How can I better understand the Bible? Trust the Holy Spirit to show you.
Recently we have been asked this same question by two different people. They want to know how to understand what they are reading in the Bible. Well, there are probably many study aids, like commentaries, that could help. However, there are some basic things that you need to do first. Start with a King James Bible. That book is scripture. Those are His words in there. Modern bibles are a collection of man’s words mixed with some of God’s words. You will never understand God’s words in a modern bible like you will in a KJV. Now, here’s what to do.
Pray – In Ps
119:18, we find one of the greatest prayer requests regarding
Bible reading. The Psalmist prayed, “Open thou mine eyes, that
I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” The Lord has to
open the scriptures for us before we can understand them (Lk
24:32, 45). So, ask him to do it.
Read – Is 34:16
says, “Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read.” There is
no replacement for simply sitting down in a quiet place with no
distractions and reading what the Bible says (1 Pet 2:2). For
this to be effective, you have to read several pages everyday
(preferably 10 per day, at least). Read it all the way through
and then start over again and keep reading. Repetition is a
great teacher.
Believe – If you
really want the Lord to show you what’s in the book, you have to
believe what you are reading (Lk 8:15; Jn 8:43-47). The
preacher that trained me said that you have to read your Bible
with a humble mind and a believing heart. A man that doesn’t
believe every word of what he is reading will never understand
what he is reading.
Do – Once you
start getting into the book, you have to do what it says. Job
28:28b says, “to depart from evil is understanding.” In other
words, the Bible will point out sins in your life and you have
to depart from them. As you follow what the Bible says, you
begin to understand more about it (Jas 1:22-25).
Study – 2 Tim
2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.” Notice from this verse that studying the Bible is WORK
MAN. One of the best ways to study is to use the marginal cross
references in your Bible so that you can see other verses that
compare to the verse you are studying. A concordance is
helpful.
Trust – You have
to trust the Holy Spirit to give you an understanding of the
Bible. There are four things to remember here.
First – 1 Cor 2:10-14 shows us that the Holy Spirit reveals the things of God to us. They cannot be received by the natural man. So, you have to be saved and you have to rely upon the Lord to show you what he wants you to know.
Second – 2 Tim 3:16 and Job 32:8 show us that the work of inspiration is a work that goes on today. The Holy Spirit “breathes” on the words of scripture and gives you an understanding of what you are reading. Therefore, you have to have scripture for this to work. You will find the scripture in an Authorized KJV and not in other modern English bibles. When you pick up a bible that professes to be “easier to read and understand” you have already told the Holy Spirit by your choice that you are not relying upon him to help you understand the Bible. You are relying upon modern scholarship. And you will end up confused.
Third – 1 Jn 2:27 shows us that you need the Holy Spirit actively involved in teaching you the Bible while you are studying. The Lord has given us teachers who are men (Eph 4:11-12). Nevertheless, many “teachers” are liars (2 Cor 2:17; 2 Pet 2). Therefore, if you only trust the men who are teaching you, you will end up being deceived. When you trust the Holy Spirit to teach you, on the other hand, you will be able to discern between those teachers who lie and those who speak the truth. Often, your understanding in the Bible is limited because of bad teaching. Jehovah’s Witnesses, for instance, study a lot but they are terribly deceived because they are only following men.
Fourth – Is
28:9-10 shows us that we need repetition to learn and that
the Holy Spirit is only going to give you a little bit of
understanding at a time. Most times people are too
impatient and want more than the Holy Spirit is ready to
give them (1 Cor 8:2; Gal 6:3).
Avoid – Avoid the popular temptation to search the Bible only to be the kid who finds something new that no one else has seen (Acts 17:21). Many people want to jump right into Revelation, Daniel and Ezekiel and start hunting for the time of the Second Coming, answers to whether the church goes trough the tribulation, fulfillment of scriptures regarding the antichrist, etc. They never get a foundation upon which to grow. Consequently, they don’t understand the Bible.
Okay, this is enough for now. Next week we will give you a little more that will help you keep from getting messed up with bad interpretations.
Hope
this helps,
Pastor Welder