FBCJ SOLID Youth

There are many people that interpret the Bible figuratively rather than literally and literally rather than figuratively. How do we know when to interpret it one way or another? It is really easier than you may think... but it is extremely important to practice consistently to keep you from false doctrine!

This time of year seems to always be a season where many in youth ministry wax and wane in their walk with God. Coming out of summer camp, ending summer, starting school, and juggling all the various responsibilities with school, extra-curricular activities, work, and family while maintaining a walk with God isn't easy to learn! We need to take a pause and re-evaluate and refocus...

God is consistent. How he deals with mankind can differ from one dispensation to another, but the Lord does not change. Once God establishes a biblical truth in scripture he is consistent from beginning to end. This will be realized in the areas of typology and numerology in God's Book. I love it!

God cannot lie, and that also means the Bible cannot lie or contradict itself. If there happens to be an apparent contradiction, always give the Bible the benefit of the doubt. Apparent contradictions are often God's way of teaching us some great and deeper spiritual truths... and at the same time, scoffers will use those same passages as an excuse to walk farther and farther away from the will of God for their lives.

God created everything after the pattern of himself. This means that when we look out into his creation we can learn lessons of spiritual truths about himself, his doctrine, and other things from the Bible. We live in a world that does not believe that God and science can coexist, but that simply isn't true! Science proves God's existence, power, and even the Trinity.

To properly study and understand the Bible you must compare scripture with scripture. The Bible is the best and most reliable commentary on the Bible, NOT other commentaries written by human authors. Using cross-referencing and a concordance is extremely valuable tools to make this happen. All of these things are free and readily available through smartphone Bible apps, so there is no excuse!

Every word and every event has been specifically chosen by God to communicate his truth, his heart, and his mind to us in HIS BOOK... the Bible. Every word of God is pure and he warns us to not mess with his words (Prov. 30:5-6). The Lord has also promised to preserve every word in his book throughout all generations (Ps. 12:6-7). This truth should change the way we see, understand, and interact with the Bible. Is the Bible your final authority? It should be... Can you trust every single word of your Bible? You should be able to...

Every book, chapter, and verse in the Bible has 3 basic applications - (1) Historical, (2) Devotional, and (3) Doctrinal. Historical deals with the details surrounding the events as they were recorded in history... the Bible is 100% accurate in all historical details. Devotional deals with how this book, chapter, and verse apply to my current life circumstances. Doctrinal deals with the deeper spiritual truths that God desires to reveal about himself, his doctrine, his heart, along with future prophetic events. There truly is no other book like God's Word!!

According to 2 Timothy 2:15 we are called by God to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that neededth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." We must learn how to study the Bible properly, and part of that means we need to rightly divide it. The Bible has divisions, or dispensations, where God administers his plan in different ways throughout human history. This lesson dives into this topic.

One very important contextual detail that must be considered is the People Group Factor. God has written parts of the Bible to certain people groups. All of the Bible is for us, but only part is written specifically to us. Many, many false doctrines will arise if we misapply passages and verses to our lives that were never mean to be applied to us.