To Understand the Bible (Why Study The Bible 3rd in series)

So You Want to Understand the Bible?

BY STEPHEN FLURRY with commentary by Stephen Newdell

FROM THE AUGUST 2012 TRUMPET PRINT EDITION

Why is it that a group of biology teachers could pretty well agree on the meaning of a biology textbook, but if you assembled a room full of theologians, they would probably all have different interpretations of the Holy Bible?

Why so much disagreement and misunderstanding when it comes to God’s inspired Word?

It’s simply because most people are not willing to submit to or obey the precepts revealed in the Bible. The Apostle Paul said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

To understand the Bible, we must study it for doctrine and correction. In Psalm 119:67, for example, the author declares, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.” The psalmist had gone astray. He needed to be straightened out. So he looked to God’s Word to get back on track!

How many people do you know who are willing to be reproved and corrected by the Bible? It’s no wonder there is so much confusion when it comes to understanding the Bible!

Herbert W. Armstrong often compared the Bible to a jigsaw puzzle (see Isaiah 28:10-11). But instead of putting the various pieces together properly and sensibly, as Mr. Armstrong wrote in Mystery of the Ages, theologians and preachers “read an already-believed false teaching into each particular scripture, taken out of context.” They interpret the scriptures to say what they have assumed to be true.

But the Bible doesn’t need any personal or private interpretation, as it says in 2 Peter 1:20. God’s Word interprets itself! If we are willing to humble ourselves and to accept the authority of God’s divine precepts, we can understand the plain truth revealed in the Bible. Here then are several important steps you can take on the path to understanding the Bible.

First of all, before you begin your study, pray for a humble attitude and for God to open your mind to understand the Bible. Jesus Christ set an outstanding example in this regard. He spent many hours with God in prayer every week. If Jesus Christ derived all of His power from God, think about how much more we need to go to God for help! To understand the Bible, we really need God’s power!

Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Reasoning together with God is what it means to be truly educated according to God’s curriculum.

After asking God for understanding and humility, make Bible study a daily priority. Be like the Bereans. In Acts 17, it says they “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (verse 11). They studied with a right attitude, “with all readiness of mind”—and they did it every day. They were constantly studying God’s Holy Word, repeating it, reminding themselves of it, praying about it there by to show themselves acceptable so that they could be approved by God, and welcomed into the Heavenly Kingdom. We have come so far away from that thinking in our modern times, most people haven’t the first idea about what scripture says, not even the 10-Commandments handed down to Moses. (check this website for a study about the 10-commandments). Nowadays younger people exchange lovers like bed bugs and think nothing of it! Do they know or care what God said about this through Apostle Paul? Apparently not! We really should study far more than we do! All of us! Fortunately you have the guidance of articles at this website and books available at TheTrumpet.com and at other websites. Theirs is plenty to read if you want to know. Be aware, a day may come when All Christian websites are shut down by the masters of the Internet and then we will have only what is printed in our homes. So, study and collect what you can on your hard drive while you can! Even today, (year 2019) You can’t buy a Bible in China. Most Christian Churches are being banned by the Chinese government. The same could happen worldwide and many have predicted it will.

In the Synoptic Gospels  ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism_of_Jesus )              

Mark, Matthew, and Luke depict the baptism in parallel passages. In all three gospels, the Holy spirit is depicted as descending upon Jesus immediately after his baptism accompanied by a voice from Heaven, but the accounts of Luke and Mark record the voice as addressing Jesus by saying “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”, while in Matthew the voice addresses the crowd “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–23).[10][11][12]

The Baptism of Jesus  (Luke 3 Revised Standard Version)

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son;[a] with thee I am well pleased.”[b]

They few in attendance knew then Jesus was the Messiah! They knew at that moment what John the Baptizer had been prophetically shouting about.

“Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). We study to show ourselves approved to God. This is not something to be casual about. God commands it!

(SN) Let’s consider two points further. Jesus the Messiah (to be) was “The Living Word of God” and “lived” with God as His companion for untold Billions of Years. Some Jewish people in his time walking amongst men and women referred to him as “Torah.” One might say, “When Torah was here he healed my brother!” He was born into a monastic community in the foothills of Mount Carmel near Qumran and all of his days being raised he was continually educated to understand and read the law, behave in a sober and reverent fashion, speak properly with good manners, and of course read Hebrew and Aramaic as Jewish children are today – particularly amongst the Orthodox communities. From his youth he was in prayer almost all the time even while working and studying. God was imbued into him from His beginning and (my personal thesis) even MORE so after his baptism! It is my thesis that at the moment of rising out of the full emersion baptism those around saw the Holy Spirit in the shape of a Dove, settle upon Him and then they heard God’s voice.

In the Synoptic Gospels   (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism_of_Jesus )              

Mark, Matthew, and Luke depict the baptism in parallel passages. In all three gospels, the Holy spirit is depicted as descending upon Jesus immediately after his baptism accompanied by a voice from Heaven, but the accounts of Luke and Mark record the voice as addressing Jesus by saying “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”, while in Matthew the voice addresses the crowd “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–23).[10][11][12]

The Baptism of Jesus  (Luke 3 Revised Standard Version)

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son;[a] with thee I am well pleased.”[b]

They few in attendance knew then Jesus was the Messiah! They knew at that moment what John the Baptizer had been prophetically shouting about.

“Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). We study to show ourselves approved to God. This is not something to be casual about. God commands it!

We have come so far away from that continual God Centered thinking in our modern times, most people haven’t the first idea about what scripture says, not even the 10-Commandments handed down to Moses. (check this website for a study about the 10-commandments). Nowadays younger people exchange lovers like bed bugs and think nothing of it! Do they know or care what God said about this through Apostle Paul? Apparently not! We really should study far more than we do! All of us! Fortunately you have the guidance of articles at this website and books available at TheTrumpet.com and at other websites. Theirs is plenty to read if you want to know. Be aware, a day may come when All Christian websites are shut down by the masters of the Internet and then we will have only what is printed in our homes. So, study and collect what you can on your hard drive while you can! Even today, (year 2019) You can’t buy a Bible in China. Most Christian Churches are being banned by the Chinese government. The same could happen worldwide and many have predicted it will.

By studying the Bible every day, we will begin to think more like God. We can actually come to know what God’s will is for every circumstance (Ephesians 5:17).

(SN)  And if we do not, then we have not invested our effort to find and know him as is so strongly implied in the parables, and one day we might go to our judgment and be condemned by the phrase, You don’t know me and I Never Knew You!

Matthew 7: RSV

21 “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.

These Parabels teach us that our life is an investment and we are expected to use the time we have wisely. The profit we should gain is wisdom of God’s Holy Ways because only those who accept HIS Ways and His cultural behaviors will be welcomed into His Kingdom.

What Parabels?  Here see this:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Parable of the Talents (also the Parable of the Minas) is one of the parables of Jesus, which appears in two of the synoptic, canonical gospels of the New Testament: (Canonical means they were approved by the church fathers because they could trace the source and be sure this was the true message and not a legend.)

Although the basic story in each of these parables is essentially the same, the differences between the parables as they appear in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke are sufficient to indicate that the parables are not derived from the same source.[1] In Matthew, the opening words link the parable to the preceding Parable of the Ten Virgins, which refers to the Kingdom of Heaven.[1] The version in Luke is also called the Parable of the Pounds.

In both Matthew and Luke, a master puts his servants in charge of his goods while he is away on a trip. Upon his return, the master assesses the stewardship of his servants. He evaluates them according to how faithful each was in making wise investments of his goods to obtain a profit. It is clear that the master sought some profit from the servants’ oversight. A gain indicated faithfulness on the part of the servants. The master rewards his servants according to how each has handled his stewardship. He judges two servants as having been “faithful” and gives them a positive reward. To the single unfaithful servant, who “played it safe”, a negative compensation is given.

Another important key is to be urgent in studying God’s Word! “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Time is running out on the age of man ruling over man! God’s government will soon be established on Earth, headquartered in Jerusalem. Every one of us must use the minutes, hours, days and years of our temporary existence to prepare us for the world to come.

God is trumpeting the plain truth of Jesus Christ’s gospel message! Make the most of this brief time period and be zealous in your study of God’s Word. Dig into the Bible. Use your time wisely. Don’t allow the cares of this world to crowd out the time we are commanded to spend in prayerful study of God’s truth (Matthew 13:22).

Finally, be sure to act on what you learn. King David wrote, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever” (Psalm 111:10). Understanding follows the doing!

In fact, obedience is a prerequisite for understanding (Psalm 119:100). If we sincerely and wholeheartedly try to obey all that God reveals—if we humbly repent of sins that are exposed by the bright light of God’s Word—God will open our minds to the riches and depths of His glorious truth. That is an absolute promise from God.

Our obedience to God’s law is the greatest determining factor in how well we grasp and understand spiritual knowledge!

So remember these important points when studying your Bible. Ask God for understanding. Then dig into God’s Word—do it every day. And knowing the times we are living in, be urgent in your study—give it the highest priority. Then, make sure you apply what you learn. Doing this will not only open your mind to understand the simplicity of God’s Word, it will make your daily study sessions the most inspiring, invigorating and spiritually enriching activity of the day!

  1. How To Navigate The Holy Bible
  2. Why Study The Bible? and How to: (#1 of a series)
  3. How God Preserved the Bible (Why Study The Bible 2nd in series)
  4. To Understand the Bible (Why Study The Bible 3rd in series)
  5. Why Study The Bible (4th in Series)
  6. How To Develop Devotional Bible Study (5th in Series)
  7. Part 6 How To Develop Devotional Bible Study (6th in Series)
  8. Part 7 Devotional Bible Study A Daily Practice 7th in Why Study The Bible series
  9. Why We Should Read The Bible (8th in Series)
  10. Part 9: Last of series:  Studying the Scriptures

 640 total views,  2 views today