Page 3 - Principles of Bible Study

4) REALIZE THAT THE BIBLE NEVER CONTRADICTS ITSELF. God says "For I am the Lord, I CHANGE NOT; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Mal. 3:6). Hebrews 13:8 adds, "Jesus Christ THE SAME yesterday, today, and forever." The very source of truth is God’s Word (John 17:17). Unless your approach is from this point of view, you will never gain any understanding of the Bible. Every case of apparent contradiction in the Bible is cleared up by careful study of the Bible passage in question with other principles given in the Bible. An example of this is Proverbs 26:4, 5. This says, "ANSWER NOT a fool ACCORDING to his folly." But the very next verse reads, "ANSWER a fool ACCORDING to his folly." Actually, these verses are not contradictory but COMPLEMENTARY. The use of either verse depends on the SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
Let’s look at Luke 20:1-8, where Jesus was challenged on the source of His authority to do what He did. Clearly, these Pharisees were not interested in learning anything but were there to ARGUE foolishly with Jesus! So Jesus dealt with them accordingly, as you can read in verses 3-8. Christ answered their question with a QUESTION! Christ avoided strife by NOT ANSWERING THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR FOLLY. But what about answering a fool according to his folly, as it says in Proverbs 26:5? Look at 2 Corinthians 11, where Paul is addressing the FALSE APOSTLES who claimed they were the true apostles of Christ. The congregation was being led astray – Paul had to smash the contentions head on. Paul stated, "Are they ministers of Christ? (I SPEAK AS A FOOL) I am more; in labours MORE ABUNDANT, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one . . . in fastings often, in cold and nakedness" (vv. 23-27). Paul showed the people HE was their true minister – he ANSWERED and DEBUNKED the claims of these self-serving men by answering them ACCORDING TO THEIR FOLLY!
5) READ THE BIBLE EXACTLY AS IT IS WRITTEN. Many who claim to be representatives of God, the INTERPRETERS of His Word, actually TWIST that Word to their own destruction and the destruction of their hearers. So, always remember to ask yourself – and ANSWER, the question: "What DOES the BIBLE say?" John 3:6 is a good example of this: "That which is born of the flesh IS flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit IS spirit." This is a very clear statement that flesh is flesh and Spirit is spirit – but that is not what PEOPLE SAY the Bible says! Sometimes you may have to refer to a reference work or a note in the MARGIN of your Bible to understand a scripture that seems to contradict what you know to be the truth.
6) CHECK THE CONTEXT CAREFULLY. Context means, con – WITH, text – TEXT. To check the context you simply read the texts, which come with the text in question; that is, the texts that come BEFORE and AFTER the text in question. Let's see Luke 17:20-21 as an example. "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU." Here, it is only the King James and New King James TRANSLATIONS, which say this – not necessarily God's exact Word. So, by reading the texts BEFORE this (vs. 20), we learn that Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees – and we KNOW that Christ wasn't saying that the Kingdom of God is inside of Pharisees! Therefore, the context helps one understand that there must be a MISTRANSLATION in this particular verse. And sure enough, the margin of your Bible reveals that the word "within" should be translated "among" – meaning that Jesus was referring to Himself as a Representative of God's Kingdom who was at that time "among" the Pharisees!
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