Proper Interpretation of Scripture (05/27/2001)

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Pastor David Mitchell

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You did a good special today congregation Sounded good 2nd
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Timothy chapter 2 please verse 15 in our study of systematic theology
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We felt that the first Base that we really need is the proper understanding of the
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Word of God itself. And this is called Bibliology the study of what the
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Bible says about the Bible and And we finished we've we've spoken on a revelation inspiration
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Preservation and this morning we come to One additional topic dealing with the
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Bible itself and then when we finish this topic We feel we're ready to go into the great doctrines of the
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Bible however, this Topic is perhaps the most important From a practical viewpoint of any that we've discussed so far about the
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Bible itself And we're going to discuss for a Sunday or two or three the proper interpretation of the scriptures reason it may take that long is
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I want to give some actual examples of difficult passages or what some some have called difficult passages through the years and we'll even have all of us in the congregation go home and do some studies on these passages and We're going to introduce some principles of Bible interpretation that I feel that if we will use
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It'll be a great help. In fact, the people that don't understand these principles are often led astray
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Even on clear passages let alone the difficult passages. So we're going to spend some
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Sundays on proper Bible interpretation Let me give you a list the list of things that I believe need to be done
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We're not going to just really discuss these today But I want to give you a list of proper
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Bible interpretation Steps Today we're going to discuss
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Three habits of studying the Bible, but I want to go ahead and give you this list. So you'll know where we're headed and You don't necessarily have to jot these down because I am going to provide this for everybody
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But if it helps you remember go ahead and maybe Put it in shorthand or something this morning to get these points most
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People that I have read have listed around five of these I Have eight and I think you'll see
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I have all five of the ones that are listed universally By every conservative
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Bible scholar that I've ever read They all are in agreement on these five and I've added a couple that I think would even help us in addition
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So the first one Number one is we must understand the purpose of the
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Bible as a whole now that one's usually not listed But I think that's a good starting place and we've covered that in great
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Detail already as we've studied what the Bible teaches about itself The point is we need to approach the
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Bible as the very Word of God That God is the author of it man was the penman and God works together with man in so many endeavors on this planet, but God is the actual author and we must approach it from that point of view.
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We must believe in the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible Which means every word every jot and every tittle is as God wants it to be and then we took it further
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I believe as we studied he's also preserved it for us today So that we we need to understand what is the purpose of the
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Bible as a whole and We'll get we'll discuss a little bit of that point in more detail number two
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We must understand the distinctive character and message of each book of the Bible Because it helps us not to misinterpret something within that book each book of the
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Bible since God used Oh some 40 to 40. I don't remember exactly 40 to 44 different authors
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Spread over thousands of miles of terrain in some cases and thousands of years of history from different walks of life and God has used these
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Personalities and these people through which he gave his inspired word then we see that the different books have a certain characteristic in and of themselves and it's important to understand the character of the whole book before you begin to try to Interpret any particular verses within the book now, don't get me wrong
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I am where we're going is like the advanced course on on the Bible. I Believe that a baby
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Christian can take this book and just read it plainly and God will teach him every day So it's just that I'm not covering the milk right now.
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We're talking about meat. How do you get to the meat? How do you get to the deep things of God in your own personal
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Bible study? That's what this is all about It's not to say that we think that you have to be a seminarian I'm not one so I hope you don't have to be one brother
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Otis is not one But it's not that you have to be a seminarian or a Pope or priest to be able to know what
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God's saying That's not it at all It's just that as you grow When we understand the enemy and what he's attempting to do in our own lives and in the church
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He's attempting to take us off the track To just take us a little bit off if he has to do it a little bit and then get us to walk down the wrong direction
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Just a couple of degrees off But if you walk out there several miles, you'll be
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You know, you'll be far away from the line And so with that in mind, we need these principles as we grow and mature so a little parentheses there
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Let me get back to this. So number two is the distinctive character and message of each book
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In other words, how do you know when something is symbolized? Versus when you're supposed to take it literal
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Well, a lot of it has to do with the character of the particular book that you're studying.
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Oh, he's especially potent this morning, wasn't he? One of these days we're gonna hear that and disappear and it's gonna be the
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Trump. It's to the train Okay, number three to whom is a given scripture addressed
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Are their dispensational considerations? number four
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The con the immediate context that the verses are found in you should read at least the chapter You probably many times in the epistles of Paul I'll go back start the first and just Read all the way down to the passage so that we know the context and we don't make any mistake of the context number five consideration of all scripture
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Bearing on any given theme or passage you're trying to interpret. You've got to let the
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Bible interpret the Bible It is a consistent book there are no contradictions
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So it is a little bit frightening when you're a babe in the Lord when you're at the stage where you still
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You God is teaching you but you still don't know for sure how this fits in with the whole of the entire
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Bible And it takes years to get there some get there faster than others But you have to get a grasp of this eventually and don't be too dogmatic on your what you think something means until you get to the place where you're confident that you have compared it with all the scriptures and what the whole
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Bible says so that there's no contradiction in your personal interpretation If you're not there yet Then just let
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God teach you day by day and you'll get there you'll get to the place where when you see like if you hear someone teach something a red flag will go up because It's amazing how the
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Holy Spirit will bring another passage to your mind that you've you've been there and you know that what he's saying doesn't fit and So the
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Bible is the best thing to interpret the Bible number six Discovery of the exact meaning of the key words in the text
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In all the words of key words, even a little word of indeed sometimes key words
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So we do a grammatical study as well and you need us good strong concordance is the first tool it's there are many more tools than that, but That's the first good tool to use get if you have a computer get good
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Bible software that has a strong concordance in it where you can look at the Greek you can look at The definitions of the word in Greek and sometimes after I do that I'll take the words that the
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Greek says it means and I'll go look in Webster's dictionary get the English Definitions of those so you want to make sure that we're interpreting though I mean we're translating not translating that we understand the meanings of the words themselves
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But also the grammar involved and so forth and then seventh
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What have other Saints of God in the past learned about this passage? That's usually not included in this study by most but I've included it because I think it's important because there's a verse that says we're
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Not to have a private interpretation None of us in this room have the calling of an
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Apostle We Don't have the right To invent something new out of some people something people have been studying for 2 ,000 years
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Just from the New Testament point of view alone We if we think God has taught us something new that's unique and he can do that by the way
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Because even Jesus said that a good teacher will teach both old and new Will come out of his teaching doesn't mean it's really new it means it's first time
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I've seen it or you've seen it But it's very very smart to go back and read as many commentaries as you can find going back as many years ago as you can find to find out if others have had an opinion on this passage and If yours is totally different than anything anybody's ever seen in it
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You have to ask why did these godly Saints not see this and be honest that make sure that you're not doing your own private
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Interpretation just because it feels good to you Or you think that sounds good or you really think you got something new and there's a certain spiritual pride involved there that you have
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To watch that you're going to teach this new thing to other people If you know there should be someone who's spoken on it now when you get into the book of Revelation in the end times
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You're not going to get a lot of help there in the commentaries because I didn't frankly don't think they could see it
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Hardly at all until especially until the Nation of Israel was reformed in the 1940s
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So there's been a lot of additional light I think given to those who have studied those books in recent days
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But other than that, you should be able to go back and then the last point is the necessity of avoiding personal prejudices
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We get our favorite idea of what a certain doctrine is And we won't change it no matter what scripture people show us and that's a bad trade.
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We need to be honest We need to understand that we may have learned what we learned from a teacher or a seminary or or maybe a
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Commentary from a person we really loved and we just grabbed that and said man This is it
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But we did not search the whole scripture and someone who has on that particular subject brings a point of a problem
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To us and says well your interpretation doesn't fit this over here and you've never seen it before be honest enough to re -examine it
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In the light of what the person is showing you or what God may have shown you the passage himself never get so Possessive of your box that you have
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God in that you can't understand God's bigger than that box and that you can learn from all people as long as they're
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God's children as They may share scriptures and what God's taught them and so forth. I respect brother
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Otis so much because I've known very few men who would change anything even if you showed him clear scriptures and Certainly the older we get the less likely we are to change because we've studied and re -studied and re -studied and so forth
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But brother Otis is a person that if you show him what the Bible says He'll change in a moment if it's clear that the
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Bible actually Contradicts a belief that he's held for years and I I try to be that way and I want you to be that way as well
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We have to balance that with not being wishy -washy But I think if you're keeping these principles, you won't be wishy -washy if you're doing these principles you'll just be honest and realize you just didn't know it all and God can teach us new things both from other people of God and brothers and sisters in Christ and Certainly in your own private studies the
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Holy Spirit which revealed things to you. So those are the eight principles. We'll study later To introduce this topic though,
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I want to talk about three habits There are three habits, which we must form in order to have any hope of growing in the knowledge of the scriptures and the knowledge of the
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Lord and in order to avoid unlearned interpretations of passages
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First of all the study of the habit of study Secondly the habit of searching and thirdly the habit of separating in other words
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Rightly dividing the word of truth study Search and separate three habits that are indispensable.
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Let's go to the scriptures now and look at some of these first of all Let's think about studying There are only two places in the
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New Testament where the word study is used in the English language Let's look at them turn to Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 11.
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I told you 2nd Timothy 2 15 That's where we're gonna be in a minute because you all know that verse about study but look at 1st
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Thessalonians 4 11 As I said, there are only two places this word is found.
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This is one of them And you might miss why this has anything to do with proper
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Bible interpretation And it is I think subtle but I think you'll it is important to look at this since it's one of the only two
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Places the word study is actually used in the English New Testament 1st Thessalonians 4 11 says this and that you study and there's our word
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Study to be quiet and to do your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you
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That you may walk honestly toward them that are without that means the world out there though just the world at large
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And that you may have lack of nothing Now the two places we see the word study.
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There are different Greek words. Let me give you this one this
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Greek word It's easy to say to myself.
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It's quite a challenge to say it out loud I think you'll see what I try to say it But it's important for me to give you the word because it's made up of two smaller words but it is
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Below team a oh may he I got it It's a long word and that's because it consists of two
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Greek words, but I want you to I wanted to say it out loud because I want you to see if you recognize the first Part of it this below It Comes from can you think of a shorter
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Greek word we've studied before I give you a hint it has to do with love right
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It's that friendship kind of love where Jesus said Peter. Do you agape me and Peter answered back said
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Lord? I fillet. Oh you I Like you a lot So the
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Greek language has different Dimensions of the word love, but they're very specific and that's what this
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Philo that the word begins with is it means to be fond of now the last part of the word means honor
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So when you put it together this word means to be fond of honor and yet it's translated to the
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English study to be quiet now the Concept of the word study here means that you're a person who studies because you desire to please
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Have you ever had a teacher that was maybe the most stern teacher you ever had and yet That's the one you performed for the best and you made an
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A in that class because you wanted to prove to them That that you were a good student I've had several like that and those tend to be the ones that come back in my mind those particular teachers and I desired to please that teacher
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Children learn the best and do the best with their parents when they have a heart that desires to please the parent or the teacher
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And that's kind of the root meaning of this word. And so to do desire to please the
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Lord It is a way of saying that we study to do this thing that God is telling us to do and what he's telling us to Do is to be quiet and to do our own business.
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Now, let's look at this just a moment this word quiet Literally means to keep still and to refrain refrain from meddlesomeness or to refrain from speech
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It comes from a smaller root word in the Greek language, which means keeping one's seat in other words keeping one's place
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To be still to be both undisturbed and undisturbing and That's what this word means.
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Our father commands us here to be quiet and to study to be quiet What does he mean?
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He means if you want to work at pleasing me You will study to be quiet Now why because he says what we are to do is to do our own business and To walk to work with our own hands and you notice how this phrase
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To do your own business fits in perfectly with the Greek definition of the word to study here to be quiet To do your own business to be quiet means to keep one's place
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To not be meddlesome to neither disturb or be disturbed and you see how that fits in with this idea of doing your own business
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Focus on the thing at hand that God has given you in your life You remember how I discussed this in our study on gifts not too long ago
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I said if we would focus on the gift that God has given us and Work to that end and realize that others have different gifts and allow them to work to that end
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Then the body functions and God's will is done and things are changed in the world around us
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To do your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you. So this is not a suggestion.
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It's a command and Why why does God say we should do this look at verse 12?
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Two reasons one that you can walk honestly towards those that are on the outside But secondly that you may have lack of nothing now we would immediately
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Interpret that to mean in the physical realm because obviously if we work with our hands if we work for a living then we don't lack what we need
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But it goes beyond that into the spiritual realm because if you remember when we studied the gifts Do you remember how
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Paul spoke of a certain church? And I'm sorry, but I tried to find that on the way to church because it this crossed my mind just on the way
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Couldn't find it. But I imagine it's in Corinthians somewhere around 1st Corinthians 13 or 14 Where he said that you have lack of you've come short and no gift you have lack of nothing
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You remember that because we it was in a sermon not too long ago You have lack of nothing was the exact phrase and a reference of the gifts that God gives and I believe what
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God is teaching us here is that if we study to be Quiet and to focus on our own things and not be meddlesome
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That God reveals more and he will grow grow the gift that we have to a place where we're of great service in the
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Lord's hand and We have a good standing with those on the outside because we're making a living like God teaches all men to do
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So that takes care of the physical and I think a bit of the spiritual But now let's look at our second place turn to 2nd
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Timothy chapter I'm sorry 2nd Timothy 2 14
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Now this is the second place where we see the word study this is a different Greek word Let me go ahead and give that to you.
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It's the words who dates though, which means to use speed To use speed is literally what it means to make an effort to be prompt or earnest
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So think about that as we read the verse together Verse 14 says of these things put them in remembrance
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Charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit but to the subverting of hearers
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Study to show thyself approved unto God use speed make an effort
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Be prompt and earnest in studying to show ourselves approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed because you will know the proper interpretation and Rightly dividing the word of truth.
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This is where we get our third habit, which we won't cover it today But it has to is separating The word dividing the word of truth
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But shun profane and vain babblings for they will increase into further ungodliness.
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Now, there's a lot right here in this little passage Only study of this kind Can cause one to be able to discern the truth from the babblings of those who have not studied
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Does that make sense? I think brother Otis mentioned something along those lines in Sunday school this morning Let me say this.
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I'd like to make a suggestion for and and I Will make the suggestion for our
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Sunday school here at church I think it's a good suggestion and I didn't get to discuss this with brother
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Otis. So I say this Hoping that I get his blessing on this in his home
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Bible studies or any Bible study where God has gifted you with a teacher a man of God if it's a study where you have both men and women together a man of God who
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Has been blessed with the grace and the gift of teaching and in cases where the women get together
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I think Titus gives us clear example where women are to teach other women, especially in areas of marriage and home and and All of those different areas in the practical aspects of life if God has gifted us with a teacher
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The predominant Bible method for teaching is an exhortation or a
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Bible lesson That's taught by the teacher Now when we come to a place in our
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Bible studies where questions are allowed Which you'll notice brother Otis allows that more than I do
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It's because he's studied more than I have for 40 years and he feels he's equipped to handle almost anything you throw out there
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I'm not gonna give you a shot at me because I like to go home and study something before I answer it but He does he does allow this and I think this is fine
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But let me make this point and I think this scripture bears on it if you read this carefully from verse 14 through verse 16 and That is this
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Comments and opinions Should not be made unless due diligence has been done on the passage under discussion
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I Think far too often we'll speak up just because we like to participate and that's good and you know that's a matter of personality in many cases because there are just as many of us who don't ever say anything because we don't like to participate and So that's personality and we want to be a part of it and I'm one of those
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I mean, I'll I like to speak up and just be a part of the whole thing that's going on because I enjoy it so much
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Those of us who are like that need to be a little more careful because what we need to make sure is before we make when with that when the master teacher is teaching and We make a comment about the lesson if we have not studied according to the eight points that I mentioned
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Then we're making a suggestion not speaking a truth and Yet the others in the class may think that our opinions just as worthy as the one who spent all week studying that particular topic
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And usually it's not now sometimes it is but usually it's not so be very careful when we make comments about opinions in a
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Bible class Unless you have already studied that as much as you think the teacher has now
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I don't mean as many years But I mean if he if he studied it for several hours that week to prepare for the message
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You should have studied it for the for several hours gone through the eight steps We just mentioned with the passage before you make some kind of statement about it
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I believe because it just leads to confusion. In fact verse 16 says it can lead to ungodliness
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It can lead to contention and strife in the church So let's have a little bit of discipline in our
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Sunday school classes And I believe brother Otis would agree with that in his home classes as well That if you're gonna make a comment make sure you studied first don't make the comment first and go home and study later
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Because you may lead some brand -new Christian I remember the first time
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Marianne and Burge came to class It was a wonderful class and I remember details about it
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What if? Someone in the class had made a comment on something in the lesson that was way off the wall because they hadn't studied it
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Virgin Marianne may have said well, you know, these people may have studied for years now These guys don't even know which one's the truth and they may have never come back
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Now that didn't happen turned out to be a great time and they came back So we have to be very careful that we don't just throw things out without proper study
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I think you'd agree with me if you reflect on that a little bit Now if the eight steps have been carried out in these three habits that I'm discussing this morning have been done
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If they haven't been done, it's best to remain quiet Study to be quiet Now if they have been done and the teacher allows then a comment would be appropriate and even helpful and beneficial
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Otherwise go home and give it the same diligence that the teacher did come back to either to class or to Since that lessons probably over it's probably best to go to the teacher privately and discuss it
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I believe that's the best method for this church or for any church, but we can't say what everybody else does
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I think it follows 2nd Timothy 2 14 through 16 very well so It ends up with 17 and 18
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It says in their word will eat as doth a canker and he lists a couple of false teachers by name
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Wouldn't you hate to be those people? I mean he named them in verse 18 These two false teachers were teaching that the resurrection had already passed and they were leading people straying causing their faith to be damaged according to Apostle Paul, so These principles of interpretation need to be used before we make
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The statements about scriptures So the first great habit then is to study it is a twofold habit studying to be quiet Studying to work with our own hands to do our own business and to mind not the things of the other folks around us
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But to mind what God is doing in our own life That doesn't mean we're not supposed to watch out with concern over our brothers and sisters as it says in Ephesians 6 where it deals with spiritual warfare and says to pray and watch earnestly as The devil roams about as a lion seeking whom he may devour you have the right to be concerned and watch for your brothers and sisters
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Don't want you to misunderstand that and if you think you see a problem in their countenance or in their body language and things don't seem to be
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Going well pray about that because God may want you to have a word with them But we have to be very careful that we don't nose into their business as well
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That becomes a busy body and we're not being quiet as we should be. So what is it? But what does that take us to how do we know what's right thing to do?
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The Holy Spirit of God and the Word of God and that's the only way there's no easy answer on it
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You just have to go with it with the attitude of helping the other person
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The other thing is to make hate make haste and study the scriptures to redeem the time for the days are evil
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Make sure you're always studying You'll never get to the place where you know The whole of the scriptures to help interpret the part if you don't study every day and keep studying so the first aspect is to Study, the second aspect is to search and Turn to John chapter 5 in verse 37
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I'm just going to introduce this because we're out of time. I'm going to introduce this and we'll study this next Sunday Well, we won't either we're gonna study whatever brother
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Myron brings next Sunday, but after that we'll come back to this Study search and separate just remember those three habits
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To introduce this idea of searching John chapter 5 verse 37 says and the father himself
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Which hath sent me hath borne witness of me Ye have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape and Ye have not his word
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Abiding in you for whom he hath sent him you believe not Search the scriptures
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Jesus says For in them you think you have eternal life and they are they which testify of me and you will not come to me that you
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Might have life He teaches us to search the scriptures, but what are we searching for in the scriptures
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Jesus? You remember the first principle in Bible interpretation was to know the whole purpose of the whole of the
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Bible I believe it is that we might search and find the message and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ So he tells us to search this word literally means to seek or to investigate
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It's a strong word in the Greek language Psalm 77 5 talks about Communing with the heart and David says my spirit made diligent search
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Jeremiah 2911 says for I know the thoughts that I think toward you say the Lord thoughts of peace and not able to give you an expected end
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Then shall you call upon me and he shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you and ye shall seek me and find me when
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You shall search for me and that's something this does not just come because we got to say folks this comes from diligence and a searching and an investigation of the
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Word of God first Peter 1 10 says and of which salvation the prophets have inquired and Searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come to us
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Next Sunday morning. I'm going to speak to you a little bit on searching and we may if we have time we probably won't though probably be entirely on searching but we may introduce the the separating dividing but We'll specifically talk about how do we properly search?
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How do we build that habit? Let's have a word of prayer together stick go ahead and stand and we'll
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Have a word of prayer together be dismissed Study to be quiet and study
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Make speed to study those scriptures The great key to having good study habits.
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Let's pray father. We Asked that you would bless our lesson today that we would build these habits
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We know that we can only do that by your working in us causing us to will and to do your good pleasure
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And we ask that your Holy Spirit would move in our hearts and give us a hunger and thirst for the
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Word of God that We would search as the prophets of old diligently searched to find out this great
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Salvation of grace that we now know that they looked into and could just vaguely see it Thank you for the revelations that you've given us through the
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New Testament that they didn't have Help us not to waste a single day or week or month of our life when we could be studying and searching these beautiful things that you've given us and Lord, we ask you to bless the lesson in our lives in the sense that we would use it in a practical way and Open our eyes as we continue this lesson of these habits of searching and then
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Separating and dividing the Word of God properly And help us to know the true sense of even what you mean by that and father