As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Integral to these findings is that people who engage the Bible one to three days a week indicate basically the same effect on their personal lives as those who do not engage at all. The deceptive reality is that they can feel good about their activities without any sustainable results.” - LifeWay
“If a person doesn’t realize that their understanding of the Bible lacks appropriate context and depth, they end up navigating the stormy cultural waters in whatever way happens to make sense to them based on what they think the Bible says.
“Neither Bible study nor the Christian life are centered on our feelings; they are centered on being mastered by the Word of God, that we may be anchored in God’s truth whether in good times or bad.” - Ref21
“In Alive to the Purpose: The Readerly Reading of Scripture (Greenville, SC: JourneyForth, 2020), the late literary scholar and Bob Jones University professor Ronald A. Horton seeks to correct unbalanced Bible study. There are multiple legitimate ways to study, but neither special study nor perfunctory reading should keep us from seeing Scripture for what it is.
by Randy Leedy
“More and more churches seem to be moving to a sermon-based curriculum for their small groups. That is, they review and study the same text the pastor preached on the previous Sunday. On the other hand, I’ve met church leaders who oppose this approach. Here’s a summary of the arguments I’m hearing” - Church Leaders
Reposted from DBTS blog.
Have you ever read one of the Gospels in one sitting? I believe many Christians have not. Have you ever read Romans in one sitting? How would such a reading change your perspective on the book?
I require my students to read the Bible in large portions. For instance, in the Gospels class, I require students to read an entire Gospel in one sitting. While most choose Mark (it’s the shortest!), I usually encourage them to read John or Matthew.
How important are Hebrew and Greek skills for interpreting the Bible well and thriving as a Christian?
It’s an important question, since we believe Christians ought to grow in their ability to interact directly with Scripture and discern truth from error—and not only feed themselves well, but hopefully teach and admonish one another well also.
Any learning that has the potential to further those ends has to be seriously considered.
Views on the languages question range from “all you need is good intentions and the Holy Spirit” to “nobody lacking Greek and Hebrew skills can get the Bible right.” Debaters tend to characterize one another as holding one of these two views, but the reality is that most attitudes fall somewhere between.
Discussion