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We discussed in another teaching that there is no private interpretation when it comes to God’s Word. (see II Peter 1:21 and 21) That means that you and I are not to decide what we think God’s Word means, but we are to let the Word speak for itself. In order to do this we need to learn some of the keys to studying God’s Word. Today we will learn about one of the ways that the Bible “interprets” itself.

The first way that the Scriptures will interpret themselves, or tell us what they mean, is right in the verse. This means that you do not need a dictionary to understand the words; nor do you need to understand the culture at the time the Bible was written. It is clear from reading the verse what is meant. Let’s look at a few examples to help to understand this key to understanding the Scriptures.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

This verse is very clear. We do not have to guess what it means. We do not need to know Greek, Aramaic or Hebrew to understand what it means. We know from reading this verse that God created the heaven and the earth in the beginning.

II Corinthians 1:3:
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.

Pretty clear, isn’t it - God is the Father of Jesus Christ and he is a God of comfort.

Philippians 4:4:
Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

We read here that we should “rejoice” in the Lord always. Now if we wanted to learn more about rejoicing we can go to other verses in the Bible, but what we can clearly see from this verse is that we should “always rejoice.” What a joy!

These are just a few of the hundreds of verses in the Bible that interpret themselves “right where they are written.” Why don’t you take some time now to find other verses as well. Remember that studying God’s Word is something that He likes us to do!

Grace has been defined as “being given something that we have not earned or do not deserve”. For instance, if you have really misbehaved all day long and your mom made a special dessert for after dinner. You would not have “earned” the dessert by your behavior, but she may decide to give it to you because she loves you and hopes to encourage you to do better in the future. This would be “grace.”

God also has great grace towards His children. There are numerous references in the Bible where God says: “Grace unto you . . . from God our Father.” We do not always deserve the good things that God does for us, but because He has grace towards us He gives them to us anyway.

Let’s look at an example of God’s grace in the book of Genesis. This was many hundreds of years ago. God had created the earth and furnished it with plants, animals and people. The people, though, had not pleased God because many of them were very evil. However, there was one man, Noah, who did please God. Let’s read and see what happened.

Genesis 6:5-8:
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

The people that God had made had turned away from him and allowed the thoughts of their hearts to be “evil continually.” Because of what they thought and then acted upon they had become wicked. Noah was the only one that God mentions having “found grace” in His eyes. He must have been very special. Even though all of those around him were evil Noah was still able to do God’s will and love God. This is a great example for us.

God needed to do something to rid the earth of such evil while still making available something good for Noah.

Genesis 6:13, 14, 22:
And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth if filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

God decided that the only answer was to destroy the earth, but before He did it He told Noah to build an ark. He then instructed Noah to put his family and the different types of animals onto the ark. After a while there was a flood where everything was destroyed except Noah and those on the ark.

God later promised Noah that He would never again be a flood to destroy the earth.

Genesis 9:12-15:
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

As a sign of God’s promise that there would never again be a flood to destroy the earth God set a bow in the cloud. Every time you see a rainbow in the sky you can be reminded of God’s grace to Noah and God’s grace to you. Noah did what God commanded him to do even though it was probably not the easiest work. Because he found grace in God’s eyes he was able to build the ark, place the animals on there and many other things that God told him to do. You and I can do what God wants us to do because He gives us grace also.

II Corinthians 9:8:
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

II Timothy 2:15:
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We are to study to get God’s approval. There are times when we try to get the approval of a certain person whether it is a teacher, a friend, a parent or someone else. We may or may not know the right things to do to get them to approve of us and even if we do they may still decide NOT to give their approval.

God’s Word makes it very clear that to get His approval we need to study His Word, the Bible. This word “study” comes from the Greek word spoudazo and it means to be diligent. We are to get busy studying God’s Word. Honestly going to God’s Word with diligence and determination is something of which God approves. Other people may think it is silly, but not God.

Just like it takes work to get better at a sport or playing a musical instrument it takes work to get better at understanding the Bible. Here are some other interesting verses to consider.

Proverbs 2:1-5:
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Taking the time to learn what God’s Word says is a good thing to do. If we “hide” His commandments and “apply” our hearts to understand then we will grow in our understanding of God and His Word. We are to go to God’s Word realizing that God knows what is right and He has given us instructions to help us in our lives.

James 1:21:
Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

There was a time when Jesus Christ was being tempted by the devil to do things that were not right. Instead of doing what the devil wanted him to do (which would have been disobeying God) Jesus Christ told him this next verse.

Matthew 4:4:
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

After looking at just these few verses we can see how important it is for us to diligently go to God’s Word expecting to receive answers and expecting to find the knowledge of God.

 

 Chariots of Fire: Play Now | Download

Chariots of Fire - A teaching by Bruce Mahone

What does it mean to say that someone or something is faithful? Sometimes when people speak about a dog they will say that nothing is more faithful than “old Shep.” People also refer to inanimate objects as being faithful; like a car or tool that they use to do a job. Other words that are similar to faithful are: loyal, true, constant, steadfast and trustworthy.

Let’s take a look at God’s Word to see what is said about faithfulness and how God is faithful.

Psalm 36:5
Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

Wow! God’s faithfulness reaches to the clouds. This is a figure of speech used in the Bible to help us see how awesome God is when it comes to being faithful. Although the Psalms were written a long time ago this faithfulness still applies to us today.

Psalm 119:90
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

As an example of God’s faithfulness we can look at the earth which was made a very long time ago and yet, it is still here. At the end of every day the sun sets and at the beginning of every day the sun rises. Even if there are clouds in the sky the sun is still up and doing its job.

God has called you and I out to be His children and He is there for us in every situation. When we were born our parents took on the responsibility of taking care of us and teaching us. In a much bigger way God also does this.

I Corinthians 1:9
God is faithful, by who ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is no situation so tough or impossible that God is not there to help. The apostle Paul was a born-again one who devoted his life to teaching God’s Word. At times he found himself in very challenging circumstances even to the point of physical danger. Yet, he trusted that God would be there to help. He relied on God’s faithfulness and he was not disappointed.

II Timothy 3:11
Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

We may face different challenges than Paul did, but God is still the same and will be faithful to keep His promises to us.

Activity

Where did the Bible come from? You may have asked yourself this question at one time or another. For the answer we will look at what God says. That is always the best thing to do whenever you have a question or concern.

II Timothy 3:16:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

The words “inspiration of God” mean God-breathed. The Greek words are theo-pneustos. This is a figure of speech that is used in the Bible to grab our attention. We also use figures of speech when we talk; for instance if we are hungry we might say, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” This lets someone know that we are REALLY HUNGRY.

All of the verses in the Bible were given by God. Nobody sat down one day and decided to write the Bible. God told people what to write and they wrote it.

II Peter 1:21:
For the prophecy came not in old times by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The “scriptures” are also referred to as “the prophecy” and they were written a long time ago by men who had holy spirit. Because of this God could speak to them and they could hear and do what He said.

Galatians 1:11 and 12:
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul did not receive the instruction of what to write from men, but by revelation. It was revealed to him by God.

A long time ago God made a promise that He would put His spirit upon people. Let’s look at the book of Numbers to see this.

Numbers 11:17:
And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them.

Joshua 34:9:
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom.

God chose to place His spirit upon certain people. Some of those who had the spirit upon them were given words by God. They wrote these words down so that you and I would be able to read them and learn about God. This is now known as The Bible. The God-breathed Word!

It seems that one of the hardest things to do in life is to forgive other people when we feel that they have done something to harm us or hurt us. Many times we do not want to forgive because we think that the other person does not deserve to be forgiven. However, it is important to realize that forgiveness is not only good for the one who made the mistake, but also for the one who was “wronged.” If you forgive someone else it will help you to move on.

Ephesians 4:32:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

This verse summarizes the attitude towards forgiveness that we can have. When we remember what God has forgiven us for it makes it easier to forgive others around us. (I John 1:9: he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.) We all make mistakes and do things that we regret, but God is always ready to forgive us. Here is another similar verse.

Colossians 3:13:
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

We can put up with and forgive each other as we remember that Christ and God have both forgiven us for our wrongdoing. Because we are human and we do not always think the thoughts of God’s Word we say or do hurtful things at times. If someone hurts you even their apology may not heal the hurt caused by their actions. Then it is up to us to remember what God said in the Bible; that we are to forgive others just as He has forgiven us. It may not be easy or comfortable, but if God puts it in His Word then we can do it!