The Word Unleashed - Radio

The New Testament makes clear that those who have been called to preach and teach God’s Word must actually know God’s Word and be able to explain it. But the Bible also makes it clear that all of God’s people are called to read, study, understand, and apply what God has said in His Word. Therefore, no one is exempt from Bible study, even if you haven’t been particularly gifted by the Holy Spirit to teach it.

Biblical interpretation is a necessary component of the Bible study process and one that cannot be neglected in your pursuit of understanding the Bible. Biblical interpretation is simply the proper use of generally accepted principles to determine the divinely intended meaning of a passage. In other words, biblical interpretation pursues the God-intended meaning of a passage

Sadly, biblical meditation is an often overlooked aspect of Bible study. More often than not, Christians think meditation is only something that eastern religions promote. But the Scripture actually emphasizes meditating on or thinking deeply about biblical passages and truths. In fact, meditation is one of the most important skills in your Christian life and in your Bible study.

The observation step is a critical step in the Bible study process and one that cannot be overlooked. We as Christians must be willing to dig down into the depths of word studies and analyze grammar, knowing that we are trying to understand what the God of the universe is saying in His Word. At the same time, we must always keep in mind the big picture: that all the steps of Bible study that we are considering in this series are meant to drive us to a knowledge of God that compels us to know Him more and to live for His glory while we are here on this earth.

For a variety of reasons, not everyone’s favorite subject in school was English. But for us as Christians, we need to dive into the realm of grammar in order to better understand what God has written in His Word. But the reality is that we use and analyze grammar on a daily basis, from reading articles and posts on the internet to reading and responding to emails and text messages. If we deal with and analyze grammar in the little things, how much more should we do so with God and His perfect Word?

Being a faithful student of God’s Word is hard work but is attainable with a commitment to setting aside time each day to read and having a plan or a series of steps to work through while you study. One part of the Bible study process is to pick a book of the Bible that you would like to study—one that is obtainable and manageable as you begin the Bible study process.

Unfortunately, it is common in many evangelical Christian circles to approach studying the Bible with this in mind: What does the Bible mean to me? But that isn’t the question we should be asking. Rather, we need to ask: What does God, through the Holy Spirit and the original human authors, intend for this passage to mean? That's why studying the Bible correctly is so important—it helps us as believers to discern what God said and what God means by what He said.

The pattern in Scripture is that God’s people know and love His Word. This was true in the Old Testament, for example, when God instructed the nation of Israel to treasure His Word and teach it diligently to their children. The same, of course, is true in the New Testament with Jesus, the apostles, and the early church—the Bereans in Acts 17 searched and examined the Scriptures daily. So as Christians, we must be resolved and committed to reading and studying Scripture.

Jesus, as the God-man, claims to be the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one can be right with God except through Him. He claims to forgive people of their sins and grant them eternal life. He also claims that if you reject Him, you will suffer the wrath of God for eternity. Either Jesus is a liar who needs to be rejected, or a lunatic who is out of his mind, or He is, in fact, exactly who He says He is.

We live in a world of people who acknowledge that Jesus of Nazareth existed in the first century. Many think of Jesus Christ as a wonderful man, a good teacher, or a special, unique prophet. But the Scriptures teach more than just Jesus’ humanity—in fact, they teach that He is also fully God. As we’ll discover, if Jesus is God, then He isn’t merely a wonderful man or good teacher. If Jesus is God, he isn’t merely a prophet. If Jesus is God, then you have to grapple with His claims that He is the only savior of the world.