In Part1 of my series “Making Your Bible Reading Effective And Fruitful” I wrote on the importance of making a commitment to reading your bible consistently with purpose. In Part 2 of the series I wrote extensively on the importance of reading your bible in a way where you move through it quickly in order to gain familiarity. This post is devoted to helping you learn how to interpret the bible accurately so that you can understand it.
Interpreting the bible accurately is very important for Christians because the bible is always under attack. Some attacks come from inside the Christian church with pastors and teachers teaching and preaching heresy (false teachings) which results in confused Christians. Other attacks come from outside the church from people who wish to make God and Christians look stupid by twisting bible verses around to mean something they don’t. Wherever the attack may originate, it is critical for Christians to have the necessary skills to interpret the scriptures on their own.
While I realize the content in this post is a little intimidating and more on the academic side (which means it won’t necessarily be “fun” to read and will force you to use your brain) I promise you it will be worth your time to read it in it’s entirety even if you have to do it in more than one sitting. I know it will help you immensely in your bible study process. I also know that if you will commit to learn these bible study methods that they will take your bible study into another dimension which will subsequently change your life.
The three steps of effective bible study are Observation, Interpretation, and Application . I will briefly overview each of these steps and make some relevant comments. I will be candid with you, I have already shrunk this post down significantly from it’s original length so that it will be reasonable in length. This post is much longer than most blog posts and I realize this goes against the blogging tradition. However, there was no way that I could properly handle this topic without leaving these key essentials in. Hopefully you will be willing to make it to the end.
Let’s get started with the first step, making observations of the biblical text:
Step one: Making observations of the selected Bible verse.
1) Who wrote the verse?
a) Was it a king, a prophet, an apostle, a priest?
2) Why was it written?
a) To encourage Christians who are struggling?
b) To rebuke those failing to obey God’s commands?
c) To instruct Christians on how to live their lives?
3) Where was it written?
a) Geography is important, Read the book of Acts to see the journey that Paul went on, and realize the great distance he traveled by ship and feet for Christian ministry.
4) To whom was it written to?
a) Is the author writing to Christians or non-Christians?
b) What specific person(s) is the author writing to?
5) When was it written?
a) Is the timeframe documented historically accurate?
b) When in the author’s lifetime did they write the book? For example: Paul was in prison, awaiting execution when he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
6) What Grammar is being used? What is being said?
a) Is the author using figurative speech?
b) Is hyperbole being used?
c) Are metaphors being used?
d) Is it a parable?
e) Is it personification?
7) Which words were used in the original Greek/Hebrew text? You don’t have to be a Greek/Hebrew scholar to figure this one out, you just need a good concordance.
8) How do those words translate into English? Remember: Different Bible translations use different words in the same verse. Some Bible translations are more accurate than others. That is why I recommended NASB or ESV Bibles as they are greatly respected for their accuracy.
a) Does the original language differ from the words that appear on the pages of your English Bible?
b) For example: In English we have one word for Love. In Greek they use 4 words for love.
9) Are words in the verse repeated? Does repetition help people learn things better? If so is the writer intentionally repeating to make a point such as this is important stuff to know?
10) Once you answer these questions you will have a good idea of what is going on in a particular verse or section of scripture. One can make hundreds of observations on one verse of scripture.
Step two: Interpreting the Scripture you are studying.
1) It is very difficult to accurately interpret Bible verses if you skip the observation step. Do not skip the 1st step! Do not rely on someone else to interpret the bible for you either. Test your preachers and pastors against the word to see if they are correct. Pastors and preachers make mistakes just like anyone else.
2) God used men like the Apostle Paul to write down God’s Word. When Paul wrote his epistles he wrote with a specific idea that he wanted to communicate.
3) It is important to remember that there is only ONE correct Interpretation intended by the Author. Although you may be able to apply the scripture in a variety of way’s to your life, each verse of the Bible only has one correct interpretation. This means that if two people disagree on the interpretation of a bible verse, one (or both) of the have to be wrong!
4) Here are 4 ideas of how to determine the correct interpretation on your own:
a) Content: If you spend the time in the observation process mentioned above, you have already discovered the content of the scriptures you studied. For example if you know who wrote a verse, when it was written, why it was written, to whom it was written to, the grammar used, if words were repeated, then you have a good idea of the content .
b) Context: In what context is a specific verse related. For example; 1 Corinthians 7:14. If someone reads this specific verse only, without reading chapter 7 in its entirety, they will not understand the context of verse 14. If you read the entire chapter, you will discover Paul is teaching on Marriage and that verse 14 is simply part of his explanation of Biblical marriage. If chapter 7 is confusing, then you move to chapter 6, and see what Paul is talking about there. If you cannot discover the context in chapter 6, you then must figure out the purpose of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
Remember: Start with your specific verse, if you can’t figure out the context then start moving in the order mentioned below.
START: Specific Verse<Paragraph that specific verse is in<Entire chapter Verse is in<Previous chapter< Entire Book< New/Old Testament<Bible. FINISH
c) Comparison: You should also compare the specific scripture you are studying to other scriptures throughout the Bible. For example: 1 Corinthians 7:14 say’s “14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband.
Now compare and contrast 1 Cor 7:14 with Romans 10:9 “ 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
In Romans 10:9 The Apostle Paul writes that a person must confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe in his/her heart that he has risen from the dead before he/she can be saved.
Paul clearly lists the requirements for salvation in Romans 10:9 as each individual making a decision for Christ, Confessing Jesus as Lord, and “Believing in your heart that he has risen from the dead.” The Greek word used in Romans 10:9 is Sodezo. This word translates to mean “save” referring to going to Heaven.
Therefore when using comparison and contrast we discover that 1 Corinthians 7:14 is not saying that an unbelieving husband will receive salvation through his believing wife. He will have to confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in his heart that Christ rose from the dead just like his wife has done if he is to receive salvation!
d) Culture: What is the culture like in the Scripture you are studying? For example 1 Corinthians 8. In this section of scripture Paul teaches on eating meat offered to idols. Jews have certain eating restrictions and certain animals were presented to false idols throughout the cities of Biblical times. Christians debated whether or not they could eat this meat. It was a cultural issue–of the Jewish sort, and is important to remember when studying the scriptures to understand the meaning of a verse.
Step Three: Application. How to make the Scriptures apply to your life today:
1) It is important to realize that this is the most important of all the steps in studying the scriptures! We must practice the commands in the Word of God in our daily lives.
2) Although there is only one true interpretation of a Bible verse, there can be many different applications of a Bible verse.
- For example, when the scriptures command us to “Rejoice always” 1 Thes 5:17, one person may demonstrate their joy differently than another person.
1) A person may sing with joy
2) A person may smile showing their joy.
3) A person may pray to God expressing their joy.
4) A person may take great joy out of Fishing.
5) Another person may receive great joy from reading.
3) Nine Questions to ask yourself before you determine how you will apply a scripture to your life. From Howard Hendricks’ book “Living by the Book”. I highly recommend this resource if you wish to go further into all of the points I am making in this post.
a) Is there an example for me to follow?
1) For example when Jesus prayed, he started by saying “Are Father who is in Heaven, Holy is your name.” His example is to pray acknowledging God’s Holiness.
b) Is there a sin for me to avoid?
1) “Thou shall not say thy Lord’s name in vain.” This sin should be avoided as God takes this very seriously.
c) Is there a promise to claim?
1) Romans 10:9 mentioned above explains how to receive salvation. This is an example of a promise that a person can claim.
d) Is there a prayer to repeat?
1) When Jesus teaches us how to pray in Matthew 6 we learn a prayer model that we should repeat.
e) Is there a command to obey?
1) “Thou shall not commit adultery.”
f) Is there a condition to meet?
1) Again, Romans 10:9 states the conditions for salvation for each individual person.
g) Is there a verse to memorize?
h) Is there an error to mark?
i) Is there a challenge to face?
4) If you will take the time to make the observations, determine the correct interpretation, and then apply what you have learned in your life, I guarantee the Bible Study process will be fulfilling for you!
5) During all of these steps I encourage you to pray and ask God for guidance in revealing His Word to you.
Well that’s it, you made it to the end. Now grab your bible and find a text you have struggled with in the past and see if these bible study methods help you in discovering the interpretation. God bless and happy reading!
The Religious Nerd 
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