GROW UP Part 3
UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE
INTRO: Have you ever been in a country where you could not speak
the language? It can be very difficult to even eat!
Illustrations: Tokyo… Crisco can...
Many of you may
feel that way about the Bible! You may be doing daily Bible readings or reading
verses about some struggle you are having in your life, but you get nothing out
of it! It’s like you’re in a strange country reading in a foreign language! To many
the questions remains: “How do I read the Bible? It is just a bunch of words!”
I’ve got good
news! You can read the Bible, and understand what you read! I believe God made
the Bible easy to understand. After all,
He gives a special blessing to those who read it, hear it, and obey it. Why would He hide the meaning?
I Timothy 4:13 (NKJV) Till
I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Revelation 1:3 (NKJV) Blessed
is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those
things which are written in it; for the time is near.
The truth is we
preachers are to blame for that! We have told people that the Bible is full of
hidden meanings that have to be taught to you.
This started in
the Middle Ages where the Bible was chained to the pillars in the church
buildings and written in a language the people could not even read! They were
told only the priest could interpret the Bible, so don’t even try. When men
wrote the Bible in the common language they were burned at the stake! No wonder
Bible readers didn’t run in great herds!
Protestants were
not much better. We put such emphasis on education that people felt that unless
they had been to Bible college or seminary, understanding the Bible was out of
their reach. I remember being told since I did not know Hebrew and Greek I
could not exegete, or interpret, the Bible! My God!
The end result
is people believe the Bible is a closed book only the ‘initiated’ can
comprehend!
That is a lie!
You can read and understand God’s Word!
1. Get
a Bible in a language you can understand!
a. Language
changes over time.
A.
Words
have different meanings and people talk in different ways. Don’t be afraid to
try a more modern language than the King James Version!
b. Three
types; all good; different purposes.
A.
Literal:
word for word translation; KJV, NKJV,
NASB, ESV
B.
Dynamic:
thought for thought translation; NIV,
NLT,
C.
Paraphrase:
stating something in your own words; MSG,
TLB
1.
Which
one is best? The one you will read!
2.
God
can speak through them all!
c. Specialty
Bibles: chronological, amplified, story…
2. Read
the Bible like you would any other book.
Now don't
misunderstand, the Bible is not like any other book. It is written by God
Himself! How?
2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, (only time used in NT)
2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed,
2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV) Above all, you must
understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own
interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will,
but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the
Holy Spirit.”
Written over
some 2,000 years by 40 different authors from three continents, who wrote in
three different languages…
But read it like
other books…
A.
What
is written is a straight-forward expression of what is meant.
1.
Francis
Schaeffer…
B.
We
understand there are different genres: narrative, history, poetry, visions and
dreams…
3. The
Bible is a story. It is the story of
God’s plan for man.
a. The
Master Theme of the Bible is the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the
world.
A.
As
we read this story, we see how God deals with people and with us, in
particular!
b. The
Old Testament centers on God’s dealing with one man, Abraham, and his family,
the children of Israel.
A.
This
is a real man and a real family. The children of Israel were the descendants of
Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, who became Israel.
The “Children of Israel” were the children of Israel!
c. The
New Testament centers on God’s plan to redeem all mankind from sin.
A.
The
key figure is Jesus!
4. Fall
in love with the author!
a. Reading
someone else’s mail!
CONCLUSION
The Bible gives you all you need, when
you give your all to the Bible!
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) All Scripture is inspired
by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is
wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what
is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
Turn over to Alba…
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