Basic Tools for Bible Interpretation (Pt. 1) – Paul M. Williams

Knowing the Bible for Yourself (Pt. 2)

It will never do to be hearers of the word only and not doers of it; James makes this very clear (Jms 1:22).  Yet at the same time, to be a doer of the word without first hearing what is being asked is to walk in ignorance.  How many, armed with good intentions and loaded with zeal have gone out of the starting blocks with pace, only to be later disqualified because they were in breach of the rules.  You cannot compete in a race without obeying the rules and you cannot obey the rules unless you first know what those rules are.  Thus, it is incumbent upon us as students of the Word of God, to rightly divide (Grk. to cut straight) the word of truth that we might not be ashamed (2 Tim. 2:15).    

If the Bible was a single book, composed by a single contemporary author, that would be one thing.  If we had any questions or doubts about the meaning of what is written, we could simply ask the author.  What happens when you have a book written by upwards of forty different authors, across a number of continents with the earliest of these writing some 3500 years ago?  In this second teaching part, we explore the role of dictionaries and commentaries in serving to better aid our study of the Bible, especially when bridging the gulf of history and culture.

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