4 Simple Steps to READ Your Bible Better

by Dr. Terrence W. Smith

 According to pollster George Gallup, 3 out of 4 Americans believe the Bible to be the actual or inspired word of God!  While this is an encouraging find, less than half of these believers are reading the Bible daily or weekly, which equals one third of all Americans. [https://www.barna.com/research/the-bible-in-america-6-year-trends/] Reading the Bible more is great and beneficial, but how well are we reading, interpreting and understanding?

Here is a simple four-step plan to help us understand and interpret the Bible better, based on the acronym R.E.A.D. The first step is found in the first letter "R", which stands for Research. We must research or make "an extensive investigation" [http://www.dictionary.com/browse/research] into the Word of God. We are implored by 2 Timothy 2:15 to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." [All Bible verses are quoted in the NASB unless otherwise noted.] In order for us to "accurately handle" the Bible, we must understand and apply three rules to reading it right; context, context, context! Sound familiar? Much like the three rules of real estate, context holds the greatest value in unlocking the meaning of the biblical text! Once we know the proper context of a Biblical passage, we have or are very close to having the primary meaning of the text we are studying. Context is defined as "the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect." [https://www.dictionary.com/browse/context] 

The way to find the context of a single verse is to read the whole chapter before concluding the verse's meaning. Then the greater context is the book or letter itself, and then the whole Bible for the big picture (chronological Bibles are great for this), where you compare passages that say the same or similar thing. Reading other translations is also very helpful in providing understanding as they may use words and phrases that are more familiar to us. Avoid studying from paraphrases or non-translations (e.g. The Living Bible). 

To make our reading more effective, we need to learn to focus. When we focus on the passage in front of us and ignore all distractions around us and in our minds, we can zero in on our reading. Sometimes it takes a lot of discipline, but it is well worth the effort when we see the results and we begin to truly understand the passage we are studying, and even better--hear God speak!

There are many tools today that we can use to help us get more from the biblical text. The most commonly known one is the concordance, which is a listing of all Bible verses using a specific word, which has been arranged in alphabetical order. Most concordances also have numbers linking them to the original Hebrew and Greek words which have definitions in the back of the book or in another companion book called a lexicon. So if you find a word in a verse that you don't understand or you think may mean more than its face value, this will help you understand the passage better and hopefully unlock its primary meaning. Computer software does this more easily; as simply as double clicking on the word you want (e.g. Wordsearch and Logos). There are also websites like Biblehub.com and Netbible.org that offer the same tools for free.

A topical Bible is another tool that helps immensely when you are doing a topical Bible study by providing a biblical outline of the subject matter. Add to this a Bible dictionary, which as you guessed, is a dictionary of biblical people, places and events. Bible encyclopedias, handbooks and atlases provide much supportive information in the areas their names suggest. Bible commentaries are listed last because it is far better for the Bible student to read them after they have some sense of the interpretation, as the commentators generally provide it, yet their conclusions often vary drastically! Ask a mature believer who you trust to offer some direction on good commentaries like Warren Wiersbe's Bible Exposition Commentaries.

A good study Bible has some or many of these tools included (e.g. The NIV Study Bible by Zondervan, also available in other translations), although some are often abridged too much.

The next step is to Evaluate the information you've discovered. Bible teachers normally call this the interpretation phase. Here we want to sift through the information from our observations of the biblical passage, and funnel it all down to determine what it all meant to the original readers and hearers, and then what it means to us today, both personally and corporately (the church). 

When discussing personal examination in preparation for the Lord's Supper, the apostle Paul gave us an insightful heads-up about God's judgment of us and our opportunity to avoid it--"But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:31-32) Further, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, [thoroughly] equipped for every good work."

The "A" in the acronym reminds us of the necessity to Apply what we have learned. James 1:22 says, "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (NIV) James 4:17 adds, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

One additional practice that helps immensely with research, evaluation, and application is memorization. Before the invention of the printing press, the Bible and all things written, were copied meticulously by hand or memorized and passed on orally. Psalm 119:15-16 says, "I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. (NKJV) Psalm 119:11 adds "Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you." (NKJV) And Jesus said, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5b) Here are three practical ways we can use our God-given R.A.M: 

     Repetition - repeat a phrase often and you will remember it.

     Association - line up a new thought with something familiar.

     Meditation - think carefully and much about what God said.

And finally, Devote yourself to regular and continual research, evaluation and application, and of course prayer! This is where the idea of "devotions" comes from, that Christians all over the world commit to daily. James charged us with a promise to "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8) A little accountability goes a long ways too. Ask someone for help and encouragement, "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." (Hebrews 3:13) Also, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)

Remember, R.E.A.D. = Research + Evaluation + Application + Devotion.

Great Websites for Researching the Bible: www.biblehub.com, www.netbible.org and www.biblestudytools.com

Science in the Bible

By Terry Smith • May 31, 2020
The Bible makes many scientifically accurate statements about our universe and our earth. Here is a list of just ten of these amazing statements, most of which were made over 3000 years ago! Psalms 102:25-26 confirms the Law of Entropy; "In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded." Isaiah 51:6b adds; "the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies." In Matthew 24:35 Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away…" The Law of entropy, or the 2nd Law of thermodynamics, states that things left to themselves will wear out or decay. When the Bible was written there was no observable evidence that things were wearing out. The consensus of the scientists was that it was not decaying, but getting better, leading to modern evolutionary theory. This agreement between the Law of Entropy and the Bible gives the Bible great credibility as a scientific document, since its writers were so incredibly accurate! Jeremiah 33:22b tells of the innumerable stars in our universe; "…as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore." Astronomers used to believe that they had a count of the total number of stars in the universe--until the invention of the telescope. They soon found out that the bigger the telescope, the greater the number of stars there were to be found. Now we know there are at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and several hundred billion other galaxies! With the enhancement of the Hubble telescope, more stars are still being discovered! Psalms 19:6 revealed centuries ago that the sun moves; "It (the sun) rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat." We now know that the sun follows a circular path within one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way at 600,000 mph! Astronomers used to think the sun was a fixed point in our galaxy, and before that, that the earth was the center of our galaxy, and that our galaxy was all that existed. Isaiah 40:22a informs us that our planet is a sphere; "He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth." The earth is a round like a ball. Scientists used to think it was flat, while the Bible correctly taught about its spherical shape hundreds of years ago! Job 26:7 teaches us of the earth's suspension in space; "He (God) spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing." Modern science agrees, the earth is suspended in space, which the Bible told us several millennia ago! It is interesting to note that the book of Job is believed to be at least 4000 years old. Hebrews 11:3 acknowledged the invisible particles of matter; "the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Scientists tell us that things in the universe were apparently made from nothing; all matter is made of particles that are not visible in natural light. Psalms 8:8 is where Matthew Maury, the "Father of Modern Oceanography" got the idea for ocean currents; "the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas." Maury showed us the predictable paths or currents in the oceans. Job 36:27-28 describes the earth's Hydrological Cycle; "He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the stream;28 the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind." Contemporary scientists agree this is an accurate depiction of the earth's hydrological cycle. Ecclesiastes 1:6 explains global wind currents; "The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course." Solomon's description of the global wind currents concurs with the understanding of modern meteorologists. Ecclesiastes 1:7 describes the earth's surface water cycle; "All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again." The answer to the dilemma of how and where surface water goes is found here and so understood today. There are at least 100 of these amazing statements in the Bible, written at times when scientists did not have the ability to determine their validity! When the Bible speaks of natural knowledge, it has been proven true over and over again by modern experimentation and technology! Its words are not theories, but facts. One final note. The word universe actually means "one" (uni) "word" (verse), (or "turned into"; versus), referring to God speaking or turning all matter into existence as Psalms 33:9 notes, "For when He spoke, the world began! It appeared at His command." Scientists Who Believe(d) in Jesus Christ as the Creator (to name a few): Johannes Keppler, Matthew Maury, John Ambrose Flemming, Michael Faraday, Blaise Pascal, Louis Agassiz, Everett C. Koop, Wernher Von Braun, Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur, Michael Behe and Phillip Johnson. For more Scientists: visit rae.org, or read, "Professors Who Believe" (Vols. 1&2) - Paul M. Anderson, IVP, and "On the Seventh Day, 40 scientists" by John F. Ashton, MP.