PREPARING TO LEAD A LIFE BIBLE STUDY Part 2- Interpretation

The most powerful tool God has given us to influence people is His Word, the Bible. But if we are going to share it with others, it is vital that we properly understand it first. We need to discover what it says, what it means and what it means for us today. Thus, last week we focused on Observation (What does it say?)- This is where we Look and List the FACTS we see when studying a passage of Scripture. FACTS stands for listing Fast Facts, Ask questions, Catch key words, Title the passage or Summarize it. This week we want to focus on Interpretation (What does  it mean?) Those things you and I had listed under Ask Questions, we now get to seek to discover their meanings. As we focus on Interpretation, we will use the 4 C's to help us properly interpret the word of God.

1. Context. This means that we pay attention to the surrounding verses or even chapters to make sure we are not taking a verse out of context. This often happens when people read the Old Testament and believe that they need to keep the Sabbath or any other number of old covenant practices. Since the context is a Mosaic command, we are not under it, but the New Testament teachings. Sometimes a confusing verse can be cleared up by just reading the context- the surrounding verses. For example, if you were reading through the book of Daniel or the book of Revelation, you might wonder what various symbols mean. Thankfully, by just reading a bit further, they are often explained. Context is crucial. So if we are to properly interpret a passage, we need to study the context.

2. Cross References. Study Bibles will have these alongside the text you are studying. They refer you to other places in the Bible where a similar word or phrase is used. It's been said that Scripture should be used to interpret Scripture. This is certainly true. But just remember to study the context of that cross referenced verse as well. It might refer to something different. You'll spot it.

3. Commentaries. I spent a small fortune "when I was your age" buying commentaries- books scholars wrote sharing the fruit of their deep and careful study of a book of the Bible. But now several commentaries are yours for free with a few clicks of a mouse. 

4. Concordances. These list all the words of the Bible in alphabetical order, showing you all the different places that word is used. Keep in mind that a word is defined also by its context. For example, if I said, "It's by the trunk," you wouldn't know if I was talking about a car trunk, a storage trunk or an elephant trunk without the surrounding words. "Flesh" is a word in the NT that can refer to your flesh and bones or the same word is also used to refer to our sinful nature. So context also determines meanings when doing word studies with a concordance.   

Conclusions. After you've done all your study using the above 4 C's on a question you had regarding a word or portion of Scripture, you can now write your findings or conclusion. Because we are always open to learning, hold your conclusions open to further review if you glean important insights later. Such humility keeps us from getting into arguments. If they are wrong, agree to disagree agreeably.

To help you use the above interpretive tools of Context, Cross references, Commentaries and Concordances, I put together the following video. So please watch it. You'll want to click Full Screen to see it well.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCJl7GAAbLM&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

1. Please post your response to the following. Take one of your questions from the Ask Questions step last week and seek to discover it's answer on Biblehub.com. For example, if last week you wrote, "What does sacrifice of atonement mean in Rom.3:25?" Go online to Biblehub.com, type in Rom 3:25, then look at the Context and Cross references to that phrase in Rom.3:25. Then scroll down to the Commentaries and study this out. Or even try the Concordance (For the Concordance, remember to go the Interlinear, click on the Greek word and then click Summary. That is a gold mine of info!) Now share your Conclusion with me. Way to go!

2. Please enrich your wealth partner with something you're learning. Perhaps it might be from Romans or the following Youtube video. I wish the sound quality was better, but Nicky's testimony is still powerful. If you think it's appropriate, please pass it on to the unsaved person you're praying for. Sow good seeds. It's hard for things to grow without sowing and watering. So sow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zelqF0mamCw

Announcements/ Reminders

We are almost at the finish line! See you next Sunday, July 13th at 11:30 for a very important NGL leadership training mtg.

Review Eph.2:1-10. Remember, repetition is the mother of learning. 

Here's more of our Romans reading guide.

July 9-  Read 5:1-11
July 10- Read 5:12-21
July 11- Read 6:1-14
July 12- Read 6:15-23
July 13- Read 7:1-14
July 14- Read 7:15-25
July 15- Read 8:1-21
July 16- Read 8:22-39
July 17- Read 9:1-18 (Happy Birthday Pastor Mike!)
July 18- Read 9:19-33
July 19- Read 10:1-13
July 20- Read 10:14-21


Want more on properly interpreting the Bible? Then read the following linked article on principles of properly interpreting the Bible.
https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-6-principles-biblical-interpretation