Why Should We Study the Bible?
Read Hebrews 4:12
For
the Word of God is quick, and
powerful….
The Bible says the Word of
God is ‘quick’
Quick
does not mean ‘fast’ as we define the word today.
When the Bible was being translated to English the word
‘quick’ actually meant
‘to live’ (see Strong’s G2198) which is
what the original writing was saying.
Paul,
who is the writer of the Book of Hebrews, was teaching that the Word of
God is alive…. The Bible is the Living Word of God.
God wants to speak to us every time we open and read the
Bible.
The Word of God should never become stagnant to us.
We should never read just to be reading or to say we’ve read
it.
It should be a routine (a
daily habit) but never just a ritual
(ritual
= actions or behavior regularly followed by someone)
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That
the man of God may be perfect
(complete),
thoroughly furnished (fully equipped) unto all good works.
When the Bible says all
Scripture is given by the inspiration of God it is saying that all
Scripture
is divinely breathed by God. (see
Strong’s G2315)
Every Scripture in the Bible
was given by God to:
instruct
and teach us concerning God’s laws and ways (doctrine)
chasten
and convict us when we’re doing things that displease God (reproof)
to
correct us so that we’ll change our ways and straighten up (correction)
to
educate and train us how to be more Christ like in every way (instruction)
READING versus STUDYING
There is a difference between
reading and studying the Bible.
I can read the Bible but
studying causes me to dig a little deeper to understand God’s Word more fully.
Did you know the Bible actually instructs us to STUDY and
SEARCH the Scriptures?
Paul admonished in his
letters to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 to…
STUDY to show thyself approved unto God,
A workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
Rightly dividing the Word of Truth
Jesus, Himself, taught in
John 5:39 that we are to…
SEARCH the Scriptures;
For in them ye think ye have eternal life:
And they are they which testify of Me.
Search means (through the
idea of inquiry) to seek, to investigate
(Strong’s G2045 eraunao)
God WANTS us to seek, to
search, and investigate the Scriptures.
Every time we open the Bible
to read, we need to have an open mind to hear
what
God wants to say.
Paul (formerly Saul) was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6)
He was an
accomplished student of the Word
He was brought
up from the time he was young studying God’s laws
at the feet of Gamaliel, who was an
eminent doctor of the Jewish law.
Paul knew the
O.T. Scriptures and was zealous for God
he fought against anything he perceived
as false doctrine.
He fought
against the followers of Jesus Christ, persecuting and killing them
because
he thought following Jesus was contrary to God’s Word
and was blasphemy against it. (Acts 8)
Paul didn’t
realize he was fighting against God,
against what God wanted to REVEAL to
him,
and what God wanted to do THROUGH
him.
Paul studied
and knew the Word BUT God still had more to reveal to him.
God
wanted to show him there was more to salvation than the O.T.
law which he followed.
Paul thought
he had eternal life when he was following the Law
He
didn’t realize or understand until later that the Law was merely our
Schoolmaster (tutor/instructor) to
bring us unto Christ (Gal 3:24)
The Law was just a shadow of things
to come (Heb 10:1)
Paul had a
zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:1-2)
He had some
understanding although he sincerely thought he was wise in the
Scriptures but he didn’t have a full
understanding
of God’s redemption plan
He finally
came to understand that after his Damascus
Rd experience
Read Acts 9:1-5
Jesus
let him know when he was persecuting the Christians,
he was really persecuting Jesus. And his efforts were in vain.
As Christians, we have personal responsibilities
(things God requires of us)
Read Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
*we are to WORK out our salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING
*we can’t do that if we don’t
read the Bible and know what His Word says
2 Peter 1:10
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to
make your calling and election sure:
for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
make your calling and election sure:
for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
*we are to make our calling and election absolutely SURE (i.e. stable/steadfast)
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the Word of Truth
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the Word of Truth
We study so we can correctly understand God’s Word, and please God.
1.
Study
2.
Work on it
3.
Make absolutely
Sure
We are to STUDY the
Scriptures so we won’t be ashamed and without an answer when someone asks us a
question concerning what we believe and why we believe as we do.
There’s so much false
doctrine and teaching floating around today.
Many are confused as to what’s really Biblical Truth and
what’s not.
Hearing the Preached Word can help us to grow spiritually and to understand more fully what the Scriptures are saying. God gives the Pastor anointing and revelation to expound and explain the Scriptures.
Titus 2:3
But hath in
due times manifested His Word through preaching.
Isaiah 40:8
The
grass withereth, the flower fadeth:
but the Word of our God shall stand for ever.
but the Word of our God shall stand for ever.
God’s Word never changes. It will stand forever.
That’s why it’s important to
read the Word, get the Word in our hearts, and know what God’s Word really
says.
There are two important
things in our walk with God that we must not neglect.
·
Daily Bible
reading
·
Daily Prayer
These two things are vitally important to feed our spiritual man.
When the devil came to Jesus
tempting Him to turn stones into bread, Jesus responded with the Word of
God. He said in Luke 4:4….
….It is written, that man shall not live by bread
alone,
BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD.
We need the Word of God (the
Bible) more than our daily food.
It is God’s Word that will
sustain us day to day.
Phl 2:5 - Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
The more you read it, the more you will begin to get the mind of Christ in you.
In other words…you’ll begin to think and act more like Jesus.
So, HOW do I study the
Bible?
FIRST
and foremost – READ the Bible DAILY!
It
doesn’t have to be several chapters.
*The importance is not concerning how much you read
but how much you retain.*
Meaning….it’s
more important to understand what you’re reading than to have read 3 chapters
and not understand what you just read.
Psalm 119:11
Thy Word have I hid in my
heart,
That I might not sin against
Thee.
That’s
the goal – to get God’s Word down in our heart.
When
we know what the Bible says, it will help us not to sin and do wrong.
You’ll
also find the more you read it, the more things will quicken to your mind as
you read and you’ll begin to make connection between Scriptures.
WORD STUDY
A ‘word
study’ is when you want to find and read all Scriptures concerning (for
example) ‘love’
Go
to Blueletter.org or look in the back of your Bible (if you have a concordance
in it)
Then
look up and read all the Scriptures about love to gain a broader understanding
of what God’s Word says about loving others and God’s love to us.
What if I don’t understand what a word means?
If you don’t understand what
you’re reading, you can do two things:
1. pray and ask God to help you understand what He is saying
in His Word. He will begin to open your
understanding…but it will take time. (Just as a baby learning to talk, walk,
eat, etc)
2. Ask the pastor or a teacher of the Word - Don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask if you don’t
understand.
Sometimes
you can look in a dictionary or ask google the definition of a word HOWEVER,
that will not always be accurate since some word meanings have changed over the
years.
For
example the word “quick” in Hebrews 4:12
To us today, ‘quick’ means ‘hurry’ or ‘fast’. But when the Bible was being translated to English, the word ‘quick’ meant ‘alive’.
To us today, ‘quick’ means ‘hurry’ or ‘fast’. But when the Bible was being translated to English, the word ‘quick’ meant ‘alive’.
So
if you google or look in a dictionary for the definition of quick, you’re not
going to get an accurate Biblical definition of the word.
A
more accurate way to get a Biblical definition is to look at the Strong’s
Concordance definition of the word.
Now
that most phones have access to internet, this becomes a lot easier than in the
‘good ol’ days’ when we’d have to find and lug around a huge book.
The website I use to locate Scriptures
or to look up definitions is at BlueletterBible.org I
highly admonish you to use the Authorized King James Version. Some people like to read other versions
saying they are easier to understand but the other versions omit important words
and verses and even change some of the meanings.
This
is why I’m showing you how to look up the definition of a word you may not
understand.
Once
you locate the verse or chapter you are wanting to read, you can scroll to the
top of the web page and you should see a box that you can click on which says
“Strong’s”
It
will refresh the page and add little numbers beside the words.
As
you are reading, if you do not understand a word, then click on the number
to the right of that word.
It
will take you to another page that has “Lexicon :: Strong’s …………”
Scroll
down until
you see “Show Strong’s Info” – click on it.
It
will then show you the definitions.
Note: sometimes those definitions may still
be confusing. In that instance, go to
Google and search for the definition or come ask the Pastor or Bible teacher.
Google and search for the definition or come ask the Pastor or Bible teacher.
Again - Don’t be
afraid or ashamed to ask if you don’t understand.
*The
importance is not concerning how much you read but how much you understand.*
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