Understanding the Bible

Whilst there are many factual items in the Bible which can be readily understood by all, there are also many which can only be understood when the Holy Spirit gives such understanding to an individual person. There is much practical advice for avoiding human physical and emotional problems but mostly (not always) it is the Spiritual or doctrinal meaning that is hidden. Jesus made this and the reason, absolutely clear.

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 

Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 

also

2Co 4:4  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 

This makes it clear that without the presence of the Holy Spirit the real meaning of the Scriptures is hidden, which is why, with so many false "Christians" involved in church congregations, so much false doctrine emerges, often based on a failure to compare scripture with scripture for positive purposes.

1Co 2:11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

1Co 2:14  But the natural man 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. 

A a result, even Bible believing Christians can be distracted from the important truth being presented to them, hopefully only in the short term but sometimes lasting almost a lifetime. Fortunately for true Christians,

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Which also means we have to learn to accept that some of our loved friends, even family members, whose beliefs seem to have slipped, have to be left, prayerfully and in love, to the Lord. It is possible for a true Christian to "Apostasise"

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 

Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,  

Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 

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but their eternal security is not lost, although they may suffer loss of some sort

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;  

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.  

1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 

1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire

but "Apostacy" more often arises as when John describes

1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 

and  warned of by Jesus

Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?  

Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.  

Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 

Consider

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 

This  latter verse clearly states that those falsely professing faith will eventually lose that profession.

These days, we ae blessed with a wide range of tools to assist us in understanding scripture. My first choice is the computerised Bible access known as e-Sword, with a wide range of literature including Strongs concordance, which enables us to check the true meaning of every word in the Bible and also check if that word even appears at all in the original Hebrew or Greek text because English often requires the insertion of a preposition or adverb to achieve a significant meaning. e.g. in

Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 

the second "after" is entirely absent in the Greek. It was inserted by the translators to give the meaning of the tense used for the verb -  "having believed" which gave no suggestion of any delay. Unfortunately many people have based an entire doctrine on interpreting "after" as authority for there being a delay in receiving the Holy Spirit when believing.  A simple check with

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

makes it absolutely clear that the Holy Spirit is received immediately upon true belief.

Also, we must be aware that even the meaning of the English changes over a period.  e.g "Letteth" in

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 

actually means  "restraineth", almost the opposite of what it means today.

The best way to establish the true meaning of any "difficult" scripture is to compare it with other relevant scriptures

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 

e.g. See the Eph 1:13 comment above.

Even true believers may have different understandings of the same texts as it is in God's sole assessment as to our scriptural needs from time to time and one person may not even be able to communicate his/her understanding at a particular moment. Whilst we can all obtain some benefit from the views/experiences of others, we only learn when the Holy Spirit deems it appropriate for us.

1Jn 2:27  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 

I repeat, we are not all at the same point in our spiritual development and the Holy Spirit may not deem it appropriate to teach us some truths at that particular time. So do not be unduly disappointed if you fail to convince another person of something which is clear to you. Likewise, if you cannot understand something clear to someone else. We are not involved in a contest to display our "spirituality". We have not attained any knowledge through our own merit, and we should not envy  the knowledge, ability or status of others.  e.g. On my being born again I was taught that Sunday was the Christian Sabbath and I should observe the rules appertaining to the Jewish Sabbath. I followed this as strictly as I could, continuing through my National Service in the army. It was 10 years until I became very clear that the Jewish Sabbath was simply a "Type" of the Christian Sabbath as set out in the verses leading up to

Heb 4:9  There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 

Heb 4:10  for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 

which makes it clear to me that our "Sabbath rest" is our ceasing from relying on our own works and  resting in the finished work of Christ. However, when that truth hit me, many of my friends just could not see it.

Rom 14:5  One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 

Rom 14:6  Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 

As an absolute practice, never automatically accept what another person tells you a particular text means, even if they quote scripture in support of their view.  Always prayerfully check out the scripture involved for yourself, even when there are several scriptures involved, as in this site. By all means rely on your memory when investigating but always check out the written texts before making a decision, as we all have fallible memories, As an example, I was convinced for many years that there was a text specifically saying God created the world from nothing, but I now find I was wrong. There are several passages which strongly suggest that but the actual words are not present in scripture, (If you can find one, please let me know!).

When considering a passage of Scripture, consider whether it is important to examine each word (of the original text and language) for a precise meaning or whether the text is trying to convey a wider principle.

 Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.  

Nothing could be clearer/

 However, the Pharisees were condemned by Jesus for always missing the point

Mat 23:23  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 

Mat 23:24  Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 

Joh 8:4  They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 

Joh 8:5  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 

Joh 8:6  This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 

Joh 8:7  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 

Joh 8:8  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 

Joh 8:9  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 

Joh 8:10  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 

Joh 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. 

Here the point is that God always gives ample opportunity for a sinner to repent and 

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

and requires us to have the same attitude

Hos 6:6  For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 

It is not profitable to engage in long "arguments" on Scripture. You will never "Teach" another person a spiritual truth.  That is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit although He may well use you in the process and we are advised to be ready to explain our faith

1Pe 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 

   By all means explain your beliefs but consider

1Co 11:16  But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God

Tit 3:10  A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;  

 "Heretic" is the actual Greek pronunciation and is the sole occurrence of that word in the Bible.  It's closest meaning is to do with creating a schism and the NIV Bible uses the phrase "Divisive   person". Remember, everyone of us is entitled to our own opinion on any matter but we will reap the result of such opinions, so it is important that we base such opinions on clear scripture, not attempting to misuse texts to justify unsound beliefs. Do not ignore texts which seem to be contrary to our preferred opinion but study them carefully and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance. That may be delayed if He deems it preferable for us, but it will come.

Hab 2:3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 

When studying the old testament, be aware that many prophesies have dual fulfilments in time.  e.g.

Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 

This is the famed forecast of Jesus, incarnation  

Mat 1:22  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 

Mat 1:23  "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").

but there was also a prompt fulfillment given at the time to king Ahaz.

Also, the Old Testament prophesies concerning Israel applied to "Israel" as the inheritors of Gods' promises to Abraham and not just to the Jews.

Rom 2:28  A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 

Rom 2:29  No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from God. 

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Gal 3:29  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

Note that up to Abraham's death, and beyond, the population of various "Cities" was very few. Abraham needed only  318 men to defeat the mob ruled by the "Kings" of four cities.

Gen 14:14  And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.