Twelve Principles for Reading the Bible

1. God wants to communicate with you
   • You don’t have to fight him, just be willing to listen and obey and open your heart
   • Jesus was willing to explain the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:32)
2. The need for the Holy Spirit
   • He wrote it (Acts 28:25)
   • One of his roles is to explain the Scriptures to us (1 Cor 2:12-16)
3. Let the Bible interpret itself
   • read lots of Scripture, so that you have a good background
   • use a reference Bible
   • Example: Acts 8:32—Philip helps the Ethiopian Eunuch understand the O.T. What was he reading?
4. Learn from the insights of other people
   • Spurgeon said that if we refuse to get any insights from others, then we are behaving as if the Spirit was only given to us, but on the other hand we can behave as if we don’t have the Spirit.
5. Easier and more straightforward passages interpret more difficult
   • Example: Are we saved by good works or by faith alone?
     • Matt 25:31-46 we might think that we are saved by good works
     • However, this is a parable, and is not as clear as
     • Gal 2:16—justified by faith alone
     • Eph 2:8-9 saved by faith alone
6. No contradictions
   • Example: James 2:24
   • Paul is contrasting faith and works (self-righteousness)
   • James is going further
     • He never says that faith is not what saves us
     • but it is real (live) faith (works are the evidence of life)
     • contrasted with dead faith
7. “Inerrant” does not mean Bible is in scientific language
   • numbers and distances are given in the normal way (not accurate to the 10th decimal place)
   • They used numbers differently to us
   • Example: Rose again on the third day. Three days in the grave?
8. Cultural differences from today
   • Example: “Let the dead bury their dead”
   • Example: Parable of wedding garment
   • Example: Rich man & Lazarus (They believed wealthy means godly)
9. Read in context
   • Example: A man picked verses out of the Bible at random:
     • “Judas departed and went and hanged himself” (Matt 27:5)
     • “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37)
   • This is particularly an issue reading the Old Testament without understanding of the differences
     • should we stone someone to death for picking up firewood on the Sabbath? (Num 15:32)
     • “Sell all that you have and give to the poor”(Mark 10:21) —it that for everyone?
10. Each book (particularly the Epistles) has a flow of argument
    • Example: Colossians (chapters 1 & 2 form the basis for chapters 3 & 4)
    • Romans has an argument that runs all the way through
11. Interpret according to the Genre
    • Poetry (The hills skip) (Ps 29:6)
    • Prose “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” Heb 9:27
    • Parable (don’t push the picture too far) Get the point (e.g. woman who lost a coin)
    • Prophesy (much more difficult, need to understand how the symbols are used and not assume they are literal)
12. Reading “into” or reading “out of”
    • Don’t decide on what you believe, and then set about trying to find proof for it in the Bible
    • The Spirit (through the Bible) is master and you are servant, not the other way around

Updated 2009-10-07 (build:7) by Andrew Fountain