Bible Study Methods--Not

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on

the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for

even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for

you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial.

Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and

glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry.

It has been some time since Esteban has been sitting here in the navigator seat.

I think the last time I was here, there was about six feet of snow out in the parking lot.

Was that what, May 5th?

I guess so.

It�s only been a couple weeks.

I did not know, Steve, that while we usually celebrate May 5th with

salsa and corn chips, right, Cinco de Mayo, 1818, 200 years ago,

Karl Marx was born, and his influence is still around.

I thought you were going to talk about the ship the French were sending to Mexico full of mayo.

Cinco de Mayo.

No, I was just thinking about the oppressed and the oppressors, and let�s just make everybody

fall into that category.

You�re either oppressed or you�re oppressors.

I think that�s kind of like introvert, extrovert.

I feel like one of the oppressors.

I�m sorry, the Peter Tosh song just went through my mind, �Down

Presser Man.

I�m not familiar with.

� I mean, I know who Peter Tosh is.

I don�t know.

Is he still alive?

No, he got murdered in his home.

Did he?

Yeah, he did.

But when you listen to his son, he sounds just like him.

What�s his name?

Hank?

Hank.

Hank Tosh.

No, I don�t think so.

I�m guessing Andrew is something like that.

Peter Andrew.

See?

Oh, yeah.

Biblical.

Yeah.

Uh -huh.

Uh -huh.

There were stories that Bob Marley on his deathbed believed on the real Lord Jesus Christ.

I hope that�s true.

Don�t you?

Yes.

That would be great.

Who was I just?

Oh, well, it�s a family tragedy that I don�t want to talk about right now, but

yeah, I mean, I never rejoice when anybody dies.

You know, that�s what I hate to see, that when someone dies and

then they�re, you everything that�s in their heart just comes out.

And so I hate to see that when people celebrate anybody�s death.

I know.

Well, what�s happened to me with social media, I have watched, Steve, the last two

weeks people going aggro crazy.

Seems like they�re taking, you know, they�re drinking Diet Cokes and caffeine all day, you know, and just

going crazy.

So while I like to throw a little crazy bomb in there once in a while, I have been restraining myself because

everybody else is too crazy.

They�re encroaching on my space.

Yeah.

In a world of, you know, .50 caliber machine guns, you�re just an AR -15.

I know.

So now I just don�t really, now it�s just like, I�ll just give a Machen quote.

That�s it.

It�s no fun anymore if you can�t critique people.

It�s really gotten bananas.

Although, I did see Beth Moore�s daughter said that, you know, �See, the Southern

Baptist Convention�s view of women and men, i .e. complementarianism, has

caused all this misogynistic XYZ stuff.

Somebody just sent me a message before I left the house this morning about, you know, the whole

Paige Patterson situation and, you know, and asked me, you know, is this

bad?

How bad is it?

And I�m like, well, it�s bad, right?

I think Mueller wrote a great big piece on it.

It�s bad because it verifies or

it gives credence to, I won�t say it verifies, but it gives credence to, you know,

people like Beth Moore�s daughter who want to believe the worst about

conservative Southern Baptists, which, you know, looks bad on evangelicals, which

ultimately looks bad on people who believe the Bible.

Steve, regarding that Paige Patterson issue, and for the listeners that don�t know, Paige was I think for,

I don�t know, 20, 30 years the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Long time.

And he was one of the key figures, if not the key figure, that helped Mueller and the other men

30 years ago turn around the Southern Baptist Convention and get conservatives at places like

Southwestern, Southeastern, and Southern.

Well, he said something 18 years ago, and I mean, you and I have talked about,

all right, what do we do here?

And my life is actually easier because you�re a retired policeman.

If something happens with some inappropriate action towards a child

or towards a lady or something like that, then we have obligations to call the police, right?

If someone has been violated in some way, shape, or form, and the law has been broken, well, that�s our

responsibility.

We can still minister to people, and we could still visit them in the prisons and do other

things, but we have obligations.

And I think while I�ve said dumb things 20 years ago and would hate to have them published around the world,

thankfully I haven�t said something like that because our job is clear.

We need to have the law upheld, keep people safe, and then there are

opportunities to minister to those behind the scenes.

Right.

I mean, you know, because I�ve actually taken people to jail for spousal

abuse and things like that, and California had a zero -tolerance law where basically it

was one of the few situations where we had no option, which is fine with me.

I mean, in my mind, I have zero tolerance for it, too.

Now, there is a separate issue of divorce, but I don�t even want to go down that rabbit hole.

But suffice it to say that there�s forgiveness for anything in this life, but

there are consequences for actions.

Temporal consequences, right.

And I think Page got himself into trouble by saying, �Well, the Lord could do this, in

this person�s life and in the marriage because of blah, blah, blah.

Well, I would just say on the flip side, if a husband does something that�s illegal and hurts

his wife or children, and we help her strengthen her

resolve to call the cops, or we call them, well, the Lord could work in the police,

you know, in the jail, too, right?

So you can�t use that excuse.

Yeah, he�s not constrained by the walls of the jail or the prison.

I know. I�m glad for that.

Well, Steve, today on No Compromise Radio, I found an article that I thought would be fun to discuss, and

Christianity Today, I know that�s one of your favorite particular articles.

Yeah.

Actually, I was reading it last night.

Yeah.

All right.

And it says, �CT Pastors.

� And this is a little extra, right?

If you subscribe to Velo News, then when the Tour de France comes around, they give you like a little insert,

extra stuff.

It was like a condiment, like a little, you know, extra spicy mustard pack that they just.

Threw in there.

And by the way, grab some of those mustard packs because you put those in your saddlebag, and if you ever get cramps, there�s some

vinegar and mustard, and it helps your cramps.

Pro tip.

Pro tip.

And this is �Wisdom and Tools for Your Calling.

And it has a particular article in here, and it�s called �Ideas for Improving Bible Engagement in Your

Church.

� Now, I�m interested in that.

Yeah.

Well, here�s one tip, idea for improving your Bible engagement in your church.

Teach the Bible.

Uh -huh.

Yeah, bring the Bible.

Yeah.

Actually, when I taught the high school group here a couple weeks ago, social media and how to be aware

of what your heart does with it, et cetera, I said, you know, it�s easier for me when I�m sitting and listening

to a sermon or the Bible being taught if I have a real Bible.

Because if I�ve got my tablet, I�ve got my phone, I�ve got something else, you know, they�ve got Bibles on those

things, but just push that button, and I can just check.

Multitask.

Uh -huh.

I can check the weather.

What will the weather be on Monday?

That�s important.

Yeah, it�s really important.

It�s way more important than whatever that guy is saying.

I know.

So JR, well, it just depends.

If they�re not preaching the Bible...

By the way, this is the pro tip.

If you�re ever at a church and you need to go there because you�re out of town or whatever, and you�re stuck, and you�re in the middle of it, and you�re in your front

seat, can�t get out, and the guy�s up there preaching, or the gal, maybe that�s a gal up there preaching,

I wouldn�t sit there probably for the gal.

But if I was listening to the guy and he was just off on a tangent, I usually just do things like open my Bible and

just read Jeremiah or something.

I might as well get something out of this.

So I�ll just do it myself.

You know, stand up and say to you, �Woe to you, Pharisees, hypocrites.

Well, sometimes when I translate that from the original Targum, it doesn�t come out so

well.

Nobody else seems to know what I�m saying.

Had to throw down the Targum card.

How to Encourage a Deeper Experience of Scripture is the subtitle, and it�s written by J. R.

Briggs.

Okay?

Is that Billy Bob Joe Briggs?

I don�t know.

There was a man named Briggs who came from Union Cemetery, though.

He was problematic.

That was a long time ago.

Well, we just skipped right to the section on page 19, ctpastors .com, Spring

2018 edition.

But you know, these things are transchronological.

Oh, yeah.

These principles.

Two centuries from now, these will be just as vital as they are today.

These are seven practical ways to foster Scripture engagement.

So, even that terminology �foster�...

Is it like �adopt ?

� I think it�s �adopt.

� Wasn�t there a comedian, Foster somebody?

Foster Brooks?

Foster Brooks, yeah.

That�s what I was thinking.

That�s bad.

All right.

Now, some of these may be good.

Some are bad.

We don�t know.

As you know, I know Compromised Radio Land.

We don�t script these shows.

Wait.

Well, what is this I�m looking at then, right?

I am not sure.

I think you�re one page behind.

Steve, dramatic pause.

Insert smoker�s cough and laugh here.

Number one, this is for fostering Scripture engagement.

Write out Scripture by hand.

Have people write out entire chapters or even books of the Bible.

This can be painstaking, but it slows us down to savor each word.

Well, if I want to write out Scripture, I�d rather do it by hand than some other way.

By ear, by foot, I don�t know.

I�ve seen people that have no hands and they write with their feet.

I was watching somebody paint with their feet the other day, and I�m just like, I can�t even

do that with my hands.

I can�t even envision doing that, so it is amazing.

Right.

Well, I thought I�d probably blast this article, and number four is going to be Lectio Divina, so we�ll get to the blasting part.

But if you do slow down when you read the Bible, however you incorporate that

slowing down, don�t you think that�s helpful?

It�s always helpful, and sometimes it�s just trying

to.

�I mean, one of the things I like to do is listen to it, read it.

Why?

Because even the different cadence will help me pick up things that I haven�t

seen before, I haven�t focused on.

So all those things are really helpful to me.

When I listen on Sunday morning to the public scripture reading, I usually know the passage,

and sometimes I�ve read it before the service or whatever, but if I�m not the one reading and I�m just in

the congregation, oftentimes I�ll just close my eyes because I�ve read it many times, but now I want to hear

it for those�and I know it�s not in the original language or anything, but still it�s

that tonality, that cadence that I�m listening, and I just think that�s a good

benefit.

What about people that only listen to their Bibles on�they get in the car, they listen to half of Matthew on the way to

work, but they never really open up their Bibles.

Would you give them a suggestion?

Well, again, I think because we all learn in different ways and we remember in different ways, and some of the things�like

I can a lot of times just visualize where something is on a page, and so

all these things help us, and so is one better than the other?

I don�t know.

I think they�re all helpful, and I think we should engage in every means that we can.

Sometimes when I really want to help my thought process, I get the ESV and the

NAS, turn it to the same chapter, and then I just switch words in the verse.

So, all Scripture, and just go back and forth from ESV to NAS to see how they match up.

That just triggered my ADD.

I watched that Adderall Netflix documentary, wow.

You know what, Steve?

If we just had some, we could do more shows in a day.

And simultaneously.

I know, I know, because let�s see, if we didn�t have to sleep, and let�s just factor in some breaks, half hour a show, we could

get 48 shows done.

We could get a year�s worth of Adderall shows done.

And right now, I�d be interrupting you and go, �Wait, wait, wait, I have another idea, and no, no, my thought�s better.

� And so we just pause that one and go to another one, and we need like three or four recorders, and then, you know, editors galore.

Well, speaking of which, why don�t we just write out the shows by hand?

Oh, chew over them.

I know, that�s right.

Number two, ask questions, even tough ones.

Read a passage, then ask people to write out 10 to 15 questions about the passage on a piece of paper.

Why did the woman ask that of Jesus?

What was running through Abraham�s mind when he was walking up the mountain to sacrifice Isaac?

You know what�s hard?

Is coming up with 15 questions about a given passage.

Try it sometime.

That is brutal.

I�m meeting with a couple for some marriage encouragement, marriage counseling.

They�re helping out.

And you know, after you�ve been married, they are, they are.

Actually, I have some of the same problems they do, right?

And I said, �Well, you guys have been married for a long time, let�s say 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, and,

you know, you just, it is God�s will for you to show thanks.

� We talked about that in 1 Thessalonians 5, �Rejoice always.

� What�s the second part of that?

Rejoice always something or other in everything, show thanks for

this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Oh, there�s something else.

Oh, what is it?

Rejoice always.

And again, I say, �Rejoice always.

� He�s just like, �Again, I say.

� Can you find that for me?

It�s 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 to 18.

Yes, I can.

Rejoice always.

It says, �Rejoice always.

Pray without ceasing.

� Oh, duh.

Okay.

Thank you.

And then what does it say?

�Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

� Okay, good.

Anyway, I said, �Instead of complaining or looking at the negative side of things, I�d like you to each

write out 30 things that you�re thankful for with your spouse, and it�s going to take you some time.

Don�t wait until the last minute.

� And then I said, �Well, we�re going to look at that list when we come to meet again.

� And I had each one kind of read the top five type of thing.

It just takes a while to sit and think and ask questions and ponder, and I guess we�ve lost our mind when it comes to

thinking, and the more thinking we can have with Scripture, the better.

Amen.

All right.

So far, so good.

Three.

Here�s where it goes south.

You know, here�s the thing.

If you have a five -point sermon, but only the first two points are biblical, just land the

plane.

Wouldn�t that be good advice?

That�d be excellent advice.

If you have a five -point sermon and only two of them are biblical, then you have a

two -point sermon.

That's exactly right.

You know, while I�ve criticized Haddon Robinson for some of the things he has written, God bless his soul,

he�s fine now, he was right when he said in

Leadership magazine, when they still had Bible articles, �Most heresy

that comes out of evangelical pulpits come in the form of application.

� You know, it�s just some kind of weird application.

And points four and five, probably.

Yeah, that�s right.

So here�s three.

According to CT pastors, J .R. Briggs.

Put yourself in the story.

He graduated from Union Seminary.

Putting you back into Union.

I�m just like, you know, I�m thinking about, you know, some of the stories in Judges, and I�m like, where exactly do I

fit in there?

How does that work?

Mm -hmm.

Well, you know, one time I imagined myself, speaking of Judges, I�m glad you brought that up, I imagined myself as

the jawbone.

And...

I got whiplash.

That's right.

And I just wanted to be a mighty instrument in the hand of a

spirit -filled man.

That�s deep.

That�s deep.

That�s jack -handy deep.

You can be the jawbone.

Be the jawbone.

Be the jawbone.

Hashtag, be the jawbone.

Well then, what would you be if you were the, you know, the bad, are you the bad hip in Jacob�s story?

Touched his hip, he�s got a limp.

Ooh.

Well.

Put yourself in that story.

Be the osteoporosis.

I don�t know what that is.

Well, you know, all those kings, whatever that man was who was the king, and he cut their toes off,

right?

And then they sat around the table, and then he cut his toes off.

What if I was one of the toes?

The council of the toes.

Okay, here it says, �Read a narrative passage of Scripture with a group of people.

� This is just a recipe for disaster.

Uh -huh.

�Then hold your breath for 10 minutes.

Divide the room into quarters, and assign people different characters in the story you just read.

Ask them to imagine themselves in the story as if it were happening.

Then read the story again and answer, have them answer the question.

So this is like a combination of �I said Jesus� and really bad theater.

Yeah, this would be, this would be Pictionary.

Extremely bad theater.

Mooy Mahal.

I think for Steve and I, for 30 years, we have joked about bad playhouse in Saturday Night Live with Ackroyd.

Quite bad.

Exceedingly bad.

Okay, tell our listeners, why is this bad to do, putting yourself in the

story?

Because you're not there, right?

I mean, we're supposed to, anytime we go to Scripture, we're supposed to get authorial intent.

What are the original writer intent?

Not what we imagine we might have done in that situation, or, you know, what would we have

experienced?

We're not there.

You're just not there.

So get yourself, you know, you should remove yourself from Scripture, unless you're

explicitly included.

Mm -hmm.

Well, what happens is, I think we are so selfish, I know I am, and we just, you know, look

through the world through the lens of our own eyes.

We try to put ourselves places that, you know, where were you when Jesus was on the cross?

Well, I mean, look, when I read a fictional book, right, what do I do?

I find myself so identifying with some of the characters that I, like, I become part of the book, and I'm sad when it's over.

Why?

Because my adventure is over, right?

Well, again, I'm not a character anywhere, you know, in the Bible, I'm just not there.

I'm not Samson, I'm not Joshua, I'm not, you know, Caleb, I'm not anybody.

I'm just not there.

Were you with Elijah when he was running from Jezebel?

No, and he should be thankful, because if he would have tried to help me, we both would have been….

So what we end up doing is, if we say to ourselves instead of number three, put yourself in the story,

I think you could say, what can I learn from the story, right?

What can I learn about God from the story, our sin, or how God deals with His people, our redemptive

historical theology, or something?

You can learn things, but I never just say to myself, I'm going to put myself in the story.

If I read an epistle that's meant to be read to churches, then I think, you know, that's being read

to me now as the Spirit of God applies those words, and when it says you, plural, I'm

included in that as the people of God.

But I don't go around.

I mean, think how many funny stories we could come up with if you just put yourself in the story.

Okay, Mike, you be Lazarus, okay, and I'm going to call you out of the tomb now.

Well, I'm just so sorry if I was Lazarus, I could have made a lot of money on the

circuit, on the TV heaven circuit.

That would have been just a shame.

He'd probably get really rich.

He's been to heaven and back, and he's seen little purple ponies and stuff, pink ponies,.

And see how that works.

It's trending on social media, Lazarus is back.

Number four, if it couldn't get worse, practice Lectio Divina.

Now it says here that Lectio Divina is sacred reading.

It is a way to prayerfully read a passage of Scripture slowly and repetitively, inviting the Holy

Spirit to reveal truth to us through four movements, reading, pondering, meditating,

praying, and living.

It's called Rome.

Yeah, this is a pagan practice that Rome

encourages.

Yes, but Steve, I want something more than just kind of prayers and bread

and wine, juice, or water, right, for baptism.

Can you please just, could we just have a little something more?

I like mazes.

You know, down the street they have a corn rose and stuff, a hedge rose, and you have to walk through the maze.

I feel like it's, you know, Bastogne or something in 1944, I got hedgerows.

This is, if I could say it this way, this is Christianized transcendental meditation.

You know, that's all this is.

This is Eastern mysticism masquerading as Christianity.

When my kids used to go to a particular Christian camp, I hate to mention the name, Mount Hermon, and

they had a Lectio Divina time, and then they had a maze walking and all that stuff.

I just told them to go take a walk or go to the snack bar.

They're like, really, Dad?

Yeah, just go down the snack bar.

Go to the snack bar.

You'll learn more at the snack bar than you were.

It's going to be more edifying paying $2 for an ice cream sandwich.

Yeah, and make sure you get Dad one.

Anyway, if you would like to study the scriptures, the main thing we can encourage you to do is just

take time, open your Bible, and read, right?

Back to the old Martin Holt quote, have you read your Bible today?

And you know, there are some days maybe you have to get up at 3 .30, go to the airport or something happens, but just day in and day

out, if you can establish a habit of reading the Bible, I think that would help you.

It would indeed, and if you have questions about the Bible, well, you can go to your pastor.

You can look at study Bibles.

There are all kinds of resources, you know, when passages are difficult, but it is

helpful to read, reread, and just try to learn on your own.

And if none of those suffice, you can go to the Purpose Driven Church Breakthrough 2018 conference with Rick Warren.

That'd be awesome.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West

Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of

God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us.

Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6.

We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by

phone at 508 -835 -3400.