by Matt Dowdell
I personally don’t have that big of a problem with understanding the Bible. There are times when I need help from others, but who doesn’t have trouble learning at times. There are some people who cannot understand the Bible. No matter what they do or who they learn from, they just can’t understand it. This doesn’t make them stupid, just human. Over this study I will give advice on how to study, or how to improve your studying.
Over the short amount of time that I have spent helping people learn and study the Bible, I have met many people who can not understand the Bible. For some reason every time they picked up the Holy Book and tried to read it they just could not put the words into thought. I know some of you that are reading this are thinking “It is so easy to understand the Bible. I don’t understand how people could have such a hard time.” The Bible isn’t as easy to understand as a science book from school or something of that sort. The Bible isn’t just a book to learn from, but a book to live by. It is a spiritual book that holds the secrets of the universe. It tells us about the future, the past, and even the present. Satan knows that, and that if we start learning too much from the Bible then his chances of hurting us are very slim. So some people are blinded by the devil because he knows how dangerous they would be if they knew the whole truth. This brings me to the first tip on understanding the bible better.
PRAYER
Prayer is what can help us understand the Bible better. Everytime I open my Bible to study it or look up something, I pray. Whether it is for something simple up to the most important topic, I always pray. One thing that I have learned is that God will provide if you ask for something. It might not be instantly or even in the near future, but when God thinks the time is right He will do it. There have been times that I have prayed for answers and I got angry when they didn’t come, but they eventually came while talking to someone on the Internet. So when you are really searching for something don’t always expect to find them in the Bible. Because You can search and search the Bible but you will only find the answers God wants you to find. So remember every time you crack your Bible to study say a little prayer for God to help you understand and to give you the answers to your problems.
INTERPRETATION – Don’t read into the scriptures
The next tip on reading and understanding the bible is DON’T READ INTO THE SCRIPTURES. Whenever you try to read into the bible you are not finding God’s message, you are finding your own. Don’t always expect there to be some hidden message. Some people make the mistake of reading it like poetry. Even though it may some times sound like poetry and have the same format one thing you have to remember it is definitely not poetry. So many people read into the Bible and expect there to be a hidden message, and they look so hard that they will eventually find what they want. Like the Bible code. The whole Bible could not be encoded because that would take away from God’s message to the people before computers. The only way that the Bible code could possibly be true (and this is a big maybe) is through the book of Daniel. Why? Because it predicts that it will not be fully understood until the end times. Which is now. (I’m sorry if I offended your beliefs. This is the way I’ve always understood it- who do you think God wants you to look to when you need help, The Bible code or Him?)
CONTEXT – Don’t live by verses but by chapters
The next tip I have to give is: Don’t live by verses but by chapters. Many people make the mistake of using just a verse alone instead of using the chapter that has a lot more information. I have gotten into many arguments were the other person would give me a verse to support what they are trying to prove. When ever that happens I look up the verse and then read the chapter that it is in. When I do this sometimes I will find that the verse they have given has almost nothing to do with what we were arguing over. I’m telling you this because there always comes a time where you will have to defend what you believe, and I don’t want you to make this mistake.
DETAILS
A few years ago I got into a small friendly argument with an online friend of mine. Some how we got into the discussion of the rapture and he said that he believed the rapture would be post-trib and not pre-trib. He said that there were verses towards the end of the book of Revelation that were described just like the way the rapture was described in 1 Thes. So I got my bible and started reading and found that they were similar in their own ways but they were not the same. In the verses he gave me from Revelation there were angels with trumpets, in 1 Thess. it was Jesus Himself with the trumpet of God, and there were a few other details that were different. What I’m trying to tell you from this short story is that you need to pay attention to details. If your not paying attention you will miss the meaning of what you are reading, and will make several mistakes. Like many people have said “Our God is a God of details.” That is what the whole Bible is filled with, details.
HUMAN IMPERFECTIONS – Remember your not perfect
The next tip I would like to go over is how human we are. When I say human I mean imperfect. This is one thing you must remember when you are discussing what you have learned from the Bible with others. We must remember we are not perfect and we can misread or misinterpret the Bible. Because we will all make mistakes at some point in our life, just make sure you correct yourself when it does happen. There will come a time when we will have what I like to call a “scripture war” which is a argument over interpretations of the Bible or basically who is right or wrong. Scripture wars are impossible to avoid especially if you are a pastor or someone who deals with the Bible on a regular basis. Just one thing you must remember is that we are human and we make mistakes, and to admit you’re wrong when it happens. I’m not saying that every time someone says your wrong that you are. But I’m saying check yourself and make sure you are right before getting into it. By not admitting your wrong when you know you are is showing pride. Pride is a cause of many sins and can get you into trouble, so don’t ever get involved in it.
In closing I would like to remind you to remember these key tips to understanding the Bible better.
Prayer
Don’t read into the scriptures
Don’t live by verses but by chapters
Pay attention to details
Remember your not perfect
Admit your wrong when it happens
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