Reading the Bible Effectively
February 6, 2000
Dear Friends:
Many of you may be familiar with the seminar called “Learn to Read the Bible Effectively.” The seminar is an effort to teach the basics of reading the Bible. It has been a useful tool in presenting the Gospel to many. One of the first and most important points of the seminar is to view the Bible not just as another book, but as the inspired word of God.
The problem is that knowing that the Bible is the inspired Word may lead us to make a fundamental mistake in coming to a good understanding of the content and message of the Bible. Knowing that we are seeing the mind of the Almighty as expressed in the Bible, we may tend to look for the deep and complex message contained in the Word before we understand the basics. If you are like me, you may have found yourself in a position where you could express your opinion on a certain type or maybe a prophetic passage, but would be unable to tell what the book meant to the people to whom it was written. This ought not to be.
There is nothing wrong with looking for the deep things in the Bible. Since the Bible is divinely inspired, it is full of types and symbols, multiple levels of meaning, prophetic signs, significance of numbers and special words, etc.. However, the Bible is also so simple in its basic message that even a child can understand.
Here is the point. Each of the sixty-six books of the Bible has a very simple message to impart. We must understand the very basic message before we try to understand the deep things. Once we have a good understanding of the basic message to the people to whom it was written, we should, by all means, dig deep. My experience has shown that after I have the basic meaning of a book or passage, I find the deeper things more enriching and rewarding.
If you are trying to understand one of Paul’s letters, read it as if you have just received a letter from a friend. What is he trying to say? What problems is he addressing? What is the tone of the letter? What response is he expecting from you? What is the overriding theme of the letter? How should this impact your beliefs and walk? What is he refuting?
Here is another suggestion on how to get the basics of a Bible book. First, pick a book you want to understand such as the prophecy to Haggai. Read it. Read it again. Get a different translation and read it again. Get another translation and read it again. Write notes down on passages as the message and meaning becomes clear. Read it as many times as you need to until you can explain the subject and very essence of that book to a 10 year old child in 150 words or less. Nothing can substitute for our intimate familiarity with the contents of the book. When you can explain it to that 10 year old, you know the basics of the book and are ready to proceed.
Now that you have a basic understanding of a book, move on to the next one. If you can’t do it already, make it a personal goal to be able to explain all 66 books of the Bible to that 10 year old. It will be one of the most worthwhile projects you have ever taken on.
May God bless your efforts to understand His Word in all its wonderful aspects!
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