John F. MacArthur - How to Study the Bible

1982, 2009 by
J OHN M AC A RTHUR

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

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ISBN: 978-0-8024-5303-7

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I t is vital for every Christian to know how to study the Bible. You should be able to dig into Gods Word yourself to glean and gain all the riches the Bible contains. I often think of the words of Jeremiah who said, Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart (Jer. 15:16a). The Word of God is a tremendous resource. Christians should not be handicapped in their ability to study Gods Word for themselves. So we are going to be examining how to study the Bible. But first, we should see why it is important to study it.

Walter Scott, a British novelist and poet and a great Christian, was dying when he said to his secretary, Bring me the Book. His secretary looked at the thousands of books in his library and said, Dr. Scott, which book? He said, The Book, the Biblethe only Book for a dying man. And I would have to add that the Bible is not just the only Book for a dying man, but its the only Book for a living man, because it is the Word of life, as well as the hope in death.

So we come to the Word of God with a tremendous sense of excitement and anticipation. But before I share with you how to study the Bible, I must tell you about the authority of the Word of God. Then you will see the importance of Bible study. Also, we must state from the very beginning that the Scripture is the Word of God. It is not mans opinion, it is not human philosophy, it is not somebodys ideas, it is not a pooling of the best thoughts of the best menit is the Word of God. Consequently, there are several things we need to realize about it.

The Bible, in its entirety, has no mistakes. Specifically, in its original autographs it is without errors. In Psalm 19:7 the Bible says of itself, The law of the Lord is perfect. It is flawless because God wrote itand He is flawless. Therefore, if God wrote the Bible, and if He is the ultimate authority, and if His character is flawless, then the Bible is flawless and is the ultimate authority. You see, because God is perfect, the original autographs, the original transmissions of the Word of God, must also be perfect. So, the Bible is infallible, and thats the first reason to study it; it is the only Book that never makes a mistakeeverything it says is the truth.

Not only is it infallible, but theres a second word we use in describing the Bible, and that is:

The Bible is not only infallible in total, but inerrant in its parts. In Proverbs 30:56 it says, Every word of God is pure. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. So every Word of God is pure and true.

The Bible is not only infallible and inerrant, but:

Nothing needs to be added to the Bible. Now that may be a surprise to some people, because there are those today who believe we need additional revelation. There exists a philosophy-theology known as neo-orthodoxy. It tells us that the Bible was simply a comment in its day on human spiritual experiences, and today humans are still having spiritual experiences. Therefore, humanity needs another comment. One writer said that we need a Bible to be written today, just as we did when the Bible we have in our hands was written, because we need somebody to comment on what God is doing now. He also said that when Tom or Mary stand up in your church and say, Thus says the Lord, they are as equally inspired as Isaiah, Jeremiah, or any of the other prophets (J. Rodman Williams, The Era of the Spirit, Logos International, 1971).

In other words, they claim that the Bible is not complete. Thats the current philosophical-theological thought. Lets look at the end of the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (22:18b19). The Bible ends with a warning not to take away anything, and not to add anything. Thats a testimony of its completeness. It is infallible in its total, inerrant in its parts, and it is complete.

A fourth way to describe the Bibles attributes is to say that:

If it is perfect and complete, then it is the last Wordthe final authority. Isaiah 1:2 says, Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken. When God speaks everybody listens and obeys, because His is the final authority. We can discuss its implications, its applications, and its meanings, but we shouldnt discuss whether or not it is true.

In John 8 Jesus was confronted by some of the Jewish leaders, and there were other people present. Verses 30b31 say, Many believed in him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. In other words, He demanded response to His Word because it is authoritative.

In Galatians 3:10 it says, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them. Thats a tremendous claim to absolute authority. In James 2:910 we read, But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. To violate the Bible at one point is to break Gods law. The Bible is authoritative in every part.

The Bible is infallible, inerrant, complete, authoritative. As a result, we can make an additional claim that:

The Bible is sufficient for a number of things. First it is sufficient for our salvation. In 2 Timothy 3:15 Paul said to Timothy, And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. First of all, the Bible is