A
lot of people have questions about The Bible. They’ve heard various comments
about it and wonder what to think. For some reason they’re intimidated by it,
so they don’t read it for themselves. But if you never read it you’ll never be
able to understand what it is, or what it’s about.
Some people are afraid to read it because they’re concerned they won’t
understand it. That’s not surprising. Most things we don’t know about are
somewhat intimidating to us. We tend to avoid them until somewhere we get
enough information to feel comfortable enough to begin to investigate that
area. If that doesn’t happen we’ll probably never go there.
What’s The Bible About?
Perhaps the best place to start is to give you an idea of what The
Bible, which I’ll refer to as Scripture from here on, is all about. The
simplest way to explain that is to say that it’s a recorded history of a group
of people who some might choose to call “religious”. But what does that mean?
Religion is defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary as:
1. belief in a divine or super human power or powers to be obeyed and worshipped as the creator(s) and ruler(s) of the universe.” 2. expression of this belief in conduct and ritual. 3. a) any specific system of belief, worship, conduct, etc., often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy. b) Loosely, any system of beliefs, practices, ethical values, etc. resembling, suggestive of, or likened to such a system. 4. a state of mind or way of life expressing love for and trust in God; and one’s will and effort to act according to the will of God. 5. any object of conscientious regard and pursuit. 6. a practice of religious observances or rites.
The people in Scripture include both religious and non-religious people.
Some of them worship “God”, and some worship things that are called “god” but
are not even gods at all. It’s important at the beginning that you understand
there is a “God” identified in Scripture as the only true God (supreme being –
there can only be one supreme being; anything else in not supreme). The God of
The Bible, Scripture, has a personal name. His name is YAHWEH. No other “god”
has this name.
The main group of people found in Scripture is often referred to as “The
People of The Book”. We know them as The Children of Israel, for the most part.
The term, bible, is from the Greek, biblia,
meaning collection of writings. So The Bible, Scripture, is a collection of
writings. The writings detail the relationship of this people between
themselves and the one called YAHWEH Scripture becomes, then, a recorded
history of “the people of YAHWEH” (those who choose to follow Him in trust and
obedience), and their struggles with the everyday issues of life.
There’s a particular dynamic involved. The entire focus of Scripture, in
the long run, is to help us understand who YAHWEH is, and what He desires of those
who choose to follow His ways. It’s about a relationship, not about religion. It’s also
about what He has done to provide loving and compassionate support for those
people throughout the course of their history. Most importantly, it reveals His
actions to provide for, protect, and redeem His people from their mistakes
(called sin). Ultimately, this is accomplished through His Son, Jesus (more
correctly, YAHUSHUA). YAHUSHUA is identified as The Messiah (Jesus Christ,
Redeemer, Savior, etc.).
Virtually every part of Scripture deals with The Messiah in some manner. However, this is
not always plainly revealed to the casual reader. In order to truly comprehend
what Scripture really says, and/or means, one needs to do some homework. You
need to study Scripture, carefully, asking YAHWEH to help you understand it.
The other aspect of Scripture that’s vital to understand is that there’s
“an adversary” involved. There’s a being who is intent upon confusing and
imitating YAHWEH’s Word in such a manner as to corrupt it. He’s called The
Devil, Satan, The Deceiver, The Serpent, and several other things. He is
committed to deceiving you and everyone else about what YAHWEH says. YAHUSHUA ultimately
defeats him. But the accounts of his actions to disrupt YAHWEH’s desires and
plans for His people pervade Scripture as well.
You must know of his existence. You need to learn of his ways. You need
to discover how to protect yourself from his lies and deceptions. He will do
everything in his power to get you to not believe the Word of YAHWEH,
Scripture. He is the most subtle and unscrupulous enemy you will ever
encounter. Sadly, he makes himself appear to be “an angel of light”. If you get
suckered by him you might end up thinking he’s the most religious person there
ever was. Be very careful of his ways. He’s actually the one that’s been
keeping you from a deep knowledge of Scripture already – and you don’t even
recognize that reality.
How Do You Know If It’s True?
YAHWEH proclaims in His Word, The Bible – Scripture – that He speaks the truth and does not lie. Either this is correct or it is not. If it’s true then we are safe in believing every word of it (when properly understood in its given contexts, and as the original text stated). If it’s not true then it becomes meaningless drivel. It’s worthless.
Note: I must warn you about some
serious Bible errors.
The enemy has succeeded in messing with the text. Many of our English
translations contain corrupted material that’s based on the
traditions of men,
and not The Word of YAHWEH. It’s one of the reasons personal study has become
more important than ever. Please check out these links.
The only way you’ll really know if it’s true or not is to read it,
consider what it says carefully, then check the facts with the record of
history. There are countless references made to historical events. These are
relatively easy to track and confirm or deny. Was there a nation of Israel? Did
it experience the events provided in the Scripture? Or are they all fiction.
Remember, YAHWEH says that every word He speaks is true, and it will come to
pass if it hasn’t already. He does not lie. Either the facts can be proven or
they are false. If you can demonstrate that the majority of them are correct,
then you can also believe the rest of them are true.
This is, however, where things become a little “sticky”. Some facts are
clearly proven. The historical record is very clear. But some of the things
stated cannot be ascertained with certainty. The historical record is missing,
or the details are somewhat clouded. In many cases the historical record has
actually been rewritten with the specific intent of obscuring the truth. At
some point you must decide for yourself whether you will accept The Word of
YAHWEH, The Bible, as fact or fiction. Belief becomes an act of faith, or
trust. The ultimate question is this, “Do you trust YAHWEH or do you not?”
Life is filled with things you cannot prove. We do things every day that
we cannot comprehend. When you flip a light switch and the light comes on it
does so because that’s what it’s always done. Yet few could ever explain how
and why it works. We flip the switch, acting on our faith that the lights will
come on. Most of the time they do. But sometimes they don’t. But seldom is
there any doubt in your mind that when you flip that switch the lights are
going to come on. There are many other examples we could use.
So, the bottom line is faith. When you can’t prove something you must
decide whether to accept it by faith or reject it. There are things in
Scripture we will never understand in this life; yet one day, if we have faith
in YAHWEH, they will be revealed to us. One day we will be given the ability to
understand everything. That’s a promise of Scripture. But it only applies to
those who will choose to trust YAHWEH with their whole heart and mind and soul.
Where Do You Start?
There are many differing suggestions. Some will tell you to start with
the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Of these four I’d suggest John. The
first chapters in particular set an interesting perspective on things.
However, I also believe there’s merit in starting at the beginning,
Genesis. If you don’t have an understanding of the first five books, known as
The Books of Moses, The Pentateuch, or The Torah, it will be difficult to really
understand the rest of the book. I guarantee you will certainly be confused if
you start with the last chapter, Revelation. You will simply have no foundation
upon which to comprehend the conclusion.
This same factor enters the picture when you start anywhere but at the
beginning. While there’s much you can pick up in those central books, they all
depend upon an understanding of how these books came into existence, what
preceded them. So, the best thing you can do is read The Book from cover to
cover. Do this with a view toward gaining an overview of The Book. Don’t be too
concerned about the details at first. After you have a basic perspective, go
back and study each book more carefully with a view toward understanding how it
fits into the whole framework. then you can get down to specifics.
How Do You Study It?
There are many ways to study Scripture. You can search for topics, do
word searches, study particular books, etc. But whatever you do, it’s important
to be serious about your study. Please don’t do this casually. The material is
far too important to treat it lightly. It is The Word of God, YAHWEH. It’s not
your average book. It’s not a novel. It’s not science fiction. It’s life-giving
God-breathed and inspired writings. Please treat it with the utmost respect.
Give it the attention it truly deserves.
As
you study it, please remember that the context of what you’re reading is of the
utmost importance. Please don’t take things out of their context and try to
understand them in isolation. This will cause confusion. They’re placed where
they are for a reason. The surrounding information is crucial to understanding
any given idea or concept.
Next, get some tools to help you with your study. Get a good
concordance. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is among the best. It will provide
information on virtually every word of the text, allowing you to understand the
word, it’s meaning in the original language, and how it’s been translated (at
least in the King James Version of The Bible), and the other places where it’s
used. From this information you can obtain a lot better understanding of the
words.
A
good Bible dictionary is helpful. A good English dictionary is also essential,
for there are words you won’t know the meanings for in English, let alone in
their original forms. You need to look them up so you understand what’s being
said and what it’s supposed to mean, not what you think it means.
Lexicons, interlinear translations, word study books, original language
texts, etc. are also quite helpful once you get deeply into your studies. You
can go just as far as you’d like to go with all of this, and there are many
wonderful rewards as you do so. Many of these things are available on-line.
Search for them.
If
you want a very convenient means of searching these resources there are few
better sources than some of the Bible software that’s currently available. I
strongly recommend Accordance Bible Software if you have a Mac computer. It’s
what I personally use for this website. You can purchase as much or as little
as you’d like. You can start with the basics and add more as you desire.
For Windows users I’d suggest Logos-X Series. There are many other
programs available also, each offering their own advantages and disadvantages.
The important thing is to invest in some good solid tools to help you study The
Word of YAHWEH. You’ll be very glad you did. The rewards for such an investment
are huge.
I
urge you to spend some significant time each week reading and studying The Word
of YAHWEH. Only by spending quality time with it will you ever grow in your
understanding of it. And I believe the more you grow in that understanding the
more you will want to know. The goal is to know YAHWEH, personally. Your relationship with Him is the most important
element of all. Scripture is given to us for this specific purpose. If we never
read it, if we never study it, we will never know Him.
May your study of The Word of YAHWEH (The Bible,
Scripture) fill you with joy
as you discover His astounding love, mercy, and
grace.