kind of genre a certain section of scripture is is essential in understanding the meaning of the text. With the exception of the Historical Narrative genre, all of these types of writings use a great deal of symbolism and imagery. The books of Daniel and Revelation are apocalyptic (deal with end time material) and allegorical (highly symbolic).
But as we said earlier, even though they use symbolism to paint a picture on the outside, the inner meaning is still literal.
Example:
“I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”
Joel 2: 30-31 (NIV)
This is an example of a genre known as “apocalyptic” literature which is common in Old Testament writing. It uses dramatic “end of the world” type imagery to describe God’s coming judgment. Usually upon a nation. “The day of the Lord”, is a common phrase found in the Old Testament describing this kind of judgment.
“For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near—
a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
A sword will come against Egypt, and anguish will come upon Cush.”
Ezekiel 30:3-4 (NIV)
Of course if God wanted to literally do all of these things he could. But in fact we know that this is symbolic language because the first chapter of Acts explains that the events happening then and there are in fact the fulfillment of this scripture.
Recognizing that you are dealing with a certain type of literary genre will help you in being able to understand better how to find the meaning of a text.
7) Validate Passages with Double Meanings
Some passages, especially those Old Testament scriptures we refer to as “Messianic”, may have double meanings. First, there is the meaning given that was applicable to the people who first read the message. This is the immediate historical context. But secondly, there may be a secondary fulfillment in a future person or event. Usually, this future person is the coming messiah. We can not take it on ourselves to determine what scriptures have these double meanings and which do not. If a passage is confirmed as being messianic in the New Testament, then we can know for certain that it has a double meaning.
Example:
“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”
(Isaiah 53:5)
Let’s see how our principle about double meanings can help us to determine if this scripture truly does have a double meaning. In Acts 8:35 we read about the conversion of an Ethiopian. He is reading from this very section in Isaiah chapter 53. In verse 35 we read,
“Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” - Acts 8:35 (NIV)
Here a passage in the New Testament makes it clear that this Old Testament passage truly is a prophetic description of Jesus as the Messiah who suffered for our sins.
8) - Historical and Cultural Context
It’s easy to misunderstand a verse in the Bible if we don’t understand the historical circumstances in which it was written. We must be careful to consider these things:
To whom it was written? How might the culture of their time play a part in our understanding of the subject matter?
Why was it written? What was the author’s purpose in writing this?
The circumstances which existed for the author and the reader when it was written.
The Bible was written in a specific culture and at a particular point in time. While the application of the message is universal, the exact message found in the Bible can only fully be realized when we take culture and history into account.
The authors of the Bible addressed the specific needs of those they were writing to. Understanding their historical situation is necessary if we are to understand the meaning of scripture. We want to make scripture relevant to our own lives. But to do this, we must first seek to understand the needs and mindset of the original recipients.
An important rule of thumb here is this: If the interpretation of a passage is not relevant to the needs and understanding of the people to whom it was first written then it is not a proper interpretation.
Example:
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us..."
I John 1:3
John begins this letter by stressing the real tangible humanity of Jesus. All the senses of "hearing", "seeing" and touch are mentioned. Without an understanding of the historical background of John's day, all of this might seem strange.
After all, why come down so hard on the fact that Jesus was a real person? Was someone suggesting otherwise? Well, as a matter of fact, yes, someone was. But we would never know this if all we had was the Bible. This is a situation where a study of the historical background really comes in handy.
Gnosticism was a type of religious philosophy of the day which posed a real threat to the young Christian faith. Gnosticism was a syncretic religion, that is it drew its teachings and ideas from a variety of sources. It simply took whatever ideas came along and tried to incorporate them into itself. Especially those that could serve its purposes.
Simply put, Gnosticism taught that the material world was evil but God had placed a "spark of divinity" in man which was good, the spirit. So the spirit of man is good and the body evil. Of course we could refute that quickly just by turning to Genesis chapter one where God declared that all of his creation was "good".
Anyway, to try to preserve the "goodness" of Jesus, the Gnostic declares that Jesus really did not have a physical body. He was just sort of an illusion, a "phantom".
Now you might be thinking, oh well, what's the big deal, just a bunch of theology, right? Well, not really. Turns out that the gnostic ideas were not just wrong but they totally undermined the gospel itself. If Jesus didn't come "in the flesh" then he didn't really die on the cross. He didn't really rise from the dead. And of course he could not be my advocate because he never really experienced temptation. You see, false teachings are usually much more deadly than they might appear on the surface.
The early church leader were aware of this and that's why they were quick to refute it. The first letter of John is just one place in the New Testament where the divinity and humanity of Jesus are strongly defended. Thanks to a little historical context we can see why John wrote what he did.
9) Word Study (know your limitations)
A “word study” is a study of a particular word found in the Bible. It is an effort to better understand what the word meant in the original language.
Doing a word study is more complicated than many people realize. That’s because the original languages of the Bible (Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew) are much like our own language; words have different meanings in different contexts. Because of this, it is usually best to leave Greek and Hebrew translating to the experts. However, there are other ways to do word studies in the Bible.
One of the best ways to do a word study is simply to compare how the word (or better yet the verse) reads in alternative versions. When doing this it is best to stick with the versions of the Bible that are the most accurate in their translation. Some Bible versions are loosely translated as an attempt to make scripture easier to read. These Bible versions may be appropriate for casual reading, but for serious Bible study, they can be hazardous. New International Version, New American Standard Version, New King James Version and a few other versions are considered the most accurate translations of the original language.
There are many books such as Bible dictionaries, and interlinear Greek/English Bibles that can give us insight into the meaning of words in the Bible.
Example:
The Parable of the Talents is found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, beginning with verse 14. Most people assume that when Jesus speaks about ‘talents’ here, he is referring to our God given gifts and abilities. That is the way we use the word today.
But if we do a little research, we find that the original word that is translated here "talent" is actually referring to a large amount of money in the form of silver or gold. It's value would be worth about 20 years of work in that day.
We know that Jesus is not speaking of literal money here, after all, God doesn't give large amounts of money to all those who become Christians.
Most likely, this very valuable commodity is anything that is of great value in the Kingdom of God. It could be a "talent" in the since of a natural gift that could be used to build up those in the Kingdom. Or it could be privileges and opportunities that allow someone to render service in the Kingdom in ways that others can't. We've all been given some measure of blessing to build up others in the Kingdom. Jesus shows his disciples in this parable that it is only by investing what we have and using it, that we will gain the approval of the master.
As you can see, by knowing the meaning of the word "talent" used here in the original language we get a much fuller and more accurate idea of what is being taught.
Conclusion
We’re so glad you have taken the time to go through this study. Remember, this is about putting you in touch with God’s word. So make sure you check out everything we have said in this brief study by holding it up to the light of His Word.
Also, remember the three “P’s” of mastering the Bible are: Patience, Persistence, and Prayer. Start with a lot of prayer. Ask God for his guidance. Then, dive right in! Start reading your Bible and taking notes as you go. Write down every question that comes to mind. Keep your notes organized. Stay organized. Share your thoughts and discoveries with others who support you and share your love for God and his Word.
A study of God’s word is a lifelong journey. Don’t expect to get it all figured out overnight. Be prepared to revise your thinking every time you open your Bible. Guard your heart at all times and make sure your attitudes are in line with His Word.
And most of all, remember that you're not alone on this journey. God guarantees your success. He knows exactly where you are at in your life's journey. He knows what is in your heart. Nothing could be more pleasing to Him than to know that you are seeking Him through His Word. He will bless you more than you can imagine.
God bless you as you come to know Him better each day!