Bible Study: Some study tools and how to use them.

If your desire is to understand the Bible, and then to be able to speak about your Bible based hope with boldness and authority, there is no secret and there is no trick: (Acts 19:8) Simply pray for God's help, do your utmost to learn what the Bible says; and then accurately quote it as the authority for everything you say. Jesus set that example, as he himself taught that way: (Mark 1:22 ; John 7:46 ; Luke 4:32) Referencing and quoting from the then existing old testament [Hebrew Scriptures] as his authority. (Matthew 4:7 ; Mark 2:25) Bible study will be the most rewarding "adventure" you can ever undertake. Jesus and King David indicated knowledge of Bible truth would make people happy. (Matthew 5:1-11 ; Psalms 19:7-11) There is no more rewarding experience than becoming a friend to our creator, and that is the opportunity knowledge of the Bible holds out to you. (James 2:23)

The Bible might be thought of as one great and perfect thought. It is the thought of our Creator in solution of the problems Satan [and Adam and Eve] brought on us all. The Bible theme is clear from beginning to end, centering around God's purpose to provide the solution to our problems through Jesus as the Messiah. (Hebrews 10:7) The Bible clarifies that basic theme by giving enough detail that it is nearly too beautiful to convey or even comprehend. Our minds are tiny compared with our Creator of course, and so it might be questioned whether we can ever fully comprehend his thought in regard to this solution. In providing us the Bible, God intended we learn enough to gain salvation. (John 17:3) We are hindered however, by being trained to think small by the world of one liners (John 5:19 ; Ephesians 2:2) in which we live: "Why did the chicken cross the road?" is asked. "To show the opossum it could be done." is answered. The thought is done, and our mind can be off to something else. The world in which we live is designed to keep us thinking about surviving, and then about having a good time as we do so. To become friends of God, (James 2:23) we must separate ourselves from such simplistic thinking: From thinking only about ourselves. To comprehend God's thought of salvation for humanity will demand we start to force our mind over thoughts bigger than ourselves. To aid our doing so, the Bible is comprised of smaller thoughts of God: Stories about David, Abraham, Tamar, Rahab, and many other lovers of Jehovah. As we learn these stories well, we begin our trek into comprehending the mind of our Creator. (1 Corinthians 2:16 ; 1 Corinthians 1:10) By stretching our mind out over those smaller thoughts multiple times, until we are familiar with them, we find those individual accounts all of a sudden interconnect in our mind to help us better understand the one thought of the Bible. (Philippians 2:2) As a weak human example of this: Please imagine a perfect house. A house which would never need any maintenance, upgrades, or attention in any way. The first time we lay eyes on that house, we are amazed at it's beauty. It is surrounded by gardens, fed by a stream, and it is so beautiful... Now imagine it is a hundred years later; after we have enjoyed life in that house for all those years. When the house now comes into view, it is the exact same vision to our eyes, but now we know so much more detail. We know how warm and inviting and comfortable the house is throughout. We know the food and flowers it's gardens produce. Maybe we have memories of great happiness by our own children as we watched them grow up in that home. The image of the house to our eyes is exactly the same, but it is now enhanced by understanding and means so much more! The first recognition of the beauty and perfection described in the Bible [giving us the hope of deliverance by faith in Christ Jesus] is so very beautiful. After many years studying through the details contained in it's pages however, it becomes more beautiful than can be put into words: Except, of course, the words of the Bible. The truth of the Bible is the most beautiful and wonderful thing you will comprehend. There will likely be even more beautiful things going forward into eternity under the kingdom of Christ; but for our day, it is Bible truth.

To know what the Bible teaches, you will of course need a Bible; and likely a concordance. A Bible that is easy to understand is helpful, and certainly one as true to the original Hebrew and Greek text as possible. That can prove to be a more serious consideration than you might imagine. Most of us don't speak ancient Greek or Hebrew, and certainly not both. We must rely on translators. Likely, all the translations were done by men and women who were sincere in their efforts. Sadly, their sincerity does not necessarily mean they were accurate. We all have beliefs that tend to color our view of what we read. Sincere Bible study in large measure amounts to our battle to overcome our own preconceived and unscriptural ideas and prejudices. The translators were that way too. The original Bible was written by men driven under inspiration of holy spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16 ; 2 Peter 1:21) We can not know that to be so with regard to the different translations. For instance: Jehovah, the self proclaimed divine name of God was in the original language texts over 6000 times. Some translations retain the name all those times. Some translations omit it altogether. Other translations include it only a few times. This seems to have resulted from a Jewish tradition that developed as they were overcome by a fear of misusing the name, and so decided not to use it at all. Most of the translators who followed this unscriptural practice include a preface stating they omitted the divine name, and trying to explain why. Since God announced his name through his servants, and had it recorded in the original language texts over 6000 times, it seems reasonable to conclude He wanted us to know and use it. Even if someone could make the argument we should not pronounce the name, [and they can not do so scripturally,] if it was in the Bible 6000 times, we should every one of us know it. A translation in which the translators included the divine name of Jehovah God would therefore seem a good choice. Analytical literal translations seem most accurate, but a little cryptic. Older translations are also nice, but written in the old English which requires you do some translation to modern English as you read. A concordance is a Bible study aid in the form of a book which allows you to look up every occurrence of a particular word in the Bible, and is better if matched to the translation you use. If you have access to a computer, there are several Bible study software programs available: "e-Sword" by Rick Meyers at e-sword.net is a good example. Several Bible translations are usually available with such programs. Considering several translations is an aid to gaining a better understanding of the original language meaning. It is valuable to do so. [Translating thoughts from one language to another is no small task. It is not just a translation of words; the thought constructs are different from one language to another. A good translation tries to convey the original thoughts, which is much more than a translation of words.] On this Bible study website, we usually quote [and make available by just a click] three or more Bible translations. It is valuable to invest the additional time and effort required to consider the translation efforts of more than one person or translation committee. Lowering the burden of that study effort is one purpose of this site.

There are at least three common ways people study the Bible: 1. By subject matter: You look up every scripture you can find that weighs in on one particular subject, and thus learn how the Bible defines that subject. When possible, you should read such scriptures into full Bible context: Reading several verses before and after, to be certain you glean the proper meaning. Pulling scriptures out of context can fully distort the intended meaning. 2. Reading the Bible for comfort as well as for study: (Psalms 19:7-11) By simply reading from the Bible, we have opportunity to put on "the mind of Christ" as it were. (1 Corinthians 2:16) There is no substitute for Bible reading. The 4 Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are a great start. They are mostly first hand accounts of Jesus's life and work. We should have a thorough knowledge of those 4 small books, not just read them a time or two. We learn, from being familiar with those books, that Jesus was in turn familiar with his Father's thoughts recorded in the Hebrew scriptures. (Luke_2:46-47) As you study those gospel accounts, you will note Jesus referred often to the Hebrew scrolls. (Luke 4:16-21) All the Bible is beneficial of course, (2 Timothy 3:16) but those 4 books are a great start. Then, Books like Ruth and Jonah are encouraging to read. Then perhaps Chronicles and Kings, and of course the Psalms. It doesn't greatly matter, nor do we pretend to know which is best; just so you put forth effort to learn the Bible: God will surely bless your efforts. [One caution: Trying to start your study by reading the Bible from beginning to end can prove frustrating, without first gaining knowledge of Christ Jesus as the central theme of the Bible. Knowledge of that theme (first mentioned at Genesis 3:15) helps everything else recorded in the Bible become easier to understand. If something seems hard to understand, just move forward in your study until it becomes clear. Even Jesus taught some things that could not be understood at the time he taught them. (John 2:18-22)] 3. Listening to the Bible: You can get the Bible in mp3 format, and listen to it on a CD or mp3 player. You can then listen to the Bible as you fall asleep, when you go for a walk, or during many other activities. Listening to the Bible is a study method that is often overlooked, and it has great value. Chores requiring much of your time but little mental effort, become an opportunity to listen to God's word. Rather than just mundane tasks, such times can become a real joy.

An additional study method or aid is this website. It is designed to be used for Bible study; both for individuals and for groups. A large screen high definition [1080p - so text can be seen clearly] television connected to a device allowing access to the internet might be used for Bible study by a group. They might choose to take turns reading what is presented, along with the scriptural references. Whether personally or as a group, always keep in mind [discuss] how each scripture relates to the theme of the Bible. We have listed two or three different translations of each scripture, in our attempt to make it easier to glean the meaning of the original language texts. As time permits, you should look up the scriptures in your own Bible of course, to gain familiarity with using the Bible. The most important reason for looking up the scriptures however, is to make absolutely clear in your own mind we really are teaching what the Bible teaches. Above all else, you want to remain "noble minded" in your study effort; by definitely proving everything you base your faith on comes from the Bible. We welcome constructive loving feedback as to errors or suggested additions to our site. (Contact us.)

Whatever methods you decide to employ in considering God's word, realize it as a long term project. Also realize it is worth the effort. What you learn about God and his provision of salvation through Christ Jesus is of great value. Faith in Bible teachings can provide everlasting life. You must never stop your search for truth. To start, you will need to prove to yourself the Bible is reasonable and consistent. To do that, you will need to gain an understanding of the Bible theme. It is not a small project, but it is not that hard either, and Jesus said gaining knowledge of "truth" is the most important and rewarding endeavor of life. (John 17:3 ; Matthew 13:44) Some little Bible history is important to understanding the Bible's theme. We have for display a chart that reflects an effort to gain and be able to reflect upon a mental image of the Bible's theme. You might construct something similar for yourself, adding a little at a time. This one was developed over several years and remains a work in progress. How ever you proceed, your effort should be to develop a mental picture of what God is doing for mankind; an image you can completely support scripturally. Your mental image of the Bible's theme will be small to start of course, but it will grow as you learn more of what the Bible teaches. An accurate understanding of the Bible is far more important than the amount of our understanding. If you are very careful to build your faith on what you know the Bible teaches, and only what it teaches; your belief will always be based on the true Bible theme. Remember: What is presented here, and anything else you ever read which is the work of imperfect men, are only that: The suggestions of men. Make everyone prove what they say with the Bible! The only thing that really matters is making sure your own personal faith in Christ Jesus is based on what you personally know the Bible teaches. How you arrive at that faith is between you and Jehovah, and is mediated through Christ Jesus. (John 6:44) Don't allow anything we say, or any other person says, to misguide you from learning what your Bible teaches. If you wish to be a Christian, the Bible is your only source of knowledge as the basis for your faith! (John 17:17 ; Romans 1:16-17 ; Romans 4:23-5:5)

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