The Bible is God’s Word to us! It is the revelation about the person and work of Jesus, the Son of God, for the forgiveness of sins. It’s a book full of good and gracious news written to give us hope.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Romans 15:4 (NIV)
And yet, many of us feel that the Bible is an intimidating, overwhelming, daunting and closed book.
The devil wants to keep us from the Truth. The spiritual forces of evil want us to believe that the Bible is a book reserved for the religious elite and not the common lay person, a book best read and studied by the “spiritual professionals” and not by me, a book who’s meaning and message is open and accessible to only a select and enlightened few and closed to the darkened many.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
The Scriptures are “God-breathed” and are meant to be read, understood and applied by every person, in every nation, in every language, in all places, and at all times.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
As the Apostle Paul declares, the Scripture is useful for …
- proclaiming right teaching about God
- rebuking and refuting false teaching
- correcting wrong living
- encouraging, exhorting and training in right living
- and they always point to the person and work of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins
God desires that we know, love and trust in Him. He wants us take Him at His Word. The good news is that we don’t read the Scriptures alone. The Holy Spirit, the Real Teacher, is promised and given to us. When we open the Scriptures, He opens our eyes to understand and make use of the Scriptures.
As we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit opens our minds and helps us answer two basic questions:
- What does this portion of Scripture mean? What is God saying in and through the words of the text? What is the content of the words and sentences and paragraphs? What’s the context of His revelation? How do I interpret the text and find God’s one intended meaning?
- How does God want to apply these words to me? What gift do these words offer? What work does God want to do through them? Does He want to reveal/convict me of my sin? Does He want to reveal and offer the forgiveness of sins in Jesus? What is the Scripture’s “salutary use” for my life?
New Video Series … How to Read, Understand and Make Use of the Scriptures
Over the past couple of weeks I have created some new content for a video series called … How to Read, Understand and Make Use of the Scriptures.
Topics include …
- the principles of Biblical interpretation
- the “five salutary uses” of the Scripture
- the distinction between the Law and the Gospel
- how the person and work of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins is the central message of the Bible
- the gift, corruption and the proper use of human reason
- helpful tools, resources and much more
If you have not yet signed up for my email vlog and would like to receive this content delivered directly to your inbox, you can sign up for the How to Read, Understand and Make Use of the Scripturesemail vlog below.
The series begins on Monday, October 18th. You should receive the videos in your inbox Mondays through Saturdays, around 6 am. We will also be having some in-person gatherings to discuss the content of the series. In October and November we will be meeting at …
5475 Livernois, Troy, MI 48098
Wednesdays October 21st, November 3rd and 17th
from 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Here’s a sample of the content. It will give you a good overview of the series.
I hope this helps with your study of God’s Word.
Much joy and peace to us in Jesus,
Paul
P.S. For more information about the ekklesia digital resources you can go to the following sites: