BIBLE STUDY

by: Bill Bratt

The Bible is consistently on the best-seller list.
Yet for many who have a copy it is one of the least read and most often misunderstood of books.

Why don't people read the Bible?
There are probably as many reasons as there are people.
Most people do not read the Bible because they do not understand the Bible.
If people would read the Bible they would be SHOCKED at the truth in their own Bible.

I often tell people that when they do Bible Study, to pretend that they have been shipwrecked on an island and that they have a case of amnesia. Beside them on the island they have a Bible. They should study their Bibles with an open mind without preconceived ideas of religion or worldly traditions.

Let's look at Three Points of Effective Bible Study.

Point #1: READ AND STUDY THE BOOK

The Bible is a book that tells you not to accept what you hear preached just because you heard a preacher preach it.

LET'S READ:

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
The King James Version says: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

1 Thes. 5:21 (KJV) says: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."

Revelation 1:3 says:
"Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near."

God wants us to READ and STUDY and prove all things.

As you read You will have questions.

Make notes on those questions
Look for the answers as you continue to read

Be Prepared for a few surprises.

You will not find:

The phrase: "Cleanliness is next to godliness"
The phrase: "Spare the rod and spoil the child".
The modern celebrations of Easter, Christmas or Halloween.

You may say, well Acts 12:4 mentions Easter.

Acts 12:4 (KJV) "And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people."

This is one of the few errors in the King James Version of the Bible. The Greek word here for Easter is "pascha" which means "Passover". If we check any other modern translation, the word will be translated correctly. Let's notice the New King James Version:

(Acts 12:4 NKJV) "So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover."

You will find:

That the Bible talks about the Sabbath and the God's annual Sabbath Holy Days or Festivals. These are listed in Leviticus chapter 23. Amazingly there are seven, and probably the only one that you have heard anything about is the Feast of Pentecost. (Request our free article: "New Testament Holy Days" and find out that these holy days were observed in new testament times by Jesus and the apostles).

You will find that the Bible tells you how to have:

Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding
A happy marriage
Good health
Successful children
How to be a good Employee or an Employer.
How to love our neighbors.
How to have a close personal relationship with God.

(Request our free article: "Read the Book" and find out seven reasons why you should read the Bible).

Methods of Bible Study:

Set a Goal: Read the Bible in a year

Read 3 chapters in the Old Testament each day and
Read 1 chapter in the New Testament each day.

Do Word Studies - Check out God's names:

ELOHIM - The Creator
JEHOVAH or Eternal
JAH - He Who IS and WAS and IS TO COME.
EL - The Almighty
ELYON - The possessor of heaven and earth.
SHADDAI - The Almighty.
ADON is the Lord as Overlord or Ruler.
ADONAI is the Lord as Blesser.
ADONIM is the plural of Adon and is greater in degree as Owner and Proprietor.

Do Subject Studies:

The Sabbath.
The Book of Life.
The Creation.

Check out the seven major doctrines of the Catholic/Protestant Church.

See if you can find Bible verses to support these doctrines.

Chain Reference Subjects in your Bible.

After you do a Subject Study, go to a blank page in your Bible and draw four vertical lines equally spaced and two horizontal lines equally spaced, making 15 rectangles. Put a heading at the top of each rectangle and then write the scriptures of the Subject Study in the rectangle. This will help you later in doing a review of that study or finding a particular verse relating to the Subject Study. Example: Love, Joy, Peace, etc.at the top of a rectangle.

Do a study on Bible Characters:

Moses, David, Mary, Deborah, Priscilla, Paul, Peter, Melchizededk, etc.

Keep Bible Study interesting.

Do different kinds of Bible Study for variety. Remember, Bible Study is life long project. Every day you read, you should learn something new.

Point #2: BUILD A BIBLE LIBRARY OF USEFUL STUDY AIDS

One of the ladies I work with likes to use her husband's Bible. He is a Catholic and has a
New American Bible (Catholic Version). The reason she likes to use his Bible is that it is a more
modern translation. One Sunday morning she was in her Sunday School class at her small
Protestant Church. Her Teacher was gone that Sunday morning and one of the Church's Elders was
teaching the class. He saw her New American Bible and said "We don't believe in other Bible
translations. We only believe in the King James Version".

Years ago, there was a story about a woman who told her friend: "If the King James Version of the Bible was good enough for the Apostles, then it was good enough for her".

Let's think about this for a minute. The Apostles lived in the first century and the Kings James Version was written in 1611. That is about 15 centuries later. Actually the Apostles used the Old Testament scrolls. The New Testament was not written yet.

The King James Version does make for a good study Bible, but there is nothing wrong in having other Bible translations.

Choose a good STUDY BIBLE.
It is never wise to use just one translation.
Begin your reading or studying with a minimum of two versions as a safeguard.

You can buy Parallel Bibles that have 2 or 4 translations that are side by side.

The most carefully worded Bible should be used for study.

King James
New King James
Revised Standard Version

Other Bible Helps:

Halley's Bible Handbook. This is an abbreviated Bible Commentary with archaeological discoveries. It gives background material for every book in the Bible. You can buy it at any good book store for a cost of about $13. This little handbook is must for every Bible student.
A good Concordance
- Strongs Exhaustive Concordance
- Young's Analytical Concordance
Bible Dictionary
Bible Commentary
Bible Atlas
Manners and Customs
Computer Bibles and Bible Software.

One controlling factor of Bible library is the cost.

Check the yard sales or used book stores for Bible helps.

We are fortunate to live in a time where there are an enormous amount of Bible helps available.

You can do a lot of Bible Study by way of the internet. There are many web sites with good sources of Bible Study materials and articles. An example: http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/main.html

Point #3: HOW DO YOU SOLVE BIBLE DIFFICULTIES?

For effective Bible Study say a Prayer before you begin.
As you do your Bible Study, EXPECT to have questions.
You may find it difficult to understand certain parts of the Bible.
This is to be expected.

When you run into a question, WRITE IT DOWN on a piece of paper.

The apostle Peter wrote that in Paul's epistles there were things that were hard to understand.

LET'S READ:
2 Peter 3:16
"as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to
understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the
rest of the Scriptures."

Many people try to twist Paul's statements about the law.
Trying to put your own ideas into the Bible is the surest way of misunderstanding it entirely.

Reserve your judgment about any difficulties in understanding the Bible that you come across.
Don't reject truth or the Bible because you don't understand certain parts at the moment.
The more you study the Bible, the more of your questions will he answered.

LET'S READ:Acts 17:11
"These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with
all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."

As your knowledge increases, more and more difficulties will disappear.
You will find many of the answers to the questions that you have written down as you continue to read and study your Bible.

Why are there apparent contradictions and discrepancies in the Bible?

The apparent contradictions and discrepancies are in the Bible to stimulate your mind.
They prompt men to search the scriptures for the solution.
The apparent discrepancies are in the Bible as a stumbling block to people whom God is not calling today.
EXAMPLE: The parables of Christ were for this purpose of hiding the true meaning of Christ's teaching. (Mat. 13:13-15).
Matthew 13:13 (KJV) "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. "

Mat 7:7 (NKJV) says: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

We need to ask God to let us understand the Bible and for Him to guide us with His spirit into all truth.

John 16:13 (NKJV) says: "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

There is nothing more rewarding than reading and studying God's revealed Word.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

IN CONCLUSION:

Remember to Read and Study the Bible.
Build a Bible Library
Solve Bible difficulties by continuing to Read and Study.

The purpose of Bible Study is to "change your life". We need to Read It, Believe It, and Apply it.