Don’t Let Yourself Be Misled, Part 1
We often make mistakes in the process of studying the Bible. Sometimes we skip steps. Sometimes we do the steps out of order. This usually leads to misinterpretation and misapplication of Scripture. For interpretation and application to be accurate, all the steps must be done, and they must be done in order.
The Three Steps of Bible Study
Step One: Observation
First gather information. Read a passage of Scripture and ask, “What does it say?”
words and terms–vocabulary
Pay attention to the words and terms. Look them up in the dictionary. Put the definitions you find into historical and cultural context:
what did the term mean
–at the time of writing
–to the people it was written to.
For example, when 21st century Americans think of a cross, they probably think of churches, architecture, and jewelry. When Jesus said to take up a cross daily the people in Jerusalem thought of death, pain, execution, and crucifixion because that’s where they saw crosses.
"Take up your cross and follow Me."
structure–grammar & syntax
Pay attention to the way words are used and put together. The choices mean something. Paul knew this when he was explaining Scripture (Genesis) in Galatians 3:15. The fact that the word “seed” was used in its singular form and not its plural form (seeds) changes the meaning of the verse. More than one seed would indicate descendants but only one seed clearly points to Christ.
literary form–poetry, letter, historical narrative, prophesy
Pay attention to what kind of literature the passage is. When it tells us in Exodus that Moses threw his staff down and it became a snake, we can know that this means his staff actually turned into a snake because it is historical narrative. In Isaiah 14:29 the snake mentioned is not a literal snake–this is a book of prophesy and the snake in this verse is symbolic. The fact that the Hebrews in Babylon ate only vegetables in Daniel 1, does not mean that there is a command to be vegetarians. It is a historical narrative so we know it is only a record of what happened, not instructions for what we are to do.
placement–location in the progressive revelation
Pay attention to how much God had revealed at the time the passage was written. In Luke 1 Mary has a hard time understanding how her son would be the Son of God, but by the time Hebrews 1 was written, that fact was much more fully understood.
Keep watching for Part 2
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