Title: 13
Author: JOEG
Last saved by: Matt Lawson
Company: Auth Co

© 2003 Joe Griffin		03-10-26-B.CC02-201 /

Nutshell Summary: How to Study the Bible, Isa 28:10; Motivation to Study, 1 Cor 3:10-15; Mandates to Study, 2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; Col 1:3-12

C.	A Nutshell Summary of Why We Do What We Do
Paul speaks in Romans 1:22 of those who “professing to be wise, became fools.”  This is a horrid indictment even for an unbeliever but it is a tragedy for a believer.  Yet today we observe those who give no pause to wear the vestments of the clergy or bask in the prestige of ecclesiastical title that defile the very office to which we must assume they were appointed by the grace of God.
There is no greater example of hypocrisy than the men, and yes even women, who, with the false-confidence provided by too many seminary degrees, parade about in the media as authorities on the Bible.  A layman may be forgiven for his ignorance for he is dependent upon the instruction of the clergy to acquire knowledge of God’s will.  But the person who holds the office and possesses the credentials should be ashamed to go out in public and present a confused message, wrought with human viewpoint, which promotes evil.  However, they are not.
Such ones as these, who hold the authority to mount pulpits, are the catalysts for the downfall of this country.  The United States is a client nation and as such is dependent upon divine protection under the principle that Jesus Christ controls history.   
When the spiritual life of the client nation is compromised by the failure of the priesthood to do it duty then the people perish.  The sinful nature is in league with the desires of Lucifer and they form an alliance that consistently attacks the souls of men.  The person who is without knowledge of God and His will is an easy mark for satanic propaganda communicated through those whose duty is to teach the truth but who are instead neutralized by the sinful nature’s propensity to compromise the truth.
There is no question that there are wonderful exceptions throughout the land.  These are few.  This is an evident fact when Protestant pastors and leaders of Christian organizations agree to speak on theological subjects through the national media.  Their confusion is legion.  They do not understand the Bible or how it is constructed let alone what the will of God is.
On rare occasions there are a few who have the temerity to stand up and speak the truth.  But today the truth is in such stark contrast with prevailing public opinion that the progressive hue and cry shouts down the messenger and, after having discredited him personally, assigns him and his message to the dustbin of wide-eyed theologians described as “fundamentalist-wacko, religious-right, nut cases.”  
In order to restore their public image and regain some sliver of respect by the masses the miscreant preacher reinterprets or redacts his message, apologizes for his narrow-minded lapse of propriety, and agrees to adjust his benighted views in accordance with those of the anointed.
The problem that has thus developed in client nation America is that the “prophets have been killed” through intimidation and fear while the “altars have been torn down” by discrediting the Bible’s divine message.
Consequently, The People have a dim view of the Bible, Bible study, Bible doctrine, and doctrinal pastors who insist that these things are the sine qua non of the Christian way of life.  Not wanting to be associated with churches that stress the Bible over other aspects of worship, some legitimate, some not, they seek out an environment that will allow them to play Christianity.
God is not going to promote or protect those who feel close to Him or who are motivated by emotion.  God promotes and protects those who hunger and thirst for the Word.  It was God’s desire to make Himself known to the human race and it is apparent that He has done so thorough the Bible.  Any system that attempts to give advice on how the believer should live his life but does not place top priority on Scripture as its major reference is flawed by human viewpoint at best and evil at worst.
If congregations continue to furnish their churches with pulpits then they are honor bound to use them; not for brass bands, not for large choirs, not for self-promoting soloists, not for some razzle-dazzle, flimflam flummox but for the instruction of Bible doctrine.
That this church is not popular among the masses is a testimony to the veracity of its message.  The People are not of a disposition to become serious students of the Word of God.  Instead they lust for a cave in which to hide from the realities of society’s raveling moral fabric that makes it uncomfortable for them to participate in the ever-darkening public weal.  Church therefore becomes a place where one no longer learns to resolve the exigencies of life from divine viewpoint but rather to avoid them through sublimation.  Some do so through drink and drugs, the emotion-driven Christian get worked-up on music and works.  The lust for a cheap rush is so great that popular “praise” music starts out at fortissimo and then from there builds a relentless crescendo until emotional fatigue finally puts a stop to it all.
From the current cacophony comes the idea that Christian maturity is achieved by doing things, being active, helping around the church, being emotional, and listening to Christian radio.  These things may or may not be a part of the execution of the spiritual life but none of them contribute to spiritual growth.  Further, a believer’s ability to determine whether these things are meaningful or meaningless is dependent upon consistent instruction from the Bible by a prepared pastor who is not afraid to teach doctrine.
But unfortunately most pastors are afraid to stress Bible study from the pulpit because The People want to be entertained.  They are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.  The few who want to search the Scripture are asked to teach Sunday School.  Consequently, the pastor forfeits his teaching authority to both men and women who are without the gift of pastor-teacher and by doing so turns the souls of his parishioners over to amateurs.
But who gets criticized?  Pastors who use a system of biblical analysis that is in some way or fashion taught among the various seminaries of this nation.  All those who graduate seminary have been taught some form of biblical analysis.  Precious few of them have the courage to then go out and teach their congregations by using that system.
Why?  Because not enough people have interest in serious Bible study and thus church attendance would shrivel, donations would shrink, and the mortgage on the First Six-Flags Church of the Holy Tabernacle would go into arrears.
Therefore, we will summarize the system by which pastors should teach their congregations and in doing so document why we do what we do.  We start with the biblical mandates on how to teach the Word and how the believer grows in grace by studying it.
Isaiah 33:6 -	The stability provided by the Lord in your times is made possible by wisdom and knowledge; by these shall be the wealth of your deliverance.
Isaiah has already commented on the method the priest must follow to accurately and completely teach this wisdom and knowledge in:
Isaiah 28:10 -	“For God says, ‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line on line, line on line, a little here, a little there.’”
The line “precept upon precept; precept upon precept” stresses the importance of gathering all the details revealed in the Bible on a given subject.  This refers to developing doctrinal categories.
The phrase “line upon line, line upon line” refers to the importance of examining each and every word of a passage through exegesis, the grammatical analysis of a word, in order to develop its exact meaning in the context.
The line “a little here, a little there” indicates that spiritual growth demands consistent research into the Scripture.  By so doing one’s knowledge is constantly expanded as he acquires a little information from each word, each sentence, each verse, each chapter, and each doctrine.
All thoughts, decisions, and actions are evaluated by Christ according to the motivation of the individual who performs them, whether from the source of divine viewpoint or human viewpoint.  Rewards are issued in heaven to the former while they are withdrawn from the latter.  The next passage documents this and also illustrates how the pastor must observe context in his interpretation of a passage:
1 Corinthians 3:10 -	According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it.  But let each man be careful how he builds upon it. 
v. 11 -	For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.
v. 12 -	Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones [ divine good ], wood hay, straw [ human good ],
v. 13 -	each man’s work will become evident; for the evaluation tribunal of Christ will show it, because it [ man’s work ] is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
v. 14 -	If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward.
v. 15 -	If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss [ of reward ]; but he himself shall be saved, yet as through fire.
The evaluation is shown to be for the purpose of reward.  Loss of salvation is not found in this context.  Those who grow in grace will not only be qualified to produce divine good but will be motivated to do so.  Those who do not grow in grace will not be qualified due to ignorance of the plan of God and their production will come from false motivation and therefore produce human good resulting in loss of reward.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 provides a summary of how the pastor must observe context when examining a passage.  He must evaluate every word to determine its meaning in the mind of the writer.  This means he must utilize isagogics, apply pertinent categories of doctrine, and exegete each word.
When a pastor approaches the Bible utilizing this system he is able to develop a clear and precise interpretation of a given passage that harmonizes with the entire Scripture.
Members of the congregation are thus given a source of motivation to produce works that are meaningful.  The proper motivation is to serve God, to glorify Christ, and to magnify the power and majesty of the Word of God.
The Scripture is clear that to do this the believer must study the Bible seriously and under a pastor that is not afraid to utilize the system just noted in his analysis of the Word.  There are many verses that emphasize this:
2 Timothy 2:15 - Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
v. 17 -	that the man of God may be mature, equipped for every good work.
Colossians 1:3 - We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying consistently for you,
v. 4 - having heard the report of the faith of you all in Christ Jesus, and the love which you have toward all the saints;
 v. 5 - because of the confidence of what is preserved for you in heaven of which you heard before in the study of the Word of truth, the gospel [ the biblical message ],
v. 6 - (the gospel of truth) being present in you even as in all the world is constantly bearing fruit [ application of doctrine to life that results in divine good ] and increasing [ the dividends that accrue from divine good ], even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and began to fully understand the grace of God in the sphere of biblical truth;

Colossians 1:7 - even as you have been taught from the source of Epaphras [ pastor-teacher of the Colossian church ], our beloved fellow servant, a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
v. 8 - who also informed us of your love in the Holy Spirit.
v. 9 - Because of this, we also, from the day we heard [ from Epaphras ], do not cease to pray on your behalf, constantly asking that you might be filled with the knowledge of His sovereign purpose by means of wisdom and spiritual understanding [ pneumatikÒj sÚnesij, pneumatikos sunesis ].
v. 10 -	That you might walk  worthy of the Lord, pleasing God in all things, constantly producing every divine work, constantly receiving spiritual growth by means of epignōsis knowledge [ doctrine taught by the Holy Spirit ] from the ultimate source of God;
v. 11 -	being constantly strengthened by every enabling power, according to the standard of the power of His glory resulting in patience from spiritual stability and self-restraint under pressure from inner happiness.
v. 12 -	Constantly being thankful to the Father, having qualified you all for a share of the assigned inheritance of the saints by means of the light [ truth ].
The second and third paragraphs of Colossians, verses 3‑12, affirm the claims of the doctrinal community that the top priority of the Christian way of life is Bible study and that the believer is unqualified and incapable of serving God without spiritual growth through Bible study.

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