Understanding the Bible: Truth, Application, and Transformation

Devotional

Sermon Summary

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips



Now what is the importance of our knowing this information why is it important for us to understand something for instance of the background of the Bible Well I believe it's important today because the Bible is under very severe attack today there are a great many people today who know the Bible but do not believe the Bible to be the word of God in the sense that we have described it to be the word of God. [00:01:38]

Now because there are many people in the church today who know the Bible but don't believe it to be the word of God and because these people have studied primarily the backgrounds of the Bible rather than the content and the devotional application of the Bible it is important for us to know something about the background of the Bible. [00:02:39]

The way he wants them to be kept from the evil of the world is to be set apart to the father and the instrument that sets them apart to the father is the scripture and he describes the scripture as the truth he says Thy word is the truth that can sanctify these people or set them apart to you while they live their lives in this world. [00:05:21]

In the seventh chapter of the Gospel of John Jesus claimed that his word was the word of God now when that was challenged he told people how they could know that this was so he said if you come to my word with the will to do what it says in doing what it says you will come to know that this is in fact the word of God. [00:06:05]

You prove that the Bible is the word of God by implementing the truth that the Bible teaches the psalmist uh teaches us this also in Psalm 27 David says I would have fainted unless I had believed in order to see the goodness of God in the land of the living first I believed he says and then I saw first I believed it and then I saw it. [00:08:36]

The purpose of your speech is not exhibition you don't want people to go away saying my what a great speaker wasn't that an exhibition of public speaking the important thing is what you're communicating to those people your purpose is communication not exhibition now this is intensely true of the scripture when you come to the scripture realize this the purpose of the scripture is God wants to communicate with man. [00:09:31]

The Bible is not supposed to be an exhibition of ancient literature uh it's not supposed to be some sort of of a rabbit's foot that we carry around with us the purpose of the Bible is that God might communicate with us and again we see this by way of the fact that the Bible originally was not written in the classical Greek uh but the New Testament books that were written in Greek. [00:10:25]

Observation asks the question question what does it say interpretation ask the question what does it mean and application ask the question what does it mean to me every time you come to a passage of scripture ask yourself these three questions what does it say what does it mean and what does that mean to me. [00:13:56]

Remember this there is only one interpretation but there can be 1,000 applications of any verse of scripture the interpretation there's only one really it only really says one thing it only really means one thing and you should be very humble about interpretation especially if others don't agree with your interpretation but application now that's something else. [00:15:22]

Never forget that there is no verse of scripture which can be interpreted privately or apart from the rest of scripture for many years the church said that that verse second Peter chapter 1: 20 meant that no private individual had a right to interpret the scriptures that isn't really what it means according to our interpretation what it means is that every verse of scripture should be interpreted in the light of other scriptures. [00:19:35]

Another principle for Bible study is remembering that you cannot understand the scripture apart from the holy spirit always ask for the Teaching Ministry of the Holy Spirit when you attempt to understand the scripture the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2 that truth is learned through the iate and through the ear gate and through the heart gate. [00:26:17]

Lastly in the words of Samuel when you open the scripture you should say Speak Lord thy servant is listening in other words Speak Lord I'm going to do whatever you show me in this inspired book now once again let me say that we've had three introductory sessions now before we begin to survey the Bible and it's been my prayer as we've shared this perspective on the Bible. [00:27:27]

Ask a question about this sermon