Last week we considered the question,

“Why Study”This week we look at How to study,

and then practice with a verse,

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,

rightly dividing the word of truth.

Studying the bible 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Duet 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. Rev 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Accuracy in Study is important!

Obviously, we must be careful to not read our own biases into scripture. This sounds obvious, but it probably happens more than we think.

We all have biases, or, better said, presuppositions that we approach scripture with. The important thing is to know, or to properly determine what they are.

Do you have any presuppositions?

When you study, or even read, what are some things you assume? • about the bible, • about reading it, • about God, • about what should happen next…• Should you do something? Should God?

•What is a presupposition?

What is a presupposition?mcQuilken pg 17-18, 44 prgh2

Webster’s 1828

PRESUPPOSI'TION, n. Supposition previously formed.Supposition of something antecedent.

PRESUPPO'SE, v.t. presuppo'ze. [Eng. pre and suppose.] To suppose as previous; to imply as antecedent.

• Presuppositions are the things that give us starting points; the soil from which the ideas-that-matter can be grown. These ideas, concepts, and positions that we assume to be true, sometimes without investigation, are something that we all have. The Oxford Dictionary says that it is "a thing tacitly assumed beforehand at the beginning of a line of argument or course of action". It is what we believe without being able to absolutely prove to anyone. It is a notion that we take for granted in advance. And as I said earlier, it is part of the universal condition of man that we have them.

• Another universal is that we assume that, should we come across an alternative claim of truth, our view is the correct one. These are the parts of our worldview that must come under scrutiny before we can say that we have begun to pursue wisdom and to gather the worth to our existence that Socrates suggested comes from an "examined life". It is a common error to allow presuppositions to be the end of our investigations instead of the beginning.

http://ipost.christianpost.com/news/the-presuppositions-of-christianity-11078/

• Some of our presuppositions are picked up along the way through our upbringing, our experiences, or our education. They are absorbed into our worldview without filter and, many times, are the presuppositions of others who had or have an influence in our lives. They settle into our lives like a family pet and we take them out for a walk whenever the topics they touch are brought up in conversation. .

• A good portion of them will never be challenged because they are common to the kinds of people we allow to come close. They are the comfortable clichés of those with whom we share a good portion of our lives.

What are our presuppositions?

Do we have any convictions that color or filter how we hear the bible: that determine whether we take it as literal, relevant, binding, …

…ones that we cannot defend biblically?

Note: It is important to know what type of literature we are reading when we read and study the bible. Not all scripture is of the same type; it cannot all be taken the same way.

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones...

…There is nothing so dangerous as to come to the Bible with a theory, with preconceived ideas, with some pet idea of our own, because the moment we do so, we shall be tempted to over-emphasize one aspect and under-emphasize another

Key presuppositions about the bible Its commands, prohibitions, and principals are instruction in Gods will for us,

therefore, they are morally binding. Sufficiency of Scripture - “sola scriptora” - The scriptures are the complete

message of God for us. The Bible can be understood in plain language, with the spirits illumination, and

with hard work. The bible can interpret itself, and it alone is the final authority on what it does or

doesn’t say. Inerrancy – There are no errors at all. Scripture (not necessarily the translation) is

infallible. Therefore – there are no contradictions in the bible. If we see one, it is in our

interpretation or understanding. Scripture is both divine and human – (from God to men)

Goes both ways – understand God presuppositionally, and man historically Two old folk look at each other – they just had a conversation – they know each other)

 The bible was inspired by God, though written by and to men. It is supernaturally authored – so it is infallible.

But do you think we can get a better idea of what God was saying too us in His word,

if we understand the man He relayed it to?

Our responsibility is to accurately determine the original and intended meaning the author had in

any and every given passage.

… That what?• 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that

needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

• 2Ti 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

• The word, “that” reveals a condition…

So…… how do we use scripture …

… rightly divided, for •doctrine, • reproof, • correction, • and instruction in righteousness,

so that we can Unashamedly, bethoroughly furnished unto all good works?

3 stages in using your bible effectively, •Observation; reading the whole book • Big picture, main point

• Interpreting the original intent through consideration of all relevant contexts, • Rightly divided…

•Applying the eternal truths to our immediate context (5 stages of learning)

Once you read the Bible and know generally what it says as a whole,

the next step is to find out specifically what it means.

Only when you've correctly interpreted a biblical passage,

can you apply it to your life, and bring glory to God.

• Observation - a complete and careful (re)reading of the whole book, to hear the message in its complete context

Read the Scriptures actively not passively;repeatedly, interrogatively, acquisitively and purposefully.

• The value of this first step is paramount. The next steps depend proportionately upon your diligence here. Faulty interpretation is usually the result of superficial or careless observation. • Immerse yourselves in the book you are studying by reading the whole book from start

to finish, several times. Try to understand the author’s perspective, and the train of thought as a whole. What is the mood, the tone, the emphasis? What is the main point?

Observation – purposeful careful Reading;

Interpretation – accurately determining the original intended meaning

• A proper interpretation is not, “what we think it means,” or worse, “what it means to us, now”, but the accurate discovery of the authors originally intended meaning

• Imagine that you are an ambassador to Russia and on a very important mission, you are to meet and interview Putin on his ideas about world peace and a new relationship with America. Of course you bring your interpreter. Now imagine that your interpreter listens to Mr. Putin, thoughtfully pauses, than tells you what he thinks he means by what he said, throwing in a little of his own subjective impression and concerns as well…

• Again, an accurate interpretation brings out the literal intended meaning.

Webster's 1828 - Interpret• INTER'PRET, verb transitive [Latin interpretor, from interpres.]• 1. To explain the meaning or words to a person who does not understand them; to

expound; to translate unintelligible words into intelligible ones; as, to interpret the Hebrew language to an Englishman.• --Immanuel, which being interpreted, signified, God with us.• 2. To explain or unfold the meaning of predictions, vision, dreams or enigmas; to

expound and lay open what is concealed from the understanding; as, Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharaoh.• 3. To decipher.• 4. To explain something not understood; as, to interpret looks or signs.• 5. To define; to explain words by other words in the same language.In Biblical interpretation you are seeking to place yourself in the writer's "sandals", setting aside any preconceived ideas, with the ultimate goal being to understand the writer's original intent

We must be very careful to not put our subjective thoughts into the text, but to read Gods thoughts out of it. God's objective truth is the goal. We are to “think God’s thoughts, after Him." It helps to understand what His thought were first, and correctly! If we are to understand God’s message to us, we must discover the original intended meaning of the author.

We must ask, “What did all this mean to him” before we ask ourselves, “What does it mean to us.”

As narrow as it may sound, every passage of Scripture has only one intended meaning

and only one correct interpretation.

The balance of this is that every passage may well have many possible and valid applications, but they will always be based on and consistent with the one intended meaning.

It is true that there are many difficult passages that sincere Christians disagree on, some even “agreeing to disagree”

unfortunately, there is only one valid, correct interpretation.

The bible is neither relative nor ambiguous. It says what it means and means what it says whether we like it, or even understand it or not! Biblical truth is the ultimate

objective truth (Ps 119:160-note, Pr 30:5) because God's word is inspired, inerrant, and complete in every aspect.

• Proper interpretation takes much hard work. The accuracy of our interpretation is related to the amount of time and effort we take to carefully observe and study the text in its full context.

• The more time you spend in observation of the Scriptures, the less time you will have to spend on interpretation them, and the more accurate our interpretation will be.

• The less time you spend observing the text, the more time you will have to spend trying to interpret it, (it doesn’t make such obvious sense outside of its big-picture context) but the less accurate our results will be. (Potentially).

Besides the obvious, the importance of an accurate interpretation of scripture is that these truths and principal we “discover” are to be the basis of the values and decisions we base our lives on.

Rightly dividing the Word of Truth (Interpretation) is vital if we are going to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Proper Application depends on

proper Reading and Interpretation

Without an accurate interpretation of the text,there can be no valid application

of the Word to your life.