Part 2: How to Study the Bible
Part 2 —
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Review
Bible study resources
Primary vs. false doctrine
Summary of Bible study
Moving forward
REVIEW
As we mentioned previously, the first two steps in studying the Bible are:
Reading quickly
Studying slowly
And a version such as NASB, ESV, CSB, or NIV is probably best for studying.
BIBLE STUDY RESOURCES
Now let’s take a look at Bible study resources.
Bible dictionary: great for historical context (facts)
Bible concordance: great for literary context (facts)
Commentary: an interpretation of facts that can aid in understanding / educated opinion / will differ according to denomination
Systematic theology book: summarizes orthodox to common theological positions (ie, baptism), also educated opinion
Footnotes: The superscript numbers correspond with a footnote or a Bible verse in the center margin. These notes help us interpret the Bible with the Bible.
My favorite and FREE Bible study tool is www.blueletterbible.org. There you have the original language, concordance, dictionary, and more! It’s a wonderful one-stop-shop.
PRIMARY DOCTRINE VS. FALSE DOCTRINE
My summary of Galatians is this: Beware of False Gospels. Paul goes on to explain what false gospels are, why they are wrong, and the dangers of false gospels. More specifically, Paul addresses a specific false gospel and so we have a wonderful teaching on salvation by faith. But the most general theme of the book is the threat of false gospels.
I think any study of Galatians should include a quick look at the essentials of the Christian faith so that any deviation can be quickly examined:
What is essential or primary doctrine?
Primary doctrines are fundamental beliefs that Christians across denominations, nations, and centuries agree on. To deny a primary doctrine is to no longer be considered a Christian.
What are examples of primary doctrine?
Examples of primary doctrine include the following: sinfulness of man, unique nature of Christ, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, justification by faith alone, Biblical inerrancy and authority, bodily return of Christ, Heaven and Hell, Trinity, catholic* church as the bride of Christ, baptism, Biblical ethics, commitment to the local church, communion, evangelism, discipleship, gender roles, giving, Biblical sexuality.
These are topics on beliefs and behavior in which the Bible is explicitly and perfectly clear.
What is a false gospel?
A "false gospel" refers to any message claiming to be the gospel of Jesus Christ, but which significantly alters or omits key components of the biblical message of salvation through Jesus Christ, essentially presenting a distorted version of the true good news; it can include teachings that emphasize personal effort or works over grace alone as the means to salvation, downplay the necessity of Jesus' death and resurrection, undermine the authority or inerrancy of scriptures, and / or minimize the importance of the Church and her mission .
What are the consequences of false doctrine?
False doctrine and false gospels lead people away from the truth of God and from His mission for the church, while simultaneously redirecting resources— such as time, effort, talents, finances, and affection— away from the church toward the false cause or belief system.
SUMMARY OF THE BIBLE STUDY
After prayer, we all turned to Galatians. Many publishers include a cover page for each book of the Bible that describes the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of that book. Three different people read their cover page and we discussed the similarities and differences.
Next, we read chapter 1 aloud and wrote down our own Who, What, When, Where, Why, How for chapter 1 and discussed what we had decided on.
After this, we looked for footnotes. The footnotes we read took us to Philippians 4:20 (which emphasized God’s authority and glory) and Galatians 2:20 (the newness of life in Christ).
We noted that in verses 3-4 Paul gives a little summary of the gospel— right before he dives into criticizing false gospels.
In verses 6-8, after marking, it becomes clear that Paul is writing against “another gospel.” He calls it a different gospel, no gospel at all, and a perversion. He concludes that a preacher of a false gospel should be cursed!
In verse 8, Paul warns not to accept a different gospel message, even if that message comes from an angel. Someone made the association with Islam. Islam was founded in AD 632 and so prior to that only Jews and Christians worshipped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This could mean that the Christians of that time (632 AD) did not reject the “gospel” message of an angel — because Mohammad supposedly received his “revelation” from the angel Gabriel— as warned by Paul in Galatians.
From there we looked at 1 Corinthians 11:14 that says that Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
MOVING FORWARD
During our time together, we also marked the names of God, the word “gospel”, and the phrase “brothers and sisters” since we recognized that those are used frequently throughout the book. We also noticed that we were moving into Paul’s autobiography or resume.
For our “homework” we could:
Look up other places where the phrase “brothers and sisters” are used
Research the difference between the phrase “brothers and sisters” and “James, the LORD’s brother”
Start a timeline of Paul’s life
Quickly read Acts, with a special focus on the life of Paul
