Biblical Interpretation

Want to learn more about Biblical Interpretation? Use these Bible Studies for personal devotion, group Bible studies, or teaching a church class. Below are links to the lessons in this 13-part series.

Introduction: Do you know how the Bible you use for this study came into existence? Some think that the King James Version is the original. In fact, there were several English translations before the KJV. And, of course, English was not the language in which th...

Introduction: How we approach studying the Bible is critical to a correct understanding of it. Take our last study on Daniel as an example. In Daniel 2 we found him interpreting a vision revealing the basic outline of the whole sweep of history - including...

Introduction: I am so accustomed to thinking of the Old and New Testaments as one Bible, that I have to remind myself that any reference in the New Testament to "Scripture," is a reference to the Old Testament. How Jesus and His disciples understood the Old...

Introduction: All of our studies are centered on the Bible. Every question starts with reading a text. Not every church or every study group has this kind of focus. I recall visiting a Sabbath School class where everyone sat in a circle. They all had a Bi...

Introduction: Have you thought about how you understand the Bible? I doubt that anyone would naturally use only the Bible to understand the Bible. My understanding of what the Bible teaches about God increased when I became a parent. Nature teaches me abo...

Introduction: My granddaughters are beginning readers. I watched a video of one of them reading her Bible. When she faced a more difficult word, she would sound out the letters, and then consider whether that word made sense in that sentence. We should never get...

Introduction: Assume that you have a child you have never met. You have the opportunity to contact that child through a letter. What would you tell that child? How would you go about deciding what is most important to say? Would you use language that is e...

Introduction: We have been looking at Genesis in the last few lessons, but this week we will go deeper into the Creation and the conclusions that flow from it. Interpreting Genesis as a historical account, as opposed to an analogy, or worse a myth, is essential to...

Introduction: Are Genesis and Science at odds with each other? If you say, "yes," it should not be that way. As we have previously discussed, Psalms 19:1 tells us that the heavens and the earth declare God's glory. Central to the glory of God is His Creation. So,...

Introduction: In many situations we need context to properly understand something. The Bible provides a historical context for our world-view. We know that problems exist for two reasons: Satan, and our decision to choose him over God. We know that God will, becau...

Introduction: Has anyone recently commented "I told you so?" What do you think about that person? Sometimes I don't like that (especially where I was wrong), but I notice this. If a person is consistently right, I pay more attention then to people who are consiste...

Introduction: How do we make the Bible easier to understand? A good starting place is to use a Bible that you can understand! I've long thought that the saints who argue for the most difficult to read Bible, and try to force it on others, are doing the Devil's wor...

Introduction: Most all employees get evaluated by their supervisors. That happens to me, too. I am also evaluated by my students. My law school teaching started late in life, after decades of litigating. As a result, a consistent comment by my students is "He know...