Ten foundational principles to shape our thinking as we approach the study of the Bible.

<p>Ten foundational principles to shape our thinking as we approach the study of the Bible.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Collegedale Korean SDA Church

How to Study Your Bible

Alistair Huong

1-Foundational Principles

Father in heaven, we're so thankful for the time we can spend this Sabbath today and tomorrow in discussing something so practical and so necessary.

Lord, I pray that we might have the wherewithal to grasp the concepts, to put into practice the things that we are talking about, and that we might be people of the word once more.

May your spirit come to be our teacher now, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Let's begin in looking at the verse we talked about earlier, 2 Timothy 2.15, or the verse we had in scripture reading.

This really forms the foundation of what we're discussing this whole weekend.

And by the way, This is not so much a revival-type style weekend as it is a seminar.

And the way that I think about it is a revival weekend, you come to be energized, recharged, inspired.

I know it's the end of the school year, I really shouldn't use those kinds of words.

But what I'm trying to get you in the gear of is that you're going to have to think.

Is it okay that I'm going to expect you to actually reason and to remember and to use your brain a little bit?

Because there's going to be a lot of information and the burden of mine this weekend is that you'll actually learn something.

That it's going to be something clear, something that you perhaps have not learned before.

It says, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.

In the King James Version at least, it says rightly dividing the word of truth.

Now if the Apostle Paul says that there is a right way to divide the truth.

And so this is really the foundation of why we're discussing this topic, is that there is a right and a wrong way, whoops, let me go back here, to study your Bible.

And so I don't claim to be an expert, I don't claim to have an exhaustive study for you, but I'm gonna try to share some practical ways that we can ensure that we're dividing the word rightly and not haphazardly and not wrongly.

So tonight, we're gonna be discussing foundational principles, and we're gonna explain why it's important to come to the word with the proper assumptions a little later tonight.

And then tomorrow morning, during sabbatical time, we're gonna talk about practical considerations.

You're just gonna have to remember 2 sets of 3 things.

We remember things in threes, so we're not gonna try to remember 6 things, we're gonna remember 2 sets of 3 things.

And we're gonna talk about that tomorrow.

And if you remember these 3 things in 2 sets, you, I think, based on, I hope, my goal is that once you know those 3 things, those 6 things but 2 sets of 3 things, you will know all you need to study the Bible for yourself.

So that's what we're gonna discuss tomorrow morning.

And then during the sermon time, since I know many of the people joining us in the 11 o'clock hour won't be here for tonight and tomorrow morning, we're gonna be doing something sort of a double 2 for the price of 1.

Okay, So demonstration, what that's gonna be, I'm actually going to be preaching a sermon that's actually a Bible study.

And the Bible study is gonna be not necessarily directly related to what we're discussing, but it's a demonstration of the principles that we're using to study.

So it's going to be a message that anyone can listen to and get a blessing and not have to listen to part 1 and part 2, but for those of you who are in the know, you're going to have to use 2 halves, both halves of your brain.

1 is going to be listening to the message, the other is processing, okay, how did he apply the principles that we talked about tonight in Sabbath school time?

I told you you're going to have to think.

And then tomorrow afternoon, we are going to actually deconstruct the Sabbath morning sermon And we're going to review how it was put together.

And then we're gonna say, okay, what else can we use these principles to apply in other passages of the Bible?

So, trying to be practical, and that's the breakdown of what we're going to do this weekend.

So tonight, we're going to be discussing foundational principles, okay?

We're going to be looking at 10 points, 10 principles that would be helpful for us to shape our thinking as we come to the practice of studying the Bible.

And actually let's just get right into it because the first point really explains why it's important for us to even go through 10 foundational principles to begin with.

The first principle we're discussing tonight is called the Presupposition principle.

You shouldn't start with a big word, right?

But there's an important reason why we use this word because presupposition is put together by a root word.

If I take this middle word here, does it look sort of like another word?

What do you suppose the word suppose means?

I sort of let the cat out of the bag, right?

When you suppose something, you're thinking, how do you think about something, right?

Is what you think about what you're going to think about.

If I can put it in other words, this is our assumptions.

When we're thinking about studying the Bible, all of us come to the Bible with a certain set of pre-built-in assumptions in our minds.

And these come about through our life experience, through our education, through our culture, through the media, through Whatever has occurred previously to our brain, in our brain, it actually forms a picture through which, it's a lens, it's a filter, through which we process new information.

Now This actually is a very important principle to all things in life, even in relationships and communication.

But when you're studying the Bible, we have to recognize, we need to come to the word realizing we are not a blank slate.

We come with baggage, We come with presuppositions, with assumptions.

So how are we supposed to manage these presuppositions?

Well, let's see what the Spirit of Prophecy has to say.

It says, how shall we search the scriptures in order to understand what they teach?

That sort of sounds like what we're discussing this weekend, right?

She continues, we should come to the investigation of God's word with a contrite heart, a teachable and prayerful spirit.

We are not to think, as did the Jews, that our own ideas and opinions are infallible, nor with the papists that certain individuals are the sole guardians of truth and knowledge, that men have no right to search the scriptures for themselves, but must accept the explanations given by the fathers of the church.

We should not study the Bible for the purpose of sustaining our preconceived opinions, but with a single object of learning what God has said.

Preconceived opinions is just another way of saying presupposition or assumptions.

So the spirit of prophecy tells us, when you come to the word, you need to know, yes, I do have preconceived ideas, but we need to not allow those preconceived ideas to get in the single object that we are trying to accomplish and that is to find out what is God trying to tell me.

Now how can I concoct some way of making God say something that I want him to say, right?

The book Education says this, page 189, paragraph 1, the student of the Bible should be taught to approach it in the spirit of a learner.

We are to search its pages, not for proof to sustain our opinions, but in order to know what God says.

So, this is a very important point, so I wanna dwell on this a little bit.

Because there are certain viewpoints, there are certain viewpoints about the scriptures themselves that how you approach it almost predetermines what conclusions you're going to reach.

So for example, for example, if we have the preconceived idea or opinion or assumption that this world operates purely by natural causes, no such things as miracles, There is no such thing as a supernatural and you're already convinced in your mind, you've made up your mind, you dug in your heels that that is truth.

When you come to the Bible and the first chapter of the Bible says, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, how would you relate to those words if your preconceived idea is that there is no such thing as the supernatural?

Well, I'll tell you what happens, because this is a very real phenomenon even within Christianity is that people come to the Bible and say well that certainly must not be literal.

God certainly didn't create all things by speaking them into existence?

Because the world operates by natural causes.

2-Practical Considerations

Father in heaven, we're so thankful for your word.

And we confess that often it is because of our own insufficiencies that we don't understand.

And our own lack of effort that we don't even try sometimes.

And so we pray that you through your spirit might inspire us otherwise today and to help us to recognize what we can do to give you glory as we seek your face through your written word.

Last night, we talked about foundational principles.

Listed 10 principles that form our foundational presuppositions, assumptions, preconceived notions, opinions, whatnot, before we come to the word.

We need to recognize that we come with certain amount of baggage.

And we need to realize that that stuff creates a filter through which we understand the Bible.

We need to know how to manage those things carefully before we impose our own reading into God's Word.

And we concluded, Takuma this morning mentioned, that the bottom line really is we just need to read the Word.

We can listen to seminars, listen to sermons on Audioverse, listen to the audio Bible, but we just have to read the Bible.

So this hour, we're gonna be looking at practical considerations, and this in many ways is sort of the hub of the message's four-part series this weekend, because we're gonna go through a number of points.

I'm distilling them down into 2 sets of 3 things that I believe if we remember them it'll give us guidance in all of our study.

It's basically all we need to remember, in other words, when we come to study the Bible.

And then the next hour, I'm gonna be giving a Bible study during the divine hour, a Bible study that's on another subject in the Bible, but nevertheless it applies principles for us to see them in action.

And then this afternoon, we're gonna go back and take a look at that message and we're gonna break it down and we're gonna look, okay, how did those principles we talked about this hour apply and then we're gonna go a little bit further and do some deeper analysis.

So practical considerations, let's start there.

Now I've given this presentation a couple times and this is version 2.0, which means it's been upgraded.

And when I say upgraded, it simply means I've thought through this.

After going through this a few times, I realized, you know, we could do a better job.

I think we could distill this down into the bare essential, nucleus, simple ideas, so that it's the easiest to remember.

So do you want to know the 3 or 2 sets of 3 things that we have to remember when we study the Bible?

Number 1, there are 3 styles or approaches of Bible study.

We're gonna discuss that and that's probably gonna be the bulk of our time this morning.

And then, there are going to be 3 questions that we need to ask when we approach the text.

So, we're going to figure out, okay, which of the 3 approaches are we taking in our Bible study?

And once we answer that question, then when we actually look at the text, we ask 3 questions, and after asking those 3 questions, we should have arrived at an understanding of the word.

3 styles, 3 approaches, followed by 3 questions.

So, what are the 3 styles and 3 approaches?

Actually, before we get there, here's a little note I need to mention.

I'm gonna be referencing William Miller a couple of times in this presentation.

William Miller, the father of the Millerite movement, which happens to predate the Advent movement, which is where the Seventh-day Adventist church came out of, William Miller studied the Bible for himself and arrived at some very revolutionary understandings of prophecy.

And this is what Ellen White has to say about how he studied the Bible.

Ellen White says in Review and Herald, November 25, 1884, paragraph 23 and on, she says, those who are engaged in proclaiming the third angel's message are searching the scriptures upon the same plan that Father Miller adopted.

In the little book entitled, Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chronology, so right there she cites where these rules are found, Father Miller gives the following simple but intelligent and important rules for Bible study and interpretation.

And then in the next paragraph, she actually lists a number of the rules, but I stripped them out because we're gonna be looking at them a little later.

And she continues afterwards to say, the above, meaning the previous paragraph, is a portion of these rules.

And in our study of the Bible, we shall do well to heed the principles set forth.

So what does Ellen White have to say about William Miller's method of biblical interpretation?

Does she give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down?

He has some good rules that we would all do well to pay attention to.

So that's why I took the liberty to quote from some of these rules later on, okay?

I just want to give you a basis because William Miller is not a prophet, he wasn't inspired, but we do have reason to listen to what he has to say.

And in addition to that, I contemplated printing out his rules, it was like 13 points, and handing them out.

But I realized, you know what, let's just save some trees, I'm posting them on AudioVerse, okay?

So when you find this message on AudioVerse, there'll be an additional PDF that have the rules, William Miller's rules of interpretation appended to it, and then you can look through them yourself, okay?

So now, 3 approaches, having got that disclaimer aside.

3 major approaches or styles of Bible study.

And I think all Bible study types can be grouped into 1 of these 3 styles.

There is exegetical Bible study, topical Bible study, and allegorical Bible study.

Now, you're like, it is too early for you to be using these big words.

It simply is a verse by verse study, which means exegetical is you are reading the words and getting the meaning out of them.

All of you theology majors probably are tired of hearing this, but exegetical simply means you are reading the manuscript as it was originally written, you are trying to identify the author's intent to his original audience.

So Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesians, you are reading the letter to the Ephesians to understand what Paul was saying to the Ephesians, verse by verse.

And then we move on here to topical Bible study, which, to put it in other words, is just looking at a topic throughout the Bible, throughout the scriptures.

Another type of study in this class is called biographical study.

So say doctrinal, you know, you go to the evangelistic series, 21 nights or 28 nights, whatever, and each night you hear a presentation on another doctrine.

What does the Bible have to say about the Antichrist?

You read throughout the Bible what it has to say.

What does the Bible have to say about salvation?

Salvation as documented throughout the Bible.

Doctrinal study is a type of topical study.

Biographical study is saying, hey, I want to learn about a particular person.

What does the Bible have to say about Abraham?

You read through the Bible to understand what it has to say about those things.

And I want to pause here and say oftentimes topical Bible study is called word study.

I want to review 1 point from last night and that is how are prophets inspired?

Did God call them to dictate exactly the words as he wants them to say it?

The thoughts, the concepts, the principles, the ideas, right?

And so when we look at a study of the Bible, we want to be careful not to place undue emphasis on the words individually and begin to do like cryptology almost, like the words, there's a word here, there's a word there, therefore these verses must be equal.

3-Demonstration: “Make Disciples”

As you have already heard, this is part 3 of our four-part series on how to study the Bible.

And some of you may be thinking oh no I have not heard the first 2 parts.

Well I have 2 pieces of good news for you.

The first as was mentioned earlier is that this is being recorded and will be posted on AudioVerse so you can catch up later.

The second piece of good news is that understanding the dynamics of our church, this particular session, this hour, can stand alone.

You can hear the message, it's actually a Bible study, not so much a sermon as a Bible study, and you will still understand everything that is presented.

However, if you've been a part of our study for the past 2 sessions, you will have to think with another half of your brain, and that is hear the message as it's presented, but also be thinking through the principles that we discussed particularly this morning in Sabbath school time and how it's being put into practice.

And some of you might have to think harder than others.

I guess it's the end of the school year, so might as well pack in all the thinking we can before the summer comes, right?

Well, before we get any further, before we get into the word, I ask you to bow your heads with me 1 more time as we pray.

Father in Heaven, we are thankful for your Word, and we are thankful for the Holy Spirit that you have promised to help us understand this Word.

We also praise you for Jesus, who is the living Word, who came to dwell among us.

Today may we come to a better understanding of who He is and how we can respond to your commission to us.

May you guide us in this study of the Bible and help us through this exercise to be better equipped for your soon return.

Let's begin in our Bibles in Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew chapter 28 verses 19 and 20, our scripture reading for today.

Matthew the first book of the New Testament, and we're looking at the last 2 verses of the last chapter of the first book of the New Testament, and we're looking at the last 2 verses of the last chapter of the first book of the New Testament, and this will form the platform from where we are launching into our Bible study today.

This is commonly known as the Great Commission that Jesus leaves with his disciples before he ascended back to heaven.

He said, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

So to whom is Jesus speaking in this particular instance?

It says, So, who were the people Jesus spoke these words to?

And this is right before he's sent it to heaven, so sort of you can think of this as his last words, his last wish before he takes off.

Verse 19 begins and says, Go ye therefore.

So he says, go ye, meaning the 12 or 11 disciples, therefore.

Verse 18 actually tells us why the therefore is therefore.

He says, all power, verse 18, is given unto me in heaven and the earth.

So he says, I have power to bestow upon you, therefore go.

In verse 19, go ye therefore and do what?

In the King James Version of the Bible, it says go and teach all nations.

How many of you have Bibles that say teach all nations.

Okay I've realized in my research here that all modern translations including the New King James Version translates that differently.

In my Bible, my King James Bible, it actually has a marginal reading for that phrase and teach all nations and it says or make disciples.

How many of your Bibles say make disciples?

So if I can say it another way, Jesus says all power is given to me in heaven and in earth, therefore go and do what?

You will notice that is the title of our message today.

By baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you.

He's saying this is his commission, meaning this is what he's telling us to do or telling his disciples to do when he departs.

So, if Jesus is telling this to his disciples, you are my disciples go and make disciples, it tells me that in order for us To go and to make disciples for Jesus, first of all, we must become what ourselves?

How can you call someone else to be a disciple when you or yourself is not a disciple?

So here's the question I want to ask you.

What does, what's a word that we use that means make disciple?

Is there a word that means make a disciple?

How many of you are thinking, well the word disciple means to make a disciple, Right?

Like, haven't you heard the term discipling someone?

A pastor is discipling his youth pastor or his young people.

I did some research into this, and I looked at the dictionary, at the word disciple.

This is the New Oxford American Dictionary.

This happens to be the 1 that's built into your Mac, by the way.

A personal follower of Jesus during his life, especially 1 of the 12 apostles.

It's a noun that means a personal follower of Jesus, particularly the 12.

It also has another definition, a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher.

Okay, we agree so far that a disciple is a noun that represents a person who is a follower of another teacher, leader, philosopher, whatnot.

And I realize that in the dictionary, the word disciple is not listed as a verb.

Series

How to Study Your Bible

1-Foundational Principles

Transcript

Description

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Attachments

Emmanuel Institute Bootcamp

8. State of the Dead

1h 44m

God's Ordained Order

God’s Ordained Order - Part 1

58m

Justification by Faith

A Legal Biblical View of this Core Teaching - Part 3

55m

Babylon, America, and Bible Prophecy

05 Israel & the 144,000 in Revelation

1h 18m

In the Mean Time

48m

Prophecy Made Simple

17. The Rapture and the Blessed Hope

1h 14m

Emmanuel Institute - Ignite Your Church

Ignite Your Church - Part 9: The Implementation Guide

59m

Jesus On Prophecy

Prophecy, Spiritual Abuse, and the Divine Right of Man

53m

Going ABOVE and BEYOND

Daring to Ask for More - Part 5

53m

Christian Business

Christian Business- Part 1

57m

Personal Ministries

Special Forces Training - Part 5: Supper Club

56m

A Faith Prepared for Eternity

40m

Sound Doctrine