The Ground Rules for a Bible Study

If we are going to conduct an investigation into what the Bible says, we need some ground rules.  We need some common basis for understanding.  Otherwise, we will never be able to agree on anything!  The first thing we must decide is, “What method of interpretation do we use?”

I.) Method of Interpretation – There are two basic methods:

 

A. Literal – Literal interpretation is the idea that the Bible means what it actually says.  If the Bible is relating a story it will say so.  If it does not, then we must understand that it means what it says.

 

Deuteronomy 27:8 – “And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

 

When Israel crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land they were to erect great stones.  They were to engrave them with the words of the Law of Moses.  Observe that these words were to be written very plainly.  The obvious intent was to make it clear and easy for everyone to understand.

 

God wants us to understand His Word.  So why do we have so much trouble knowing what it means?  God has an explanation.

 

Psalm 32:8-9 – “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee with mine eye.  Be ye not like the horse, or like the mule, that have no understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.”

 

Observe that God wants to teach us and instruct us.  Our problem is that we are too much like a horse or mule!  We have no understanding of our own and we are too busy chewing at the bit to listen!  God has a word for us.

 

Psalm 46:10 and James 1:5 – “Be still and know that I am God…” and “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.”

 

God wants us to be still.  He wants us to listen to Him.  He wants us to humble ourselves and ask Him for wisdom.  If we do that, He says that He will freely give to us.

           

B.     Allegorical -  Allegorical interpretation basically says that the Bible does not mean what it plainly and clearly says.  It means something else.  If that is true then it requires an “expert.”  We could not simply read it and understand it.

 

The teacher we spoke of previously becomes the expert.  The student has no way to check up on him.  He can say whatever he wants because the Bible does not mean what it plainly says.  Who is to say that he is wrong?  This flies in the face of what the Bible says.

 

I John 4:1 – “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

 

We are told in this verse that there are many false prophets in the world.  This is a recurring theme in the New Testament.  In a quick survey I found only two books that did not say something about this problem.  If the problem is that great how do we know what to believe?  How do we test the spirits?

 

The answer is, we search the Scriptures.  The Bible means what it says.  We check the Bible to see if what we are being told is true.  If the teacher contradicts the Bible his teaching is false.

 

We must establish first of all that literal interpretation is the only method we can use to determine the validity of what we are taught.  Having established that, a corollary says that the simplest explanation is the best.  If we have to “jump through hoops” to prove a point, we are probably not grounded in the Bible.

 

II.)               Self-Interpretation – When we talk about self-interpretation we are not speaking of our personal ideas about Scripture.  We are referring to the Bible – the book interprets itself.

 

II Peter 1:20 – “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

 

The initial phrase, “Knowing this first…”, says that this is the first principle for understanding the Bible!  This is foundational to everything else. 

 

The thrust of the verse is two-fold:

1.       Context – The context of any verse or passage consists of the whole Bible.  Because the Bible is God’s Word it is one book even though the Holy Spirit used many writers.

 

To properly understand any verse, passage, chapter, or book we must have a broad general overview of the total.  To obtain that, we should read the Bible through cover-to-cover on a regular basis.  Once we have this conceptual view we can then look at the details.

 

The theme of the Bible is very clear.  Someone has said that there is a scarlet thread woven through the fabric of the Book.  This filament filling the pages is the blood of Jesus Christ.  The fourth word of the Bible in Genesis 1:1 is “Elohim”, which is a designation for God that implies the Trinity.  The last verse of the Bible (Revelation 22:21) says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.”  In between it is all about Christ.

 

2.       Interpretation – Secondly, there is interpretation.  Because the Book is a consistent whole one verse interprets another.  Consider Paul’s argument in Ephesians.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of god – not of works, lest any man should boast.”

 

Observe that God says we are saved by grace through faith.  Through faith in Christ Jesus we are made just or righteous before God the Father.  Verse 9 says that this is done apart from works.  God did not want any of us bragging about what we did to be saved.  So He offers a salvation that is by grace (unmerited favor underserved by me) through simple faith and trust in Christ.

 

Martin Luther understood this very well.  He began the Reformation over justification by faith alone.  He rejected the system of works promoted by Catholicism.  He also tore the book of James out of his Bible!  He failed to allow Scripture to interpret itself.

 

James 2:14-20 – “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works?  Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding, ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit?  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works, show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well.  The demons also believe, and tremble.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”

 

Luther read this passage and saw an apparent contradiction.  Since he discarded salvation by works he was offended by what he saw here.  Unfortunately, he did not look far enough.

 

God sees faith as so important to salvation that He defined the word for us.  He did not want any misunderstandings.  Language changes.  Meanings evolve.  He made sure that we would know.

 

Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

 

True faith has both substance and evidence.  Imagine an invisible chair is in the room.  I could describe it to you.  I could even ask if you believed that it exists.  You could assure me that you do.  I would then ask you to sit on it.  If you fail to do so, I would the ask, “Did you really believe?”

 

Obviously, no.  If you did, you would not hesitate to sit!  Faith makes the invisible a reality in the mind’s eye.  The evidence of genuine faith is the work that it produces.  If there is no substance and no evidence, there is no faith.

 

Paul and James were simply looking at two sides of the same coin.  We can say that we believe anything.  The proof, however, is in the doing.  If we hesitate to stand with Christ do we believe?  On the other hand, if we live for Christ there is no doubt we believe!

 

A corollary to this principle is something called the law of first mention.  This law says that the first time something is used in Scripture determines its meaning throughout.  For the Book to be consistent this must be true.

 

III.)            Scholarship – The third truth is scholarship.  The idea that the Bible is to be taken literally does not do away with the need for education.  There are those who believe that they do not need to study.  They believe that if they open their mouth, God will fill it.  Usually He does – with their foot!  God expects us to both read and study.

 

 

II Timothy 2:15 – “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

 

The Scriptural command is to study.  This command is for everyone.  The Bible was not written for those in ivory towers, but for the common man.  God expects each of us to mine it for spiritual gems!

 

I did not begin studying to be a pastor or missionary.  I did so because I wanted to be a success in life.  The Bible is the key to that.

 

Joshua 1:8 – “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt mediate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: the then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

 

I studied 50 or more hours per week in college to be good at a career.  But my dream vanished in the downsizing of the space program.  Studying the Bible has helped in everything that I have done.  It has been far more valuable.  True success in life comes only when we obey God’s command to study His Word.