How to Study the Bible

[Joseph Gill]

Reproduced from the online synopsis of "How to Study the Bible" bible study series, distributed by Way of Life Literature.

[Hezekiah Ben Israel]

@ Brother Gill

So basically you are telling me that we learn how to read the Bible, by not reading the Bible?

[Joseph Gill]

It is impossible to tell you anything, Hezekiah. You post pestilently; you won't converse with those you disagree with, but only lecture at them and dismiss their responses with ad hominem attacks. It isn't any easier corresponding with you than with Fred Phelps.

[Hezekiah Ben Israel]

If you read those scripture I posted, They plainly tell you how to read the Bible if you can see.. If you are not blinded by the Tradition of Men...

[Joseph Gill]

8. The Bible student must understand OLD TESTAMENT PARALLELISM. In parallelism, one part of a verse explains and/or amplifies the second part. Proverbs is filled with this type of thing, but it is also a prominent feature of other parts of the Old Testament. For example, Exodus 22:28 says, "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people." The expression "the gods" here is explained in the last part of the verse. It refers to rulers. Men are gods and lords in an earthly context only, referring to the divine image they bear from creation (Gen. 1:26,27) and the royal authority they sometimes exercise under God. 1 Corinthians 8:5 also speaks of this. Compare the expression "lord" as it is applied in Scripture to men (Gen. 23:6,11; 24:18; 31:35; Num. 12:11; 36:2; Ruth 2:13; 1 Sam. 24:8; 1 Ki. 18:7; etc.). The devil is called the "god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4). There is only one true God, of course, but the devil is called a god because he is served by men in this world.

Consider also Isaiah 45:7, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." The parallelism tells us the meaning. "I form the light, and create darkness" is the first half of the parallel. This clause contains a contrast between light and darkness. "I make peace, and create evil" is the second part of the parallel. This clause, too, contains a contrast—between peace and evil. The evil refers to the lack of peace, referring to trouble of various sorts. The verse is not speaking of moral evil, but times of evil. Daniel tells us that God is in control of all things: "he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings" (Dan. 2:21). See also Job 12:6-25 and Romans 8:28. Some have tried to use Is. 45:7 to teach that God is the author of evil, that even the original sin was God's design. That is not true. James 1:13 says that "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man."

There are several types of parallelism in the Bible. Following are three others:

COMPLETIVE PARALLELISM: Psalm 46:1 -- "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." The second part of the statement adds to and completes the first part.

CONTRASTIVE PARALLELISM: Proverbs 27:6 -- "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." The first thought is contrasted with the second.

MULTIPLE PARALLELISM: Psalm 1:1 -- "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." We see triple parallelism in the nouns and verbs in this verse:

walketh counsel ungodly
standeth way sinners
sitteth seat scornful


There is a progress in the parallels. From walking to sitting, from counsel to seat, from ungodly to scornful. "Walking" refers to casual relationship; "standing" refers to a more permanent relationship; "sitting" refers to an intimate relationship. "Counsel" refers to general advice; "way" refers to a chosen course of action; "seat" refers to a settled frame of mind. "Ungodly" and "sinners" refers to those who are sinful but not openly opposed to the truth; whereas "scornful" refers to those who openly mock the things of God.

[Joseph Gill]

9. Study the bible dispensationally.

[Joseph Gill]

10. If TWO OR MORE INTERPRETATIONS ARE SUPPORTED by the passage, both are probably correct. For example, 1 Corinthians 15:29 speaks of the "baptism of the dead." It is very difficult to know precisely what this was. Following are two good possibilities: (1) It could refer to sects which practiced some sort of baptism for the dead. "History indicates that there were sects which practiced baptism for the dead. Paul may be referring to them when he said, `Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead?' But notice the change in pronouns in the next verse: `and why stand we in jeopardy every hour?' Notice `they' are baptizing for the dead and `we' are standing in jeopardy. Paul does not include himself nor any Christian with those who were baptizing for the dead! Paul simply questions, `Why are they doing it if there is no resurrection?" (Tanner, Baptism for the Dead). (2) It could refer simply to the act of baptism itself. We are baptized for the dead in the sense that we are baptized to symbolize Christ's dead, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5). "As they receive baptism as an emblem of `death' in voluntarily going under the water, so they receive it as an emblem of the resurrection unto eternal life in coming up out of the water; thus they are baptized for the dead, in perfect faith of the resurrection" (Adam Clarke). In cases like this, when it is very difficult to be certain that only one interpretation is true, I tend to think that more than one might be true.

[Joseph Gill]

11. What the Bible DOES NOT SAY is as important as what it does say. See Deuteronomy 29:29. God chose the very words of the Scriptures (Mat. 4:4). Every detail is important (Mat. 5:18; Gal. 3:16). And if God did not say something in the Bible, it is because He did not want to say it and it is not necessary, therefore, for man to know that particular thing.

It is therefore wrong to build doctrine by what is absent in Scripture. For example, Gen. 2:3 says, "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Nothing is said beyond this. The Bible does not say that God gave the sabbath to man at this point in time, yet the Seventh-day Adventists and others who keep the sabbath today claim that men kept the sabbath from the beginning. This is eisegesis rather than exegesis. It is reading doctrine into the Bible's silence rather than allowing the Bible to speak naturally for itself. (In fact, God plainly says that He first gave the sabbath to Israel in the wilderness and that it is a sign between Him and Israel. Ex. 31:13; Neh. 9:14.)

It is also wrong to speculate about questions that the Bible does not answer. Many commentators and preachers spend a lot of time in such speculation. This is a waste of time and it can be dangerous. For example, some commentators speculate about how God showed His approval of Abel's sacrifice in Gen. 4:4 and some conclude that it must have been by the means of fire from heaven. But the only correct answer to the question of how God showed his approval is that the
Bible does not tell us!

[Joseph Gill]

12. CAUTION AND CAREFUL STUDY solve most seeming problems. Read the Bible very carefully and note every detail. Many seeming discrepancies are solved in this manner. (1) Do not depend on your memory. Look up the passages in question and pay close attention to every word. (2) Demand the precise details of any challenge that is made to the Bible's accuracy. If someone challenges the Bible, require them be specific in their challenge, so the exact problem can be examined. It is not enough for someone to claim, for example, that there are contradictions or problems in the Old Testament or with the genealogies of Matthew. Determine the precise nature of the alleged contradiction or problem. If an apparent discrepancy does appear, don't be hasty. Look into the matter carefully and prayerfully. Study the passage in context. Define the words. Study parallel passages. Study the cross-references. Usually the alleged discrepancy will disappear.