Set Rules for Bible Study
Seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness first.
In the book of Psalm, David said “Teach Me,” so if we don’t pray for guidance we are helpless.
Seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness first; if not our Bible study will be fruitless.
Set up some guidelines to go by, a few rules are good to know.
Just as we can worship God in vain, we can study God’s word in vain also.
A formal education is not necessary; a proud and noble man will study in vain.
But the whole world could understand if all we needed was a brain.
God’s word is written to each individual, so we must correct ourselves in the way we act.
Our purpose should be to get closer to our Creator, not just for knowledge to prove or disprove a fact.
“It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps,” we must ask God for correction.
“The way of man is not in himself,” “all scripture is given by inspiration.”
The Bible contains the very mind and thoughts of our Creator, and is not to be argued about.
It is not a weapon for husbands and wives to use against one another, that is without a doubt.
Our approach to God’s word should be positive, a proper attitude of self correction and control.
If we do not fully understand something in the Bible, our approach should be to prove it so.
Prove means to put to the test, and ask ourselves what does the Bible say.
God wants us to test Him, and correct ourselves as the scriptures correct us in every way.
Never take anything out of context, read the text that comes with the text in question.
Then read the text before and the text after, as far as the subject takes us in that direction.
In order to understand any scriptures thoroughly, we must get all the scriptures in question.
No one scripture can of itself, taken out of context, be used to prove the truth and no exception.
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”
We must take the whole Bible in its entire context, before we can come to God’s revelation.
Now take the example of the cross, it takes all four gospels to put the full inscription together.
Isaiah 28:9-10 shows how the converted mind is to study, if not the word of God remains shut forever.
(Psalm 119:33) (Matthew 6:33) (I Corinthians 1:25-27) (Jeremiah 10:23-24) (II Timothy 3:16)
(I Thessalonians 5:21) (Acts 17:11) (II Peter 1:20)
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“When we talk to God, we kneel and pray. If we want him to talk to us we need to read the scriptures.” someone from church gave this talk and it was based on one of the general authorities from the L.D.S church. I didn’t catch which one.
I agree the bible needs to be read in context. So many people pick and choose chapters and verses and ignore the rest.
Someone told me the Bible contradicts itself, well if you are attending a church that is copying and pasting, yeah it would.
Scholars are finding when each section was written. There were twelve apostles. At the front of the New Testament you have: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each told the “story” of what happened from their perspective. Some of them repeated parts of the same story while each had other “stories” to share.
The best way to approach what one has read if it is true or not is by prayer. One has to be sincere in his/her desire to know if it’s based on fact or fiction.
There are a lot of things in the Bible people don’t like, so those “stories” are often ignored. And the Book of Mormon. (smile) People are still condemning it without reading it.
In the movie “Pretty Woman” Vivian makes a comment that the negative stuff is easier to believe.