HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

Lesson Four: How to Interpret the Bible
The study of the 'rules' of Bible interpretation is called hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the science of Bible interpretation. This strange theological term comes from the Greek word hermeneuo which means TO INTERPRET OR EXPLAIN. The reason for studying the Bible is to properly interpret what God is saying to us.
Two other technical terms are important here. Bible scholars often refer to the 'exegesis' of Scripture, which means allowing the truth to come out of the text without the filter of our own ideas. The word "exegesis" is also derived from a Greek word, which means "explanation " or "to lead OUT of." This means we approach to the Scriptures to learn what they say and mean, not to prove our own point.
The opposite term is "eisogesis" which is from a Greek word meaning "to read INTO". This is probably the most common (and dangerous) error of casual Bible students. It is even the error of many well-known television evangelists. This means that a person approaches the Scripture with a pre-conceived idea and uses the Scripture to prove their point, even if the Scriptures have to be "bent" to make them fit.
What we mean by Bible interpretation is the correct meaning of the passage as it was intended by the original author. In other words, we must allow the Bible to speak for itself. While this sounds simple, we must realize that we all have some pre-conceived ideas and that we must work carefully to see that we arrive at the Truth instead of seeking to prove that we are right. We must seek to understand what the original author had in mind--in his context of life and history.
The eighteenth century scholar J. A. Ernesti set the stage for what we call today "rules of Bible interpretation." For Ernesti, a correct understanding of the Bible mean discovering (1) the use of words, (2) the historical circumstances controlling their usage, and (3) the intention of the author strictly governed by his own words. (See Toward an Exegetical Theology, by Walter C. Kaiser.)
Rules of Bible interpretation:
(1) We must interpret the Bible in the light of its LANGUAGE AND HISTORY.
Language, or 'literary setting,' means that language has different meanings in different social, historical, and cultural settings. We must know what Bible words meant to the writers of the Bible. Understanding something of the meaning of the original languages is necessary for correct Bible interpretation, although you should also know that no new or novel doctrines are hidden in the Greek and Hebrew.
Second, "historical setting" means the time and place when a passage of the Bible was written.
This first rule brings up the need for Bible dictionaries and commentaries. They are helpful in obtaining background material as to the culture, setting and the history of the passage in question.
Some examples of how to apply this rule.
(a) Read carefully 2 Corinthians 12:2. What is the third heaven? The Mormons build a whole doctrine of levels of eternal reward based on this verse. But if you just understood something of ancient astronomy, you would know that the first heaven was the sky and clouds, the second heaven was the realm of the heavenly bodies (sun, moon, stars), and the "third" heaven, beyond the sun, moon and stars, was the realm of God. The third heaven is paradise, which Paul indicates in verse 4.
(b) Mark 1:1-21. Why did the disciples so quickly and readily leave everything and follow Jesus? Because they were so committed to him? No. Israel was under the iron yoke of Roman domination and occupation and everyone was expecting the Messiah who would liberate Palestine and rule the world. The disciples probably followed Jesus for very selfish reasons. Even later they were arguing over who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom, and who would sit at the right hand of the throne of the Messiah!
(2) We must interpret Scripture by Scripture
In other words, the whole Bible must speak for itself. We cannot build doctrines on isolated portions of Scriptures. It’s easy to quote individual Bible verses to prove your point. It is a much greater challenge to see how individual verses fit into the whole picture.
Examples:
(a) Does Acts 2:38 teach that baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of sins? Yes, by itself. But many other passages about water baptism in the Bible make it clear that baptism is necessary for discipleship and Christian growth, but it is not necessary to get into heaven.
(b) Does James 2:24 teach that works are necessary for salvation? Yes, by itself. But James 2:24 must be understood in the larger context of New Testament grace.
(3) Individual verses of the Bible must be understood in the context of OTHER VERSES IN THAT PASSAGE.
Two examples which will probably ruffle your feathers are;
(a) Matthew 24:40-41 says, "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." Does this sound like the rapture? It has been used that way for years. But look again at the verses ahead of these famous words. See verses 36 - 39, especially 39. In 39, who is taken away, the righteous or the unrighteous? And who is left? Read carefully. The rules of language apply to Scripture and dare not be bent or ignored. Just because it does not fit with what we want it to say, we must take it for what it does say.
(b) Romans 10:17 is not about building your faith by hearing the word, even though it is used by many preachers to "prove" just that. This verse is about salvation. In other words, faith in Christ unto salvation comes by hearing the Word. Just look at the context!
(An old proverb used in Bible School - "Text, without context, is pretext.")
(4) Each passage of scripture has one INTERPRETATION, many APPLICATIONS.
Interpretation is WHAT THE BIBLE MEANS. The "literal" meaning of each passage of the Bible understood on the basis of the rule of interpretation, must be our starting point for applying the Bible to our daily lives.
Application is WHAT THE BIBLE MEANS TO ME. One of the great Bible scholars of this century, F. F Bruce, wrote, "The place of the Bible in the life of the church has constantly added to it a wealth of fresh and practical meaning which the interpreter cannot ignore."
(5) We cannot build major Doctrines on isolated or unclear verses of the Bible.
Passages of Scripture in which a doctrine is merely touched on must be interpreted by those passages where a doctrine is expressly taught. An example is 1Corinthians 11:6. Another example is the idea that the gifts of the Spirit "died out" with the Apostles. There is no Bible verse in the New Testament that teaches this very popular idea, even though some preach it as a fact.
(6) In most cases, like the rest of the Bible, parables have ONE BASIC MEANING.
A more contemporary example is Aesop's fable of the fox and the grapes. You know the story. Is the lesson, or the moral of the story, that foxes actually eat grapes? No. That's just part of the story to illustrate a single moral principle. If you focus on whether or not foxes actually eat grapes you miss the whole point of the story.
Just so with the parables in the Bible. The parable of the ten virgins is a Biblical example. The parable is full of unique symbolism: the number ten, virgins, lamps, oil. But the whole point of the story is that we should "watch" or "be spiritual alert." Whatever else all the symbols mean is not clear, and to start building doctrines on this parable (like a doctrine of a partial rapture) is theological thin ice.
(7) Two guard rails along the highway of correct Bible interpretation: THE HOLY SPIRIT and THE CHRlSTIAN COMMUNITY.
We have the Holy Spirit to guide us, but this does not mean we don't need other Christians, especially well equipped and informed Bible teachers. And we have the established, historical teachings of the Church, but this does not mean we don't need the Holy Spirit!
Lesson One Lesson Two Lesson Three Lesson Five Lesson Six Lesson
catcmo2006 Thank You for stopping in this site it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers, intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.

HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

Lesson Three: New Testament Overview
The New Testament consists of 27 books. The word "Testament" means a "covenant, agreement, contract". "New" is used as in contrast to the "Old" Testament, or the way God related to men and women after the coming of Christ.
Perhaps the we could title the Bible God's Plan. The "Old" Testament would be Volume One: The Plan Begins. And the "New" Testament would be called Volume Two: The Plan Completed.
The Purpose of the New Testament: TO REVEAL THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST, as the fulfillment of Old Testament history, ceremony and prophecy.
The General Content of the New Testament (Open your Bibles to the 'Table of Contents" as we work through this material.) The New Testament is very similar in its structure to the Old Testament. Last week we learned the Old Testament has three major sections: history, poetry, and prophecy. The New Testament also has three major divisions:
a. HISTORY, including .the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and Acts.
b. TEACHING, or the Epistles (personal letters) of Paul, Peter, James and John
c. PROPHECY, the Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse of Saint John.
The Specific Content of the New Testament Books.
History: The Gospels
The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are not biographies in the pure sense, although they are historical in every sense. Perhaps "portraits" is a better word than "biographies." In each of the Gospels, Jesus is painted in a different pose. Each Gospel writer saw Jesus from a different angle and wrote his Gospel for a unique purpose.
MATTHEW was the tax collector. He wrote his Gospel for the purpose of showing a Jewish audience how Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, More than in any other Gospel. Matthew uses the phrase, "This was to fulfill ..."
See Matt. 1:22.
MARK was the first Gospel account to be written, and it seems quite clear that Matthew and Luke borrowed material from Mark. Mark begins with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river and contains no Christmas story. Some feel Mark was addressed more to the Roman mind. His use of "straightway" throughout the book, and his direct "get to the point" writing style may be a reflection of the Roman attitude.
LUKE was a physician and the only non-Jewish author in the Bible. He also wrote Acts. He was not one of the original apostles, but was a traveling companion of Paul. Luke's Gospel is the most detailed and carefully organized of the four gospels. See Luke 3:1. Luke also has the most extensive material on the birth and early childhood of Jesus.
JOHN is very different in its content and style from the other Gospels. It is the most theological, in that it is almost entirely teaching. You can see this stand out in a red letter edition of the Bible. In fact, of the 21 chapters in John, the last 10, almost half the book, are about the last week in Jesus life. Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, arid 17 are composed of teaching that took place in the Upper Room the night before Jesus' crucifixion. A key phrase in John is "I am ..." The purpose of John is clearly stated in John 20:30-31: BELIEVE.
History: Acts
ACTS is Luke's record of the events that took place in the early church, Underlying the special events is a powerful explanation and defense of Christianity, to the Jews, the Greeks and the Romans. If you read the book carefully you can "see" where Luke joined Paul by change of the tense (from "they" to "we").
IMPORTANT NOTE: The pivotal event in each of the Gospels is the baptism of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit came on his life. The pivotal event of Acts is the Spirit baptism of the disciples. Acts is the story of God's people, receiving what Jesus received (the power of the Holy Spirit) in order to do what Jesus did.
The Epistles: Paul
ROMANS, written to the Christians in Rome, is the most systematic presentation of Christian doctrine in the Bible. Its themes are judgment and righteousness, Jew and Gentile, law and grace, free will and predestination.....or in one word, salvation,
1 CORINTHIANS, written to the Christians in the Greek city of Corinth, is about a myriad of seemingly unrelated issues--like law suits, communion, spiritual gifts, women in the church, matters of conscience, the resurrection. But the unifying theme is the community, or how Christians are to relate to one another in all kinds of settings and situations.
2 CORINTHIANS. It seems that there were some leaders in Corinth who were questioning Paul's authority, so much of 2 Corinthians is autobiographical, defending Paul's calling and right to apostolic authority.
GALATIANS was written to the Christians in the Roman province of Galatia, or modern-day Turkey. It is the declaration of the Christian's independence from the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. The theme of Galatians is that salvation is by grace..Jesus plus nothing.
EPHESIANS, written to the Christians in the Greek city of Ephesus, is about the church - what it is and how God wants to use it. See Ephesians 3:10.
PHILIPPIANS, which Paul wrote from prison to the Christians in the Greek city of Philippi, is about the joy of our salvation.
COLOSSIANS, written to the Christians in the Greek city of Colosse, is about the magnificence of Christ.
PHILEMON is a short personal letter from Paul to a wealthy Christian by the name of Philemon. Paul had somehow met Philemon's runaway slave, and sent this letter back to Philemon, imploring him to receive back his former employee - as a brother in Christ.
1 & @ TIMOTHY and TITUS are personal, instructional letters from Paul to his young understudies.
The Epistles: Hebrews
HEBREWS is in a class by itself in that no one really knows who wrote it. Written to Jewish Christians, it is perhaps the most profound book of the New Testament. The letter presents a comparison between the Old Covenant of law and ceremony and the New, or "better" Covenant of grace in Christ.
The Epistles: James
JAMES is a short but powerful letter about the importance of how you live out your faith. It is a kind of New Testament book of proverbs.
The Epistles: Peter
1, 2 PETER, among other things, focus on how the Christian is supposed to respond in adversity. Keywords in the book are sanctification, suffering and obedience.
The Epistles: John
1,2,3 JOHN are three little letters by the "Apostle of Love" ...the same John who wrote the Gospel of John. The theme of the
The Epistles: Jude
JUDE is a fiery little letter about serving God with purity and integrity.
Prophecy
REVELATION is the most mysterious book in the Bible. It has been understood and misunderstood many ways! It's purpose, if it can be simply stated, is that Jesus and his kingdom will triumph, no matter how bleak life becomes. This was an incredibly important message at the time, because the church was going through one of the most fierce persecutions in its history.
catcmo2006 Thank You for stopping in this site it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers, intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.