How Can We Study Scripture?

Here are some steps we can take when studying Scripture. This is not a comprehensive list and it may expand as you dive more and more into Scripture, but this is a pretty good foundation.

1) Understand God will meet you when you study Scripture

2 Timothy 2:16 states, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for corection, and for training in righteousness." The phrase "breathed out by God" means spoken by God. If we were to say, "That journal is breathed out by Alec," what we would be saying is, "As Alec spoke, the air that came out his mouth when he spoke carried words, and those words carried information , and that information was written down." Therefore Paul is saying that God spoke every single word that is in Scripture - "All Scripture..." - with His actual mouth and voice.

Hebrews 4:12 states, "For the word of God is living and active..." The Bible is not a normal book. With a normal book, the words give you the same information over and over again. It is like a roller coaster. The first time you ride a roller coaster, you experience something completely new. The something time you ride that same roller coaster, you still get a thrill, but you get the same thrill. When you read a book for the first time, you will learn and see new things. After that first time, however, you may experience the same thrill with the information in that book, but it will be the same information. Scripture is different.

The words of Scripture are spoken by God. They are eternal and therefore they are living and active. Since they are living and active, God will reveal to us something new each time, or He may repeat the same thing over and over again because we refuse to change. The main point is this: The words of Scripture are alive and active because God spoke them and this means God will meet us each time in a unique way when we study Scripture. When we read other books, we sit down and read the author's thoughts that were recorded once. When we read Scripture, we meet God Himself. We truly are on holy ground similar to when Moses met God through the burning bush (Exodus 3).

2) Pray that the Author of Scripture would teach you Himself

If Scripture is God's living and active word, and if that means that God will meet us Himself when we study Scripture, then we should ask that He would teach us Himself rather than trying to figure everything out on our own.

How did the actual words of Scripture get onto paper? Did God sit at a keyboard and tyep it all up? No, people wrote God's words by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we should ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and give us wisdom as we study Scripture because the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture.

3) Read the passage

4) Understand the context

If we simply read Genesis 29 without understanding that Jacob was on the run after deceiving his brother and father along with how God worked in that situation, then we could not understand the emotional condition Jacob was in during Genesis 29. We cannot read a piece of Scripture without first understanding what lead to this passage. Take a little bit of time to understand what lead either in the narrative or the author's train of thought to the particular passage you are studying.

5) Ask, "What does this piece of Scripture say about me and humanity?"

What does the passage communicate about people? Scripture is the most honest and thorough evaluation of the human condition. In Genesis 29:15-20, we see how Jacob despises Leah over Rachel simply because of looks, but we also see his dedication to Rachel. This allows us to ask, "How am I like Jacob? How do I despise one group of people over another? How do I treat that particular group of people compared to the other?" The Bible shows that we do have decent qualities, but we also have indencet qualities about us at the same time.

As we look at people in the Bible or read statements about people in the Bible, we are given a mirror to honestly evaluate ourselves. As we continue to read Genesis 29, we see that Jacob was deceived by Laban when Laban gave him Leah over Rachel not because of any evil intent on Laban's part, but because Jacob and Laban simply did not truly talk with each other. Neither asked the tough questions or even basic questions because they were so focused on what they wanted: Jacob would get a wife, and Laban would get a worker. This allows us to ask, "In what ways am I not asking questions with people I am in relationship with because I am blinded by what I want?"

6) Ask, "What does this passage say about God?"

Jacob impregnates Leah, forces Laban to give him Rachel, Jacob and Laban make a deal so that Jacob can have both Leah and Rachel, and Leah is despised by Jacob. What now? What would Leah do pregnant and despised by the man who impregnated her? Genesis 29:31-35 shows us God's character in contrast to Jacob's, Laban's, Rachel's, and Leah's character. We see that God knows the true condition of Jacob's heart: He hated Leah. God knew Jacob hated Leah while Jacob and the other's would simply say, "Oh, look at how he loves Rachel and did not know the custom of marrying a man's oldest daughter first." No one took care of Leah. But God enacted justice. He granted Leah not only one child, but three while he granted Rachel none to show Rachel and Jacob their evil. We see that God decides whether or not a woman will become pregnant (this alone has vast implications). We see that God hears the cry of the afflicted. We see that God is a father to the fatherless. We see God's character and grace.

7) Ask, "Knowing what I do from this passage, what am I to do?"

What are we to do with the knowledge that we are too blind from desire to understand the implications of our actions and the knowledge that God hears the cry of the afflicted? What are we to do with the knowledge reaveled by a passage about us and God? We continue to ask the Spirit for guidance. We think, and we think hard, to see how the dots connect. Sometimes, it is so obvious. The best thing to do though, is to examine other Scripture, especially the Psalms, Proverbs, and Gospels, to see how the Bible itself answers the question. This looks differently for different people. Some people may know the Scriptures so well that the dots connect in their memory. Some people may need to search up related words in the index. Some may need to talk to a teacher or pastor. Some may need to do research on the web. The first step, though, is to always search the SCriptures first.

Proverbs 16:1-3 states, "The plans of the heart belong to man, / but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. / All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, / but the LORD weighs the spirit. / Commit your work to the LORD, / and your plans will be established." Jacob had his own plans, but God was directing what He did. Jacob thought his love for Rachel was pure, but God knew he despised Leah only because of her looks. What does the writer of this Proverb say we should do with this knowledge? He says that we should commit our work to the Lord. Jacob should have weighed his decision about whom to marry not based on looks, but based on grace. God chose Abraham, his grandpa, to produce a nation that would bring mankind's savior not on skill or righteousness, but based on His favor. We commit our work to the Lord, whether it is actual work or pursuing a relationship, by embodying God's character and grace. This saves us from trouble. This brings us greater joy. This allows us to love others. This brings God glory. This gives us a foundation to stand on when we need to take unpopular stands for God. With this, we are given something to do: Love as God loves. And the Spirit along with your own thinking will show you how this looks in specific ways, even if it may not be instantly. You might have to reflect on this a while and seek outside guidance.

For Christians specifically, this question ultimately should tie into Christ. Luke 24:36-49 states all of the Bible is pointing to Christ. How is Genesis 29 pointing to Christ? We see God in the flesh loving others without bias in instances such as in John 4. Also, where did Jesus do this? At Jacob's well! Therefore, since we see our King loving in such a way we are able to understand that He died to liberate us from our sin that we may freely follow Him. Remember this point that pastor Sinclair Ferguson said, "Jesus is always savior first and then example second." We do not love without bias on our own as Genesis 29 and Proverbs 16 says we should do. But Christ's death on the cross forgives us of this sin, but it also gives us the power to obey by His resurrection.

8) Pray that God would grant you the strength to do what He revealed to you

If we cannot understand God's word without Him, we cannot do what it says without Him. Ask God to give you the strength, grace, and mercy as you do what He has revealed for you to do. Most of the time, it won't be easy. However, there will be joy in knowing if we are obedient to God by the liberating power of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9, John 1:9-13).

9) Obey whatever God is calling you to do

Whatever God has called you to do with your time in Scripture, do it. Don't wait for good feelings, or encouragement, or "the right time." Simply do what God has called you to do. Pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago, Erwin Lutzer, said, "It is always better to obey the living God."

2 Peter 1:3-11 gives us great encouragement to always obey what God calls us to do, no matter what. Starting in verse 5, Peter states we should supplement our faith with virtue. He continues to add on to these things. The great thing about this is that if we add virtue to our faith, then we can add knowledge, and so forth. But if we do not add virtue (it is always virtuous to obey God), then we can not add the other things. We can add virtue whether we feel as though God is with us or not. It is a command either we break or obey.

It honestly is always best to obey. We do stumble in many ways as James 3:2 states. But we also have a God that died on a cross for us and nailed the record of our debts to that cross (Colossians 2:14). If you are God's kid by trusting the cross of Jesus Christ for your redemption, God will always love you and aid you in everything so that when you stand before Him, you may be presented as holy and blameless because of your obedience out of love for Him.

10) Study any time and any where

Whenever you have a chance to study Scripture, study it. Psalm 1 states that a person is blessed when they meditate on God's word day and night. It is always best to have a specific time and a specific plan such as studying the book of Colossians every day at 9am. The word of God is living and active and therefore is the best place to meet God. Don't be foolish and miss any opportunity to meet with the living God by studying Scripture.

"The Soul" Chapter One Released Online!

In September of 2007, I approached two good friends of mine to make a short film over our winter break. The result is a 50 minute film entitled 'The Soul' that explores the underworld of a small town community through the protagonist Huff, a returning soldier, who must deal with the loss of a fallen comrade and the decisions he is forced to make in a place that seems to have no right or wrong. We divided the film into five chapters and the first chapter, 'Still Asking For Quarters?', is now online. Please take a moment to watch, enjoy, and feel free to comment.

http://www.vimeo.com/4221122

Jealous Exiles

Sermon delivered April 5, 2009

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Jealousy is a very lethal emotion. When a person is jealous they want what someone else possesses. Jealously forces us to place our affections into another person or thing. Guys, you look at a cute girl with her arm around another guy and you get jealous. You want that cute girl to pour her affections into you. Ladies, you see a dress some other girl is wearing at prom and you get jealous. You want to hear people say about you, “Oh, look at how beautiful she looks in that dress” like they must be saying to her.

There have been disastrous consequences in my life because of jealousy. I lived in a big city when I was a little kid. When I moved back to Madison at age nine, I wanted to live in the big city ever since. When it came time to search for colleges, I had to go to one in a big city that would give me a degree so I could make enough money for a large house. I was so blind that I did not stop to think about the costs and logistics of living in a big city. I became depressed, bitter, and hateful as the very place I longed for throughout my life failed to give me the pleasure and joy I dreamed that it would.

It is no surprise then that the New Testament authors use some very harsh language when they discuss jealousy.

Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 3:3 (ESV), “For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving in a human way?” Paul goes on to say in Galatians 5:20 that jealousy is a fruit of the flesh and that it leads to death.

As we look at jealousy, we find two shocking statements. First is from Paul. As Paul condemns jealousy as a fruit of the flesh, he says in 2 Corinthians 11:2 (ESV), “For I feel a divine jealousy for you…” What’s going on here with Paul? But we find an even more shocking statement when it comes to jealousy.

God is jealous. 1 Kings 4:12 (ESV), says, “And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.” Not only does God get jealous, he declares that his name is Jealous (Exodus 34).

Not only is it shocking that Paul says he is jealous for the Corinthian church and that God is a jealous God, but what is shocking also is the New Testament authors tell us we cannot be Christians unless we are jealous.

Paul writes in Romans 1:4-5 (ESV), “[Jesus Christ] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about obedience of faith for the sake of his name among the nations.”

Paul says that whatever we do as a Christian, it is for the fame of Jesus’ name. We are to be jealous for God’s name because God is jealous for God’s name. Why does God get jealous when we sin? What do we have that God wants? God wants our affections. We pour out our affections into girls, boys, dresses, and cities, things that perish, but we don’t pour ourselves out into the living God.

John Stott writes in Our Guilty Silence, “If God is right to be ‘jealous’, to oppose and resist the wickedness of men who do not give to Him the glory due His name, but turn aside to idols, then His own people should share His jealousy” (Silence, 20).

If you want to be a Christian, then be jealous for God! Be jealous that people pour out their affections to God. Why would we want people to pour out their affections into God? We desire this, and God desires this, because of the surpassing grace and love found in Jesus Christ crucified for sinners.

To answer why we should be jealous for God and how we can become jealous for Him, we must look at the nature of God. God is a name for three eternal, equal, and unique persons: The Father, Son, and Spirit.

Tim Keller writes in The Reason For God, “The Trinity means that God is, in essence, relational… The life of the Trinity is characterized not by self-centeredness but by mutually self-giving love.”

“God is love” (1 John 4:8). What John meant when he wrote that is in the relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit, the three are constantly pouring their affections out to the other for the other’s good. The Son pours himself out for the Father’s good. The Father pours himself out for the Son’s good. The Spirit pours himself out for the other members of the Trinity for their good.

And then God made. Genesis says God made us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). He made us to pour ourselves out for the other for their good. Why did God give humanity dominion over creation, Adam a wife, Eve a husband, and both commands to obey? He did this so mankind could image the love in the Trinity by pouring themselves out to the other. And in this is eternal life.

John says at the beginning of his gospel, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4 ESV).

God designed us to pour our affections out to God, other people, and creation for their good so that we may have eternal life and eternal joy by abiding in God’s’ love.

What was the great temptation by Satan in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:4-5)? He tempted Adam and Eve, just like he tempted Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-6), to not pour out their affections for the other’s good, but pour out their affections for their own good so they could gain pleasure, meaning, and eternal life on their own. Oh, the lies of Satan! And Adam bought it! We’ve all bought into the lie that if we pour out our affections for our own good and not the other’s good, then we could have abundant life, and more than God could offer. But what we did is cut ourselves off from the relationship among the Trinity. We cut ourselves off from the source of life! We looked at God and how he poured himself out for us by creating an entire world for us and we said, “Nope. I’m not going to pour myself out for you. I’m going to pour myself out for me.”

This is why all sin is evil, whether it is killing a man for his money, or lusting after another. When we sin, we subject others and our bodies for our pleasure and good, not theirs. We say, “You will serve me and give me pleasure,” thinking this will give us the ultimate source of joy and life when that can only be found in God.

Why is God jealous? Because He wants us to no longer pour out our affections into worthless, created things, but rather to pour our affections out into him, the creator, so that we may have eternal life with him.

It is not hard to understand then why God is angry and why we deserve his wrath. Imagine if you get drunk one night for no malicious reason and then decided to drive back home. As you drove back home you swerved into the other lane killing a five-year-old girl and her mother who was driving and seven months pregnant. Would you not say the father of that little girl and the husband of that woman deserves to hate you and pour out any wrath that he may have on you? That’s what we have done to God and that’s what we deserve from Him. But God did something incredible that no human mind could merely invent!

Imagine if that father came to visit you in the hospital and instead of pouring out his wrath on you, he gently said, “How can I serve you? I want you to get better and want you to become a man who doesn’t get drunk and kill pregnant mothers and their little girls. I love you and I want you to be restored.” This is exactly what happened when Jesus Christ went to the cross for sinners!

Romans 5:6-8 (ESV) states, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Even after we made this world into a desert full of blood, God continually poured out his affections on us for our good. This is why when Jesus shows up he is pouring himself out for everyone during his ministry. He would approach the scandals in order to love them so they may experience the grace of God. In John 4 he walks up to a woman that the whole town knows is sleeping around. This is like Jesus going up to a girl who is a senior in high school and pregnant. He goes up to her and lets her know that she is not condemned in the sight of God because of God’s grace. He talked with her, listened to her, answered her questions, and kept giving her grace. And the woman was transformed. She ran back to her town, told everyone, and they were stunned by Christ’s grace, searched for Jesus, talked to him, experienced his grace as he poured himself out to them as well, and they repented.

How do we show the surpassing value of God who pours out his affections for all people, including sinners like us in such a spectacular way? Is it putting K-Love bumper stickers on our cars? Is it debating with atheists to show that the Jesus is real? No. Those do not hurt, but it is not how God designed to show his grace through us for the sake of his name. How about serving the atheist for his good? How about telling others about God’s grace instead of hoping they listen to a Christian radio station?

In all this, we show the value of Jesus Christ so that others may pour out their affections into him and not worthless idols by first obeying the commands of Jesus Christ. Why did God give the Ten Commandments and why did Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount? All of these commands enable us to pour ourselves out for the other’s good and our affections into God.

Matthew 5:44-48 (ESV), “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends the rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward to you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The proper response to the grace offered in Christ crucified for sinners is not to improve ourselves, or have better friendships, or get through life. Anyone who responds to the cross in that way has missed the love demonstrated on the cross. Remember, sin is pouring out our affections for our good and not the other’s good. So how is it not a sin to obey Jesus Christ for our good and not for the good of Jesus Christ, “for the sake of his name among the nations”?

What would you do if you were that person who killed that mother and daughter and then experienced the father’s grace? The proper response is to be in awe of his love and love others as he loved you. How could you not look around at those who need that kind of grace and not offer it? When I lived in Cleveland, I pushed the wheelchair of a handicapped girl during school. No one else would do it, but I would. It was one of the greatest things I’ve done in my life. She was helpless and I helped her. You could just tell by her smile this meant the world to her. We became good friends and the joy was astounding. During my high school years though no one offered that kind of grace to me, and the loneliness was so deep it took a miracle of God to rescue me from it. Who is in your life, whether across town or across the hall, that needs you to give them grace? Don’t wait to pour out grace to them as God as poured his grace to you. And by doing this, you will be lights in the darkness. You will be exiles in this world. You will belong to God’s kingdom, a kingdom of light, in a world of darkness.

Now I have to give you a warning. The world will hate you for this. Recently, a pastor in New Hampshire allowed a man convicted of murdering a child in the 1980’s to live in his house until this ex-convict could find his own housing. The ex-convict became a Christian in prison. The pastor wanted to ensure the ex-convict would continue to pour out his affections to God and others for their good. Therefore, the pastor poured out grace to the ex-convict so he could continue to see the grace of God. The neighbors hate the pastor for doing this. They constantly monitor his house, bought shotguns, and one neighbor when interviewed by ‘Good Morning America’ said of the ex-convict, “Some men just can’t find Jesus.”

“[T]he light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out by God” (John 3:19-21 ESV).

How have you seen God demonstrate His grace in your life? How has that made a difference for you? Is there anyone that you know who is the scandal or estranged as we were in our sins without Christ? Is there anyone coming to your mind right now that your heart burns to help? How could you pour out yourself for them for their good? Could you sit with them and start a conversation when no one else is? Could you invite them to KOS? Could you meet the needs of their family? What kind of joy would there be in helping that person when doing this you will know you are a child of your Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:45)?

“We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). There will be times the darkness looks so attractive that we will begin to focus on ourselves when we desire to focus on the other. But the one source of our joy, the cross, is also the one source of our constant salvation. When God poured himself out for us on the cross, he poured out his Spirit as well. The Spirit of God now abides in those jealous for God and they can now rely on him for the strength to love as Christ loves. Call out to him in all times and constantly look to the grace of God in Christ. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). By God’s grace, be jealous for the name of Christ.