Strategy for studying
Our next technique we are going to go over is actually three parts, which we will discuss over the next four weeks. When studying God’s Word, we need to understand how it is connected, how it is divided, and how individuals living in each division are called to follow Christ. This will make it paramount to have a better understanding of scripture. Many fail to understand this basic concept when studying God’s Word. Today, I want to share what a student of the Bible should be asking. Three basic questions.
How is this event in the Bible connected with the bigger picture? An example of this is Genesis 37:9-11 “Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” 10 So he told [it] to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What [is] this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter [in mind.]” Here we see Joseph having a dream, and his family members are upset. However, for those who study God’s Word, we are seeing a monumental declaration of what is to come, in Genesis and later in identifying the symbolism used in Revelation 12.
What division of human history is going on, or better yet, what dispensation is happening? Reformers, Calvinists, and other followers of the traditions of men will mock this, but to their own detriment. Proper students of God’s Word must know the age, which leads into the final question: how are people to follow Christ in that dispensation of time? We can examine both in the following scripture. Ephesians 1:7-10 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him.” Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is actually answering these questions. He is identifying the dispensation and what the follower of Christ is going through. For argument's sake, I will tell you to read Matthew 25:31-46. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides [his] sheep from the goats. 33 “And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 ‘I [was] naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed [You,] or thirsty and give [You] drink? 38 ‘When did we see You a stranger and take [You] in, or naked and clothe [You?] 39 ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did [it] to one of the least of these My brethren, you did [it] to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do [it] to one of the least of these, you did not do [it] to Me.’ 46 “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
We see that this is at the end of the Tribulation from verse 31. We next see that Jesus Himself examines those who are calling Him Lord and decides who is getting into Heaven. What is fascinating is that Jesus is holding those people accountable for helping the Jews: “My brethren, you did it to Me.” If you do not help them, you are not making it into the 1,000-year reign of Christ. If we know what to ask, as we venture into coming up, we will see that what many people currently believe about this passage and how they apply it is entirely incorrect. God’s Word is alive and well, and we must be willing to ask these three questions if we are going to understand and apply it correctly.
Next week, we will get into the three sections to better equip ourselves to study God’s Word.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL