what the Bible says about Bible study

Understanding the Bible requires nothing more than the Bible itself^1,3,6,9 and reading it¹¹ with a diligent, open, seeking heart^2,6,8,10. With our prayer to God for understanding^4,7, He has promised that we will find (or, know) Him^8,9,10. It is, in fact, the only way we can know His will for us^1,7,9 and importantly, does not require any special talents or education¹². God intended that the gospel message was simple¹⁴.

Of course, the word may travel by way of a teacher¹³ or preacher⁶ (false teachers beware!!¹³). There are some portions or topics that are more difficult⁵ than others, but Scripture’s promise^3,10 is that we can grow in the truth⁹ with careful, diligent reading^2,6,11.

The Bible is the complete revelation of God^{1,2,6,7,9,10,11,12,13}. While there was a time God spoke to man through prophets^5,8, that time was replaced by the gospel revelation through His son, Jesus Christ and His time on earth^5,9,10 and His appointed apostles^9,10,11,13.

As of the first century, God’s word had been proclaimed throughout the whole world^4,6,8. If the word was sufficiently complete in the first century to save individuals^{1,3,4,6,8,9,10,11,12}, how is it any less complete now and why would it be necessary for God to reveal more? The foundation^9,12 would not still be being laid some 2,000 years later.

God said that scripture interprets scripture^{1,2,5,6,11,12,15}. Furthermore, it is the only practice for interpretation we see in the Bible^{3,4,7,8,9,10,13,14}. We never see someone consulting alternative sources or human wisdom. In fact, we are commanded not to go beyond what is written¹⁵. Its entirety forms a complete picture^{2,8,9,10,12,13}. The very idea that God is the sole author^1,6 forces the conclusion that Scripture cannot contradict itself⁵ and must also fully interpret itself since God cannot lie. Of course, we still must draw conclusions and/or teach/explain as needed^7,9,14. Jesus required the lawyer to form a conclusion after reading it¹⁰ (and only it¹⁵). Scripture is the sole source for morality and obedience…it was this way for those under the Law^3,4,7,8,10 (“Scripture” for that time) as well as for those (like Timothy¹ and us) under the Gospel^{9,11,13,14,15}.

We can only interpret prophecy to the extent that God, through another inspired writer^2,4,6, or “what is written”⁸, has revealed what it means¹. For example, we have cases where we would never even think to make application on our own, and yet the inspired writer does⁵. In fact, interpreting Bible prophecy and how we handle it in general is the ultimate example of how Scripture interprets Scripture, or literally, God interprets God¹.

There is no precedent in Scripture for “Scripture Weighting.” Quite the contrary. All Scripture is divine and perfect^1,7; they are His words⁵. God is the sole author^1,5. Further, it is only when taken in its entirety that we get a complete picture^2,7. It is consistently put forward as equal weight since “all” is always the standard for understanding — Old^4,6 and New^1,3. Never has God said, “Read it all, but you really only need to focus here.”

May we never scripture weight – whether by authorship, testament, or presupposition. Instead, seek to gather all that Scripture has to say on the matter and only then make careful conclusions.

The effect of God’s word is to sanctify believers⁵, bringing them into a peace with God¹⁷ and ulimately saving them^4,10,11,14. It is never failing^3,4. However, the effect of God’s word can also be destructive^2,9, causing division^7,8,11, animosity^12,13,16, physical death for those that speak it^14,15, and ultimately spiritual death^6,8,9,11 to those that refuse it.