Superintendent Robert Strong
Director of Biblical Studies Ministry
HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE
The Bible is the greatest book ever written. In it God Himself speaks to men. It is a book of divine instruction. It offers comfort in sorrow, guidance in perplexity, advice for our problems, rebuke for our sins, and daily inspiration for our every need.
The Bible is not simply one book. It is an entire library of books covering the whole range of literature. It includes history, poetry, drama, biography, prophecy, philosophy, science and inspirational reading. It’s translations numbers over 1,200 languages.
The Bible alone truly answers the greatest questions that men of all ages have asked. Where have I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? How can I know the truth?
The Bible reveals the truth about God, explains the origin of man, points out the only way to salvation and eternal life.
The greatest theme of the Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ and His work of redemption for mankind. In all of His truth and beauty, the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed in the Gospels; And the full meaning of His life, His death, and His resurrection are explained in the Epistles. His glorious coming again to earth in the future is foretold in the book of Revelation.
The great purpose of the written word of God, the Bible, is to reveal the living word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
1- The Bible helps cleanse us from sin. 2- It imparts strength. 3- It instructs us in what to do. 4- It provides us with a Sword for victory over sin.
Come learn the importance of personal in-depth Bible devotion, learn how to hear the still small voice of God through meditation and prayer (1sam 3:21)
Learn how to adapt a spiritual Diary through personal Bible devotion, a memory log for reference, selective Bible tools for teaching, etc.
Principles of Bible Interpretation
Since the Bible was written by many men over a period covering 1,500 to 1,600 years and since the last authors of the Bible has been dead 1,900 years there are problems understanding certain passages of the Bible.
There is also a need to clearly interpret certain passages because there is a gap between the way we think and the words we use today as oppose to the way of thinking and the words the writers used thousand of years ago.
The second principle of interpreting the Bible is to interpret it in the light of its historical background.
> The personal circumstance of the writer at the time of His writing
> The culture and customs of the country at the time of the writings
> Interpret the Bible according to the context of the preceding verses
> Interpret the Bible according to the correct meaning of words.
