Lesson Notes

• We often assume we know what a Bible passage says, especially if we’ve read it many times before. So we don’t always read very carefully or we skip to the bottom line.
• We must discipline ourselves to read the entire passage carefully
• Principle: Let the text drive your understanding
  • Leave your preconceived ideas about what the passage says/means at the door!
  • Temporarily leave your theology and politics at the door as well!
  • This is very hard for us – particularly as we get more familiar with the Bible and read if often!
  • Example – Mark 4: 21-22 sounds familiar, what is it about???
    • It ISN’T about letting our light shine through good words (Matthew 5: 14-16)
    • It’s about Christ ultimately revealing all things
    • When we read carefully we realize Jesus used the same analogy two different ways
  • Commit to letting God’s Word speak for itself every time
  • If the Bible isn’t frequently surprising you or causing you to ask tough questions, you probably aren’t reading carefully and letting the text drive understanding!
• Principle: Take time to understand, don’t rush to apply.
  • We’re often quick to ask, “What does t his mean for me and my life?”
  • First invest time answering, “What does t his mean?” Then apply what you learn. 
  • Discipline your mind to understand first!
• Reading carefully is a skill that improves with practice. It gets easier and faster!

A Process for Reading Carefully

• (1) Pray for God to speak to you through the passage, for His help in understanding, for Him to guard you from careless reading.
• (2) Read the whole passage through from beginning to end
• (5) Identify the genre of the writing – is it prose or poetry, narrative or epistle, etc?
  • There were writing conventions for each type of genre.
  • We need to understand the genre to fully understand the passage because of those conventions.
  • For example, poems and prophecy use vivid imagery and symbols to communicate and they form about 1/3 of the Old Testament
  • The next 4 weeks we’ll zoom in on understanding and studying Old Testament passages, narratives, poetry and prophecy, and epistles.
• (6) Re-read the passage slowly, going verse by verse and sentence by sentence
• (7) Re-read it at least 1 or 2 more times
  • Start taking notes about what stands out: major characters, unusual features, repeated words or phrases, pivotal words, important comparisons, commands, etc.
  • Consider reading the passage in 1-2 other translations to detect different nuances (words in foreign languages have a range of meanings that can differ from the range of meanings of corresponding English words)
  • Look up words you don’t know/understand – preferably in a bible dictionary (BibleGateway.com has several online for free)
• (9) Think through the 5-W’s and take notes. Don’t speculate – if the passage doesn’t say, it doesn’t say!!!
  • WHO is being talked to or about in the passage? Who is speaking or writing? Who is being addressed?
  • WHAT does the passage actually say? What is going on?
  • WHEN does this take place? When was it written?
  • WHERE does this take place? Where or to where was it written?
  • WHY is this happening or being written? Does the passage say why?
• (10) Look for an understand the purpose of connecting words like therefore, if/then, in order that, in the same way, for, and, but, etc.
  • These words aren’t an accident!
  • They intentionally connect this passage with others, and build the story or argument leading up to the main point of the passage
• (11) Think about any words that are repeated – is there special significance?
  • These may indicate a theme you should study more deeply
  • Examples: Matthew uses “authority” quite often; Mark references “unclean” frequently
• (12) Determine the author’s main point – if it’s a phrase or saying in the passage, highlight it or underline it. If it isn’t stated in words, write it in your words
  • Understand how the author supports that main point in the passage
  • You won’t go too far wrong if you get this right and mess up other parts
  • You will go very wrong if you’re great on other details and get this wrong!
  • We’ll talk specific strategies for certain types of writing in weeks to come
• (13) Create your own paraphrase of the passage

Discussion/Questions

Part II: Always, Always, Always Read in Context!

• We exist in several contexts – Lake Ridge, DC area, the US, 2020, etc.
• Likewise a Bible passage exists in context – the material surrounding it in the Bible: paragraphs, chapters, sections of books, entire books, the testament, the entire Bible
• Context also includes culture, time, and of particular importance, redemptive-history
• Context is key and generally the closer the context, them ore relevant
  • Immediacy within the Bible usually is most important
  • If there’s a quote or reference to the Old Testament that distant passage and context may well be relevant, though perhaps indirectly, so always follow the reference back to that passage and read IT in context!
• Reading in context is SO critical!
  • Unless you believe the Bible was randomly slapped together by people of low intelligence, you must believe context is key
  • The Holy Spirit inspired the books to be written in a certain way, so immediate context is never an accident
  • Reading in context means understanding and interpreting a passage as it fits within that entire book, God’s work of redemptive-history, and the whole Bible
  • This is the most important thing to avoid serious misinterpretation or misapplication of Scripture!
  • Every pseudo-Christian cult thrives on taking verses OUT of context!
  • Much spiritual abuse, legalism, and moralism stem from failure to read in context
  • Reading in context prevents heresy and also avoids disappointment, for example wrongly claiming a promise of God for yourself that wasn’t meant for you

A Process for Reading in Context (merge this with the process for reading carefully)

• (3) Identify the complete “unit of thought” containing the passage.
  • There are natural divisions in every book of the Bible representing “complete:” thoughts before the author moves to the next thought.
  • Never study less than a complete unit of thought!
  • These can cross chapter barriers (because those aren’t inspired)
  • A unit of thought could be a paragraph, a chapter, or several chapters (especially Old Testament historical narratives)
• (4) Read the entire chapter(s) containing the passage, plus one chapter before and one after.
  • You won’t study those in the same depth, but you should read them to understand how your passage fits in.
  • Read the paragraphs just before and after your passage particularly closely 
  • Ideally read the whole book, but I understand (and study Bibles and other tools can help you with this through book summaries and outlines)
• (8) Think about how the passage fits into its immediate biblical context, then move outward
  • Pay particular attention to any connecting words into, out of, or within your passage – conjunctions, prepositions, etc.
  • Note any words in common between your passage and the surrounding material -> they may indicate themes that you can’t merely study in isolation, but that require broader study
  • Example – Jeremiah 29: 11 -great!
    • Now read Jeremiah 29: 10 – what???
    • Now read Jeremiah 29: 10-14 – then Jeremiah 29: 1
    • This is about God’s faithfulness to the remnant of His people in exile in Babylon, not you!
    • Does God still mean good things for you? Yes, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 2: 10 say so. But Jeremiah 29: 11 doesn’t!
  • Example – Matthew 18: 20 – are we really without God when we’re by ourselves?
    • Read Matthew 18: 15-20 -> this is about church discipline and the authority of a congregation of believers to determine who should be out of fellowship
  • Example – Matthew 7: 1 – should we really not judge?
    • Read Matthew 7: 1-6 -> we must judge with humble  honesty and without hypocrisy. We must confess and deal with our sins first before being ready to help another deal with theirs, but we absolutely have to judge to avoid casting pearls before swine

(continued principles)

• Principle: Let Scripture interpret Scripture if  you’re struggling to understand
  • Let clearer Scripture inform your understanding of less clear Scripture
  • God won’t contradict Himself and the Bible writers weren’t stupid
  • When we’re struggling and think something would contradict Scripture, it won’t.
  • Matthew 18: 20 appears to contradict Matthew 28 and elsewhere that God is always with us
    • There is abundant teaching about God’s presence with every Christian at all times
    • So study harder, and begin by doing deeper analysis of the context, as we did with Matthew 18: 20
  • Principle: Understand the author’s key themes and main ideas for the whole book
    • You can get  help with this from study Bibles and commentaries!
    • Think about how this passage fits into those themes and ideas
  • Principle: When studying what key words mean, do that in context
    • How that author typically uses those words being most relevant
    • Words have a range of meaning and often context is critical to  help us understand which particular meaning is intended

Questions/Discussion