Wednesday Night's Lesson

Things to know.

The Bible is valuable, it is Holy, perfect, the truth, the Word of God, the story of salvation, but we won’t read it consistently until we find significance in it. It is there. It tells us how to deal with family & friends, how to live a life pleasing to God, what to look for in a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse, how to deal with hopelessness, doubt, fear, depression, worry, anger, etc.

Literal vs. Figurative. The Scripture is always to be taken literally unless its author is speaking metaphorically. This is pretty obvious. Such as Jesus saying He is the rock or the gate. He is not a literal gate, but a figurative passageway, the only passageway, to the Father because without Him there would be no way to the Father.

Translations. Unless you intend to learn Greek and Hebrew, which are the closest and most accurate forms of scripture we have, you’ll be reading from a translation. Which means you are trusting that someone else got it right. It is important to understand that some meaning is often lost in translations, but this is ok There are 3 types of translations. While you should stick with only 1 translation for scripture memorization, it is a good idea to use multiple translations while studying the Bible. There are 3 types of translations; Literal, Free, and Dynamic equivalent. Literal – attempt to translate by keeping as close as possible to the exact words and phrasing in the original language, yet still make sense in the receptor language (there will be more historical distance in this). Free – attempt to translate the ideas from one language to another, with less concern about using the exact words of the original (if every letter of Scripture is God breathed and pure, then we will lose that which God intended for us by paraphrasing. Matt. 5:18). Dynamic equivalent – attempts to translate words, idioms, and grammatical constructions of the original languages into precise equivalents in the receptor language.

Understanding meanings. Don’t let your understanding of words/experiences influence your interpretation of Scripture. It only has one true meaning. Only 1. We may be able to pull various applications from a passage’s meaning, but its meaning is always singular. We don’t try to find scripture to back up what we already believe, instead we are trying to find out what God is telling us. We have to figure out what the authors was saying to there audiences before we can understand what the Bible is saying to us.

Context. Context is everything! As we have discussed with the issue of alcohol. If you read the passage out of context you can make it into whatever you want it to mean. God’s word NEVER contradicts itself. Each book has an author inspired by God. Each author had an audience. These books have a singular message directed to that specific audience for a specific purpose. We are just trying to find out what that specific purpose is so that we can derive application. Taking any passage of scripture outside of its original intended meaning is taking it out of context and distorting the Word of God.

Historical Contest. There are things in Scripture that don’t make much sense to us. In 1 Cor. 8 Paul tells the Church at Corinth not to eat the meat offered to idols, so as to not make the weak believers stumble in their faith. We don’t see a lot of animals getting sacrificed in the temples of idols today, nor do we have much of an opportunity to eat that meat, but we can still pull application from this. Not to do anything that would cause a weak believer to stumble. Living a life of sacrifice.

More on historical context and the bluntness of scripture. There is stuff in here that is pretty graphic. The Isaiah 64:6, all our righteous acts are like filthy rags/polluted garments literally (in Hebrew) references used menstrual rags. That is significantly different than just a dirty cloth. Especially when you take into consideration how the Hebrew people viewed this. (Lev. 15:19-31) Women were considered unclean during these times of menstruation. Jews won’t touch anything unclean. If you were to touch anything she touched, laid on, or sat upon, you would also be unclean. (v.31, “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”) They were very serious about keeping these commands. Knowing this we have a clearer view of what Isaiah was trying to get across, and the people knew what he was talking about. Our best/all the good we try to do is so unholy, unclean that God can’t even touch it. That is the effect of sin. That is why we need God.

The different types of literature. From narratives to letters to poems. God used multiple people and their own personalities to put together His words. When reading the Epistles (letters from Paul) We need to remember that we are only reading half of the discussion, so we might have some difficulty understanding the flow of thought. That’s ok. We are reading the answers without having the questions to go with them. Remember that the whole book is the complete message. Try not to pick little parts out and peace them together but to read the letter as a whole.

Helps for your own study time:

Set aside a specific time, and get away from everything. NO DISTRACTIONS!!! Try for more than 5 minutes… We are not putting God on our schedule. We often miss what God wants to show us/tell us because we limit the amount of time we give Him to speak to us. We are waiting to hear from Him. Be patient and wait for Him.

Have a plan…somewhat. It is one thing to be led by the Spirit, but point and shoot bible reading isn’t being Spirit led. Have an idea of what you want to study/read, and if God leads you elsewhere then follow Him. Otherwise stick to the plan.

Get a journal so you can write stuff down when God shows it too you. So you can go back and see what God has shown you and how you’ve grown.

Make a list of things you want to study/are curious about