"Hearing God Through Bible Study"
This Lesson: Reading the Bible, and Observing What the Scripture Says
Author: Dr. Neal Gray
Purpose: We can hear God through His Word. But, like learning the basics of how to read; we must learn the basics of how to hear what God is saying. The first major step is to osbserve what God says through the Scripture.
INTRODUCTION
It Is Time for You
Look, you’ve been in church for quite awhile now. And it’s time to admit the one very sad fact: you really don’t know how to study the Bible!
But I say this to you, too. It probably isn’t your fault. You haven’t been taught how to read and study the Bible; you haven’t been trained how to hear God through His Word.
==> Well...it’s time for you to grow in this vitally important spiritual activity.
The Scripture Is Meant for You
Our Great God intends for the Scripture to help you. Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the young Pastor Timothy:
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Through the Bible...
* We find the way of salvation in Christ Jesus
* We hear God’s inspired Word
* We correct our misconceptions, and,
* We learn how to live holy righteous lives.
==> Let’s read the Scripture, and learn, and hear--because God intends for the Scripture to help you.
READ THE SCRIPTURE!
Read the Bible!
First things first. The first thing you must do to hear God through the Bible is to READ THE BIBLE! You simply won’t understand the Bible if you don’t read it.
Let’s consider some of the attitudes which will hinder or help you.
Faulty Attitudes
As one Bible scholar has stated, "Too many people suffer from an inferiority complex when they approach Bible study."
The DEFEATED: I won’t be able to understand anything anyway, so why try to study the Bible?
The NEGATIVE: I would like to learn how to study the Bible better, but I doubt if anything I discover would be any good or right. I am afraid to express my ideas I find in the Bible because I fear they will be wrong.
The CLOSED HEART: I don’t believe everything the Bible teaches. Since it was written so many hundreds of years ago, how can it have any value today? So why study it?
The LAZY: I suppose if I tried I could understand more than I do, but what I read seems rather hard and dull. I don’t know if I want to invest the energy to learn how to study.
Helpful Attitudes
Okay, let’s say, "Phooey," on those bad old faulty attitudes and say, "Yes," to some helpful attitudes.
The POSITIVE: I want to learn how to study the Bible. No doubt I will have trouble learning some of the Bible study skills. I am sure there will be things in the Bible I’ll not understand. But I believe that through the help of the Holy Spirit I too can learn how to gain insight into God’s Word.
The RECEPTIVE: God asks of me only an open heart and an open mind so that He can reveal Himself and His truths to me. I don’t have to understand everything.
The EXPECTANT: I am coming to God’s Word to let Him speak to me. It is good to know that I don’t have to inject ideas into my reading or to try to squeeze truths out of it. As I study and pray, I believe that the message in any Scripture passage will unfold itself to me.
The FAITHFUL: I cannot expect much from Bible study unless I am willing to invest some energy and discipline in the study. I realize that God has placed a price on His Word: faithfulness and diligence in study.
Start Reading the Bible Today
With your desire to hear God in His Word, today is the right day to begin reading His Word.
19 "We have also A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but HOLY MEN OF GOD SPAKE AS THEY WERE MOVED BY THE HOLY GHOST." (2 Peter 1:19-21)
Here are some suggestions to get started:
* Begin reading an entire book of the Bible
* Read one chapter each day
* Read at the same time each day
* Read as if you are reading an interesting novel; don’t try to study the book just now, but read it to hear what God is saying through the inspired men who wrote it.
* When you complete the reading, READ THE SAME BOOK AGAIN!
==> Say to yourself, "Self, if I only scratch the surface, my reward is a few crumbs. If I dig deeply into the Word, my reward will be rich treasures."
LET’S EXPLORE A LITTLE!
Introduction
Let’s start digging for those rich treasures, shall we?! We’ll begin with the first of several practical ideas for hearing God through Bible study.
The first practice is to read the Bible. But, you can’t study the Bible unless you read it (or hear it, perhaps).
Practical Ideas Overview
Before we got too far, I’ll give you the overall view of how to study the Bible.
1. READ the Bible daily.
Read what God wrote through the inspired men of God.
2. OBSERVE exactly what the author is saying.
This is the most important step in Bible study, and it must come first. You look closely at what is being said, not at what you think is being said. Observation is the foundation for the other steps.
3. SUMMARIZE your observations and INTERPRET objectively what the author has written.
Summarization is a process you do in both observing and interpreting. You summarize the facts, and then you summarize the meaning of those facts.
Interpretation means you try to discover the thoughts, attitudes, emotions, meaning, and purpose of the author.
4. EVALUATE fairly what the author has written.
When you have a clear concept of what the author has written and what he meant by what he wrote, you can honestly come to conclusions about the passage.
5. APPLY personally the message revealed.
Don’t just study the Bible--do something! Your Bible study, i.e., hearing God, is potent and will improve your life if you actually apply what the Lord reveals to you.
6. CORRELATE the passage with the whole teaching of the Bible.
As you grow in the Word by studying all of the Bible, you will begin to see that God has been saying pretty much the same thing to different peoples at different times. As you see how God has been acting, your faith, your understanding, your wisdom, and your relationship with God will all improve.
Okay, those are the steps. So, the first step is to read the Bible. This is a matter of self-discipline, self-control. And self-control, (or "temperance" as found in the KJV), is part of "the fruit of the Spirit," (see Galatians 5:22-26).
Observation First
The first practical skill, then, is to OBSERVE. You can train your mind to see when you read a passage. In observing, you carefully look for the details.
Too many of us are in the habit of reading Scripture without seeing very much, without thinking about the words we see. We read words, but we do not observe what the words are saying. Sometimes we do not even see all the words in a passage. And because of inaccurate and careless observations, we often make faulty interpretations and shallow applications.
Definition and Purpose of Observation
What do we mean by the word, "observation"? Well, it is "the act of taking notice; watching or looking closely to see clearly; the art of seeing things as they really are, impartially, intensely, and fearlessly."
The purpose of observation is to saturate yourself thoroughly with the content of a passage. Like a sponge you should absorb everything that is before you. Don’t try to interpret, just observe the details of the passage!
To truly observe you must be mentally aware of what you see. Observation is more that mere physical sight; it involves perception. Let me give you an example:
Sir William Osler, an eminent medical doctor and professor, always sought to impress upon his young medical students the importance of observing details.
While stressing this point in a lecture before a student group, he indicated toward a bottle on his desk. "This bottle contains a human fluid, a sample, for analysis," he announced. "It is very possible by testing it to determine the disease from which the patient suffers."
Putting actions to his words, he dipped a finger into the fluid and then into his mouth. "Now," he continued, "I am going to pass this bottle around. Each of you do as I did and see if you can diagnose the case."
As the bottle was passed from row to row, each student gingerly poked his or her finger in, and bravely sampled the contents. When the whole class had followed suit, Dr. Osler commented, "Ladies and gentlemen, now you shall understand what I mean about details. Had you been observant, you would have seen that I put my index finger into the bottle, but my middle finger into my mouth!"
==> The purpose of observation, we can easily conclude, is to get it right!
What Do We Observe?
In Bible study, there are a number of things to observe. Here some specific things to observe.
1. KEY WORDS
Look for words that you think are important in the passage. Determine which words are "literal" in meaning, and which are "figurative." The basic component of literary expression is a word.
2. STRUCTURE
In order to communicate, many words must be combined in patterns. There is a structure to the words.
Some basic structures are the:
* phrase
* clause
* sentence
* paragraph
* chapter and book.
3. RELATIONS
Literary relations help to put meaning into an otherwise dry literary structure. Some of the main relations to observe are:
* Comparison
* Contrast
* Repetition
* Climax
* Crucial moments
* Particular to general, and vice-versa
* Cause and effect
* Explanation
* Introduction
* Harmony or agreement
* Proportion
4. LITERARY FORMS
Some of the literary forms used in both popular writing and the Bible are:
* Discourse
* Narrative
* Poetry
* Drama
* Parabolic, the use of analogies in "parables"
* Apocalyptic, which means "an uncovering," usually by symbolism or visions
5. ATMOSPHERE
Is the scene tense or mild; rough or gentle; angry or joyful? Take note of the mood.
And many, many more things. Look for things. Write them down as you read the passage.
PRACTICE
Okay, a Practice in Observation
I’m going to ask you to do only one-half of what my seminary professor asked us to do with the following passage. READ the following passage from the King James Version Bible:
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
==> NOTE: if you prefer another popular English version such as the NIV, RSV, NKJV, NASB, or so on; the use that version.
Okay here is the one-half assignment: Write down 25 OBSERVATIONS. Don’t write your interpretation nor any applications. WHAT DO YOU SEE?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
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18.
19.
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22.
23.
24.
25.
"What was the other half of the assignment?" you ask. To write 25 more observations. Don’t worry, there are lots more than fifty!
AMEN.
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| Copyright 2002
| Practical Holiness Ministry (r)
| "BRINGING PRACTICAL IDEAS TO
| THE CHRISTIAN LIFE." (tm)
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| You may reprint or publish or hopefully preach
| this material as long as it is not-for-profit,
| except that it may profit one’s soul,
| (see Mark 8:36).
|
| Dr. Neal Gray is the Senior Pastor of the
| Baltimore Parkville Church of the Nazarene.
| 8510 Fowler Ave -- Baltimore, Maryland 21234
|
| You can reach Dr. Gray by e-mail at:
| mailto:drngray@earthlink.net
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| Also, please visit the church’s website:
| http://www.ForMinistry.com/21234BPCOTN
|
| LEARNING. MENTORING. SERVING. (tm)
| 2 Pet. 3:18 - 2 Tim. 2:2 - Matt. 20:26-28
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| All Scripture is the King James Version.
| Used with God’s blessed permission.
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