Don't turn away from this one too quickly. It has wide-ranging applications. Over the years I have developed my own set of "rules" for studying and teaching the Word of God. They are not meant as substitutes for established sound exegetical guidelines ,  but are my own personal addendum that help guide my studies. Rule #4: context, Context, CONTEXT      Like most everything else in life, understand the context of a matter aids in understanding the matter. You might even say that a matter cannot be understood unless the context it understood first. We see this in media and politics frequently where a word or phrase taken out of contex t so that the story can be tainted or spun at the author's discretion.  The great rule in real estate was aptly stated by Lord Samuel Harold, "There are three things that matter in property:  location, location, location ."(NY Times 6/28/2009)   In theology and Bible study the rule is similar: context, context, conte...

Over the years I have developed my own set of "rules" for studying and teaching the Word of God. They are not meant as substitutes for established sound exegetical guidelines ,  but are my own personal addendum that help guide my studies.     Rule #3: Faith is Essential.    Faith is the key element when it comes to salvation and spiritual life, and it is no different in bible study. Faith is not simply a part of the process, it’s the key. The Bible, to some degree, addresses logic and reasoning,  intelligence, philosophy, and science. In addition, having a grasp of these can greatly help in understanding various passages within the Bible. However  when it comes to interpreting the Word of God, these take a backseat to faith. It is not because that they contradict, although they sometimes do, but faith must always takes precedence. Paul wrote, " And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is ...

Over the years I have developed my own set of "rules" for studying and teaching the Word of God. They are not meant as substitutes for established sound exegetical guidelines ,  but are my own personal addendum that help guide my studies.     Rule #2: Rely Upon the Author.    The best person to tell you the meaning of any work, whether it be stories, books, works of art, songs, or poetry is the author himself. In the mid 1980s a song entitled, "Born in the USA" hit the airways. Since then this song has been a patriotic staple,  now for nearly 40 years. When most of us hear that song is prompts patriotic thoughts, but that is not the intention of the song.  "This is one of the most misinterpreted songs ever. Most people thought it was a patriotic song about American pride, when it actually cast a shameful eye on how America treated its Vietnam veterans."* Wow! That stops me in my tracks, and it probably does to you. I dare say that now that you...

   Over the years I have developed my own set of "rules" for studying and teaching the Word of God. They are not meant as substitutes for established sound exegetical guidelines , but are my own personal addendum that help guide my studies.     Rule #1: the Bible is a supernatural book.    Everyone who reads the Bible does so with some level of presupposition. It is simply impossible to approach God's Word, or any book for that matter, without some presupposition  This is not necessarily bad, and I would even suggest that some presuppositions are necessary. Think of a presupposition as a lens through which one views certain things. Everything that you see is done so through that lens. For example, those who believe that God is no longer working through the gifts of the Spirit (cessationalists) look at Scripture through that lens. Doing so will automatically cause them to see certain verses of Scripture differen...