Last time we discussed how to get in the habit of reading the Bible daily. Once a person starts doing that, however, it quickly becomes important to have principles to help him or her study the Bible, because anyone who takes the time to read will want to understand, and anyone who wants to understand will have to honestly admit that there are some passages that are difficult! Even the Apostle Peter acknowledges this (II Peter 3:14-16).
While there are entire books on the subject of studying the Bible (some recommendations are below), this will serve as a "primer" that can get anyone started.
The Right Mindset
The first and most important part of studying the Bible is our mindset, which should be humble and prayerful. If we approach the Bible with nothing but our intellect, we will walk away with nothing but our pride. We must recognize our own limitations, weaknesses, and dependency upon God. The wisdom of learning of men - even great men - falls far short of what would be necessary to read and understand the Bible on our own. We needed the Lord to reveal Himself in the first place, and we continue to need Him in order to make sense of His revelation. This makes prayer an essential part of reading and studying the Bible. Pastor Randall Townsend has a perfect, concise prayer that I try to say every time I open Scripture:
"Lord, be with my heart. Keep me away from heresy. Teach me something good. Show me what the truth is. Amen.”
The Right Interpretation
In conjunction with a humble and prayerful mindset, we must allow God's word to be the arbiter of its own meaning. What does that look like?
Take God's words literally. Unless the context is clearly figurative (symbolism, allegory, simile, metaphor, etc) then it is literal. It doesn't matter how difficult it is to take it literally - do it anyway. To quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet, "There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy" (Act I Scene V). God knows an awful lot more than we do. He said what He means and means what He says. Take it literally.
Compare Scripture with Scripture (I Corinthians 2:12-13). God can, will, and does clarify Himself. Use the Bible to interpret the Bible, not some person's opinion. I don't care what kind of degree they have - they're not God. Many study Bibles include cross-references to aid with this process, which can be especially helpful if this is new for you. This also means that we should never take a verse in isolation. Each verse is part of a larger tapestry of its immediate context and its context within the Bible as a whole.
Never let a difficult verse confuse a clear one. Critics of the Bible often cite "contradictions" in God's word. And I'll be honest: there are some spots that seem to be at odds with one another. But God does not contradict Himself. The problem is not with God, but rather with our limited understanding. Compare Scripture with Scripture, pray for understanding, and patiently wait for God to reveal the answer to you. And while you're wrestling with the difficult parts, don't abandon the clear, simple parts!
The Right Audience
Some contradictions are easily resolved by recognizing that the entire Bible is not written to you! Yes, the entire Bible is written for you (II Timothy 3:16), but it is not all written to you. Here's a simple example: if you read Genesis 6 and then promptly head over to Home Depot to shop for some gopher wood to build an ark, then you have a serious misunderstanding of how to read the Bible! God told Noah to build an ark, not you!
The reality is that God divides people into three groups: Jews, Gentiles, and the Church. The majority of the Bible is written to the Jews - that is the audience to whom God is speaking. And Jews, as you may have noticed, are not Gentiles, nor are they the Church. There are also some parts of the Bible where God directly addresses Gentiles, and then about 25% or so that is directed to the Church.
Then why don't we just read that 25%? Because all of the Bible is written for us, even the parts that are not written to us. By reading the parts that do not directly address the Church, we learn about God's character, His over-arching plans, and the means by which He has accomplished His will through the ages, to name just a few things. For example, I don't have to follow the Jewish dietary and lifestyle laws, but I do benefit from seeing how important it is to God that His people are different from the world.
The Right Division
Although some would attempt to argue against it, every reasonable person is at least a little bit dispensational if they acknowledge a clear distinction between the Old and New Testament. A "dispensation" is merely God's way of dealing with mankind - the truth and expectations that He dispenses - at any given point, but to think of a dispensation as only a "period of time" is an oversimplification, because some things are interdispensational (not restricted to God's dealings with any one specific time period).
To oversimplify dispensations, or to rend one dispensation from another rather than to simply divide it, can easily and quickly lead to over-dispensationalizing the Bible, an error referred to as "hyperdispensationalism." However, the opposite extreme - to fail to recognize and separate the Bible by God's various dispensations - can also lead to errors, usually in the form of appropriating things for the Church that have absolutely nothing to do with the Church. Both extremes - hyperdispensationalism and hypodispensationalism - inevitably cause grave doctrinal errors. That is why we must approach with the right mindset, as mentioned above.
So, what is a balanced, Biblical view of dispensations? It is the recognition (by comparing Scripture with Scripture) that God has distinctive ways that he deals with mankind throughout history as the progressive revelation of Scripture was gradually unveiled. Although there is some room for minor debate, most Bible believers recognize either seven or eight dispensations:
Innocence (Edenic Covenant)
Conscience (Adamic Covenant)
Government (Noahic Covenant)
Promise (Abrahamic Covenant)
Law (Mosaic Covenant)
Grace (New Covenant)
Tribulation (New Covenant Amended)
Millennium (Covenant established by Christ’s earthly reign)
For our purposes here, we will let the topic rest, however if you are eager to explore this more Clarence Larkin's book Dispensational Truth is a good place to start. Because this is such an important part of studying the Bible, there will also be more content about this topic on Vanguard in the future, including the book study on Ephesians 1:7-12 coming soon.
The Right Theme
Most Christians have the notion that the Bible is all about them, and that the theme of the Bible is salvation. But we must remember that the Church is a relatively small part of a much bigger narrative that is unfolding, and that bigger narrative is about a KINGDOM. That kingdom is presently split into the Kingdom of God (spiritual) and the Kingdom of Heaven (physical), and while the Kingdom of God is unassailable and growing, the Kingdom of Heaven is currently subdued by Satan. The Bible chronicles the establishment of the kingdom (originally the spiritual and the physical were unified), the split in those kingdoms caused by sin, the back-and-forth struggle to renew the physical kingdom through the nation of Israel, and the reestablishment of the spiritual kingdom with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection opening the way for sinners to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. The book of Revelation is the victory of Christ reclaiming the throne of the physical kingdom, and eventually reunifying the two kingdoms in eternity.
Like dispensationalism, the theme of the Bible is a crucial topic, and there will be future posts on Vanguard exploring this topic further.
The Right Application
Another critical part of studying the Bible is application. There are three ways to apply every passage of Scripture:
HISTORICAL
DOCTRINAL
SPIRITUAL
It is important to start our interpretation and application of any passage with its historical context. What was happening, when was it happening, and what did it mean to the people of that time who experienced it?
Next, we must consider the doctrinal application. What does this teach about the nature of God, the plan of God, the nature of mankind? Who is it directed toward? Doctrine is not up for interpretation by man (II Peter 1:20-21) but rather must be determined by comparing Scripture with Scripture (I Corinthians 2:13) as part of the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Doctrine is critical.
Finally, after considering the historical and doctrinal applications, we are free to make personal, devotional, or "spiritual" application to ourselves. Many people are so eager to make personal application (and avoid the difficult work of historical and doctrinal application) that they find themselves tangled in all manner of doctrinal knots.
This historical/doctrinal/personal approach will be used by each book study that gets posted on Vanguard, and is part of the foundation for other posts as well.
By way of quick example, let's consider Noah in Genesis 6-7.
HISTORICAL: There was a real Noah, and a real judgment from God that lead to a real catastrophic, worldwide flood. Noah, his family, and the animals had to get in a real ark to avoid real death.
DOCTRINAL: We learn about both the longsuffering, judgment, and mercy of God from this passage. However, when we compare Scripture with Scripture we are also taught doctrines regarding the end times, baptism, salvation, and God's promises. Search the Scriptures for yourself: start with a simple search of the name "Noah" using a tool like BibleGateway and see what happens.
PERSONAL: If God kept His promises to Noah, He will surely do so for me too. And even though I do not have to go build an ark in my backyard, the ark creates a picture of salvation - thank God that I am safe in the ark (Christ) and will be spared from the judgment to come, not because I'm good, but because I believed what God said and got in the "boat"!
Recommend Resources
If you're eager for more on the subject of this post, check out the following resources:
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