7 KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE
1. The Bible is not a shopping Mall for different interpretations.
If you go into the Bible to find what you want to believe or what you have been told, you can find something that you can twist to satisfy yourself.
2. Be honest, if he is God, there will be proof of what is really stated. Refuse to jump to a conclusion even if some one tells you to take it by faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” Without sufficient evidence, you cannot have true faith. You just have belief.
3. The Bible, by its own description, “But the word of the LORD was to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” In other words it is like a puzzle, where all the information about a particular thing is not in one place so that only those that understand that God can be trusted will seek and find. All others will be broken, snared and taken.
4. Man shall live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Scripture says that you should not add nor take away any of them. Jesus reiterates this for all times in Matthew 5:17. The two covenants did not change God and what he desires or requires in the least. The New Covenant made it possible to do, and please God concerning the things that He hates and that which He loves.
5. When studying prophecy, remember God’s message to Daniel; some thing are not to be known before its time. Then it will be seen and you will see that it could never have meant anything else and that No man could have predicted it. That is one of the points. Also, believe it all and don’t spiritualize the statements without very good provable reasons.
6. Realize that every literary convention is used in the Bible that is used by man; people for instance can be spoken of as trees, animals or even rocks. The context will generally let you know what is being done. If that is not clear, there will always be a 2nd and or 3rd witness of scripture that can make it clear.
7. If two or more scriptures seem to conflict, you must believe them all and seek to find out how that is possible. Let the scriptures clear up the matter; scripture interpreting scripture. Below is an example:
Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace.”
Romans 3:31; “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yes, we establish the law.”
The first passage, many have built whole doctrines with while denying, being silent or mischaracterizing the second passage. The second seems to say to many that what God has really done with faith is establish the law and they often find some interesting ways of dealing with the first passage.
Here is the answer following the rules established above:
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