If the Bible book we have chosen is James, we could get an analysis something like this; Salutation 1:1 Temptation 1:2-18 attitudes toward it (2-4); prayer to overcome it (5-8); temptation from riches (9-11); practical workings of temptation (12-18). Truth and Practice 1:19-27 humility needed (19-21); activity required (22-25); practice tested (26 & 27). Sin of Snobbery 2:1-13 human values false (1-4); Divine values true (5-7); results of judgment (8-13). Faith Must be Practical 2:14-26 faith without works (14-17); faith with works (18- 20); works show faith (21-26). Use of the Tongue 3:1-12 its power (1-6); its danger (7-12). Wisdom and Human Harmony 3:13-18 test of wisdom (13); false wisdom (14-16); true wisdom (17 & 18). Strife Among Men 4:1-12 causes (1-6); remedy (7-12). False Attitudes 4:13-5:12 excluding God (13-17); trust in riches (5:1-6); im patience (7-12). Christian Attitudes 5:13-20 when happy (13); sick (14 & 15); troubled (16-18); evangelize (19 & 20). We next seek a clearer understanding of each paragraph of the book. A Bible with references is essential here. As the Scripture has one ultimate Author, the Holy Spirit, we can increase our under standing of any passage by comparing Scripture with Scripture. We identify the passage for comparison from the references, usually printed in a central col umn. The best version for this purpose is The New Testament in the Revised Version of 1881 with Fuller References. Then we shall need a small box of tools for Bible study, such as a Bible Atlas, a Concordance, prefer ably Strong’s or Young's, and a Bible Dictionary. Also, to help our search for Bible references we need the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Rightly used, these tools will improve our under standing and stir our interest enormously. We shall see more significance in a paragraph when we learn such geographical and historical details that show how Jerusalem appeared to men in our Lord’s day. A good Bible Atlas that has information as well as maps will tell us its relationships with other places and something of its conditions. A Bible dictionary will tell us still more about the city. When we meet an Eastern custom, we need to consult our Bible dictionaries or we might fail to understand or even misunderstand what is discussed. The Bible has stories of all sorts of men and women. These people, and it is reckoned there are nearly 3,000 of them, when studied in their own situations and local environment, have vital lessons NOVEMBER, 1970
to teach us. They reveal God’s ways with men, ways that reflect the faithfulness of an unchanging God. Every Bible character of whom we have more than the mere name has at least one lesson to teach, usual ly, a lesson others do not teach. Some men will guide us; others will warn us, but all can teach us much. In choosing our first characters to study, we need to avoid one supplying oceans of material such as the Apostle Paul. The abundance could drown us. We should also avoid one of whom we read little or we might find our early biographical studies barren. From the Old Testament we could select Daniel, Ruth, Caleb, Noah or Enoch. From the New Testa ment, a suitable person would be John the Baptist, Andrew, Barnabas, Demas, or (evangelist) Philip. Having chosen the character, we must note all Bible passages that refer to him. We can get this information from the entry in the Bible Dictionary and from the concordance or Topical Bible references to him. We must take care that while we have all the references to the man, we avoid confusing two people by the same name. There are seven Marys, five Johns and more than one Micah in the Bible. Next, we ask many questions of the character. What does his name mean? Unlike curent names, biblical characters had names that were significant. A Bible Dictionary or certain concordances will give this information. What was his background? We must know how and where a man lived to assess his actions rightly. A Bible Dictionary should help us to outline this. What were the most important traits in his char acter? We list virtues or vices and add the appropri ate reference. What influence did he exert on other individuals? What part did God have in his life? What is the main lesson to be learned from him? If we had chosen Andrew, the information we discovered could have included the following. Name means “ manly” ; was a fisherman; was a man who was prepared to take second place; strong faith in Christ (John 6:8 & 9; 12:22); influenced Peter, who became leading apostle; brought boy (John 6) and Greeks (John 12) to Jesus. The Lord endorsed his introductions; shows us what vital work an individual can do. Bible doctrines form the basis of Christian belief. Bible study of specific doctrines, while difficult, is most valuable in a day when many Christians do not know precisely what they believe or why they believe it. We begin by collecting all the biblical references on the subject. This can be done by using an analyti cal concordance, a topical Bible and a Bible Diction ary, in that order. We examine the biblical references and by com paring the different statements, we can see what they have in common and where they differ. Using extra- biblical helps if necessary, we can make a clear and concise statement of the meaning of the term used. 35
1
! i
Made with FlippingBook Online document