7 Tips to Better Understand the Bible

The single most important factor in Bible study is CONTEXT!

By staying true to the author’s original meaning you are forced to stay within the context of the passage. Below are 7 tips that will help you keep to the context of each passage.

“It shall greatly helpe ye to understande Scripture, If thou mark Not only what is spoken or wrytten, But of whom, And to whom, With what words, At what time, Where, To what intent, With what circumstances, Considering what goeth before And what followeth.” John Wycliffe (1324-1384)

As students of the Bible how we approach Language is the BEDROCK of how we determine meaning. Or at least it should be. There are two types of language; figurative and literal and figurative language always points to a literal meaning. Having a good understanding of this concept will significantly help with your Bible Study. Being able to identify and interpret figurative and literal passages will assure you stay to true to the writer’s original meaning.

Part Two Will Cover Language

In Part 2, we will provide examples of literal and figurative passages and explain how to easily identify and interpret each passage.

Here are 7 simple tips that will help you better understand the context of a Bible passage.

1. Determine who’s writing?
2. Identify who the writer is writing too? (audience)
3. When was the text written?
4. What other passages help to interpret the text?
5. What happens before and after the passage was written?
6. How does the passage compare with other text from the same writer?
7. What is the historical context of the passage?

Taking Scripture literally should be a guiding principle for sound interpretation. By not following a literal approach, interpretation becomes whatever the reader wants it to mean. The end result is man-made interpretations, silliness, and false teaching. The 7 tips provided will help you stay true to the author’s original meaning of a passage which then by default defines the context.

“The greatest interpreter of the Bible is the Bible”

You don’t have to be a seminary grad to understand the Bible. You just have to have faith in what God says. Yes, again, it comes down to faith! There are no secrets to Bible study just a bit of common sense. Our God is not the author of confusion… (1 Corinthians 14:33) Having faith in what God says, prayer, staying true to the author’s original meaning will help you better understand what God has revealed to mankind in the past, present, and future. 

Thanks for reading.

Mesa Bible Study

“It’s either all grace or nothing at all”