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Fourteen Rules

for

Bible Study

by

Fred R. Coulter

JESUS CHRIST IS THE
FOUNDATION

OF ALL SCRIPTURAL UNDERSTANDING

Jesus Christ is the crowning glory of God's plan, the supreme
expression of God's love for each individual He calls. Through Jesus
Christ and Him alone, God's marvelous love will ultimately be manifested
to all mankind--past, present and future. "For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him shall
not perish, but may have eternal life" (John 3:16, AT). This often
quoted Scripture is the undergirding of all that God does, but few
understand how it applies to understanding the Scriptures.

Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one is coming to the Father, except through Me" (John 14:6,
AT). All Scriptural truth comes from God the Father through Jesus
Christ. In order to properly understand the Scriptures, we must go to the
Father through Jesus Christ, Who is the way, the truth and the life. It is
the Father Who imparts the Holy Spirit to us to guide us in understanding
His Word, which is the Truth (John 17:17).

JESUS CHRIST REVEALED THE

ONLY WAY TO SCRIPTURAL UNDERSTANDING

Jesus clearly taught that it is the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of
Truth--that enables us to come to a true and full understanding of the
Word of God (John 16:13). The words of Jesus Himself, as recorded by the
apostle John, show that in order to receive the Spirit of Truth, we must
love God the Father and Jesus Christ and be keeping Their commandments.
Fulfilling these requirements is absolutely essential for any individual
to receive the Holy Spirit and be able to come to a correct understanding
of the Scriptures!

"
'If you love Me, you will be keeping the commandments--namely My
commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give another Helper
to you, that it may be with you throughout the age [until Jesus Christ
returns]; even the Spirit of the Truth, which the world does not
have the power to receive, because it perceives it not, nor knows it; but
you know it, because it dwells with you and shall be within you.... In
that day, you shall know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I
am in you.

"The one who has My commandments and who is keeping them, that
is the one who loves [Greek o agapwn, "who is loving"] Me; and the
one who loves [Greek o agapwn, "who is loving"] Me shall be loved by My
Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.1
Judas, not Iscariot, said to Him, 'And Lord, what has happened that You
are about to manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?'

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will
be keeping My word [the entire message], and My Father will love him; and
We will come to him, and We will make Our abode with him. The one who does
not love Me is not keeping My words; and the word [the entire
message] that you are hearing is not Mine, but the Father's Who has
sent Me1" (John 14:15-24, AT).

These words of Jesus Christ reveal the loving, personal
spiritual relationship of God the Father and Jesus Christ with every true
Christian. These words also reveal the wholehearted obedience that God the
Father requires of all who profess to love and believe in Jesus Christ.
This teaching is the heart and core of the love that God the Father gives
to us through His Son, and the love that we, as true believers in Jesus
Christ, show toward God. It is the daily way of life for a true
Christian. If we love Jesus Christ, we will be keeping His
commandments, and those commandments are from God the Father!

Not
many professing Christians, whether ministers or laymen, are living in
obedience to all the commandments of God. Jesus gave this warning for
those who would be using His name and claiming His promises and blessings,
professing to be His followers and teachers of the Word, but who would not
be keeping the commandments of God: "Not every one who is saying to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but the one who is
doing the will of My Father Who is in heaven.

"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied through Your name? And through Your name have we not
cast out demons? And through Your name have we not done many
wonderful works?' And then I will profess to them, 'I never knew you.
Depart from Me, you who are working lawlessness'" (Matt. 7:21-23,
AT).

The
word "lawlessness" is translated from the Greek word anomoV, anomos, which means
against law, or against law and commandment keeping. This kind of
pseudo-Christianity, which uses Jesus' name but refuses to do the will of
God, is not accepted by God the Father and Jesus Christ. The result of
this pseudo-Christianity is death, not eternal life. And many, the vast
majority of people, are following the broad path that leads to death--
exactly as Jesus said (Matt. 7:13-14).

Those who are teaching and practicing a lawless
pseudo-Christianity are doing the exact opposite of what Jesus said those
who love Him will be doing: "If you love Me, you will be keeping the
commandments--namely My commandments" (John 14:15, AT). The one
who truly loves Jesus Christ will be keeping His commandments--yes, every
one of His words, which He received from God the Father. That is the
standard by which we can identify those who love God and those who do
not.

Every commandment that God has given is based on love. Here is
the greatest commandment of all: "You shall LOVE the Lord your God with
ALL YOUR HEART, and with ALL YOUR SOUL, and with ALL YOUR MIND. This is
the FIRST and GREAT commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love
your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments HANG ALL THE LAW AND
THE PROPHETS" (Matt. 22:37-40, AT). Without these two commandments,
there would be no law, there would be no prophets, there would be no
covenants, old or new. EVERYTHING GOD DOES IS BASED ON LOVE!

The
apostle John expresses the love of God so clearly in his first epistle:
"Beloved, we should be loving one another, because love is from God, and
everyone who loves [Greek o agapwn, "who is loving"] has been begotten by
God, and knows God.

"The one who does not love does not know God, because
GOD IS LOVE! In this way the love of God was manifested unto us,
that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that we might live
through Him.

"In
this act is THE LOVE: not that we loved God; rather, that He loved
us and sent His Son as the propitiation for our sins…. And we have known
and have believed the love that God has imparted unto us. GOD IS
LOVE, and the one who is dwelling in love is dwelling in God, and God in
him" (I John 4:7-10,16, AT).

This is the attitude of love,
faith and obedience that we must show toward God the Father and Jesus
Christ in order to understand the Word of God. Without this love for God
and His Truth, a full understanding of the Scriptures can never be
achieved!

FIVE VITAL KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE WORD OF GOD

In
addition to a loving, faithful and obedient attitude toward God, there are
five major principles that are essential to a correct understanding of
Scripture. These vital keys to understanding must always be kept in mind
when we study the Word of God.

The
first vital key is this: "All Scripture is God-inspired
[God-breathed], and is profitable for doctrine, for conviction, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness; so that the man of God is
thoroughly equipped for every good work" (II Tim. 3:16, AT).

Many who profess to study the Bible completely disregard this
vital principle. Rather than seeking the truth of Scripture, they look for
verses that appear to support their personal beliefs, but ignore those
verses that clearly contradict their beliefs. This approach to study can
never lead to understanding because it denies that every part of Scripture
is inspired. Those who use this approach are exalting their own beliefs
above the authority of Scripture.

When we study the Scriptures, we should always be careful to
seek the true meaning of the words that were inspired by God. No study of
the Scriptures should be designed to support the position of a doctrinal
board, or to justify a time-honored church doctrine, or to "prove" a
personal interpretation of the Scriptures. None of these motives are
acceptable. And if these motives are involved, for whatever reason, do we
think that God overlooks such deceptive use of His Word? If we think that
we can fool God, we are only deceiving ourselves.

Let us not be guilty of such
a presumptuous and self-righteous attitude toward the Word of God. Rather,
let us humbly allow the inspired words of Scripture to correct us and
instruct us in the true righteousness of Jesus Christ.

The second vital key to Scriptural understanding is
clearly taught in Isaiah 28: "Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom
shall He make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk,
and drawn from the breasts [that is, fully grounded in the Word of God and
not a spiritually immature Christian feeding only on the milk of the
Word]. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept;
line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a
little" (Isa. 28:9-10, JPSA).

The
book of Isaiah tells us that in order to understand doctrine, we must
study the Scriptures line upon line and precept upon precept. This is
exactly how we should study every doctrinal question. The New Testament
confirms this approach to understanding the Word of God and establishing
sound doctrine! "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a
workman [in the Word of God], not being ashamed, straightly cutting
[rightly dividing--precept upon precept, and line upon line] the Word of
Truth" (II Tim. 2:15, AT).

In
order to come to the knowledge of the Truth, we must always follow the
Biblically outlined method of study--" straightly cutting" or "rightly
dividing" the Word of God. Any other type of study is useless and all in
vain! As Paul instructed Timothy, "Of these things put them in
remembrance: I charge you before the Lord not to dispute about words to
no profit, but to the subversion of those who are hearing"
(II Tim. 2:14, AT).

This is exactly what many ministers and scholars have done in
their doctrinal teachings because they have not rightly divided the Word
of God! Whole congregations have been subverted by strivings and
disputings over the meaning of key words that are used in Scripture. Some
teachers and ministers have even engaged in redefining words--attaching
their own personal interpretations and rejecting the authoritative
definitions that are found in Hebrew and Greek lexicons. Anyone who
undertakes such practices is "using the law unlawfully," as Paul said, and
will end up teaching false, satanic doctrines that subvert the minds of
their followers. Unfortunately, the landscape of religious history is
filled with the bodies of people who have taught false doctrines, and the
bodies of people who have embraced their teachings. Only by learning to
rightly divide the Word of God will we be able to recognize and resist
these false doctrines.

The third vital key to understanding the Scriptures is
found in the second epistle of Peter, where we read, "Knowing this first
[Greek protos--meaning the primary, or first and foremost thing],
that no prophecy of Scripture is of one's own interpretation; because
prophecy was not brought at any time by human will, but the holy men of
God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Pet 1:20-21,
AT).

In today’s world, we find
many pseudo-teachers who are twisting the Scriptures and deceitfully using
their own personal interpretations in order to persuade others to believe
their false doctrines. To support their teachings, they may quote numerous
Scriptures. To their listeners, their teachings sound very authoritative,
but the way that they apply the Scriptures exposes their craftiness. They
are using the same subtle methods of deception that Satan the devil
uses.

Yes, even Satan the devil quotes Scripture! When Jesus Christ
was being tempted by the devil in person, Satan did not hesitate to quote
the Scriptures. "If You be the Son of God, cast Yourself down: for it is
written, 'He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and in their
hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash your foot against
a stone'" (Matt. 4:6, Psa. 91:11-12).

Satan correctly quoted this Scripture, but misapplied it in a
crafty effort to tempt Jesus to jump from the pinnacle of the temple.
Jesus   resisted   Satan's deception by rightly
applying the Scriptures. He said, "It is written again, 'You shall not
tempt the Lord your God' “ (Matt. 4:7).

What is the lesson for us in this account? It is this: Those
who quote the Scriptures correctly, but twist and misapply the meaning,
are following Satan--not serving God! This example is recorded in
Scripture as a warning for us to be on guard. The fact that a minister or
teacher may continually quote the Scriptures does not guarantee that he is
teaching the truth. SCRIPTURE THAT IS QUOTED ACCURATELY IS OFTEN
MISAPPLIED TO TEACH FALSE DOCTRINE!

True servants of God do not use such deceitful tactics. The
apostle Paul wrote of his ministry, "Rather, we have renounced the hidden
things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness [that is, having a hidden
agenda], nor handling the Word of God deceitfully [falsely applying the
Scriptures], but by the manifestation of the Truth, we are commending
ourselves to everyone's conscience before God" (II Cor. 4:2,
AT).

Those who are truly serving
God will not deceitfully use Scripture to promote their own ideas and
personal interpretations.   They will seek to understand and
teach the true meaning of the words that God inspired by the power of His
Holy Spirit.

The
fourth vital key to understanding the true teachings of Scripture
is found in Paul's instructions to the Thessalonian believers: "Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good" (I Thes. 5:21).

The
command to "prove all things" is a lifelong responsibility for every true
believer. We, as individual Christians, must continually be testing every
teaching that we read or hear by carefully studying the Scriptures. The
Bereans were commended because they diligently searched the Scriptures:
"And these were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica [the
unbelieving Jews, who immediately rejected the apostle Paul's teaching
that Christ was raised from the dead], who [the Bereans] received the word
with all readiness of mind and were examining the Scriptures daily
to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11, AT).

The
account in the book of Acts reveals that the Bereans were diligently
studying the Scriptures to prove whether or not the things they had heard
were true. They did not react with blind emotion and refuse to consider
the teachings of Paul. Rather, they carefully examined the Scriptures and
proved to themselves that Paul was, in fact, preaching the true message of
God.

We,
like the Bereans, must diligently search and examine the Scriptures in
order to discern true doctrine from false doctrine. As we apply our minds
to this effort, we will become skillful in using the Scriptures--no longer
feeding on the "milk" of the Word but able to handle "strong meat." If we
do not exercise our minds and learn to discern truth from error, we will
not become spiritually mature Christians. "For everyone that uses milk is
unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat
belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason
of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil"
(Heb. 5:13-14).

Too
many Christians have remained as spiritual infants because they have
transferred their God-given responsibility to discern truth from error to
a minister or church board. Their ministers have told them that they, the
laity, are incapable of understanding the Scriptures and must submit to
the doctrinal decisions of their church leaders, who alone can interpret
the Scriptures. But it was never God's intention that we, as individual
believers, place our trust in human leaders who claim sole authority to
establish doctrine. Christians who have done so have left themselves open
to grievous deception. They have forgotten the many warnings throughout
the New Testament to be on guard against false teachers and false apostles
who make a pretense of serving God. The apostle Paul warned, "For I know
this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you,
not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking
perverse things, to draw away disciples after them" (Acts 20:29-30).

Likewise, the apostle Peter strongly admonished the brethren.
"But there were also false prophets among the people, as indeed there will
be false teachers among you, who will stealthily introduce destructive
heresies, denying the Lordwho bought them and bringing swift
destruction upon themselves. And many people will follow as
authoritative their destructive ways; and because of them, the
way of the Truth will be blasphemed. Also, through insatiable greed they
will with enticing messages exploit you for gain; for whom the
judgment of old is in full force, and their destruction is
ever watchful" (II Pet. 2:1-3, AT)

True to the warnings of Paul and Peter, many Christians in the
New Testament churches were subverted and drawn away from the true
doctrines of Scripture because they neglected to "prove all things" and
did not test and try the teachings of these false apostles. But the church
at Ephesus did not forget the warnings and admonitions of Paul and Peter,
as well as the other true apostles. In the book of Revelation, Jesus
Christ commended the Ephesian believers because they tried and tested
those who falsely claimed to be apostles and proved them to be liars. "I
know your works, and your labor and your endurance, and that you cannot
bear those evil ones; but you have tested those who declare
themselves to be apostles, and are not, and you discovered them
to be liars" (Rev. 2:2, AT).

Since these false apostles professed to be ministers of Jesus
Christ, we can be sure that they quoted the Scriptures. Their false
doctrines must have sounded very authoritative and very convincing,
because they succeeded in undermining the faith of many New Testament
Christians. How was the church at Ephesus able to withstand this powerful
deception? If the Ephesian brethren had not been exercising their senses
to discern truth from error, they would not have recognized these men as
false apostles. But because the brethren at Ephesus were skillful in using
the Scriptures, they were able to discern that these men were not teaching
the true doctrines of Jesus Christ.

Like the brethren at Ephesus, Christians today must constantly
be on guard against false ministers whose Scriptural-sounding teachings
are actually a perversion of the true doctrines of Scripture. It is our
personal responsibility as Christians to test and try the teachings of
every minister, teacher or scholar by careful examining the Scriptures. By
following the Scriptural command to "prove all things," we can learn to
recognize and reject false doctrine, and we will be able to stand fast in
the true doctrines of Jesus Christ.

The fifth vital key to remember when we study Scripture
is that we must be led by the Holy Spirit.  The Word of God is called
the Word of Truth. Furthermore, it is the Spirit of Truth that teaches us
all things. The Bible makes it clear that the Spirit of Truth works hand
in hand with the Word of Truth to give us the understanding God wants us
to have. Jesus said, "But the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, which
the Father will send in My name, that one will teach you ALL
THINGS, and will bring to your remembrance all things that I have told
you" (John 14:26, AT). This is the promise Jesus gives to
all who repent and are converted in their hearts and minds by the Holy
Spirit.

It
is not possible for the unconverted human mind, which is deceitful above
all things (Jer. 17:9), to come to the knowledge of the Truth of God. In
fact, the carnal mind is enmity (that is, hostile) toward God and is not
willing to be subject to God's laws (Rom. 8:7). The Word of Truth and the
Spirit of Truth cannot work hand in hand with the carnal mind of deceit.
Regardless of how brilliant or how great the intellect may be, God's Truth
is not understood through human wisdom and rationale. It is only through
the Spirit of God that the Word of God can be understood.

Paul taught that it is not through human rationale or intellect
that we are able to come to the knowledge of the Truth, but by and through
the SPIRIT OF GOD. "But according as it has been written, 'There
are things that the eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard, and
have not entered into the heart of man, but which God has prepared
for those who love Him.'

"But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit; FOR THE
SPIRIT SEARCHES ALL THINGS, EVEN THE DEPTHS [the deep things] OF GOD. For
who of men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man which is in
him? In exactly the same way also, the things of God no one knows, except
by the Spirit of God.... Which things we also speak, not taught in
words of human wisdom, but in those words taught of the Holy
Spirit, comparing [communicating] spiritual things by spiritual
means. But the natural man [the carnal mind without the Holy Spirit
of God] receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness unto him, and he cannot know them, BECAUSE THEY ARE
SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED AND UNDERSTOOD" (I Cor. 2:9-14, AT).

Without the Holy Spirit of God, no human being--no matter how
intelligent--can understand His Word! And even individuals who have
received the Holy Spirit from God are beset by obstacles that can keep
them from coming to a full understanding of the truth. Too many Christians
become caught up in the politics of religion, or the power structure of an
ecclesiastical hierarchy, or the approved doctrines of their
church, or they have submitted to humanly devised church authority, or
they have blindly accepted the teachings of so-called Biblical scholars,
and they are not able to open-mindedly study and completely understand the
spiritual truth of God's Word.

The Holy Spirit cannot guide
us into all truth unless we diligently study the Scriptures with an open
mind, unhindered by the ideas and doctrines of men. Christians who look to
the authority of men rather than to Scripture are easy prey for ministers
and teachers who profess to serve God but are not obeying His commandments
and are not teaching the Truth.

A DIRE WARNING AGAINST THE DISOBEDIENT

AND THOSE WHO TEACH FALSE DOCTRINE

The
book of Deuteronomy contains a prophecy of Jesus Christ's ministry coupled
with a dire warning against those who refuse to obey His words and those
who teach false doctrine in His name: "I will raise them up a Prophet
[Jesus Christ] from among their brethren, like unto you [Moses], and will
put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall
command Him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken
unto My words [listen attentively to obey] which He shall speak in My
name, I will require it of him [hold him accountable unto judgment]"
(Deut. 18:18-19). This warning applies to every human being, but
particularly to those who are claiming to follow Jesus Christ!

The
following verse pronounces even more severe judgment upon those who are
teachers, or claim to be teachers, of the Word of God. Notice what God
warns: "But the prophet [anyone who is teaching], which shall presume to
speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that
shall speak in the name of other gods [false doctrines palmed off as true
teachings of God], even that prophet shall die" (Verse 20).

Jesus Himself, the Prophet Who was to come, repeated the same
warning! "Now if anyone hears My words and does not believe [to obey], I
do not judge him, because I did not come [at that time] to judge the
world, but that I might save the world. The one who is rejecting Me and
who is not receiving My words, has one who judges him. The word [the
entire message--all Ac words of Jesus Christ] which I have spoken, that
shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken from Myself [He
taught nothing on His own initiative], but the Father who has sent Me, He
Himself gave Me commandment, what I should say and what I should speak.
Now I know that His commandment is eternal life" (John 12:47-50,
AT).

God
Himself inspired Jesus Christ to speak these words and caused them to be
preserved for us today. Anyone who presumptuously rises up against God and
His Word, by misapplying the Scriptures and teaching false doctrine,
already has the judgment of God pronounced against him.

Today, the churches of God--and all professing Christians in
the world--are being assaulted with false teachings. These teachings are
being received and believed because people cannot endure sound doctrine.
They cannot sit still and listen to the wholesome words of Jesus
Christ.

This decadent spiritual condition was prophesied by the apostle
Paul. "For the time will come [and the time is now] when they will not
endure [be willing to listen to] sound doctrine; but according to their
own lusts they will heap to themselves many teachers because of
having itching ears for unsound doctrine. Now on the one hand,
they will turn away their ears from the Truth [God's Word is the
Truth]; and on the other hand, they will turn aside [from the way
of the Lord) unto fables [deceptive false doctrines]" (II Tim.
4:3-4, AT).

Many in the churches of God today are falling prey to this
deception. At the present time a great number of members and ministers are
being swept away with every new wind of doctrine. Although some have
attended and served in their churches for many years, they are not
spiritually grounded because they have not been diligently studying the
Scriptures. As a result, while they may think that they are able to
discern truth from error, they are woefully ill-equipped to recognize
these clever, subtle, "truth-sounding" false doctrines. While they should
have been trained and grounded in the Scriptures, they have not been. They
have only been feeding on the milk of the Word and consequently have
remained in a state of spiritual infancy. As Paul admonished, "For truly
when you ought to be teachers because of the time, you again have
need for someone to teach you what are the elements of the beginnings of
the oracles of God, and have need of milk and not strong meat. For
everyone who is partaking of milk is unskilled in the word of
righteousness, because he is an infant" (Heb. 5:12-13, AT).

Christians who are not spiritually mature are ripe to be
carried about with every wind of doctrine. They are like dry leaves,
caught up in a whirlwind, swirling and spinning around. Because they are
oblivious to their weak spiritual condition, it is easy to get caught up
in false doctrines that seem to be right but in reality are so wrong.
The most clever deception that Satan has devised is false doctrine that
sounds blessedly true.

This is what Christians are facing today--many cleverly devised
false doctrines, more fitly called fables or myths. It is not sufficient
simply to proclaim that a doctrine is true, or to denounce a doctrine as
false. Those who truly want to follow Christ need to study sound doctrine
and know and understand the Truth and why it is true. And we must know and
understand false doctrine and why it is false.

Unless we are able to discern truth from error, we will end up
straying from the narrow pathway of God's Word, that leads to eternal
life. To keep from following the broad way to destruction, as so many
have, we need to be diligently studying the Word of God, following all the
Biblical principles and rules for discerning the true meaning of
Scripture. Please read the Fourteen Rules for Bible Study in the next
section. These present a step-by-step, systematic method for proper Bible
study.

Few Christians think of
themselves as students, but every true Christian is a disciple of Jesus
Christ. The word "disciple" means "learner," or "student." As students of
Jesus Christ, we should be daily studying His teachings. We should not be
following the doctrines and traditions of men, regardless of how
authoritative they may appear to be. Nor should we base our beliefs on
Biblical commentaries or other writings of men. We should strictly follow
the Word of God, rightly dividing it and putting line upon line and
precept upon precept. Only by studying the Scriptures in this manner can
we come to a full understanding of the Truth.

Knowing that we must engage in serious, in-depth study of the
Scriptures, we may have questions as to which version of the Bible we
should use, especially for doctrinal study. Numerous translations of the
Scriptures are available to us today, and new versions continue to be
published. The modern versions may be very attractive because they are
easier to read than the older versions with their archaic words and
expressions. However, these modern versions generally cannot be relied on
for doctrinal study because they do not closely follow the original text.
In some of these versions, thousands of words have been omitted.

Despite repeated attempts to discredit the King James Version,
it is still the most reliable translation of the Bible. While no version
of the Bible has been published that is perfectly accurate in every
respect, the translators of the King James Version took great care to
follow the original text. For those who seek to understand the true
teachings of Scripture, the King James Version is highly recommended as
the safest and most reliable translation.

In undertaking a Scriptural study of any doctrinal subject, we
should thoroughly examine every verse and passage concerning the subject.
If the meaning of the text is questionable or the English phrasing is
unclear, it may be necessary to pursue a detailed study of the original
language, Hebrew or Greek, in order to determine the precise meaning of
the original inspired words. This approach will give us a clear
understanding of what the Bible is actually teaching and will enable us to
arrive at a correct understanding of any doctrinal subject. The Fourteen
Rules for Bible Study listed on the following page will provide a
systematic method for understanding all the essential doctrines of
Scripture--even the most difficult ones.

FOURTEEN RULES FOR BIBLE
STUDY

1)   Begin with Scriptures that are easy to
understand.

2)   Let the Bible interpret and prove the Bible.
Don't look for what you want to prove; look for what the Bible actually
proves.

3)   Understand the context--the verses before and
after, the chapters before and after. Does your understanding of a
particular verse harmonize with the rest of the Bible?

4)   Understand the original language, Hebrew or
Greek. Never try to establish dogmatic doctrine or teachings by using
Strong's Concordance. It can be helpful at times, but it is
extremely limited.

5)   Ask, what does the Scripture clearly say?

6)   Ask, what does the Scripture not say?

7)   Ask, to whom was the book written?

8)   Ask, who wrote it?

9)   Ask, who said it?

10) Understand the time frame in history when the book was
written.

11) Don't bring your own personal assumptions and preconceived
notions into your understanding or conclusions.

12) Base your study on Scriptural knowledge that you already
understand. What do you know up to this point in time?

13) Do not form conclusions based on partial facts or
insufficient information, or the opinions and speculations of others.

14) Personal opinions or convictions, regardless of how strong
they may be, don't necessarily count. Scripture must be your standard and
guide.

This is the complete
study approach. When undertaking a study of the Bible, we should always
use this approach, coupled with prayer, trusting God to lead us with His
Holy Spirit of Truth. We know that He will fulfill His promise to lead us
into ALL TRUTH, if we are diligently seeking to understand His Word.

BIBLE STUDY AIDS

In
addition to the King James Version of the Bible, there are a number of
Bible study aids that are recommended as valuable sources of information
for the serious Bible student.

Strong's Concordance by James Strong

The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament by George
Ricker Berry

A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek
New Testament by Ethelbert W. Bullinger

The Englishman's Greek Concordance and Lexicon by
Wigram-Green

The New Englishman's Hebrew Concordance by Wigram

The Schocken Bible: Volume I  by Everett Fox

The Interlinear Hebrew-Greek-English Bible by Jay P.
Green, Sr.

The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible by Zodhiates

Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old
Testament

Halley's Bible Handbook

Unger's Bible Dictionary

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Christian Biblical Church of God ©
2006

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