How to Study The Bible Part 2

Study Diligently There are no shortcuts to learning. Whether a book of science, history or religion, it can only be comprehended by unyielding mental industry. The Bible is no exception. Moses enjoined Israel: 'And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.' (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). Jehovah commanded Joshua: 'This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.' (Joshua 1:8). For 'a quarter of the day' Ezra read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; 'and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.' (Nehemiah 9:3, 8:8). The Psalmist declared: 'on his law he meditates day and night.' (Psalm 1:2). 'Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.' (Psalm 119:97). 'I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.' (Psalm 119:99). Paul charged Timothy: 'Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.' (1 Timothy 4:13). The Bible does not accomplish its purpose by its mere presence like an amulet, a charm, a fetish. It is not to be used as the superstitious use a horseshoe, a rabbit's foot, a medicine bag, a relic or crucifix. When a wanderer in a desert locates a fountain of water, he must drink of it as well as find it, if he is to quench his thirst. Even so, one who possesses a Bible must receive the implanted or engrafted word if it is to save his soul. James 1:21. "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." Only by diligent study can this be achieved. Study Methodically Have a definite, workable, sound study plan. And stick to it. Avoid desultory reading. A chapter or verse here or there. Study all of the Bible. Not just your favourite books or verses. it is best to begin with an overall survey of the Bible. Make an outline of prominent persons and events, from beginning to end, in a chronological order. Be sure to keep in mind the scheme of redemption, which is the Bible's central theme, and notice how it gradually unfolds. After obtaining a good bird's eye view of the Bible you will then be prepared to study each book chapter by chapter. Learn something of the author, time and circumstances of writing, and purpose of the book. Jot down the main points in each chapter. Refer to any accounts of the same events that may be recorded in another book. When a thorough chapter by chapter study has been completed it is good to make a careful paragraph by paragraph, and then a verse by verse, study of each book. This is especially true of the New Testament. Another method is to study subjects or topics. Gather all that the Bible says on a particular subject. It could be a person, command, principle or ordinance. Use a reference Bible or concordance. Outline your findings, listing each item under its proper heading. This will give a comprehensive analysis of each topic studied. Underline key passages for easy reference. Memorize those verses that are most frequently used. Practice expressing in your own words what you have learned. Regard The Divisions Of The Bible The major division of the Bible is between the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New. The Jews divided their Testament into the Pentateuch or law (five books of Moses); the prophets (historic and prophetic books) and the psalms or simply the writings (five poetical books plus Ruth, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles). Jesus recognized this division. Luke 24:44. "Then he said to 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 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."" The Old Testament embraces two dispensations: the patriarchal and Mosaic. The patriarchal age is so-called because in it family worship was conducted under the leadership of the chief father or patriarch. During this period, which began at creation, God dealt directly with men. He promised to bless all families of the earth through Abraham's seed. Genesis 12:3. "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 22:18. "and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." Galatians 3:8. "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." Galatians 3:16/ "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ." Four hundred and thirty years after this promise God gave unto the children of Israel at Mount Sinai a law through Moses. Galatians 3:17 "This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void." Because of transgressions it was added to the promise 'until the offspring should come" (verse 19). None are any longer under this law. Galatians 3:24. "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith." Galatians 3:25. "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian," Ephesians 2:14-18. "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." Colossians 2:14-17. "by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." Romans 7:4. "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God." Romans 7:6. "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code." Hebrews 7:12. "For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well." Hebrews 10:9. "then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second." It was never given to the Gentiles as such. Only to fleshly Israel. Deuteronomy 4:8. "And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?" Deuteronomy 5:1-3. "And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today." Nehemiah 9:13-14. "You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant." Romans 2:14. "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law." The New Testament is not like the Old, Jeremiah 31:31-34. "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." It was not added to anything, John 1:17. "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Under it we have not only a new covenant, Hebrews 8:6-13. "But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." but also a new mediator, 1 Timothy 2:5. "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," a new church, Matthew 16:18. "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." and a new promise, Acts 2:38. "And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Although we are not under the Old Covenant we may profit much from studying it. Paul declared that 'these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did' (1 Corinthians 10:6), 1 Corinthians 10:11. "Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come." as well as for our learning, Romans 15:4. "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." It foreshadows Christ and the New Covenant Luke 24:44. English Standard Version (ESV) Then he said to 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 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." John 5:39. "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me," Colossians 2:17. "These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." 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." One cannot fully appreciate and comprehend the New without some knowledge of the Old. Consider The Context Context means 'to weave together' the parts of a sentence, paragraph, discourse, etcetera. That occur just before and after a specified word or passage, and determine its exact meaning; as it is unfair to quote this remark out of its context. The whole situation, background, or environment relevant to some happening or personality.