Bible Study 2 Tim. 2:15 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Follow these simple guidelines for Bible study while studying your Authorized King James Bible.
Read the whole Bible often – reading through the Bible continuously really helps you understand the words of God because the Holy Spirit can bring to your remembrance things that you have read in other passages that shed light on what you are studying.
Pray for God to open the text – Ps 119:18; 1 Cor 2:10; Jn 16:13 and pray for wisdom [Jas 1:5; Ps 111:10]. Bible study is work that God blesses with understanding.
Read the whole text in its context – never lift a single verse out of its context to try to understand it. Read each verse as part of the whole chapter or book in which you find it.
Consider the audience – whom God addresses often limits the doctrinal application of a passage. If God addresses Israel, specifically, then the passage doesn’t apply to the church. For example, Acts 2:38 is not New Testament salvation, because it is aimed at the Jews responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; it is not addressed to the church. Principal audiences are: Israel, the Church, the saved and the lost.
Determine the dispensation – God deals with men under different covenants in different ways. No saint in the Old Testament, for instance, was born again. Salvation for saints in the tribulation is conditional. The major time periods are: Old Testament under the Law, New Testament Church Age, the Tribulation, and the Millennium. Transition books between any two of these dispensations, therefore, are where most of the doctrinal errors in the New Testament arise [the transition books are Matthew, Acts, and Hebrews].
Define any unknown words – use online dictionaries, published dictionaries and apps when you do your Bible study. Webster’s 1828 dictionary is good for obsolete words.
Check cross-references – Compare similar passages of scripture [1 Cor 2:13]. These can often be found in your marginal cross-references and concordance cross-references on specific words and phrases.
Pay careful attention to every word – little words like ‘if’ and ‘no’ are extremely important words to consider in your Bible study.
Don’t force the text to line up with what you already know – one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to force a text to say something it doesn’t say. Often, doctrinal error comes by making a passage say something you believe rather than what it says.
Check commentaries or annotated Bibles for ideas – but be careful here; men are not the final authority; God’s words are. You are doing Bible study, not man study. And don’t compare with modern Bibles. This only adds to confusion and puts you in the place of God the Holy Spirit by forcing you to decide what God really said.
Depart from evil – Job 28:28 – in other words, obey what you are reading, and turn from the sins forbidden by God’s words. Therein lays understanding.
Be persistent – don’t give up and don’t grow weary in your Bible study [Gal 6:9]. Study takes work. That’s why most people won’t do it. They would rather read something someone else has studied for them. That’s a great way to be deceived.
Remember God’s truths are simple and basic – the simple answer is usually the right answer. When things start getting complicated, they usually start getting twisted.
Avoid guesses and theories – these are dangerous because you are inclined to believe your own ideas since they are “original.” If the truth has not been revealed to you by the Holy Spirit and the words of God, then your guesses will be like Saul going to the woman with the familiar spirit to find out what to do since he was getting nothing from the Lord. Don’t do this.
If you still can’t get it then leave it till later – God must reveal his truth. If he doesn’t, no amount of Bible study is going to cause you to get it. You must wait patiently on the Lord. He’ll show you when he’s ready.
Conclusion: now these are great things to incorporate into your Bible study. Over time, you will see quite an improvement.