TREASURY OF SERMONS How to Study the Bible for Yourself?
By Rev (Dr) Jeffrey Khoo
Text: 2 Tim 2:15
Which is the most important Book in the world that you need to read and to study? Not your science book, your biology book, your physics, chemistry, geography, history, economics, but the Book of books—the Holy Bible. Why? Because of all the books in the world, the Bible is the only Book that comes from heaven. All other books originate from man. The Bible has its source in God. God is the Author of the Bible. Every book written by man contains mistakes or weaknesses. Only one Book in the whole wide world has no errors or weaknesses, and that is the Bible.
The Bible is worth our study. When you study the Bible, you are studying who God is and who you are. According to John Calvin, that is the highest of all knowledge—to know God and to know man. Dr William Lyon Phelps of Yale University said, "A high school student with a knowledge of the Bible is more educated than a university graduate with no knowledge of the Bible.
The Apostle Paul tells all Christians to "study" the Word of God. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth." The word "study" here means "give all diligence," or "spare no effort." The studying of the Bible requires hard work. There must also be a sense of urgency. There is a need to "rightly divide" God's Word. The world "rightly divide" literally means "to cut it straight" like a surgeon who makes a very precise incision at the exact spot when he operates. We have to be accurately and correctly interpret the Word of God. There is a false teaching going around which says that the Bible has many interpretations or meanings. The Bible has only one meaning. God means what He says, and says what He means.
I. Why Study God's Word?
As I said before, we study God's Word because of exactly what it is—God's Word. In it we know who God is and who we are. If you want to know the truth about something, you go to the primary source, and not the secondary source. There are many secondary sources but they give us either a warped or hazy picture of who God is. All of these religious literature are written by man. We need to go to God Himself if we want to know Him. How did the world come to existence? Who am I? What am I doing here? Who is God? What is He? All these questions are answered by God who is our Creator. Illustration: Car and its manual.
We need to study God's Word because we need to understand correctly God's Word for ourselves. If we have a wrong beliefs, we will have wrong practices. Eg: faith healing.
We need to study God's Word in order to know what is God's will for our lives. In life we have to make many important decisions. What is the correct decision? God's Word is there to guide us. Ps 119:105 says, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Testimony: Climbing Mt Sinai.
II. How to Study God's Word?
1. Spiritual Requirements
Need to have BA (Born Again). 1 Cor 2:9-14.
Calvin's Three Rules of Theology: "Humility, Humility, Humility."
2. Bibliographical Requirements
Need to have an accurate version of the Bible = KJV.
A Library:
Study Bible: King James Study Bible or The Defender's Study Bible
Bible Commentary: The KJV Parallel Bible Commentary (Nelson)
Theology: The Theology of The Westminster Standards (FEBC). Also A Theology For Every Christian.
3. Pedagogical Requirements
Need to learn from:
 Personal Devotion: RPG
Pastor: Pulpit ministry
Sunday School / Bible Study Groups / Fellowship
Good Books especially from FEBC Press (about 40 books)
Correspondence Course (FEBC Ext CertRK)
Bible Camps
Conclusion
There is no short cut to living a victorious Christian life. You want to win the fight against Satan, sin, and the world, you need to learn how to wield the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Illustration: NS training. Not easy. But very profitable.
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