BIBLE STUDY – HEADLINING CHAPTERS          © by W.J. Allen 4/2008

 

I’m always looking for new ways to have a more thorough grasp of the Bible, in my studies. Here’s a trick I picked up in Seminary that I’ve found very helpful, particularly with smaller books.

 

The idea is to create a “headline” for each chapter – a short, pithy statement of one or a few words that will help you remember the essential elements of that chapter. I’ve found this process drives me to read the chapter more carefully and to think carefully about what it says.

 

Here’s an example, using the book of Jonah:

Chapter 1 – Jonah Fled

Chapter 2 – Jonah Flung

Chapter 3 – Jonah Preaches

Chapter 4 – Jonah Pouts

 

See how those simple terms can tell you essentially the book of Jonah, or at least help you to remember the essential details. Here’s another example:

 

Habakkuk:

Chapter 1 – Listen up, God!

Chapter 2 – Shut up, Habakkuk!

Chapter 3 – Oh, I see, God.

 

You can make your own headings; there’s nothing sacred about these. But, read through those 2 books and see if you can think through them better with such headings in mind.

 

To give you a benchmark, I’m going to include my headings for some of the New Testament Epistles. From this, you can see what I’m trying to accomplish with these, I hope. Here are a couple of examples (I’ve done this for all the Epistles, and for some of the lengthy Old Testament prophets; and, I keep working on this for other books.) You can download my Headings for Epistles by going to the Resources Tab and looking for “Headlines for the Epistles”.

 

James:

Chapter 1 – True Faith Strengthens Properly

Chapter 2 – True Faith Shows Itself Properly

Chapter 3 – True Faith Speaks Properly

Chapter 4 – True Faith Sees Properly

Chapter 5 – True Faith Straightens Properly

 

Hebrews:

1 – A Better Messenger                          8 –  A Better Covenant

2 – A Better Man                                   9 –  A Better Sacrifice

3 – A Better Messiah                             10 – Final Sacrifice

4 – A Better Rest                                   11 – Faith Displayed

5 – A Better Priest                                 12 – Faith Disciplined

6 – A Better Refuge                                13 – Faith Developed

7 – A Better Priesthood

 

Try it for yourself; I think you’ll find it helpful, sharpening, and fun. 

Tips and Tricks for serious Bible Study

 

As a student of the Bible for many years, I’ve picked up, by trial and error, some unusual tips and tricks that have helped me immensely. Perhaps you’ll find some helpful, too.

 

My favorite approach with a new Bible is to underline in a logical, helpful fashion, using various colors. Here’s a suggestion:

1. Begin fresh with a new (or, unmarked Bible).

2. Assign various colors to certain subjects: Here are my favorite ones:

·                     Red = identifying the Lord Jesus Christ

·                     Green = identifying specific passages / verses on the “end times”.

·                     Yellow = identifying the Holy Spirit.

·                     Blue = identifying God the Father

·                     Brown = identifying Old Testament passages located in the New Testament.

·                     Purple = identifying phrases, verses that clearly indicate God is speaking or commanding (“Thus says the Lord”, “the Lord came to …, saying…”, etc.)

 

Be sure to use either a colored pencil or a ball-point (preferably “fine”) pen. Don’t use gel pens and the like; they will bleed through. Don’t use hi-liters for the same reason. I found a colored pencil type called “Twistables” by Crayola; they’re great, and do not require sharpening. For pens, one of my favorites the BP Zebra F-301, but they’re hard to find in many colors. A simple Bic stick pen works fine, and is very economical. However, they tend to be “medium”, which is not so fine (no pun intended).

 

Get a small, transparent, flexible ruler to use with your pens or pencils for underlining. I use the markers that come with DayTimer products. Find a plastic pencil box to hold all your instruments.

 

Now, pick a simple, short book or epistle and begin. Go through it chapter by chapter. Begin by underlining in Red any direct labeling of the Lord Jesus Christ – Jesus, Lord Jesus, Christ Jesus the Lord, etc.

 

Then, do the same thing for the Holy Spirit; then, for God (Father). Continue through your colors for that chapter until you have underlined anything that fits your categories.

 

What has happened? Well, you’ve quickly and carefully read that chapter 5 or more times. Isn’t it amazing how much you’ve seen and remembered about it, while seeking these specific items?

 

Do this for the next chapter, and on through the entire little book or epistle. I would recommend you start with James, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Galatians. Why? Because these are the first epistles available to the early church, in that order. I’ve found it quite interesting and helpful to go through the New Testament in order of their writing.

 

So, if you do so, here is the rest of the order, as I see them: 1 Cor., Romans, 2 Cor., Philemon, Matthew, Ephesians, Luke, Acts, Philippians, Mark, Colossians, 1 Timothy, Titus, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 2 Timothy, Hebrews, Jude, Gospel of John, 1,2, 3 John, and Revelation.

 

When  you’ve finished that, you can try the Old Testament in similar fashion. In a future blog, I’ll suggest a chronological order for this, too.

 

You’re not on a time schedule, so go at whatever pace you like. Multiple readings of a few books, using this underlining technique, will give you a better grasp of what they really say. So, just start, and move along as you can. You’ll find it’s stimulating, informative, and sometimes exciting; and, you’ll definitely improve your understanding of what the Bible really says.

 

Another time, I’ll share another technique that has helped me; I call it “headlining”, or writing heads to chapters, as an aid to thinking your way through a book. Look for it.  Bill.

BIBLE STUDY TIPS

 

Over the years, I’ve gone through many bibles, various Bible reading and Bible study plans, always searching for that which will sharpen my understanding of the Word of God.

 

I have discovered that a major help is simply the process of going about it again and again, using various methods.

 

one method I’ve used for a number of years now, continually refining the process, using a half-dozen different bibles, is one that I really believe many would find very helpful, and really (as it’s been for me) a means of sharpening your discernment about many aspects of the Bible.

 

So, I’ll  explain this in a number of entries, trusting that you will find a new, exciting appreciation of their bible.

 

There are three basic components

1)         The right study Bible

2)         The right tools and techniques

3)         The right way to study a book of the Bible

4)         The right order to use in studying the Bible

 

In this entry, I’ll give you some suggestions to consider about which Bible to use for serious study. In succeeding entries, I’ll cover the other three components.

 

WHICH BIBLE TO USE FOR BIBLE STUDY?

 

 The following suggestions and opinions are my own view; I mean no disrespect to other views.

 

Basic Principles for selecting a study Bible:

 

·                     Use a true translation, not a paraphrase.

·                     Choose a translation with which you are comfortable.

·                     Get a good-quality Bible, with proper font-size, good cover, and good pages.

·                     If possible, start fresh with a new Bible, rather than continuing with your old one.

·                     Decide what is really important to have in a Bible (footnotes,  explanatory notes, cross-references, maps, etc.)

·                     Start with the program I’ll be outlining and set aside 30 or more minutes a day for study.

 

Let’s quickly cover these points, one-by-one.

 

USE A TRUE TRANSLATION, NOT A PARAPHRASE:

 

A translation seeks to reproduce the exact meaning of the original Greek or Hebrew text, as accurately as possible, into our English language. This is painstakingly-done by a collection of Biblical scholars, rather than being done by an individual, as a general rule.

 

A paraphrase does not seek to reproduce the original language into English, but seeks to provide the Author’s idea as to what the original language MEANS.  Simply put, this removes you one further step from the Bible itself. When you read a paraphrased “Bible” (it is NOT the Bible, and should not be so characterized), you are reading the opinions of (usually) one person as to what that person believes the Bible should say. Depending on the person, it may be very well done, but it is NOT the Bible; to say it is, is quite misleading. It is not a translation, but an interpretation. One might find it helpful, but you should never use it to really study the Bible.

 

WHAT IS THE BEST TRANSLATION TO USE?

 

That all depends.  There are many translations available, but some have a particular non-evangelical bias that can be misleading, though the general translation may be good. For instance, they may subtly deny the Virgin Birth; they may promote the “feminist” idea of eliminating gender, they may be oriented toward a particular group or denomination.

 

For evangelicals, there are 3 or 4 really good translations, any one of which you may find helpful. They include: the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), and the New American Standard Version (NASB).

 

I recommend using one of these because they are true translations and have stood the test of time.

 

KJV – Many older Christians were “teethed” on this and it is a fine translation. The major difficulty is the use of archaic English terminology, which can be difficult to understand. But, it is a very good translation, based on a good Greek Textual Family (one day I’ll try to explain about this).

 

NKJV – This is my personal preference, because it is essentially faithful to the KJV (comes from a similar Greek Textual Family), but uses modern English terms, and is quite readable.

 

NASB – This is a very popular standard, with excellent translation principles. However, it derives from a somewhat different Greek Textual Family and thus, has certain difference from the KJV or NKJV. However, none of those differences is of major consequences, doctrinally, and most are simply a change of pronoun or article or similar thing. There are a few passages that are substantially different (e.g., John 5:3-4), but most will not find this to be a major problem.

 

There is another hugely-popular “translation” that is worthwhile to consider. That is the New International Version (NIV). This was done with great care by eminent evangelical Bible scholars, and is quite readable. I do not recommend it personally because I do not agree with the translation premise, but it is far superior as a study Bible to any of the popular paraphrases out (e.g.: New Living Bible, the Message)

 

The translation premise is to translate by a process termed “dynamic equivalence”, rather than a word-for-word translation. The idea is essentially somewhere between “translation” and “paraphrase”, in my view. The principle is to alter a word-for-word approach into a more readable set of words that faithfully convey the meaning of the original words, but in more modern expression. The scholars worked faithfully, carefully, and well, and used the same Greek Textual Family as was used by the NASB people.

 

But, I prefer the word-for-word approach, because that minimizes the “interpretive” aspect and keeps me closer to the original text.

 

But, it’s a matter of choice. You would not go far wrong with any of these. However, I would strongly suggest you don’t use a paraphrase, and I see little value in some of the newer translations out, relative to the ones noted above.

 

Next time, I’ll share some Bible Study tips and techniques that I think you’ll find helpful.

 

Bill Allen 3/8/2008