Studying the Bible

  In my last post I emphasized the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who helps us to understand the Bible. In this post I would like to give some practical advice to help readers really engage with the Bible.

  One of the first things I would recommend is getting a Bible with good cross references and marginal notes. The New Testament is built upon the Old Testament, and a lot of it won't make sense unless the reader is familiar with the relevant Old Testament passages. Here's an example to demonstrate my point: in Luke 4 Jesus reads from the Book of Isaiah, specifically a passage prophesying the healing ministry of the Messiah, and He applies it to Himself, telling the synagogue that the passage is fulfilled in their hearing (i.e. at that very time). But if one consults the passage in Isaiah, one finds that Jesus stopped half-way through a sentence, the rest of which reads: 

'And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.' (Isaiah 61:2-3, NKJV)

  The implication is that Jesus would fulfill the rest of the passage, but not at that time. In other words, Jesus will at some point in the future execute the vengeance of God upon the enemies of God's people. Only by consulting the passage in Isaiah would one pick this up. The Bible is meant to be read holistically: it is meant to be searched and its various parts brought together.

  It follows from this that one needs to read the whole Bible, and not just parts. When I became a Christian and got my own Bible, I came across the common practice of reading the whole Bible in a year and I did so. This can be an extremely useful thing to do as it reveals different aspects of God's plan and His dealings with mankind and the angels, and it gives the reader a better grasp of the overall sequence of Biblical history. I would suggest that someone who has just become a Christian start in the New Testament; but once a certain amount of familiarity with it has been attained, it makes sense to have a look at the Old Testament. One doesn't need to read the Bible in the space of a year: it's good to meditate on God's Word. But a specific reading plan is very helpful for making sure one reads the whole Bible.

  Having a good grasp of grammar is essential for studying the Bible. If one finds a tough passage, it's better to take one's time and go through it step-by-step, rather than rushing on to read the rest of the chapter. People can go too far with this, and I confess I have often done so because my education has trained me for close-reading of texts. Nevertheless, I am glad that I have been trained as a classicist because my knowledge of Greek has helped me engage a great deal more with the New Testament and Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. I realize of course that we don't all have the time and opportunity to learn Greek, but consulting a good concordance or textbook concerning key vocabulary and concepts will help in grasping some of the finer points of Scripture.

  Concordances, commentaries, timelines, and interlinear Bibles are all helpful, but they are not a substitute for prayer. Perspective is important.

I highly recommend this website: http://biblehub.com/

There's a great deal on here and it's easy to get lost, but it's worth exploring, and is very useful for people who have a solid foundation in the Scriptures and want to build on it.

'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.' (Proverbs 1:7, NKJV)

God bless.