Proper Method For Understanding The Bible

Major

Major

Supporter
In order to properly understand Scripture we have to apply some commonsense rules to the reading of it !!!

1.
Take the writings in the Bible at face value, as literally true.
Remember the #1 key to understanding, YOU are reading the Word Of God. Do YOU think that He could have made a mistake or is it YOU that has a need to grow and learn what He actually and literally said?

How many "religions" can you name that originated from a MAN who explained what God said to him.

2. Don’t take Scripture out of context.
Read what comes before and after the passage you’re looking at to get a clear picture of what it is actually saying. Don’t do “proof” texts, which are usually isolated verses taken out of context. Much false doctrine comes from taking Scripture out of context and mixing it with human reasoning. You can “prove” just about anything you want to by taking Scripture out of context but that doesn’t make it so and it really doesn’t prove anything.

3. Do cross-references.
Look at other passages on the same subject or event, compare them and see what they say together. Compare Scripture with Scripture. This will give you a much clearer picture of what you are looking for.

4. Ask some questions about the passage you are reading:
A. Who?
B. What?
C. When?
D. Where?
E. Why?
F. Who is speaking?
G. Who is he speaking to?
H. What is he saying?
I. What event or thing is he talking about?
J. What is he doing, and
K. Why is he doing it?
L. Where is this event, taking place? And why?
M. What is the occasion?
N. When is this happening, or being said?

This is called BIBLE STUDY and Finding the answers to these questions will help shed more light on what you are reading.

May I say to you that all religions are based on some sort of works, earning your way to heaven. What do Isaiah and others in the Bible say about that?

Isaiah 64:6........
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
 
Hello Major, I agree with you, these are all good points to keep in mind when interpreting the Bible (IOW, when trying to arrive at the true meaning of the Scriptures, the meaning that God intended for us to know/understand about a particular verse or passage).

That said, trying to understand the Bible apart from its Biblical (and oft times historical) context is almost always problematic, as you said in points #2-3 above. In fact, some verses cannot be taken "literally" (if one attempts to do so apart from context). In that case, the "literal" meaning of a verse may not be the actual/intended meaning.

For instance,

Luke 14​
26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not ~hate~ his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."​
​
1 Timothy 2​
15 Women will be ~saved~ through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.​

One of the other, common, problems with reaching a proper Biblical exegesis is the presuppositions that many/most of us bring to the table when we study the Bible. In this case, an exegesis often becomes an eisegesis instead, as the person does his/her best to bend the plain meaning of certain Scriptures to fit nicely with their presuppositions/systematic theologies/heresies/etc., instead of seeking to understand what the verse/passage ACTUALLY means.

God bless you!!

--Papa Smurf
 
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Papa Smurf said:
Hello Major, I agree with you, these are all good points to keep in mind when interpreting the Bible (IOW, when trying to arrive at the true meaning of the Scriptures, the meaning that God intended for us to know/understand about a particular verse or passage).

That said, trying to understand the Bible apart from its Biblical (and oft times historical) context is almost always problematic, as you said in points #2-3 above. In fact, some verses cannot be taken "literally" (if one attempts to do so apart from context). In that case, the "literal" meaning of a verse may not be the actual/intended meaning.

For instance,

Luke 14​
26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not ~hate~ his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."​
​
1 Timothy 2​
15 Women will be ~saved~ through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.​

One of the other, common, problems with reaching a proper Biblical exegesis is the presuppositions that many/most of us bring to the table when we study the Bible. In this case, an exegesis often becomes an eisegesis instead, as the person does his/her best to bend the plain meaning of certain Scriptures to fit nicely with their presuppositions/systematic theologies/heresies/etc., instead of seeking to understand what the verse/passage ACTUALLY means.

God bless you!!

--Papa Smurf
Click to expand...

Yes sir, that is why CONTEXT matters in what comes before and AFTER any Scripture. Both of your examples prove the importance of reading the BEFORE and AFTER verse for proper CONTEXT!

As for Luke 14:26......Following the statement that we must “hate” our father and mother, Jesus relates a metaphor about a man who builds a house without first counting the cost (Luke 14:28–30). The man finds that he cannot follow through with what he set out to do. He leaves the house unfinished because he cannot pay what is required. Jesus’ illustration helps explain His difficult statement about hating our mother and father—namely, we must count the cost of being a disciple. There is a cost, and that is the point of the passage!

It is actually 1 Timothy 2:15.
1 Timothy is of course SAVED through the process of giving birth. 1 Tim. 2:15 is the conclusion of Paul’s teaching concerning the roles of men and women in the church which he began in verse 11. It is a notoriously difficult verse with a myriad of potential interpretations. “But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” As always, the immediate context should serve in determining the precise meaning of a text. The preceding verse speaks of Eve’s deception at the Fall and the subsequent consequences.
 
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Hello again Brother (Major), I agree with everything that you just said, and I also wanted to thank you for correcting my verse reference typo (typing a 5 instead of a 2 is quite a typo :rolleyes:). It's too late to fix it now (unless one of our wonderful mods/admins would like to do so, that is :)).

Rightly dividing the Text is quite a task to do properly sometimes (and quite frankly, I think that we can often be our own worst enemies because of the baggage that we bring to the table .. as I said earlier), but commanded to do so we are, nevertheless .. 2 Timothy 2:15.

Blessings to you in Christ!!

--Papa Smurf
p.s. - I believe that the Lord Himself helps us with the exegesis of Luke 14:26 because of what He also said to us in Matthew 10:37. In fact, I believe that neither verse can stand completely on its own, apart from the other verse, but that reaching the true/actual/intended meaning of both verses can only be done in our understanding of them together.
​
Matthew 10​
37 “He who loves father or mother ~more~ than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter ~more~ than Me is not worthy of Me."​
​
Luke 14​
26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not ~hate~ his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."​
​
 
Papa Smurf said:
Hello again Brother (Major), I agree with everything that you just said, and I also wanted to thank you for correcting my verse reference typo (typing a 5 instead of a 2 is quite a typo :rolleyes:). It's too late to fix it now (unless one of our wonderful mods/admins would like to do so, that is :)).

Rightly dividing the Text is quite a task to do properly sometimes (and quite frankly, I think that we can often be our own worst enemies because of the baggage that we bring to the table .. as I said earlier), but commanded to do so we are, nevertheless .. 2 Timothy 2:15.

Blessings to you in Christ!!

--Papa Smurf
p.s. - I believe that the Lord Himself helps us with the exegesis of Luke 14:26 because of what He also said to us in Matthew 10:37. In fact, I believe that neither verse can stand completely on its own, apart from the other verse, but that reaching the true/actual/intended meaning of both verses can only be done in our understanding of them together.
​
Matthew 10​
37 “He who loves father or mother ~more~ than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter ~more~ than Me is not worthy of Me."​
​
Luke 14​
26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not ~hate~ his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."​
​
Click to expand...
Good stuff brother. Thanks for your positive and civility and Christian attitude!
 
So...

Since several references talk about the "End of the Earth" (E.G. Deuteronomy 13:7) and clouds rise from those ends (Jeremiah 10:13) we should ignore both satellite views of the earth and meterology and insist on a flat Earth with ends? Or- where are the ends?
 
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