Profitable Bible Reading

by Dennis Gundersen

Recently, I read a book about profitable Bible reading in which the author suggested, when you read the Scriptures, “Endeavor to learn something new from every verse before you leave it.”

Really? 
Ok. 
In other words, make it my aim to discover something new from every verse I read? And stay right there in my reading until I can find something new?

Well, that sounds like a sure-fire way to get stuck. With that approach, I’ll be at a lasting standstill for most of my Bible reading from now on. I know the author means well and wants us to get maximum profit from our Bible reading, and not read casually or inattentively. But I think this suggestion is quite a bit over the top.

I must say, let’s get real here. For one, after you’ve been a believer for a few years, most days it’s going to be rare that you discover something new even in each chapter you read. You may wear yourself out making the effort, but the fact is, you’ve become pretty familiar with a lot of the Scriptures and may not be at all able to spot something new.

I’ll even go so far as to say, if you do find something fresh in every verse you read, well … I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you’re not reading it right. With that approach, chances are, you’ll be making stuff up. If you can find something new in every verse, your imagination is getting carried away and you’ll be seeing what really isn’t there.

May I suggest a few sounder, more realistic goals about what to aim for in Bible reading? A lot more could be said, of course, but my purpose is to state a few goals that are in contrast with the idea that somehow a Bible reader needs to find something new or fresh in every verse he reads. Or that it’s even of benefit to your soul to try. No — how about these goals instead:

1) Ask the Lord to show you what you need for today
That’s really more of your need than to see something fresh or new. Why, even if you do find something fresh in a verse that you didn’t see before, how long is that going to stay with you anyway? You know. It’ll slip out of your head in no time. Probably before the day is done.

But the Spirit of God is probably not really interested in enlarging your storehouse of Bible knowledge. He is interested in equipping you for a holy walk with God – today. Ask Him to show you how to walk with Him today. After all, as Jesus said in another context, “each day has enough trouble of its own.” Each of your days has needs of its own, that the Lord knows are coming. Ask Him to prepare you by your reading.

2) Ask the Lord to feed you 
If a man’s wife cooks him a meal with healthy, nutritious, and tasty foods, is it really important to him whether anything in the meal is new? Isn’t he glad and thankful to have this food again, even if it’s something he’s eaten a hundred times before? And he enjoys it. Again. It may even be a favorite. Much like singing a hymn that you’ve sung a hundred times before, and you love it every time. You need not concern yourself with newness in what you digest from the Word – look to the Lord to feed and nourish you. That’s more of what you need.

3) Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to you — again
If you’re a saved individual, the Spirit of God has already revealed Jesus to you. But what do you need more than to keep seeing Christ? Even if it’s features about Him that you have seen before. So what? You need to see Jesus again and worship Him again. The Spirit seeks to glorify Christ, we’re told in the gospel of John. Even the things you know about Jesus, you haven’t seen sufficient glory in those beautiful, wondrous features of Him. Ask Him to show you Jesus, again and again.

4) Ask the Lord to show you something in the Scriptures that you can serve others with today
Something that will help you be a blessing to others. Some light with which you can encourage other believers today. Or something that will provoke you to pray for people in need today. Or something that will help you be more effective in bringing the gospel to unconverted people you will meet, today. Again, this is a much more worthwhile goal than “show me something new I’ve never seen before.” How about, make me a useful instrument of love to others? As Jesus said, to love our neighbor, “This is the Law and the prophets.”

We all know that you’ll have occasions that you read the Word and none of the above will happen. You won’t experience any noticeable, felt edification at the moment. But you know that it’s still been worth your while to read and meditate on the Word. Often the effects and use of a reading are only consciously realized later.

When you’re reading and none of these benefits seem to be coming, you know what? Wait on the Lord to shape your life with His Word at the time of His choosing. And if you have time, keep reading until you have been fed. Years ago, I heard a young, new disciple say “I overcame this idea of getting my Bible reading done and then being satisfied that I did it, by taking a different approach. Now I keep reading until I don’t want to stop.” Not limiting yourself to the chapter numbers on a Bible reading plan or schedule. How about not quitting until you get something nourishing? Be like Jacob, refusing to go away until He blesses you.

Sure, there will be days that won’t work. You won’t have time to keep on reading. You have to get to work. The duties of the day press in on you. In that case, give thanks that you’ve been able to read the Word and know that God will produce fruit from the Word in your life, according to His will and in His time.

So, while more could be said, this is probably enough … for today.

Jesus in the Old Covenant

Everything God’s people Israel had received by way of revelation, pointed to Him… and yet, we read, “his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:11)

What an indictment that is!

How on earth did the very people awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, miss Him when he came?

Jesus, in John 5:39,40 declared, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”

After the resurrection – Jesus encountered two very despondent disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were struggling to make sense of all that had taken place in Jerusalem…

Luke 24: 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Later on, He appeared to His disciples:

In Luke 24:44, 45 He talked about “everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…”

Again, how did they miss Him, when He is the main subject matter of the Old Covenant?

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

In Genesis … He is the Lord God who formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into him;
the One who walked in the garden with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day;
He is the Seed of the Woman;
He is Noah’s ark of refuge;
He is a priest in the order of Melchizedek
He is Abraham’s ram caught in the thicket;
He is the King in royal Judah’s line…

In Exodus... He is the One calling out from the burning bush – the great I AM;
He is the Passover Lamb;
and the Rock which followed His people in the wilderness.

In Leviticus… He is the Tabernacle;
He is the Altar; the Great High Priest, and the Lamb for Sacrifice.

In Numbers… He is the brazen serpent lifted up for the healing of all who will look to Him;
He is the Tabernacle’s cloud by day, and pillar of fire by night.

In Deuteronomy… He is the Prophet like unto Moses.

In Joshua… He is Lord of heaven’s armies, the Captain of our Salvation.

Judges … He is the angel of the Lord; our Judge and Law-Giver.

Ruth … He is our Kinsman Redeemer.

1 & 2 Samuel … He is our trusted Prophet who sits on David’s throne forever.

Kings & Chronicles … He is our reigning King; one greater than even Solomon.

Ezra ... He is the Faithful scribe.

Nehemiah … He is the Restorer of broken walls.

Esther … He is our Advocate Mordecai.

Job … He is our Ever-Living Redeemer who will take His stand upon the earth.

Psalms … He is the Lord our Shepherd.

Proverbs … He is our Wisdom.

Ecclesiastes … He is our sure Hope of Resurrection when all else is vanity and futility.

Song of Songs … He is our loving Bridegroom.

Isaiah … He is born of the virgin, He is Immanuel;
the Lord of glory, high and lifted up in the Temple;
the wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace.
the suffering Servant of Yahweh;
the sin bearing Savior – wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the punishment due to us was upon Him and by whose stripes we are healed;
cut off from the land of the living, stricken for God’s elect people;
yet will be resurrected and live forever

Jeremiah … He is the Righteous Branch; the Lord our Righteousness.

Lamentations … He is our Weeping Prophet.

Ezekiel … He is the Son of man.

Daniel … He is the fourth man in the fiery furnace; the Ancient of Days, the One who comes in the clouds of heaven.

Hosea … He is the Faithful Husband.

Joel … He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Amos … He is our burden bearer.

Obadiah … He is Mighty to Save.

Jonah … He is our great foreign Missionary; the One who will be three days and nights in the belly of the earth.

Micah … He is the eternal ruler of Israel, born in Bethlehem.

Nahum … He is the avenger of God’s elect, our Stronghold in the day of trouble.

Habakkuk … He is the Great Evangelist

Zephaniah … He is the Restorer of the Remnant

Haggai … He is the desire of all nations, the cleansing Fountain.

Zechariah … He is our humble King riding on a colt; the pierced One, wounded in the house of His friends.

Malachi … Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness, risen with healing in His wings.

Common Exegetical Fallacies

Article: Common Exegetical Fallacies (original source here)

Every good preacher or teacher wants to present the Scriptures in their original context and give the application for the modern listeners. We call the processes of discovering the original meaning, context, and application exegesis. Anytime exegesis takes place the exegete must go back to the original language to determine what is really being said, among other things. An Exegetical Fallacy (EF) is when the original language is misunderstood, misused, or misapplied to say or teach something that was not intended by the language.

The issue of Exegetical Fallacies stemming from a misuse and/or misunderstanding of Biblical Greek is deeply relevant and far too common in our day. These fallacies happen more often than most of us recognize. The scary thing is that so many people assume that they are excluded from them. When EF are being committed, they are usually done by a sincere, well meaning pastor or teacher, who genuinely is trying his best with the tools he has to communicate from Greek what he believes is being said. This person usually does not have any idea that they are teaching a fallacy. More so, it is thought that if someone has a Biblical Hermeneutic and sound “Reformed Theology”, then they are protected for the most part from exegetical fallacies. This could not be farther from the truth. In fact, these fallacies may be as common in Reformed pulpits as they are elsewhere. Indeed, those often responsible for committing the fallacies which follow are those who do not have a working knowledge of Biblical Greek, but rather attempt find the meaning of the Greek through computer programs, lexicons or dictionaries, or some other means, but have not actually studied the language and learned it for themselves. In short, they are fully dependent on second-hand sources.

The best and most thorough treatment of this topic is D.A. Caron’s wonderful book Exegetical Fallacies. This little book should be carefully read by everyone who preaches or teaches the Word of God. If you have read it, then there is probably not much new below. Nevertheless, I will attempt to mention a brief list of some of the most common EF today.

I usually do not use transliterations of the Greek alphabet, but since the words referred to are commonly heard today and are already somewhat familiar to those without Greek, for the sake of clarity, I will use transliterations here so that there is no misunderstanding.

1. The Root Fallacy

This fallacy is based on the assumption that a word always derives its meaning from the shape or components of which it is made. This says that a word’s meaning, regardless of its other parts, always can be determined by its root.

Examples:

Agapao and Phileo – It is commonly taught that these two words, usually translated as “love”, describe two different types of love. Agapao is often used to refer to God’s “divine” love for people, whereas phileo speaks of a “friendly” or “brotherly” love, one that is not divine and is to be distinguished from God’s agape love.

Observe that agapao and its related noun agape are used in 2 Sam. 13:15 (LXX) to describe Amnon’s incestuous rape of his half-sister Tamar. See also 2 Tim. 4:10 (agapao); and compare John 3:35 (agapao) with John 5:20 (phileo). See also the famous exchange between Jesus and Peter in John 21:15-17. None of this is to suggest that there isn’t a special quality to God’s love for us. Certainly his love is sacrificial and divine, etc. But this is not because of some intrinsic meaning in the verb agapao or the noun agape. When looking at the Greek text, we have no reason to derive any hidden or special meaning of word usage in the exchange between Jesus and Peter and the supposed two types of love.

Monogenes – This fallacy has existed for years and caused much confusion and damage. It is thought by many to be derived from monos (only) and gennao (to beget), hence “only-begotten”, however this is untrue. The word is found in John 1:14, 18: 3:16, 18; Hebrews 11:17; and 1 John 4:9. The KJV is famous for using the wording “only begotten”, though it did not originate there. This mis-translation of the Greek word has existed for centuries, and can be found even in some of the best early church creeds, such as the Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed. The best translation would probably be something like unique, special, well-beloved son, as the two Greek words which it is comprised of properly suggest: monos (only) and genos (type, class).

For a brief yet helpful explanation of this fallacy, see the appendix “The Monogenes Controversy” in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology.

Apostolos – The fact that this word is related to the verb apostello (to send), is often used to argue that the root meaning of “apostle” is “one who is sent.” But as Carson points out, the “NT use of the noun apostolos does not center on the meaning “the one sent” but on messenger or envoy. Now a messenger is usually sent; but the word “messenger” also calls to mind the message the person carries, and suggests he represents the one who sent him. In other words, actual usage in the NT suggests that apostolos commonly bears the meaning of “a special representative” or “a special messenger” rather than someone sent out” (Exegetical Fallacies, p. 29).

The danger with this fallacy is that it is often used to say that there are “modern day apostles”. It is said that since an apostle is “one who is sent out”, therefore when we send missionaries we are sending “apostles”. Regardless of whether or not there are modern day apostles, this misrepresentation of the word apostolos cannot in any way be used to support the claim that there are.

Ekklesia – One often hears that since this word is built from the preposition ek (from) and the verb kaleo (to call) it means “the called out ones” or something similar. The following fallacy has far too often be preached from the pulpit: “The word which we have for Church in the Greek is ekklesia. It is comprised of two words which together compose the meaning ‘one who is called out’ or ‘the called out ones’. When this word is used in the NT, about 114 times in the Greek New Testament, it is referring to the Church, either universal or local, as the ones who have been ‘called out of the world and into the Body of Christ and now congregate in His churches.’”

As true as it may be that Christians have been called out of the world and into the Body of Christ or Family of God, there is absolutely no indication that this was its emphasis or meaning in NT times. It simply means congregation or assembly and refers to a gathering of people, really any people, yet in the NT that group of people happens to be Christians. This faulty translation could in part be due to the reader misunderstanding the nature of the Greek language used in the New Testament. It is was the common language of the day used by the common man, and not a divine spiritual language with special spiritual meanings particular to the New Testament.

2. Semantic Anachronism

This is when a late or modern use of a word is read back into earlier literature. Continue reading

Romans with Steve Lawson

Dr. Steve Lawson is currently teaching a Men’s Bible study that is being made available to a wider audience to watch online. Sadly, it seems that the first such recording in Romans was not captured on video (or at least, I cannot find it). However, I have tracked down a preaching he did entitled “The Gospel as Historical Fact” which covered these same exact verses (Romans 1:1-7) here:

Then for the continuation of Romans in the Men’s Bible study, it starts at the very next verse (Romans 1:8). You can go to this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find it.