Part 4: How to Study the Bible

We are using the book of Galatians to practice good Bible study techniques.

REVIEW

PART ONE — Here we considered two Bible study techniques. While there are many wonderful ways to study the Bible, we are highlighting Kay Arthur’s “Precepts” Bible marking method as a great visual tool to help understand Bible passages. We are also highlighting John MacArthur’s thoughts on reading / studying the Bible. We also looked at the various Bible translations and some of their differences.

PART TWO — In this section, we examined Bible study resources and aids, such as Bible dictionaries and concordances, systematic theology books and commentaries. We also got into Galatians 1:1-11 in which Paul greets the churches, gives a gospel summary (v. 3-5) and then gives the overarching theme of his letter: the dangers of a false gospel. We don’t know what it is yet, but it’s bad. Paul wills these false teachers to destruction.

PART THREE — We continued our study of Galatians and walked through how to utilize www.blueletterbible.org for studying the Bible— such a great resource! Next we read Galatians 1:12-24— in which Paul begins to share his conversion and ministry experience. In a sense, he builds his resume:

1. He was converted on the road to Damascus (Galatians 1:15-16, Acts 9)

2. He immediately left for Arabia (maybe Mount Sinai, Gal. 4:25) without consulting anyone

3. Then after three years he went to Jerusalem to meet with Peter and James, the Lord’s brother. He stayed there for 15 days.

4. Then he went to Syria and Cilicia without visiting any Messianic Jewish communities / churches in Judea

Which brings us to…..

PART FOUR — Galatians 2:1-10

Then after 14 years, Paul went up to Jerusalem with Barnabus. That’s all Paul says in his letter to the Galatians but Acts 15 details their trip (the Bible is the best commentary on itself). In Acts 15 we see that Paul presented the gospel to the apostles in Jerusalem just as he preached it to the Gentiles and that it was approved by the leaders there.

It is in Galatians 2:3 that Paul begins to hint at the specifics of this false gospel and why a false gospel is so damaging: in practice, it is the circumcision of the Christian Gentiles; in principle, the false gospel is a works based salvation. This is further confirmed in Acts 15:1-5 where we read that Jesus-loving, Old Testament scholars (that is, Messianic Pharisees) were adding a burden to Gentile believers: circumcision.

And so we begin to get a definition of a false gospel: it’s a “gospel plus ________” message.

It is against this false message that Paul is adamantly fighting: anything that would twist the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus into something less than all-sufficient, for it is by grace we have been saved, not works.

Paul is about to go more in depth on this topic but we aren’t there yet!

Remember: there isn’t always an “application” or a “take-away” (see the end of that article). There isn’t always something we need to “apply” to our lives. But in this case by reading Acts 15:1-21 and following it up with Galatians 1:3-12 we can take away the reminder that the gospel is all about Jesus.

He gave Himself up for us.

He rescues us from this evil age.

He transforms our lives to better image Him.

There is nothing we need to do (slaves); we have freedom, thanks to Christ Jesus.

POTENTIAL AREAS OF STUDY

1. God’s covenant with Abraham. God made a special promise to Abraham. He said,

   “I will make you into a great nation,
   and I will bless you;
   I will make your name great,
   and you will be a blessing.
   I will bless those who bless you,
   and whoever curses you I will curse;
   and all peoples on earth
   will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:2-3).

   Then as a sign or a symbol of that unconditional covenant, God had Abraham and all his sons and grandsons after him circumcised. So circumcision was a good thing. It was the sign that you were a son of Abraham and that Abraham’s God was your God. And yet, in the New Testament with the New Covenant, Paul is very clear that circumcision is not required to be a spiritual child of Abraham. If you’ve read ahead, you know Paul addresses this very thing in chapter 3. Consider reading this article to aid you in your study.

2. (Infant) Baptism as the New Covenant’s “circumcision.” Anglicans believe that baptism, including infant baptism, has replaced circumcision in the New Covenant. This could be an area of study for you as well. Simply use www.blueletterbible.org and take note of all the New Testament passages that mention “baptism” and all the passages the mention “circumcision.” Make sure to read the whole chapter (and the chapters before and after the passages in question) in order to keep within the context of the book. Here is a balanced article to get you started.