Locating Those Nuggets

  Education is not in knowing everything, but in knowing where to find the information., it has been said.

  Now I will go into the Deductive Method. We looked already at Inductive where you ask questions to find out what does it mean? Now I will talk about what has been referred to as "nugget hunting". Picture yourself walking through a mine field with a friend. "Here is something valuable," your friend will say as you walk alone. "If you pick it up you can take it with you."
  The thing to keep in mind is this valuable truth can not be discerned by an unsaved man as the unsaved one cannot understand the deep spiritual message of the Bible. Sure, he can read the words. Many have and many will tell you, "Yes, I've read through the Bible once or twice. Nice book."
   "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and  he cannot understand them, because they are spitually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14
    This method I am going to talk about is a good one for the new Christian or the old Christian who needs to get into Bible Study because this can be used to get them into the Word of God for themselves. They will need to learn how to see for themselves. They will need to see that "nugget" that is there out in the open.
   This also is a question and answer method. You need to learn how to recognize important truths. Find a passge you like and start digging. Ask, "What type of material do we have here?"
   Let us go back to John 11:35 "Jesus Wept"
   Ask "What group of people do we have here?" "To what group is Jesus talking?"
   Prepare questions as you go along. Talk to the Bible (No, you are not losing your mind. You are asking God for direction. He wrote the Scrpture you are reading. He is the best interpreter.)
   Questions fall into different categories.

1.   Factual Questions. --Who? What? When? Where? How?
2.  Translation Qestions.--These wil lead you to diagram, draw pictures, chart, summerize, search out technical information.
3.   Relationship questions-- compare, contrast, show cause and effect.
4.   Application questions-- how do you apply a rule or principle or perform a problem-solving task?

   Formulate your answers in a prayful and orderly way. After all this you can consult a commentary or two. Test all things, the Scriptures say. Do not believe all things just becasuse it is written. Test it by the Word. Scripture is its best interpreter.
   Don't give up. Write down what you are learning. Write down your unanswered questions. Maybe later something you are reading will help you answer the problem passage.
    And as you go about your day allow it to do its' work. You do this by mediatation. A subject that will be handled later in another post.
    
   Feel  free to comment. Please do. I am waiting to have a conversation with you. feel free to use the comment button on the bottom of this posting. (The word 'Comment" will open the site for you)  Ask questions. Suggest further subjects, or just say hi.
   You are an important part of the post and by commenting you are completing the cycle. Like a game of table tennis.
   Should there be spam or insincere comments, the comment button will stop working for you. but at the moment I await your free will decision to comment.
  In fact, I reserve the right to, if needed, edit and even delete comments. You know which ones. In other word, I will moderate No spam or flames will be tolerated..

How to use your Bible

 So we have started in on our Bible Study program. We have noticed that we will over time have a lot of  material. We will need a plan to store this material-- to preserve it.
  File folders are a good idea. A folder of about 9 1/2 by 11 3/4 will be fine. You should have a least two sections in your folders. One for Scripture and the other for topics The label for the folder you can place in the upper right-hand corner.
  You will also need notebooks for your Bible study. Remember, you are jotting down your observations. Think of it as a treasure hunt. You are digging for treasure.
  You should also use your Bible by marking the passages that stand out to you. Mark it carefully and with symbols that you can understand. But also don't be careless in your marking. This is for your use. Underline important passages. Write cross references in the margins. You can use a cross for any verse that speaks of Christ's substitutionary death. An arrow can be used beside the passsage that speaks of the second coming. The letter p can be used to signify prayer. Continue in that vein.
   You should set up a goal for your Bible study. Your study of the Bible is to change you and your goal will greatly affect what you will get out of it. Ask yourself why you are studying the Bible.
   I have discovered that there are five methods used in Bible sudy. In postings to come they will be covered.

1.    Deductive Method (nugget hunting)
2.   Question and Answer Method (guided digging)
3.   Topical Method (following a vein)
4.   Analytical Method (working a claim)
5.   Synthetic Method (developing a mine)

   Please leave me your comments as to what is working for you or not working for you. I will offer my help.
 

First look: Inductive Method

  As we consider Bible Study Methods I want to start by looking at an easy one. It is useful for digging and will give results in the short periods of time that we have in this busy lifestyle of ours.

Study-- study--study

   It is called the Inductive Method. It basicly will answer; What does it say?

   We start with our Bible. We take a section, a small section. Maybe even a short paragraph. Or maybe even a sentence.

    Let us take a sentence out of the Gospel of John  which most people who are told to memorize scripture  playfully or not choose. That is John 11:35. Jesus wept.

    Yes, that is good enough to see how the Inductive Method can be used.

     The thing to do is to ask questions of the passage.
      The first thing we do is start with observation. Who is involved in the passage?  Jesus. His followers. The Jews. Mary. Martha What is happening? Jesus is standing in front of the tomb of Lazarus. He is weeping. And so on. Who. what.when. where
      The second thing is interpretation. Why is Jesus weeping? Is He a cry baby? Where is the evidence? No, he is not a cry baby.  What does this tell us about God? If you hold that Jesus is the God/man, then we can learn something here about God. So why is He crying?
       Then we end up with application. Why does this mean to me?
        I suggest strongly that you have a pencil or pen and a pad of paper with you as you use this method. You would want to record what you are discovering. The main reason is that you want to share this with others. Christianity is not a solo act.

Observe the Times

Of course as you are reading through the Bible you come to realize this didn't all happen in one day nor in one system of government.  The part we call the Old Testament starts when time began to the days of the prophets. From Eden to Babylon and Jerusalem.There were many governments coming and going. The New Testament is mostly Rome.
  There were periods of time. Wycliffe has laid down a formula that states "It shall greatly help you to understand Scripture if you mark...at what time..."
  Each period of time is different from the one before it. Even Bible students divide the periods differently for diifferent types of Bible study.
  There are the Dallas men who started out holding to a seven dispensatgion viewpooint. "Dispensation" is just a word that comes to us from the Greek meaning management of a household. It is used to denote a period of time in which men are tested in respect to obedience to some definite revelation of God's will (Unger's Bible Dictionary [1966]
  It was a view put forth by the Scofield Bible and taught in his systematic theology.
  The seven periods are:

1.    The Dispensation of Innocence and the Edennic covenant-Man was to tend the garden and subdue the earth. All dominion was given to them (Adam and Eve) to control the animals. They had the herbs and fruits for food.They could eat of all the trees in the garden except for the one called the tree of the knowedge of good and evil.
2.     The Dispensation of Conscience and the Adamic Covenant.--There were now rules after the fall. These were to help them live in obedience to God. They now were expected to do good and abstain from evil. .The serpent was cursed. the woman had multriple sorrows in childbirth ( did she have pain before the fall?) The ground was cursed for man's sake. He could still work it but it now would be harder for produce to grow from his labor. Man is commanded to work for his livelihood. I believe that work helps keep us connected to God. It is not the curse.
3.    The Dispensation of Human Government and The Noahic Covenant.-- Capital Punishemnt was instituted. If you kill a man you die. God gave the government not the individual that right. He has not taken it back. God promised that the seasons would continue and day and night would not cease. He wanted Noah and his offsprings to repopulate the earth, Man was once again given dominion over the animals. Man was now allowed to eat meat.
4.    The Dispensation of Promise and the Abrahamic Covenet.-- God calls out one man to work through. This was Abraham. He told Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldeans and go to a new land. He promised a large family. God told him that he would bless those whno blessed Abraham and his descendents and curse those who cursed his descendents. (His descendents are the Jews)
5.    The Dispensation of Law-- This period is from Moses being given the law to the birth of the church.
6.     The Dispensation of Grace-- The church is born at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit baptized the people in The Upper Room.
7.     The Dispensation of the Kingdom-- This is when Jesus shall rule on the earth in person.

     There is another view that there is only a dispenstion of law and a dispensation of grace. This is  not one that I hold. I hold to a modified view of dispensations. I don't hold to the seven . What makes me a dispenstionalist is I see a difference between Israel and the Church. The Church does not become the new Israel and inherit the promises. The church is different from the Jews. The Jew is not a gentile. There
 are three groups in scripture. The Jew, The Gentile. And the Church.
   The next posting will start in earnest our methods of Bible study
    Please feel free to comment. Ask me to clarify. Be interactive as much as possible.

Watch the Words

In our Bible study we should be very careful to understand what we are reading. By this I mean, what we study is made up of words.
Duh!
 Okay, maybe I should explain. Words are like our vehicles. They carry thoughts, emotions and feelings from the author to you. I looked it up and there are about 8,674 different Hebrew Words in the Old Testament. When we look at the Greek we have a total of about 5,624 different Greek Words. And when we translate that into English we end up with only 6,000 words.
  For you math majors out there that is quite a reduction from the original to English we have today.
  And all words were necesssary. God used different people to convey the message He wished to convey. Peter wrote like a fisherman. David wrote in his style. Paul wrote from the prospect of an highly educated person. The prophets in the Old Testament wrote in their own style.
  Therefore we must observe some rules or principles. As far as possible we should take words in their usual sense. When  the Bible talks about Israel it is not talking about the church nor the gentiles. The principle to follow is that if the literal sense makes snese, don't look for any other meaning.
   Also we should look at the whole passage. This is known as context
  Thridly, the Bible is its own best Interpreter. See the Bible as a whole. The more you study the richer your understanding. As you read you will find the Bible will explain itself more throughly than any other book does. Often in the very same passage.
  Often you will find that when comparing spititual with spiritual you will see parallell passages. I discover three kinds of parallels. 1) parallels of Words 2) Parallels of ideas or incidents 3) parallels of general teaching.
  Consider the general meaning of the passages. Sometimes the same words are not used when the same idea is involved. Sometimes you may find the passage is obscure, debateable, or uses figurative language. In this case you should look at a parallel in the same book or in the writings of the same autor. You should also look at the period of history the passage is written.
  There are tools out there to help you in your study. There is the concordance. For KJV there are Strongs, Youngs, and Crudens. You use these to find out the word used in the origianl language. Thgere are also concordances in the New American Standard version, The New International Version, and I am sure the English Bible version. You don't need to be limited only to the King James.
   You can use a reference Bible. Also a Bible Dictioanry is helpful as it summerizes each book of teh Bible. It aslo defines terms and customs.
  Please comment and tell me how I am doing. Tell me what questions you have. Is there an area I should comment on?  Feel free to be as honest as you wish. I can take it. I will answer all messsages.

Interpretation Is Important



Bible Study to be wise



As a person does his Bible study it is important that he  know what he is studying. This book, the Bible, that I am helping you study to be a better Christian has to be properly interpreted. "Study to show yourself approved upon God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed."

  There is a way to tell if what you are finding in this book is false or true. It is all in the rules you follow.

  There are some teachers out there who are going to lead you astray if you let them.There are many cults out there and different religious teachings. Upon the surface their teachings many appear to be true. But they will twist and mislead. They begin to "smoke, sizzle, and smell" under closer examination.

 In order for us to be more firmly planted we need to ask a few questions of the passage we are studying. First we must pay attention to what the Bible actually says. not what we think it says or what some one else says it says. Even the man in the pulpit. "Test all things,' God tells us.

   Secondly we must investigate to whom is it written. All scrpiture has been given to us but not all scripture is written to us. There are three classes of people spoken to in the Bible,. The Jews, the Gentiles, and the Church.
  So that rule is to ask to whom is it speaking. Therefore try to get acquainted with people of the Bible so when people mention that person you will know exactly who he is and all about him.
  So you must also study to find at what time this incident took place. None of the Bible took place in the twenty first century. Learn the proper sequence of the events you will be reading in the Bible. Was this before Israel had a king? How many years before Jesus was born was this written? How do all  these events fit into God's plan?
   Also you should ask yourself where did it happen? In other words, I try to find out a little about how the people lived in the period I am reading? I also want to know the geography of the place I am reading.,
   I also want to know the circumstances under which the writter wriote it. Is it one of Pauls' prison epistles? Where does this letter fall in the account of the book of Acts?
   I am trying not to give you too much at one time.I think I will stop at this point and let you digest.
   Until next time.

Study Requirements

I think I better slow down and tell you what you will need for a good Bible study.
  You will need a translation that you can understand. You will be spending a lot of time reading what God has said. It would be adventagous for you to have a translation that you can understand.
  God had the Bible written in Hebrew and Aramaic for the Old Testament. Greek was the language used in the New. I don't know anyone who reads in the original. I don't.
 So what translation do I recommend ? I myself read and memorize from the New American Standard Version. There is the New International Version out there. It may be easier to read. For the people who feel there is no other Bible translation true to what God said there is the King James Bible and the New King James Bible
  There is also the English Standard Version.
  You will aso need a notebook to jot down observations you will be making as you read and study for yourself Along with that notebook you will need something to write with. I recommend a pencil because you will be making Inductive Bible Study Charts as you go along.. More about Inductive Bible studies later in the series. Just trust me on what you will need.
  As you read the Bible you will have questions. So you will need beside you a Bible Atlas that will help you place the area being spoken of in the text you are studying. As for the explaination of what is being said.. for example the effects of sin on the human race.. the Bible is the best teacher. It will explain itself.    What questions you have, jot down, and keep reading. God will explain to you as you read what He meant.
  Please leave me comments if you wish further explaination. I promise I will read and answer.