How can we correctly understand
the Bible?
In this series of articles we
will consider several questions, answers, and comments that will help us to
understand the Bible correctly when we sit down to read it. God has given us a great promise in John 8:31-32:
“They Jesus said to those Jews
who believed in Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples
indeed. And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.’”
Jesus always keeps His
promises. Hebrews 10:23 tells us:
“Let us hold fast the confession
of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
We know that we can understand
the Bible, because we are commanded to. Ephesians 5:17 tells us:
“Therefore do not be unwise, but
understand what the will of Lord is.”
QUESTION 1 – WHO IS SPEAKING?
The Bible says in Job 2:9; “Curse
God and die.” The rest of the Bible
teaches us to worship God, not to curse Him.
What shall we do? After reading
Job 2:9-10 we should ask ourselves, “Who is speaking?” The answer here is Job’s wife. She told her husband Job to “Curse God and
die,” and was speaking foolishly.
Psalm 14:1 says, “There is no
God.” But who is speaking? The passage shows us this is a statement of a
fool.
In Acts 4:18 we read a command to
not “speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” We are not to obey this command. Why not?
Because when we read the chapter, and ask ourselves who is speaking, we
learn that the enemies of Christ gave this command. Therefore, we teach because Jesus gave the
command to teach (Matthew 28:19).
Next time: QUESTION #2 – Who is
the speaker speaking to?
