The Biblical Principles Of Bible Study

The Biblical principles of Bible Study

2 Timothy 2: 1-26

Intro: I’m convinced that most of the church members, that makeup the body of Christ, are ill equipped for service. The prime reason for this is in the lack of biblical understanding of the mysteries of God that flow from the Word to those that are poorly nourished; much like a baby that pushes away a bottle of milk continually gets sick, so does the immature Christian who pushes away from Gods Word. Therefore the command given by Paul to young Timothy “Study to show thy self approved, a workman needing not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” is very imperative to all believers. The context of this message is exhort each believer to not only read the word of God but study it, not in part, but I its entirety.

Quote:

Any single verse of the Bible, taken in isolation, may actually be dangerous to your spiritual health. Every part of it must be read in relation to the whole message.

LOUIS CASSELS

I. Understanding the entirety of the Word of God:

1. Comes from hours of intense reading

Note: There are some among us this morning that simply read the Word of God as though it had little importance in the life of each believer. They read it as though it was a romance novel about two mortal people instead of a sovereign God reveling himself to sinful men that lay buried in the mire of filth and shame that binds them.

2. By prayerful consideration of the passages read

3. By careful study of each passage and correlating them with other passages “Hermeneutics”

2 Timothy 2:15

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

There are few people that loved sentence diagrams in school, my self-included, but it’s a discipline that is taught for a purpose and must be used in the study of the Word of God. While breaking down each sentence, paragraph, and chapter we start to understand the full meaning of that which is written. If not done correctly we take passages out of context and develop a false understanding of scripture that leads to a false belief (theology) about the nature and attributes of God.

II. Why the Mandate to Study?

First lets define the term used in our text:

Study comes from the Greek word spoudazo {spoo-dad’-zo} meaning: to exert one’s self, endeavor, and give diligence to something:

Note: Why would someone want to give and extreme amount of energy to the study of God’s Word???

1. To equip others

2 Timothy 2:2

2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Note: The purpose of equipping the Saints of God for service is two fold, let’s consider:

A. For spiritual warfare

1 Timothy 1:18 and 2 Timothy 2:3

18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

B. That others may be taught in the Word of God

Note: We have been admonished to learn and teach so that others may teach, which keeps a cycle moving and progressing ever forward.

2. To put an end to strife about belief

2 Timothy 2:14

14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

III. Who should study the Word of God??

1. The Pastor/Preacher

Note: In the context of the passage being studied today we can say for a certainty say the Pastor/Preacher must study. Paul is exhorting young Timothy to Study. Paul being an Elder and Timothy being a very young man as well as a Shepard/Pastor to a particular flock must endeavor to apply himself to the Word with intense energy so as to be the solider of Christ Paul has envisioned him to be.

2. The laity / pew dweller

In the 12th century A.D. the Catholic Church took the Word of God out of the hands of the people and changed the language into Latin so that the common people could not read fro themselves the Word of God. In the next 400 years there would be men who would make a stand for the Word of God and the common people; Martin Luther, John Calvin, King James and John Knox as well as many others translated the Word of God into a language for the common people, all the while being tormented by the church for their actions.