INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
Many Christians today are woefully ignorant on how to
properly study the Book that gives us the promise of eternal life. I had
a dispute with a young man just the other day on the Doctrine of Salvation.
He felt (as do many self-righteous Legalists do) that salvation doesn’t
just come by faith in Jesus, but that you must have faith plus do certain
other things to be saved. One of those things was to be baptized. I have
asked others that assert you must do other things to be saved about the
thief on the cross next to Jesus, if that man was truly saved. The responses
I usually get are “but faith without works is dead”, or they quote the
scripture “he who believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that
believeth not shall be lost”. They then look smugly at me and say, “see,
you have to be baptized to be saved”. I refuse to get into an argument
about the Bible with any Christian, especially one whose mind is closed.
Try to argue with a Jehovah’s Witness or a Mormon sometime, and see how
upset and turned around their muddle and ‘another testament of Jesus Christ’
will get you. The divisions that abound in the Christian Church would
quickly melt if all believers (and I do believe this young man is a saved,
but misguided individual) approached the Word of God as reverently as
it deserves to be approached. Make yourself put away your foolish preconceived
notions and prejudices, instead recognizing this:
#1. All Scripture is divinely inspired, completely true in all that
it asserts. (Hebrews 4.12; 2 Timothy 3.16-17)
#2. I am a fallible and sinful creature, but Scripture is God’s written
Word. Scripture is of no PRIVATE INTERPRETATION (2 Peter 1.20-21). I
must avoid ‘filling in the blanks’ when studying the Bible, but God's
Word must interpret God's Word, comparing text with text, "Line upon
Line, and precept upon precept". (Isaiah 28.10-13).
#3. I need to bring the following basic tools to my Bible study time:
A willing heart to study; quiet time set aside dedicated for study;
a Bible; and all known sin in my life confessed and repented of to God
(1 John 1.8-9), so that I might experience the the Filling power of
the Holy Spirit. (John 16.7-13).
#4. I need to constantly look for and be aware of the four contexts
that are found in Scripture, which are: Immediate, Topical, Historical,
and Linguistic (original language of the Bible).
The remainder of this study will show you how to apply proper study
methods to Bible texts, so that you can grow in the grace and nurture
of our Lord. Oh, by the way, when I was young I was just like that young
man, so sure of my own spiritual superiority that I believed I could
work my way into heaven. Only when I put aside the preconceived notions
of the Holiness Elders did I read, much to my eternal delight:
(Ephesians 2.8-9) “For by Grace are ye saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that
we should walk in them..”
We are saved by glorious Grace alone, a free gift from our eternal
Creator. This Grace comes when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior,
and then He (not we) re-creates us to do good works. The works do not
save us, but are a natural by-product of our salvation. Praise God for
the unspeakable riches of His Work in us. Get your Bible, and let’s
start this study!
APPLIED INTERPRETATION
Refer to: 2 Peter 2.19-22
(-) Who is the DOG and the SOW referred to? Is it believer or unbeliever?
(-) Does the text dispute the doctrine of Eternal Security?
Immediate Context: "...(vvs 22) the dog is turned to his own
vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing."
Topical Context: John 10.1-18; 2 Corinthians 5.17;Christians
are new creations in Christ, sheep not dogs or pigs. Context
clearly refers to someone who had never truly accepted Christ as Savior.
Refer to: Mark 16.16
(-) Is baptism necessary for salvation?
Immediate Context: Baptism is mentioned in the positive part
of the verse, but not in the negative, condemnation part of the text.
Was also spoken by Christ following His resurrection.
Topical Context: Luke 23.43, the thief on the cross was saved
by faith alone, as promised by Jesus. 1Corinthians 1.14-17, Paul taught
that though baptism was important, it was by no means the reason he
preached the Gospel. Water Baptism therefore does not save, only faith
in Jesus Christ.
Refer to: James 2.17-20
(-) Are works necessary to produce salvation in the believer's life?
Historical Context: James wrote to the Church at Asia Minor,
a Church infiltrated by the false doctrine of Gnosticism. The Gnostics
taught that once you were saved, you were then free under Grace to "do
whatever felt good". James emphasizes that a truly saved person will
naturally produce works that prove his salvation.
Topical Context: Matthew 7.15-23, Jesus taught that those who
were His sheep, saved by faith, would naturally produce good fruit as
evidence of their salvation. James is not teaching a "works salvation",
but rather a "salvation that works".
Refer to: Isaiah 48.12-16
(-) Who is the Speaker in this context?
Topical Context: Revelation 22.6-13, Jesus is the Alpha and
Omega, the Beginning and the End. The context of Isaiah gives conclusive
proof of the Trinity of God.
Refer to: 1 Corinthians 15.28-29
(-) Does the text teach baptism of the dead (a Catholic teaching)?
Linguistic Context:
(vvs 29) "..Else what shall they do which are baptized for (Greek
HUPER, causual sense, translated 'because of' ) the dead, if the
dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for (Greek HUPER,
causual sense, translated 'because of' ) the dead?..."
Rather than teaching baptism of a dead body, Paul is recognizing that
there are instances when people are led to salvation by witnessing the
death of a Christian loved one. Paul is in essence asking, "If there
is no resurrection, then why are people being led to Christ by the death
of a loved one?"
Refer to: Revelation 22.18-19
(-) Does this text teach that you can lose your salvation?
Linguistic Context: "...(vvs 19) God shall take away his part
(Greek MEROS, meaning 'division, share, reward' ) out of the book of
life.." There is a definite loss of heavenly reward for subtracting
from scripture, but not a loss of salvation.
Topical Context: 1 Corinthians 3.11-15, a Christian's judgment
before Christ involves loss of reward, not salvation.
Immediate Context: Revelation 20.11-15, those lost to hellfire
are lost because they are not listed in the Lamb's Book of Life.
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