Good evening. Good evening tonight. We're in second Timothy chapter 2
Second Timothy chapter 2 the Bible reads
Thou therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses
The same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also
Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ
No man that worth entangle with himself with the affairs of this life that he please him well chosen him to be a soldier
And if a man also strived for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strived lawfully.
The husband men that labored must first be first partaker of the fruits, consider what
I say and the Lord give the understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to
my gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not
bound.
that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
It is a faithful saying for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.
If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself.
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord,
that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing, the word of truth,
but shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness, and their word
will eat as doth a canker of whom is Hymenaeus and Phyletus, who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection has passed already, and
overthrow the faith of some.
Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them
that are his, and that everyone that nameeth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of
earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these,
he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepare it unto every
good work.
Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call
on the Lord out of a pure heart, but foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that
they do gender stripes.
The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men apt to teach patient,
and meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God per adventure will give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves
Let's pray to look I just thank you for every soul that's able to come to this service right now Lord
We just pray that you bless this service Lord
Please bless the preaching fill pass from here with your Holy Spirit Lord as he preaches unto us your word and that us in
the congregation could be attentive Lord and
Just take these truths from your word and apply to our lives Lord to pray this all in Jesus name. Amen
Amen. Okay, we're in 2 Timothy chapter 2 this evening and the time of my sermon tonight is guidelines for
Studying the Bible guidelines for studying the Bible the Bible tells us in verse 15 of 2 Timothy chapter 2
Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needed not to be ashamed
rightly dividing the word of truth. And of course, God wants us, commands us to study the Bible.
And in like manner, he also wants us to do this in verse 16,
but shun profane and vain babblings for they will increase unto more ungodliness. So it goes
without saying that God wants us to avoid heresy. He wants us to avoid misinterpretation of the
word of God. He wants us to avoid vain janglings and vain babblings. Why? Because it will just
meaning that it will simply evolve into more heresy,
more false teaching, more false doctrine.
And God wants us to be accurate when we say to the Bible.
He wants us to know what the Bible is actually teaching.
And so tonight I'm gonna give you seven guidelines
to study the word of God so we could avoid false doctrine,
avoid heresy, avoid teaching something
and believing something that's wrong,
a misinterpretation of the Bible.
Now, when you hear a sermon like this,
Well, this doesn't really apply to me because I'm not really planning to be a pastor.
I'm not planning to be a deacon.
I'm not planning to be an evangelist.
You know, I'm a woman, so definitely I'm definitely not going to be a pastor one day.
I'm not striving to be like Joyce Myers or anything like that, you know.
So this doesn't really apply.
But here's the thing is that there's a difference between understanding the Bible and teaching the Bible.
You know, God wants pastors and those who are going into the position of a bishop, of a deacon,
apt to teach. In other words, they not only have to have an understanding of the Word
of God, but they also have to have the ability to communicate the Word of God. Whereas all
Christians are commanded to understand the Bible.
You know, there's a big difference between understanding the Bible and imparting that which you understand to someone else.
And so teaching the Bible obviously requires, you know, having the skill of teaching it and imparting that knowledge.
But you know what? God wants us all to understand the Word of God.
He wants us all to have the capability of rightly dividing the Word of Truth, understanding what's on the page,
even if you're not going to communicate it to someone else.
He wants us to acquire that knowledge even if we're not going to impart it to another person.
So this does apply to you. Now obviously it applies to people who want to be pastors.
It applies to the men who want to be able to teach other people and things of that nature,
but in reality generally just applies to every Christian because we are supposed to be reading
the Word of God and be students of the Bible and therefore this is very much important. Now let me
And the first thing I want to mention here, by way of introduction, is that in order for us to be successful at being students of the Bible,
we need to read the right Bible, okay?
And by the right Bible, I'm referring to the King James Version of the Bible.
And, you know, you have students of the Bible out there, so-called, but they're using the wrong versions.
You know, they're using the NIV, they're using the ESV.
And they're, it's essentially a fool's errand to try to learn to write doctrine.
from wrong Bibles, okay?
Why?
Because a lot of these modern versions of the Bible
remove verses, they add content,
they teach false ways of salvation,
they're not faithful to the underlying texts
of Greek and Hebrew,
so therefore they should be shunned.
That is the vain and profane babblings, right?
Of modern days.
So if you truly wanna understand the Bible,
you need to make sure that you're reading
the correct word of God,
the only word of God for the English-speaking people,
of the Bible. But also, let me also say this by way of introduction, is that when
we read the Bible, in order for us to understand it, we actually have to read
it in faith. Meaning, you got to read the Bible believing the Bible.
Don't approach the Bible in a critical manner, wondering if there's any mistakes or contradictions.
We need to approach the Bible in faith.
He that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
And so when we open up the Word of God, we should approach the Word of God knowing full
well this is God's Word.
this is inspired, this is divinely preserved for me to read, this is exactly what God wanted me to
understand and read in 2025. And so we need to make sure that we do that. And the reason that's
important is because if you've been reading the Bible for any length of time, you could attest to
Or you've come across a passage that seems to contradict the overall narrative of the Bible in regards to some specific doctrine that we believe and you kind of
It kind of perplexes you right? I know when I first got saved
I would read passages and I think to myself whoa this kind of threw me for a loop
I don't really understand this this would almost contradict what I believe about salvation or what the Bible's narrative is about salvation
This seems to be out of place of the general narrative of the word of God
But here was my resolution.
Here's my solution to that.
And that is, I'm going to believe it anyways.
And someday I will understand what this means.
And I know that this verse is true.
This verse is right.
And it's my interpretation of this verse that's incorrect.
If I felt like it was contradicting other portions
of scripture.
And I think of the song.
I forgot what the song is called it's it's about the Bible but the verse in the song says this if you find when you read it
That there's something wrong. There's something wrong with you
Right, you know when you find when you read the word of God and you feel like there's something wrong in the Bible
Just come to this conclusion. Oh, there's something wrong with me. Okay. I'm not interpreting the word of God correctly
There's something wrong with my interpretation because there are no contradictions
The word of God is without error. It's an errant. It's infallible. It's indestructible and so you need to give it some time
Okay, the last thing I want to mention is that in order for us to understand the Bible we have to be saved
Okay, that's pretty obvious point there right you know the Bible tells us in whom you also trusted after that you heard the
Word of truth the gospel of your salvation and whom also after that you believed you were sealed
With that Holy Spirit of promise and according to the Bible once you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
The Holy Spirit comes to reside within you
He's sealed within you and the Bible calls him the spirit of truth that teaches you the word of God
Let me read to you from John 16 and verse 13. You don't have to turn there. It says how be it
when he the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of
himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he will show you things to come so
part of studying the bible is submitting yourself to the ministry of the holy spirit meaning that
when you read the word of god you're to pray for understanding and not rush the holy spirit to
understand certain things okay it's just like well i'm not understanding so the holy spirit is not
I know in my personal life as a new believer years ago,
obviously there are certain things that I didn't understand
and it wasn't because it's the Holy Spirit's fault.
It's probably because I can't handle it yet.
My mind is insaturated with enough word of God and Bible
doctrine to quite understand the deep things of God.
Because the Bible tells us that he shows us
the deep things of God, right?
The Holy Spirit does.
And so part of understanding the Bible, you have to be saved.
Now, with that being said, let me give you these seven guidelines to studying the Word of God,
to rightly divide the Word of truth.
Now, hold your place here in 2 Timothy 2.
We'll come back to that in just a bit.
And go to John chapter 14, if you would, John chapter 14.
Guideline number one to understanding and studying the Word of God.
This is very basic.
My first two points are pretty basic.
Number one is that the Bible should be read repeatedly.
In order to study the Bible, a good guideline to study the Bible,
a standard for studying the Bible is that you need to read the Bible
every single day from cover to cover.
Now I'm not saying Genesis to Revelation in one day,
I'm just saying you should endeavor making your goal
to read from Genesis to Revelation repeatedly
all the days of your life.
This is a lifelong process.
Now why is that important to even mention?
Well, because sometimes people will have this attitude of studying the Bible,
but they're actually not reading the Bible.
They only study passages of Scripture in the Bible.
They want to study a specific passage or a specific scripture, so they only go to that
particular passage and the passage that referenced that particular topic, but they kind of avoid
just reading the Bible holistically.
Whereas we should be reading the Bible entirely holistically to gain a comprehensive and holistic
understanding of the Word of God, the mind needs to be frequently saturated with the Bible.
And as students of the Bible, we need to familiarize ourselves with its content.
And you know, the best way to do this is by repeatedly reading it day in, day out, week
in, week out, month in, month out, year in, year out.
And this is why it's important, my friends, that you follow the Bible reading schedule.
You know, I hope that you haven't fallen behind, but if you have, it's okay, we're still in
January.
Okay?
You have tonight to catch up, you have tomorrow to catch up, catch up, you know, just make
okay because then it begins to turn into a monster and then at that point you're
gonna go back to just studying the passage of scripture and not actually
reading the Bible holistically and if you don't have a Bible reading schedule
get one for me or for one of the ushers after the service you know you should
have a systematic manner in which you are reading the Bible but the point is
that you need to read it repeatedly throughout your life okay
And this is one of the major differences between fundamental Baptist churches and many other churches is that a lot of churches don't really emphasize or push
reading the Bible. Why is that? Well, if we were to think of the nefarious reason why, it's possibly because the pastor doesn't want you to understand the Bible
so that he can just teach you any kind of false doctrine, you just believe it.
But it's important for you to read the word of God day in and day out cover to cover holistically
Let me read to you from Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16. It says here let the word of Christ
Dwell in you listen to this
richly
In all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord now. I want you to notice that it says that the word of Christ should dwell within us
Richly what does richly mean? It means in a generous manner
Plentifully now what conclusion can we come based upon that verse? Well as a Christian
We should endeavor to saturate our minds with the Bible through either listening to it
reading it in the morning, playing it in your house,
listening to songs that emphasize the Bible,
you know, it's kind of like the Bible should be the centerpiece of your life, right?
You start off the mornings by reading the Bible and maybe you're on your way to work
or you're on your way somewhere and you can turn on an Alexander score B or turn on some
preaching.
What I'm saying is the Word of God should be saturating the mind on a consistent basis.
Okay?
The Bible talks about that this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but
thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to
all that is written therein.
For then thou shalt make that way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
And obviously as a student of the Bible, we would define prosperity as understanding the Bible.
So in order for us to be prosperous in that manner, we have to meditate upon the Word of God.
How do we do that by saturating our minds with it? The Bible also says in Psalm 119 in verse 30,
the entrance of thy words giveth light and giveth
understanding to the simple. Look at John chapter 14 and verse 26, if you would, John chapter 14 verse 26.
But the Comforter referring to the Holy Spirit, Comforter is just another name for the Holy Spirit.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,
He shall teach you all things, and I want you to notice this, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you."
Now go to Deuteronomy chapter 17, Deuteronomy chapter 17.
So it says here that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit,
We'll teach us all things, right?
He will minister to us the Word of God as we read the Bible, but it also says that he's
going to bring all things to our remembrance.
Now in order for the Holy Spirit to remind us of the Bible, there needs to be content
to remember, right?
How is he going to remind you of biblical content that you have never read or meditated
upon and needs to be already in the vessel?
So when you read the Word of God and you don't understand certain portions, don't worry about it,
the Holy Spirit can bring that into remembrance and make connections as you read other portions of Scripture.
And I think almost everyone could probably attest to a time in their life where they read something they did not understand.
But then somewhere along down the road a couple years in as they're reading the word of God
They come across another passage or scripture maybe in the New Testament
And it's almost as if you're reminded of that passage you didn't understand in the Old Testament
And what happens is you make that connection and you're like whoa now I understand what that means
That's the Holy Spirit bringing those things into remembrance. Okay now
Memorization of the scripture aids with this
Absolutely, but reading the Bible repeatedly actually gets the job done as well, okay?
And so I definitely encourage people to memorize scripture, memorize chapters, memorize passages,
but really one of the most effective ways to saturate the mind with Bible content is
just reading the Bible every single day for the rest of your life.
The more Bible we read, the greater the recall, the deeper the understanding.
When the entire Bible is read, you actually see the bigger picture.
So this is why, you know, a lot of these scholars only want to focus on certain portions of Scripture.
Scholars so-called.
But at the end of the day, God wants us to see the bird's eye view of the Word of God.
You know, you can't just understand the Word of God by just reading one portion.
You have to have the holistic view of the Word of God
in order to get the overall purpose of the Bible.
is given by inspiration of God,
it's profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness,
and it says that the man of God
may be perfect, thoroughly furnished,
unto all good works.
So in order for a man of God to be effective
in the ministry, to be a good spouse,
to be a good employee,
to have good understanding of the word of God,
what's needed? A small percentage of the Bible?
No, you need all Scripture.
in order to be profitable in those areas look at Deuteronomy 17. It's one of my
favorite passages of scripture here when dealing with reading the Bible it says
in verse 18 and it shall be when he referring to the king siteth upon the
throne of his kingdom that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out
of that which is before the priest the Levites and it shall be with him and he
shall read therein all the days of his life
He may learn to fear the Lord his God to keep all the words of this law and these statutes to do them
What a wonderful commandment that was given to these monarchs, right? God is telling them. Hey when you when you guys have a king
I want them to literally transcribe the word of God, a copy for themselves, and they're
to read it every single day, to keep the king humble, to keep the king eternally minded,
to keep the king from getting involved in sin and getting involved in covetousness, but
also to help the king to fear God and to keep his commandments.
Now, you may look at a portion of scripture like this and think to yourself, well, this
is for the kings though.
Well, guess what?
We're kings too.
Amen.
And so, you know, yeah, okay, so we should just oh, yeah, this is for Kings
I can't read I shouldn't read the word this is this commandment is only for Kings, you know
Just like, you know proper 31 where the commandment is given to the King not to drink alcohol. Oh, yeah
That's only for Kings, you know, we but it's okay for us to do it or something's nonsense
Obviously we can apply this scripture to ourselves
Because of the fact that there's many other portions of scripture that command us to give attendance to reading to exhortation to doctrine
And so, just as the king is commanded to read therein all the days of his life,
guess what? That's applicable to you and to me as well.
Now, fortunately, you don't have to transcribe the Bible every single day.
Now, you can if you want to, but one's already made for you, right?
You just have to go purchase it. If you don't want to buy one, we can get you one.
The point is, read the Bible holistically.
Let me also say this is why we as a church read the entire chapter, every single service
when the sermon goes on, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Thursday night, we want to give attendance
to reading to exhortation to doctrine, which is a passage of Scripture within its context
is telling us that churches should be reading the Word of God for the people as well.
You don't have to turn to verse 13. Verse 15 says,
Meditate upon these things, give thyself holy to them, that thy profiting may appear to all.
Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine, continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.
So, guideline number one for studying the Bible, read the Bible repeatedly.
And I would hope that...
If last year you failed in this area, you fell short in that area of reading the Bible,
well, you know, as a new year, pick up the Bible, read it through,
and don't bite off more than you can chew.
If you couldn't read the Bible through once last year,
don't say I'm going to read it through three times this year.
I'm going to read it through two times this year.
I'm going to make up for last year. Just read it through once.
Okay, don't bite off more than you can chew paste yourself use that Bible reading schedule and
Read the Bible repeatedly and look this isn't a race
Right. This is I mean you're racing against yourself, but this isn't a sprint. It's a marathon
And so the goal should be, you know, I'm going to read through the Bible in 2025, but I'm also going to read the Bible through in 2026 and 2027 and for the rest of my life, that is the goal.
Guideline number one, read the Bible through repeatedly.
Guideline number two, study the Bible with the intent to acquire knowledge and apply wisdom.
So we should approach studying the Bible with the intent to acquire the knowledge of the Bible
But also to apply that that which we're learning go to Psalm 111 if you would Psalm 111
Psalm 111. Now this is important because you know a lot of churches specifically fundamental Baptist churches will often have this attitude of like
Hey, you should read the Bible for
Inspiration not information. It's a very common phrase amongst the old IFB
Almost to the point where they kind of downplay the importance of just learning the content and the knowledge of the Bible
But let me just remind you that the Bible says to grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And God does not want us to remain simple
when it comes to the things of God.
He doesn't want us to have a simplistic disposition
when it comes to studying the Word of God.
He wants us to know the Word of God.
But in like manner, we're also supposed to apply the Word of God as well.
Now there's going to be instances where you learn something from the Bible
and actually there's no application to it.
Right, it's just information. You're learning and that's good for example, you know
We learn about the wrath of God in Revelation chapter 8 and on but we don't have to apply it
Because we're not even gonna be here
But it's knowledge that he wants you to know
Obviously we can extrapolate some application where it's like knowing
Therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men right like knowing that the wrath of God is gonna be poured upon this world
That should motivate us to soul one right
We can extrapolate that but in general it's not like all right, man
I got to make sure I get saved or something because I don't want to we're already saved
It's just knowledge that God wants you to have and we don't want to downplay knowledge
We do want to understand that knowledge puff it up charity edify it, but we need both okay, and so
Knowledge is imparted. Let me say this knowledge is imparted into the person that puts what they have learned into practice
So a good motivator for you to understand the Bible is make sure you do the Bible.
When you learn something put it into practice
Even if it's a secondary application
Seek to put that have the intention to put what you're learning into practice even if it's in a small way
Why because the more you practice what you learn the more it gets ingrained in who you are
And you're able to recall it that much the more I'm gonna read to you from James chapter 1 before we go to Psalm
111 James 1 verse 22 says but be doers of the word
Not here is only deceiving your own selves, for if any be a hero of the word, and not a doer,
he is like unto a man, beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself,
and goeth his way, and straightway forgeteth with man, or a man he was. But whoso looketh
unto the perfect law of liberty, and continueeth therein, he be not a forgetful hearer,
but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." I want my Bible study to be blessed.
Well, in order for that to happen, I need to make sure that I'm actually applying that which I'm reading.
Look at Psalm 111 and verse 10, it says here,
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and I want you to notice this,
A good understanding have all they that do His commandments, His praise endureth forever.
Hey, do you want good understanding? Then do His commandments.
If you want a plenary, thorough understanding of the Scripture, apply that which you are learning.
Go to 2 Corinthians 3.
2 Corinthians 3.
And let me give you just a practical example of this particular point regarding doing what you've learned.
You know, the Bible tells us that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.
In my personal life and observing other Christians, the people who know the Bible the best are those who go soul-winning.
Those who go and actually preach the gospel are often the people who have a very good understanding of the scriptures
Now why is that well obviously from a divine perspective?
We can say God imparts knowledge to those who are actually doing the work. It's like a reward, right?
It's like a reward, you know you you you read the word of God
You go soul winning and God just gives you knowledge of the Bible and that's absolutely true
But here's the thing is that you know the reason why Christians?
Actually know the word of God because they go so on these because they're always confronted with situations with people where people ask them questions
So they're constantly exercising that muscle of learning the Word of God.
People are asking them questions about different topics, about different doctrines,
forcing them into a position where they have to learn what the Bible says about that specific topic.
Therefore, you're actually learning the Word of God and applying it in real time, right?
Because how many of you have ever been stumped at the door with the Bible question?
You know, I know I have those of you who have not you just perfect time
You just know you you just do with the commands of God all the time, you know
But I know I've been stumped where it's just like yeah, that's a good. That's a good thing. That was a curve ball
I didn't expect that one, but you know, I'll tell you something when that happens to me
You know what I do. I'm like, I will never get stumped at ever again
You know, I'm gonna go back and I'm gonna learn that and I'm gonna put that in my arsenal and make sure that I'm ready for the next time
So it causes me to study the Bible with the intent to put myself in that situation again
So that I can teach the Bible to that person or answer that particular question
So this is why Christians who actively soul in
Can recall Bible stories or passages because they're constantly using them, right?
You know and look don't take this for granted
Because you'd be surprised how many people out there they can't even find the book of Romans
You know they can't find certain passages of scripture
They don't know where they're at whereas I'm sure your soul winning Bible has that little stain there
Right because you've referenced that passage of scripture so many times
It's just like your Bible is dirty from just your thumb because you got dirty thumbs and you're just constantly but it's a good thing
You know you got dirty and you constantly flip into that passage
You're actually applying
The portions of scripture that are being mentioned so
This is important. So, guideline number one, we said, the Bible should be read repeatedly.
Read the Bible.
Guideline number two, study the Bible with the intent to acquire knowledge and apply wisdom.
Guideline number three, understand the divisions of the Bible.
Understand the divisions of the Bible.
We started off the sermon in 2 Timothy chapter two that commands us to rightly divide the word of truth.
Now let me explain what that doesn't mean, okay?
You know because this phrase rightly dividing the word of truth has been perverted
By the dipsticks of this world named the dispensation list
Who will perverse 2 Timothy 2 15 to mean that God has divided history into seven different dispensations?
Okay, seven different ways of getting saved
Seven church ages and there's all these types of divisions in the Bible that they impose upon the word of God that don't exist
Okay
And I'm not saying that every dispensationalist is just a damnable heretic, because that's not true.
Because there's some, there's some light dispensationalists out there who just are obsessed with Jews and, you know,
they, they believe we can disappear at any moment or whatever, and that's what they want to believe, then they can be wrong about that.
But then there's some hardcore dispensationalists, we would call them hyper dispensationalists, who pervert the doctrine of salvation.
Because they say there's different manners of ways
of getting saved throughout history, OK?
And that's wrong.
And they'll point to 2 Timothy 2.15 by saying, well,
you have to learn how to rightly divide the word of truth.
You got to reference Clarence Larkin's book
on rightly dividing the word of truth and use his charts.
That's how you can get a plenary understanding
of the different dispensations of the Bible,
even though the word dispensation is only
mentioned like three times.
But there's seven different dispensations apparently, okay? That's not what it's referring to
Now is the Bible divided? Absolutely. Okay first and foremost the Bible is divided into two sections, right?
Old Testament New Testament
Let me read you from 2nd Corinthians or you're in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse number 5 says not that we are sufficient of
Ourselves to think anything of as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God
who also have made us able ministers of the New Testament.
Not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.
So first and foremost, I want you to understand that, according to the Bible, we are New Testament Christians, okay?
Not only that, but the Bible divides it between the letter and the Spirit.
The letter referring to the Old Testament, the Spirit is actually referring to the New Testament.
So the Bible is divided into two main sections, each further organized into distinct categories, okay?
Old New Testament, Old Testament, you have the books of the law, Genesis through Deuteronomy.
Then you have the historical books, which is Joshua through Esther.
Poetical books, Job, all the way through Song of Solomon.
Then you have the major prophets, Isaiah through Daniel.
Then you have the minor prophets, Hosea, all the way to Malachi.
broken up also into different sections you have the gospels
the acts of the apostles which is would be considered somewhat of a historical
account
you have the epistles and then you have eschatology with the book of revelation
now turn with me if you would to daniel chapter nine daniel chapter nine if you
wouldn't
Now, this is important, right? Understanding the divisions of the Bible and the fact that each section is further organized into distinct categories is very important to understand when it comes to studying the Bible.
Why is that? Well, this leads me into my fourth guideline, and that is that subjects should be studied within the category that majors on those themes and doctrines.
Let me repeat that again, guideline number four is that subjects should be studied within the category
that majors on those themes and doctrines, okay? You see there's certain books of the Bible that
specialize in particular topics and doctrines. You should know what books of the Bible to reference
when you're studying a specific subject.
Why is that? Well, because if we're talking about salvation, we don't want to reference the book of Proverbs.
It's a political book that has nothing to do with salvation, okay?
Now let's look at an example of this. Look at Daniel chapter 9 verse 2. It says here
Daniel chapter 9 verse 2 says in the first year of his reign I Daniel listen to this
understood by books
The number of the years
Whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of
Jerusalem
So I want you to notice that in order for Daniel to understand how long the captivity the Babylonian captivity was
He didn't reference the Pentateuch. He didn't reference Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers. What is he referencing?
He's referencing the book of Jeremiah that specialized in the Babylonian
Captivity then you had the discernment that if you wanted to know how long they were going to be in captivity for he
Needs to reference the book of Jeremiah because that's a book that specializes on the captivity and specifically how long they were
Going to be gone for okay, go to John chapter 20 if you would John chapter 20
We also see let me read to you from Matthew 24 and verse 15
Jesus Christ when addressing the end times says when he therefore shall see the abomination of desolation
spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
stand in the holy place, listen to this,
whoso readeth, let him understand.
When Jesus Christ is addressing the subject of end times,
he addresses what?
He references what?
The book of Daniel.
Why?
Because the book of Daniel is a book that specializes
on end times Bible prophecy, okay?
Now why is this important?
Well, let me explain to you why this is important.
False prophets like to use books of the Bible to have little or nothing to do with the particular
subject that they are trying to pervert.
Jehovah's Witnesses like to use Ecclesiastes to teach on the doctrine of salvation.
Repent of your sins, the repent of your sins crowd likes to quote from Matthew, Mark, and
Luke, but not from John.
They avoid John.
Why?
Because Matthew, Mark, and Luke has the phrase, Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
That phrase, Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is in hand, is not found in the book of John.
Why? Because the book of John is one of the four Gospels that really hones in on and majors on how to communicate the Gospel
in a very simplistic manner that the entire world can understand.
Look at John chapter 20 verse 30, and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book,
but these are written.
Referring to the book of John that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and that believing you might have life
Through his name. I mean how many times have you've gone into?
Argument or a debate with someone who believes in a repent of your sins false gospel, and they never quote the book of John I
Can't tell you I can't even
Recall a conversation that I've had with someone who believes in a false gospel that ever addresses the book of John period
John 3.16, which is the most famous verse in the Bible,
especially when it comes to salvation, right?
And the book of John is very, it communicates,
it puts the cookie on the bottom shelf.
When it comes to salvation, because let's just be honest,
the doctrine of justification and salvation can be very deep, right?
There's portions of the Bible, for example,
a very systematic book on justification would be what?
The book of Romans.
And it goes deep into this subject of justification, glorification, sanctification, salvation,
by faith, imputation, requires a little more maturity in that subject.
But here's the thing, though, is that in order for someone who just doesn't know any of that
to get saved and to understand the Bible, the book of John is great, because it's very
elementary, very rudimentary when it comes to its language, communicating the gospel.
Just believe.
He that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life.
He that believeth not the sun shall not see life,
but the wrath of God to bindeth on them.
I mean, a child can understand that.
It's written in a very simplistic manner.
Therefore, the book of John majors on the doctrine of salvation by grace to faith.
All you have to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is a book that needs to be referenced for salvation, not Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Now are there verses can we explain those verses in Matthew Mark Luke and John? Absolutely, but they need to be explained
In light of the clear scriptures such as the book of John
Not be referenced as the main scriptures for salvation because people can get confused
Okay
We're to have you to go to Roman chapter 4 Roman chapter 4
You know Judaizers
Like the Hebrew roots movement the 7-day Adventists and the like will use the Old Testament
To teach you that you have to keep the law
But will avoid books such as Romans Galatians Colossians and Hebrews
So a lot of these Hebrew roots type Judaizers. They love the Old Testament
They love the book of Exodus. They love Leviticus. They love Numbers and Deuteronomy
But they will avoid the epistles of Paul like the plague
You know, it's funny how a lot of these Judaizers just love they claim to love the Word of God
They claim to love the Bible, but you know, they just never talk about what Jesus said
About Jews and about the synagogue of Satan they avoid that like the plague even though that is a very clear portion of Scripture
I mean he's like the authority if all we had was Jesus if we're just supposed to listen to Jesus
That's all we needed right there
Right to give clarification is what he thinks about that?
Liberal churches
Will use the book of John to teach the love of God, but will ardently avoid the Old Testament books that major on the moral laws
You know, they love sticking to the New Testament if they go to the Old Testament might be for what the book of Psalms
Right, maybe Psalm 23
Maybe Psalm 1 maybe the book of Proverbs
But God forbid you should study Leviticus 18, Leviticus chapter 20, Deuteronomy, or any other portion of the Scripture in the Old Testament.
And they'll say, well, that's Old Testament. Then why didn't you just throw it out then, huh?
It's crazy how people are like, yeah, but that's Old Testament.
So are you saying we should just tear out that portion of our Bible and never reference it ever again?
No, because the Old Testament, though we're New Testament Christians, the Old Testament has its place in the life of a Christian.
And that's why the Bible says that all scripture is profitable.
And so yeah, we're not going to address, we're not going to cite the book of Leviticus for
verses on salvation.
We're not going to cite it for how to read the Bible.
We're not going to cite it for how to resolve, or maybe you can't resolve it for a certain
conflict, amen.
But you know, a certain Christian, New Testament practices, how to conduct the administration
of a church, but you know what, it has its place.
So, it's nonsensical to say we can never reference these scriptures because it's Old Testament.
You're basically saying, God, you made a mistake by putting this book in the Bible.
It has its place.
And so, we need to understand that each book has its major that it talks about, and let
me also say this is that the fundamentals of the faith, meaning salvation, the resurrection,
the doctrine of hell, heaven, the trinity, the word of God, the fundamentals of the faith
When you want to learn the fundamentals of the faith, you do not go to the Old Testament.
You go to the New Testament.
And here's one of my favorite phrases.
The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.
The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
And let me just say this, and it's not sacrilegious to say it, that the New Testament is better than the Old Testament.
And if all we had for the rest of history, any section, we'd go with the New Testament, right?
We think God and we have both.
But the Bible literally calls the New Testament a better covenant established upon better promises with a better mediator.
So you need to make sure that whatever doctrine, systematic doctrine you're learning, you're getting it first from the New Testament.
And then you get the Old Testament passages to reinforce those clear teachings, okay?
Let me read to you from Mark chapter 9 before we go into Romans chapter 4 this last verse here for this point that I'm making
about
Subjects being studied in the category, you know with the books that major on those specific themes
Mark chapter 9 is the Mount Transfiguration
I'm not actually going to read the whole thing, but it's the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus goes to the Mount and who shows up you got
Moses and you got Elijah
And of course, Peter is there.
Peter, James, and John, they see this,
and they're amazed by it.
Peter puts his foot in his mouth,
and he's like, can I make three tabernacles?
And he's just like, what's that for, you know?
And it's a very notable miracle that takes place here.
But it's very interesting because once it's all said
and done, verse seven says this,
and there was a cloud that overshadowed them,
and a voice came out of the cloud saying,
this is my beloved son, hear him.
And obviously, this is elevating and exalting the fact that Jesus Christ is the ultimate authority.
But isn't it interesting that it isn't necessary to negate the authority of Moses or the authority of Elijah
as just saying that Jesus Christ of the New Testament is far more important?
You know, think about this. Moses represents the what? The law.
Elijah represents the what? The prophets.
But when it comes to Jesus, here he is.
Showing us that the emphasis should always be placed upon Jesus Christ. This is why when we started the Bible we study it looking for
Jesus Christ
We study it seeking out Jesus Christ even in the Old Testament, okay?
Because it all revolves around him so what are the guidelines guideline number one is the Bible should be read repeatedly
Number two studied the Bible with the intent to acquire knowledge and to apply wisdom
Number three understand the divisions of the Bible
Number four is that subjects should be studied within the category that majors on those themes and doctrines
guideline number five is this
Fundamental doctrines are firmly established through clear teachings in the Bible. What is a clear teaching?
John 3 16 is a clear teaching
Okay, and you know I've never made a heretic that could really explain to me what John 3 16 means
When they're just like no you got it, you know faith without works is dead and you call John 3 16
I can explain to them John James chapter 2
But they can't seem to explain John 3 16. Why cuz it's too easy. It's too clear
It's just right there for God so let's it's the verse that even unsafe people can quote
right
The only unsafe people that could quote James 2 are the ones that think that they're saved
But people who are not saved who don't even claim the name of Christ they can quote you John 3 16
Because God wants all the world to know right?
Look at Romans chapter 4
In verse number one is this what shall we say then that Abraham our father is pertaining to the flesh had found
For if Abraham were justified by works he has where of to glory but not before God
For what sayeth the scripture?
Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness
Not to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt
But to him that worketh not but believe it on him to justify it the ungodly
His faith is counted for righteousness now verse 5 of Romans 4 is a very clear portion of scripture
That teaches us that it's not by works and it's so clear and concise
It's so blatant that it even uses the phrase,
but to him that worketh not.
Because people could say, well, we're not saved by works.
But if you don't work, you're not saved.
Well, here it says, but to him that worketh not.
So it's even given the example, if this person just never
does any works, he's still justified because he believed.
And quite frankly, I've never met a heretic that
can explain that verse to me.
They always jump around and go to different portions of scripture, but they can never actually correctly interpret this portion.
Now, while stories, dark sayings, and what I mean by dark sayings, I mean, you know, these portions of scripture that are enigmatic, they're hard to understand, that's what a dark saying is.
While stories, dark sayings, and parables can reinforce doctrines, they should not be used as the foundation for establishing them.
Okay, so you should never go to some enigmatic dark saying of the Old Testament in order to prove a doctrine
It only reinforces
Doctrines that are already clearly stated in the New Testament that are already clearly said, okay?
And in fact, you know even in the New Testament by the way
Because who is the writer of the New Testament that has some of the darkest sayings?
Apostle Paul
I mean, when you read, for example, Second Corinthians,
he has so many run-on sentences,
it's just like, you kind of lost me for a bit there, all right?
Let me read this again, because it's so,
you know, he just writes in that style where it's kind of dark,
not dark like in dark humor,
I'm talking about like dark as in like,
it's hard to understand, okay?
In fact, Second Peter chapter three, verse 15 says,
as also in all his epistles,
speaking in them of these things
in which are some things hard to be understood,
Which they that are unlearned and unstable rest meaning that they twist as they do also the other scriptures unto their own destruction
Ye therefore beloved seeing you know these things before beware
Lest he also being led away with the air of the wicked fall from your own steadfastness
What does this tell us it's telling us that wicked people false prophets actually know what they're doing
When they take these very enigmatic enigmatic scriptures, they do what the intent to twist them
Because there's a lot of dark sayings in the Old Testament
where you can kind of extrapolate any interpretation.
You can pretty much use it to teach anything
because it's not clear, right?
And so false prophets will use that instead
of going to John 3.16, John 3.36, Romans 4.5,
the book of Romans, they'd rather go
to the very dark portions of scripture
where you can pretty much pull out any type of interpretation.
And so fundamental doctrines are firmly established through clear teachings in the Bible.
So what are we saying here? Let me repeat these guidelines here.
The Bible should be read repeatedly.
You should study the Bible with the intent to acquire knowledge and apply wisdom.
Understand that the Bible, excuse me, understand the divisions of the Bible.
Subjects should be studied within the category that majors on those themes and doctrines.
Fundamental doctrines are firmly established through clear teachings in the Bible guideline number six and we're almost done
Here's a very obvious one, but it's very important and that is study verses within their context
Context by the way is just another way of saying within its text. Okay
Now that I have you turn somewhere
They have you go anywhere
Go to Deuteronomy chapter 30 Deuteronomy chapter 30
I'm going to read to you from 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 16 says,
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables.
When we may known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
Notice that He says, cunningly devised fables.
The Bible also talks about that we henceforth
be no more children tossed about, carried about
with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men,
and cunning crafting is whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
The Bible also says in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 when talking about the interpretation of Scripture it says in verse 13
Which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth
But which the Holy Ghost teacheth comparing spiritual things with spiritual
This is when we say that you need to interpret Scripture with Scripture not isolate a verse
and build up an entire argument off of that one verse,
but rather already have an established doctrine
and use other portions to reinforce those doctrines, okay?
Not isolate scriptures.
Now passages, what are some of the passages
that people take out of context?
Matthew seven?
That's a major one.
I mean, that entire chapter is just butchered by people.
Judge not, be not judge,
and just scribble out the rest of that chapter.
You know, he shouldn't judge anybody because the Bible says judge not lest he be judge. They didn't quote
You got one verse to quote
You could even get that one right. He said less. There's no less there
Judge not that you be not judged.
And it's just like, that's the all-end scripture
to never be mean to anybody, to never call out sin,
to never call out any false doctrine, just never judge.
That's a verse that's taken literally.
It's completely ripped out of context, right?
James 2, faith without works is dead.
Being alone, one of the most notorious passages
to be taken out of context, OK?
And so, you know, people use this all the time.
I mean, just mark it down.
If you ever post anything on social media about grace,
getting saved by grace through faith alone,
just mark it down.
If some false prophet sees it, they're
going to put James to.
Just mark it down.
It's always going to happen.
You always have someone put it, faith without works is dead.
Or some variation of that, right?
Faith without works is unalive, you know, whatever
they say nowadays.
But here's the thing is that you say well that is in its context well the context of the chapter is not about salvation
You know the context of the book itself is actually written to believers
It's actually about being a respecter of people
Okay, and quite frankly the vast majority of the people who quote James chapter 2 to preach a false gospel
If you gave them the Bible and said find me James chapter 2 they wouldn't be able to do it
They're just parroting what other people say
They rip Matthew 7 out of context. They rip James chapter 2 out of context has nothing to do with that
Matthew chapter 7 has to do with false prophets
You know and it's crazy by the way in Matthew because Matthew 7 also, you know the mid part of Matthew 7 they take out of context
Talking about you know, many was saying to me that day Lord Lord and so they mock and criticize the sinners prayer
They mock and criticize calling upon the name of the Lord for salvation using Matthew chapter 7
Many will say to me in that day Lord or first of all, I'm saying unto him Lord save me today if I'm not saying not then
Secondly that portion of scripture is addressing false prophets who are depending on their works
So the very false doctrine they're promoting is
The very false doctrine that Matthew chapter 7 is fighting against
Right they're like, oh, you can't just believe and call upon the name of the Lord
Many will say to me in that day Lord Lord. Yeah, but what else do they say?
Done many wonderful works cast out devils in thy name
Prophecy in thy name. These are all works
They're doing the things that you do and they're not saved
Why do they do that because they're ripping it out of context, okay?
James you had a context let me give you another one that they were about a context Genesis chapter 12
You know when they want to worship the Jews in Israel and you know
One of the funniest me obviously what's going on in Los Angeles isn't funny
You know, I believe God is judging it, but there's righteous people there. It's sad was taking place there
But you know, I enjoy a good meme every once in a while. Okay, forgive me
But one of the memes I saw I love is just like oh man, it's so devastating all these fires. Let's send a billion dollars to Israel
It's just like that's the solution to every problem. It's just like oh man something catastrophic happened
Let's send money to Israel right now, you know I
Saw another let me let me deviate from the sermon just to tell you about another meme
But it's a one of these videos are real, but real is a kind of like memes now and this real is just like if movies were actually accurate
And it's just like mr. President mr. President, you know the aliens have come and they destroyed
You know, Washington DC and they're threatened to destroy the rest of the country
He's like what send a billion dollars to Israel. I was like if movies were accurate. That's what that's probably what would happen
I mean Israel or Ukraine one of the two, right?
Well, you know
The people who are who would listen to this who hate this mostly the people in the South they're like brother
You can say that all you want, but
Genesis chapter 12
Says bless them that bless thee
You know, and it's just like you're ripping it out of context. Yeah, let's just go ahead and avoid Galatians 316 then
So are you an Old Testament Christian because you're acting like you don't know the New Testament
You know
I would get that if you're just completely confused about it and you're only stuck in the Old Testament
But we're New Testament Christians here, and we have the entire book of Galatians that literally
Gives us the interpretation of Genesis chapter 12
And if you're a New Testament Christian, guess what the New Testament supersedes the old
We don't interpret Galatians 3 16 based off of Genesis chapter 12. We interpret Genesis chapter 12 based off of Galatians 3 16
There's a slew of scriptures that destroy Zionism.
Brother, I just believe the Bible.
No, you don't.
I just believe the Bible, brother.
I just, you know, I'm just gonna pray for it.
Find me a verse in the New Testament
that says to pray for Israel.
I'll find you one in the old.
Find me one in the new
because you're a New Testament Christian.
Find me one in the new.
Because I can find you verses in the New Testament
that praise against Israel.
And so, you know, passages are taken out of context,
so it's important for us to know the context.
And what do we mean by context?
When you run into a passage that you don't understand,
you've got to read the verses before and the verses after,
even the chapters before and the chapters after.
I don't think you've got to go too far,
but, you know, you've got to work your way out
of that passage of Scripture.
Why?
Because sometimes people think...
You know because we have the divisions of the chapters that automatically this thought is only isolated to this portion of this chapter
But sometimes it just it's you know, it's it's overflow as residual
From the previous chapter, so we got to study it holistically in its context, okay?
So read the Bible in its context, and let me also say this you also have to read the context of the entire Bible
Meaning that if the Bible
Holistically teaches that we're saved by grace through faith
Don't interpret all hundred verses off of this one verse
Is that you have a bunch of verses to say we're saved by believing and then one that says that you know work out your own salvation
We're fear and trembling don't just change your salvation doctrine off of that one verse
You need to realize that number one this prayer has nothing to do with those other verses. You're just misinterpreting that
You got to read it in its context, okay?
Now I like this phrase because it's very true and that is when when studying the Bible. There's one interpretation
But many applications
I don't know about that, you know, that sounds like I said Jesus
No, there is one interpretation of the Bible
But because the Bible is very deep a lot of passages actually have
Various applications that you can have that's not even within the context of whatever it is you're reading
Okay, so let me say this and I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm telling you right now because obviously I'm teaching you
Do you got to read you got to interpret passages within their context?
But let me also say this, you know, I don't think it's wrong to quote scripture out of context
at times as a secondary application for an already established doctrine
Meaning if you if the Bible already teach teaches is something in the Bible that's very clear
I don't think it's wrong to pull out another scripture
Even if it's out of context to reinforce that teaching because in general that is what this teaches
You understand what I'm saying now. Let me give you an example of this. Okay. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 30
And as we're reading this passage, you know, just think to yourself. What does this passage remind me of?
Look what it says in Deuteronomy 30 verse 11
Verse 11 says, for this commandment, which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is afar off.
It is not in heaven that thou shalt say, who shall go up for us to heaven?
bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it neither is it beyond the sea that
thou should have say who shall go over the sea for us and bring it unto us that
we may hear it and do it but the word is very nigh unto thee in thy mouth and in
thy heart that thou mayest do it now someone tell me what does that remind
you of remind you of Romans what Romans chapter 10 now Romans chapter 10 has to
Paul wrote down Romans chapter 10 out of context using these verses from Deuteronomy 30 that has nothing to do with salvation
The around me 30 has to do with just keeping the commandments of God
But the wording is just so good
The apostle Paul is like I'm gonna recycle this and use it to talk about salvation
Now his use of Deuteronomy 30 does not negate Deuteronomy 30
He just given a secondary application to the words and the statements that are being made here that applies to salvation
understand? And so you know sometimes and I'm not saying this is appropriate to do
when you're trying to establish a doctrine. I'm talking about
reinforcing doctrines and teachings that are already well established in the
Bible. There's actually nothing wrong with extrapolating other verses of the
Bible to reinforce those things because at the end of the day one verse has one
application but it does have many applications okay.
So, guidelines for studying the Bible, the Bible should be read repeatedly.
Study the Bible with the intent to acquire knowledge and apply wisdom.
Number three, understand the divisions of the Bible.
Number four, subjects should be studied within the category that majors on those themes and
doctrines.
Number five is that fundamental doctrines are firmly established through clear teachings in the Bible
number six study verses within their context and lastly number seven
Study the Bible listen to this with pulpit commentary
Study the Bible with pulpit commentary go to Ephesians chapter 4 and we're done here Ephesians chapter 4
You see I'm not necessarily against commentary. I'm just I'm just against bad commentary
And the majority of the commentaries out there are pretty bad. I'm sure there's good ones out there
But one of the best commentaries of the Bible is the Bible itself first and foremost
There's 66 commentaries right here, right? One of the best commentators is the Holy Spirit. In fact, he is the commentator
He's the author of the Bible
But one of the most effective yet sanctioned commentaries is actually the preaching of God's word and the local New Testament church
Look at Ephesians 4 verse 11 it says and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and
Some and teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ
Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God
Unto a perfect man unto the measure of the statue of the fullness of Christ
That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro carried about with every wind of doctrine
By the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lying way to deceive so according to the Bible God gave us pastors
churches to
Reinforced doctrines that you're already learning but also to keep you normal in your doctrine
You see if you're watching online, no one's there to tell you that was that's a stupid interpretation
You're watching online from the comforts of your couch. You're about to play Minecraft after you hear this sermon
You got chips on your stomach on your belly got soda, you know got pizza on the way
And you're getting all these deep truths of the word of God, but then you're just like oh man
You know I got this one interpretation
You know you need to express that interpretation to other people so that people can tell you that sounds stupid
That sounds crazy. That's not what the Bible teaches
Pulpit commentary is necessary and not just pulpit commentary just breath just the commentary of the brethren
Right you come to church like I got this
Got this doctrine I want to share with you real quick
Hey brother, how's it going?
Now I'm not saying that pass me is wrong
You tell me what you think
It's like a cunningly it's not even cunning. It's just like the it's a foolish device fable and then you give this interpretation
You're like
That's not biblical. Let me explain to you why it's not biblical. You just shut them down and then they're just like
Oh, man, I guess I'm not right about that, you know
But you can people can't really do that if they're just always at home listening to the Bible
And let me just remind everyone in here tonight that online preaching is not church
That should be a not controversial point right there
Watching preaching online is not church. You're watching church
You're watching other people do church
Okay, but you're not in church. Oh, yeah, we we just we do church. We just do it online
There's no online in the Bible
You're watching other people obey the Bible
You're watching other people obey God
Now, I get it.
Some people are in certain remote areas
where they don't have a church.
But quite frankly, let me just say this.
I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for them.
And let me explain to you why.
The Rodriguez is, that's why.
You guys don't want to talk about the Rodriguez is,
who drive like three hours.
Obviously, they're not here tonight.
Bad example.
But in general, they're here Sunday morning, Sunday night,
Thursday night.
They're they're the ones I'm preaching against right now actually because they're probably Washington, you know
But they're you know, they're here and they drive like three hours
To get to be here at church
So, you know, obviously I sympathize a little bit with people if they don't have a church in their area
But you know, we have people are so committed that they drive hours
Every single week from San Diego
They drive from what is that Oxnard? Is that correct Oxnard? I mean, you know, we've had people even drive from like Utah
To come here, you know, and so, you know, I get it but you know at the same time
There's other people who actually make the drive because it's important to them
Online preaching is not church at all now. Look if you're sick, you're you're projectile vomiting
You're running a fever of 103 or whatever stay home and just listen to the preaching and get in church the following week
But don't make it a habit to just watching church on watching other people serve God
Watching other people for sake not the assembly of ourselves together
Because here's the thing, you need to be in person, first of all, for the fellowship.
But also because of the fact that you need to be normalized through the preaching of God's word.
And one of the reasons you need the fellowship is because you might interpret the Bible differently than what the Bible is actually teaching.
So you might come up with an interpretation and say, hey,
you know, does this mean this?
And it's just like, no, it doesn't.
This is actually what it means.
And then you're going to hear preaching from the pulpit.
That's going to correct your doctrine
and kind of stabilize you as a Christian.
That's important, OK?
That stuff needs to be shamed.
That's why so many weirdos out online.
So many flat earthers and you know coming up with all types of conspiracies and weird interpretations of the Bible
Because they don't have anyone telling them that they're wrong. They're just a bunch of keyboard warriors
Just you know telling them what they how they feel about a situation, but most of what they say online
They'll never say face-to-face
Church is church church is in person. It's assembling together, right? And so
When you're studying the Bible a key element to have is you got to be in church as well
Okay, and I can't tell you how many times as a new Christian
I was reading the word of God and it's one of the most pleasurable experiences ever
I'm reading the word of God. I'm studying something and then the pastor preaches on that particular subject
Or he answers a particular question and he's just like well. I was just talking about that with someone like who told him
That's the ministry of the pulpit
It's enriching, right? It enriches your Bible study that much tomorrow, or maybe you're perplexed and you're just like, man
You know, I don't understand what this means. You come to church and the pastor answers it without you even having to talk to him
Or someone just brings it up to you in person. That's why it's important
So these are some very important guidelines for you to take so you can effectively successfully
Study the Bible. Amen. Let's pray father. We thank you so much for your word
And thank you for the guidelines that you set forth within the Bible to help us to have a greater understanding of the Bible.
Lord, we don't want to deviate into weird and vain janglings and babblings, Lord.
We don't want to get involved in that which profane and that which is not pleasing to you.
Things that will increase into more ungodliness.
I pray you help us, Lord, as your people, to study to show ourselves and prove them to God.
Help us to be people that are not ashamed.
and help us to truly rightly divide the word of truth.
And none of us are perfect at it,
but these guidelines and principles that you set forth
can help us perfect our Bible study.
And I pray that you'd help us take these things to heart
to apply them this week.
We love you and we thank you.
We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.