I discovered what The Lord really wanted me to discover all along......THE DEEP RICHES OF
HIS GRACE !
I discovered that most who believe that they are Christian have been fooled by
Satan into to believing in completely counterfeit gospels, thereby, not really understanding
what Salvation really is, let alone receiving it.
I will devote much of this blog to going into a deep study of Grace, Salvation and God's
Word of Truth to dispel so much confusion on the topics above, that Satan is the author of.
You can find the book I am taking these posts from in my blog links called "Grace Books"
The book I am currently Going through is called "Mystery" Enjoy and feel free to comment.
THE MYSTERY...The Key to the Bible
"To make all men see what is the fellowship of the
Mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath
been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ" (Ephesians 3:9).
One of the classic questions in the Word of God is the one Philip asked the
Ethiopian eunuch as he went to meet him. The Holy Spirit sent Philip down to
Gaza to find a certain man, and the Scripture says that Philip ran to meet this
man's chariot. When he noted him reading from the scroll of Isaiah, he asked this
immortal question: "Understandeth thou what thou readest?"
This is one of the most important questions that we can ask those who read the
Bible. “Do I really understand what I am reading? Do I really understand what
God is trying to tell me, what He is trying to teach me?” And if they are honest,
there are many people who would have to answer much like the Ethiopian
eunuch answered, "How can I understand except some man should guide me."
The purpose of this study is to give you some Bible study helps right from the
Scriptures so that you might better understand the Word of God. Unfortunately,
today many people have lost interest in the Bible. There are many reasons for
this, but perhaps one of the greatest reasons is because they tried reading it
once or twice but it just didn’t make sense. They found what appeared to be
contradictions and perhaps they were overwhelmed by it all and just gave up. If
only there were a key that would unlock the pages of Scripture and help us
understand what it is talking about. Well, there is a key. The Bible itself tells us
how we can understand Scripture.
Three Basic Premises
This study will be based on three premises. The first premise is this: The Bible
can be understood. This should be obvious, yet there are those who think that
the Bible really is impossible to understand. Yet, if God went to the trouble of
revealing to us His Word, you would think that He meant for us to understand it,
wouldn't you? And indeed, that is the case. God wants us to understand His
Word.
Secondly, the Bible is for believers. Actually this second statement qualifies the
first. When we say the Bible can be understood, we must qualify this by saying
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God intended you to understand it as a believer. Many people who try to read the
Word of God are yet unsaved as they endeavor to do so. If you are unsaved, if
you have never trusted in Christ, you are going to find it very difficult to
understand the Word of God. Why is this? The Bible itself tells us in I Corinthians
2:14 - "But the natural man (meaning the person who is not spiritually
regenerated, he is not saved - is living only on a natural plane or a soulish plane)
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." The Bible
comes across on a spiritual level. It must be understood by faith. If you try to
understand the Bible totally on an intellectual level, you are going to have some
problems. Now that doesn't mean we don't use our heads, we must use the
minds God gave us. But as a believer, you must approach the Word of God
through faith, and that is the basis by which you can understand it.
The third basic premise in this study is that the Bible means what it says.
Perhaps the most common mistake when people approach the Word of God is to
read into it preconceived ideas, notions and traditions. When they read a
passage, rather than really reading what it says, they read into it what they think
it says, or what they heard someone tell them it means, rather than just putting
aside traditions and reading the Bible for what it says.
Three Principles of Bible Study
In this first lesson, we are going to look at three principles of Bible study.
Together these make up the key to the Bible. They are interrelated and as we
progress, you will see how they relate to one another.
Right Division
Let us begin with the principle of right division. II Timothy 2:15 says, "Study to
show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the Word of Truth." Here we have right in Scripture, the divine key
to understanding the Bible: rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
We are going to consider two things under this heading. First of all, what this
does not mean and then what it does mean.
Rightly dividing the Word of Truth does not mean that we reject part of the Bible.
Many times we have explained the principle of rightly dividing the Word of Truth
and people respond by crossing their arms, getting a pious or antagonistic look
on their face, and saying, "Well, I believe the whole Bible. I take it all. I don't
divide any of it out. I want everything that God has for me."
What do they mean by that? Do they mean that they still offer animal sacrifices?
That's part of the Bible, too, isn’t it? Do they mean that they practice the Old
Testament feast days, coming to Jerusalem three times a year to observe the
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Holy Days? Is that what they mean when they say they take the whole Bible? Do
they mean we should still keep the Sabbath like they did in the Bible? They
weren't even supposed to go out of their house except to take care of their
animals. They were supposed to stay home. Do they mean that? Well, surely not.
You see, many people don't stop to think about what they are saying when they
say, "I take the whole Bible." We say that, too. We take the whole Bible, too. We
believe every jot and tittle of it, the whole book. It means just what it says. And
that's all the more reason why we should rightly divide it.
We have a little phrase that helps understand the Bible, "All Scripture is for us,
but not all Scripture is to us or about us." In other words, some parts of the Bible
God addressed to someone else. He wrote it to the people of Israel. Some parts
of the Bible He wrote specifically to us. This is what we mean when we rightly
divide. But we don't reject any part of the Bible. Indeed, when we rightly divide,
we come to appreciate and understand all of the Bible even better.
A second thing rightly dividing does not mean is picking and choosing. We must
not go through the Bible and pick what we like and throw out what we don't like.
Almost everyone makes distinctions in the Bible. There is not a person on the
face of the earth who does everything that you find in the Bible. Indeed, you can't
do everything you find in the Bible all at one time. For example, in one place the
Bible says that you are to consider the ant because the ant looks ahead to
winter, works hard in the summer, and stores ahead. And yet, another place in
the Bible says that you should consider the birds because the birds don't sow
and they don't reap and they don't gather into barns. Can you be doing both of
those things at the same time? No, it would be impossible!
This is why we must rightly divide. We are not picking and choosing. The
question is, where do we draw the line? We will find the answer as we continue
in our study.
In past times, some Bibles had marginal headings that were very interesting. One
Bible had headings in the Old Testament over the Laws of Israel where God
says, "If you will keep my Law, I will bless you with this blessing and that
blessing." And then a little while later in the passage it says, "If you don't keep my
Law, I will curse you with this and this and this." This particular Bible had a
marginal heading over the blessings which said, "Blessings on the Church."
Those were supposedly all the blessings that we received. Then, when it got to
the portion where it listed the curses, the heading read, "The Curses on Israel."
That's interesting, isn't it? Let's take all the blessings, but whenever there's a
curse, let the Israelites have that. That's picking and choosing. That's not
systematic, that's not rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
Some people study the Bible much like they window shop. Have you ever gone
window shopping? You go downtown without enough money to buy things, so
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you imagine what it would be like to have them. You say, "I like this appliance
here" and "That's a nice piece of jewelry" and "I like this over here." "Those are
the things I would like." Some people approach the Bible that way. They page
through it and it says in one place that God will not allow you to have any
diseases. Well, that sounds good, doesn't it? Let's take that one. And a little
farther on there's something else that looks pretty good. Let's take that one, too.
Have you ever been at those meetings where you claim promises and everybody
pops up and says, “I’m going to claim this promise." Do you remember the song,
"Every promise in the Book is mine"? The problem with it is, that it's not true.
Every promise in the Book isn't mine. God promised me some things, but He
didn't promise me every one of these promises. I'm perfectly satisfied with the
ones He did promise me.
Let's be careful how we approach the Bible so that we're not rejecting part of it,
and we're not picking and choosing arbitrarily. That's not what rightly dividing
means.
So what does it mean? We want to point out two things. First of all, rightly
dividing means that you read the address. The Bible is like mail that God has
addressed to the people He wants to speak to at any given time. For example,
take Romans 11:13. This is one of the most neglected verses in the Word of
God. God has not left us to arbitrarily try to figure out what part of the Bible is
specifically to us and which isn't. He has made it very clear if we would just read
the address.
Romans is written by the Apostle Paul. He says, "For I speak to you Gentiles. In
as much as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office." Or take
Galatians 2:7. Again, God has not left it up to our individual whim. He has
specifically and clearly told us who is writing to us, and who is writing to the
Jews, to Israel. He does not leave it up to our own decision. In Galatians 2:7, we
react, "But contrariwise, when they...." Who are "they"? He'll tell us a little later on
in verse nine: James, Cephas (Peter), and John. He's talking about the Twelve
Apostles and the believers in the Jerusalem church. "But contrariwise, when they
saw that the Gospel of the Uncircumcision was committed unto me .... " Paul is
writing that. The Gospel of the Uncircumcision, pertains to Gentiles, "as the
Gospel of the Circumcision" (the Jews) "was committed unto Peter, for He that
wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was
mighty in me toward the Gentiles." So again, God has very clearly, very simply
laid out the addresses. When the Apostle Paul is writing or teaching, he is
teaching the Gentiles. When Peter, James and John are writing and teaching,
they are teaching the Jews.
Let's prove that. Look at James 1:1. Read the address. James is a wonderful
book. We wouldn't want to do away with the Book of James at all. But we want to
make sure we know who it was written to. "James, a servant of God and the Lord
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Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad." Who are the
twelve tribes? Israel, the Jews. God specifically wrote that to them.
So, the first thing we do when we rightly divide is we read the address. We find
out who God is writing to and make sure we understand whether He was writing
to us or to someone else.
The second thing we do when we rightly divide is we test the things that differ.
Philippians 1:10 says we should "approve things that are excellent." The word
"approve" here is "to discern, or to test." The word translated "excellent" literally
means to "carry things in two different directions." Therefore, it is talking about
things that are different from each other. Philippians 1:10 literally tells us to test
things that are different. When we rightly divide the Word we look in the
Scriptures and we see whether something is different from something else. For
example, take Romans 4:5. What's the most important thing we could come to
understand out of the Word of God? It is how to be saved, how to be justified, or
declared righteous before God. I can't think of anything more important than that,
can you? "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Now is there any way, shape or form that we could conclude from this verse that
we are saved by works or that works have anything to do with our salvation? No.
He specifically says that to him that worketh not but believeth on Him. Now look
at James 2:24. Let's see if this is different. Let's test the things that differ. Paul
says, "but to him that worketh not but believeth." What is belief? It is faith. His
faith is counted for righteousness. What did James say? Writing to the twelve
tribes (read the address), "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and
not by faith only." Is that different? Does it look different to you? Is God
contradicting Himself? No. He's writing to a different group of people.
Let us notice another example: Matthew 28:19 - "Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost." Notice who Jesus is talking to in verse sixteen - the Eleven
Disciples. Of course there are only eleven because Judas had already hanged
himself. We could say the Twelve Disciples because they were about to replace
Judas - not with Paul - but with Matthias. To those men, Christ specifically said
"Go and baptize." Did Christ send the Twelve Apostles to baptize? Yes, He did.
Now look at I Corinthians 1:17. Do you see a difference, Here it's the Apostle
Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles speaking. "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but
to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be
made of none effect." Do you see a difference in those two statements? In one,
the Twelve are sent to baptize. In the other one, Paul is not sent to baptize. Test
the things that differ.
* TO BE CONTINUED SOON
Please listen to these excellent pieces on The Word of Truth:
| RDW-1 | Rightly Dividing The Word - Part I | |
| RDW-2 | Rightly Dividing The Word - Part II |
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