How To Study Your Bible
How To Study the Bible?
Part 1 What is the Bible? 39 OT books and 27 NT books
• Factors that qualified the NT as Scripture
✓ Apostolic Authorship
✓ Early Church Acceptance/Usage (Universality)
✓ Orthodoxy
✓ Antiquity
(1) The church has a passive role in determining the Christian canon
(2) Scripture, not the church, is in the final position of authority.
Scripture’s Internal Testimony
Josh 1:8 This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.
Ps 19:7–9 Psalms 19:7 The instruction of the LORD is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. Psalms 19:8 The precepts of the LORD are right, making the heart glad; the command of the LORD is radiant, making the eyes light up. Psalms 19:9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are reliable and altogether righteous.
Deut 4:2 You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the LORD your God I am giving you.
2Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 2Timothy 3:17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2Peter 1:20 Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, 2Peter 1:21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 5:17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. Matthew 5:18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.
1 Tim 5:18 For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain (Deut 25:4), and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.” (Luke 10:7)
2Peter 3:15 Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. 2Peter 3:16 He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.
What about the circular nature of the argument?
1. if Scripture were in fact found to be with out error, it would follow that it speaks with out error regarding its own nature.
2. Reliability oft he Bible
Telephone game
• Some have said, “The Bible has been changed over time and is unreliable.”
• Textual Criticism is the field of study whose purpose is “to recover the original text of the New Testament from the available evidence.”
• We have about 5,400 New Testament manuscripts
‣ Manuscripts
❖ The composition of NT writings started in the 40’s A.D and proceeded to the later half of the first century.
❖ P52 - Written 125 A.D. (contains John 18:31-34,37-38)
❖ Codex Sinaiticus - Written in the 300’s AD (earliest surviving complete copy of the Greek NT)
❖ Dead Sea Scrolls - Old Testament Manuscripts dating from 150 B.C. to 68 A.D.
❖ Aleppo Codex (920 A.D.) and Leningrad Codex (1009 A.D) - Old Testaments
New Testament Statistics
• 94 percent of the content of the manuscripts is exactly the same.
‣ Of the remaining 6 percent, 3 percent constitute nonsensical readings that are transparently not original but are the result of various scribal errors.
‣ Thus, only about 3 percent is properly the subject of investigation.
• Conclusions
‣ First, none of the variant readings (including omissions) affect the central message or theological content of the Scriptures.
‣ Second, it can confidently be asserted that the text of the Bible today is an accurate and faithful representation of the original manuscripts.
• The bible is historically accurate but is not written to be a an objective history textbook or science textbook. It is a theological history.
• Jewish and Roman external sources that reference Jesus - Josephus (AD 37-100), Tacitus (AD 56-113), Suetonius (AD 120), Pliny the Younger (AD 110), Lucian of Samosta (115-200).
Song ?
How To Interpret the Bible Part 2
1. Why does it Matter?
2. Goal of Interpretation
4. Science and Art
1. Why does bible interpretation matter?
1. Because there is a right way to interpret and a wrong way.
2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.
Jas 3:1 Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.
2 Pet 3:16 He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.
John 20:30–31 John 20:30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. John 20:31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
3. Spirited Enabled
1Corinthians 2:12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. 1Corinthians 2:13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. 1Corinthians 2:14 But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.
4. Science and Art of Interpretation
Respect the rules of grammar.
Know the genre and utilize the original language.
We don’t have a machine to spit out the correct
interpretation. We must attempt to understand the
author’s emotions and their creativity in use of language.
Improve over time, learning from others, learn from those in the past.
Main principals and rules of interpretation
Paragraph, entire book, author’s other writings, Bible, Historical background.
Practical tips, things to be aware of
- Genre — Revelation is different than Matthew, which is different that Psalms
- What do words mean? Meaning of words in specific time?
- Historical context.
- Observation
- Read repeatedly, different translations, listen to scripture,
- Read patiently, prayerfully,
- Ask questionss
Test Case
Jas 2:21 Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar?
Context
Jas 2:18–20 James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. James 2:19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder. James 2:20 Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless?
Eph 2:8–9 Ephesians 2:8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— Ephesians 2:9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
Song?
Part 3 How to Apply the Bible
1 Cor 10:11 These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
Gal 3:19 Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. Gal 3:22–24 Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. Galatians 3:23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. Galatians 3:24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.
Luke 24:44 He told them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Heb 10:1–5 Hebrews 10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Hebrews 10:2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? Hebrews 10:3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. Hebrews 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Hebrews 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
Hope
Rom 15:4 For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.
Resources for Bible Study
1. Your Local Church
2. Study Bible
3. Commentaries
4. Online resources
Got Questions.org
Biblehub - different translations
Bible Project - Youtube
Blue Letter Bible
Gospel Coalition
Desiring God
Ligonier
Important!
- Trusted people and organizations
- Not neglecting prayer
- Not letting online resources replace the church
- Learning from wise believers around you
