Read The Bible For Yourself: Do not let anyone, even your religious leaders, tell you that you cannot understand the Bible without their interpreting it for you. You may be persuaded that you cannot understand the Scriptures because you are not a Hebrew or Greek scholar, or you do not hold any philosophical or theological degrees. First, it is not necessary to know everything; we learn truth by degrees. Second, if the Bible really is the Word of God, then it is only reasonable to believe that God will give understanding to anyone who unselfishly seeks the truth. This is His reason for giving the Holy Spirit: [What Do You Believe? Al Dager. Media Spotlight]

You Do Not Need To Be Spoon-fed: The notion that the Bible is best filtered down to those in the pew through religious experts is a long-standing assumption, and accounts in a large degree as to why people do not read their Bibles. Why should they, if they are paying a clergy-professional to spoon-feed them from the Scriptures several times a week? [The Search for a Spiritual Home. Jon Zens.]

It’s Your Story: Biblical Theology requires us to learn to read the biblical narrative from within. We are insiders to the story of Scripture. It’s our story. We have to learn to read the Bible canonically. We have to allow the Word to absorb the world rather than allowing the world to absorb the Word. We have to take Scripture’s outlook as normative rather than imposing another world view on our reading of Scripture. We must learn to read the Bible organically, in terms of itself. We should read the Bible the same way Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmond would read The Chronicles of Narnia: as a story not only for us, but about us. (What is Biblical Theology? Rich Lusk)

HISTORY
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BIBLE
The fascinating story of how we got the Bible in its present form actually starts thousands of years ago

THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE BIBLE
A detailed seven part article

OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE
A one page overview of both new and old Testaments.

SURVEYING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
A detailed look at the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. From Abraham, through Christ, to the close of the apostolic age

RELIABILITY
A REMARKABLE BOOK
What makes the Bible the only book we can accept as divinely inspired since it does not glow in the dark, levitate or exhibit any physical qualities that might be seen as supernatural. How can we know beyond a shadow of doubt that the Bible is and always was the only Word of God? How is it possible to determine the validity and the authenticity of the claims made by these Scriptures. (Several Articles)

DIFFERENCES AND DISCREPANCIES IN THE
OLD TESTAMENT / NEW TESTAMENT
 Does the Bible contradict itself? That charge is frequently made by skeptics. A careful consideration of the "law of contradiction" will however, demonstrate otherwise.

***

BIBLE STUDY - WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO

 USEFUL (AND VERY IMPORTANT) GUIDELINES
Helpful Hints and Golden Rules. Things you should do and what to avoid like the plague

 CONTEXT IS CRUCIAL
No Biblical author simply strung together a number of lofty sounding phrases disconnected from one another. Since each verse is an integral part of a particular point the author was trying to make, no one should read, much less base their beliefs on stand alone verses. The reader can only be accurately informed by God's Word the way it is written… in its context. Understanding what the author meant comes not only from the words he wrote, but also by what the overall message of the chapter is intended to convey

NEVER READ A BIBLE VERSE
 The numbers in front of the sentences give the illusion the verses stand alone in their meaning. They were not in the originals but added hundreds of years later. Chapter and verse breaks sometimes pop up in unfortunate places, separating relevant material that should be grouped together.

RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH
A Few Commonly Misused or Misunderstood Verses.

ESOTERICISM AND BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
If esotericists are correct in their approach to Scripture, then orthodox Christians have woefully misrepresented the true meaning of Scripture for almost two full millennia. We must therefore address the question, Is the esoteric method of interpreting Scripture a legitimate method?

***

EXTERNAL AIDS
USING BIBLE COMMENTARIES
A Word of Caution

 ***

 REMEMBER

EXPOSITION MUST HAVE APPLICATION
Theology is a set of facts concerning God, man and the world. These facts are valueless in themselves. Biblical teaching is not only supposed to make believers better Bible students, but to help them apply God's precepts and lessons to their lives. Christian teachers do not function as classroom professors but as shepherds who are supposed to unpack the text so that fellow pilgrims can understand what God would have us do with the knowledge

Site Directory

www.inplainsite.org