
Come And Reason Ministries
Come And Reason Ministries helping you learn to discern.
Come And Reason Ministries
Come And Reason Ministries – helping you learn to discern.
I get many requests from listeners seeking methods and principles for Bible study, so I thought it would be helpful to lay out some helpful guidelines for everyone in this blog.
One crucial starting point in understanding God’s Word is to identify the purpose of reading it. The Bible is not an instruction book on mathematics, physics, medicine, chemistry, or many other subjects. Rather, its purpose is to teach the truth about God, the problem of sin, and the plan of salvation. It contains all the truths necessary to lead people back to the knowledge of God in order for them to exercise trust in Him and experience healing of heart and mind.
But understanding the purpose of the book—to communicate the truth to save people—isn’t enough. One must study Scripture with a desire to comprehend the meaning, and not merely to know the words.
I read valuable insight many years ago from the book Christ’s Object Lessons that really helped me grasp this:
Merely to hear or to read the word is not enough. He who desires to be profited by the Scriptures must meditate upon the truth that has been presented to him. By earnest attention and prayerful thought he must learn the meaning of the words of truth, and drink deep of the spirit of the holy oracles (p. 59, my emphasis).
This is the key to all Bible study—not knowing the original words, but the intended meaning. Many get confused on this and end up arguing over the right “word” yet never appreciating the right meaning.
When writing The Remedy paraphrase, this was one of the key principles I applied: What is the most accurate and precise meaning? I have received emails from some who take issue with certain verses because the English words I chose were not in keeping with the Greek. But it isn’t the words that matters, for words can change meaning (e.g., consider how the word “gay” has changed meanings over the past century). What matters is the meaning being communicated, so I have always challenged those concerned to tell me what the verse means.
This is what we want to do all throughout the Bible. And it is even more critical to do so when dealing with symbols, metaphors, similes, images, parables, or any other representative expression.
Here are some basic guidelines that I have found to be helpful in rightly interpreting Scripture: