Have you ever gone into a bookstore or library and picked up a book in which the author found it important to use every big and difficult-to-understand word in the dictionary? If I run across a book like that, my first instinct is to replace it and never return to it. However, if a friend gives me such a book, telling me that it’s truly a good book, I might try to read it, but I’d be tempted to

• Breeze over or completely skip the sections I don’t understand (this could be a problem if most of the book is that way).

• Let my eyes pass over every word in the book, but not attempt to understand, showing that I don’t have enough interest or dedication to the book to bother grabbing a dictionary to help me understand.

• Not bother to understand the content myself and just ask someone else to explain it to me.

Making a habit of this is one thing when it’s a book that won’t have a significant impact on my life (although it could turn me into a lazy reader who never puts forth effort in reading except in what amuses or interests me), but when I read the Bible, I’d better make an effort and not adopt these bad habits! Sadly, it’s not uncommon for us to skip over the parts in the Bible that are difficult to understand. Why do we do this? Because we don’t have the time to try to understand, or we don’t want to engage in the work our brains would have to go through to understand? Of all the books we could ever read, the Bible is the one to which we should give extra time and energy. Why?

• When we become believers we have a new relationship with God, and getting to know Him should become a priority for us. In His Word we learn much about Him, and what our relationship with Him should look like, so reading the Bible with understanding is essential. “Let us go after the knowledge of the LORD…” (Hosea 6:3) “So that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10) As we grow to understand God, there will be dramatic change in our personal lives. Scriptures tell us what this change should include and what it will look like, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22,23)

• Not only should we read the Bible with understanding in order to know God and grow in our relationship with Him, but we need to understand what God says about evangelism and discipleship so we can obey His command to, “Go then, and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to keep all the rules which I have given you…” (Matthew 28:19.20) “And the things which I have said to you…give to those of the faith, so that they may be teachers of others.” (II Timothy 2:2) There would be quite a problem in fulfilling these commands if we didn’t understand the Bible, don’t you think?

Now, are there tools that can help us understand the Bible? The answer is yes. Look at these:

• Prayer is a declaration of our dependence on God for all things, and we should seek Him in prayer, asking Him to give us understanding of His Word.

• The Bible gives understanding of itself. When there are passages that cause us problems in understanding, we can look at other passages to make it plain.

• Dictionaries are valuable companions, and there are Bible dictionaries to help us define Bible words that we don’t understand.

• If we’re studying on a specific topic, it’s good for us to understand what God has to say about that topic. Concordances (found in the back of your Bible or separate books) list verses that deal with specific topics, so this is a great reference tool in gaining understanding.

• Commentaries by those who’ve spent much time researching and understanding the Bible can be beneficial when we struggle with our understanding.

• Another way to help us in our understanding of the Bible is to use Bible study books. Many people have studied extensively on certain topics and published books that can help us.

So, enjoy your reading!

About the Author:

Aleena Denison has a heart for seeing the message of the Bible presented in a clear way,and is dedicated to sharing Jesus with the lost and helping believers see their responsibilities in
evangelism, discipleship, and Bible study
. For more information and free downloads, see

http://www.goodseed.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Do I Want to Know How to Understand the Bible, or Just Read It?

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