Ebook: Brief Insights on Mastering Bible Study: 80 Expert Insights, Explained in a Single Minute

The Bible is the most important book in history. It's also one of the most misunderstood. Studying Scripture involves much more than reading. Serious Bible study can be a daunting task. It takes effort and skill. The Bible was put together over 2000 years ago. There are serious obstacles to grasping its meaning and message. Wouldn't it be great to have a seasoned Bible scholar by your side to help' Now you can. In Brief Insights on Mastering Bible Study, biblical scholar Michael S. Heiser is the guide by your side, providing easy-to-read lessons and truisms for grasping God's Word. Adept Bible study isn't about a checklist of tasks. It's about using the right tools, thinking carefully, and sticking to it. You don't need to be a scholar to understand the Bible. You just need some advice from one along the way.;33. Get to know the features of your study Bible.34. Pay attention to the formatting of your Bible translation.35. Font style matters. ACCURATELY INTERPRET THE BIBLE36. Prayer doesn't guarantee your interpretation is accurate.37. All interpretations are not equally plausible. 38. Some things in the Bible are clearer than others -- by design.39. Don't be shaken by your lack of omniscience.40. Lots of things in the Bible really can't be understood by children. 41. Don't ignore footnotes. 42. Context is king. 43. Impressions are no substitute for data. 44. Words don't mean anything by themselves. 45. Don't confuse correlation with causation.46. What is meant by "literal" interpretation of the Bible needs interpretation.;STUDY HABITS1. Read the Bible with a critical eye -- it can take it.2. Thinking is better than memorizing. 3. Bible reading is not Bible study.4. Bible study is a discipline, not a ritual event. 5. Insist on being a slave to the text -- let it be your master.6. The goal of Bible study shouldn't be a spiritual buzz. 7. Deuteronomy 29:29 is no excuse for intellectual laziness in Bible study.8. When you read about a place in the Bible, look up what happened there.9. Read journal articles.10. Look up cross-references. 11. Bible study isn't like marriage. 12."Study" is a verb. 13. The aim of Bible study is the meaning of the text, not a defense of what you think about the text. 14. Ignorance is not a gift of the Spirit. 15. Use a variety of methods in Bible Study. 16. Questions are not answers. 17. The guidance of the Spirit is neither a remedy nor an excuse for lackluster Bible study.;47. The meaning of an original language word is not determined by the sound of that word in a different? language.48."Level of detail" is not a key to Bible interpretation.49. The proper context for interpreting the Bible is the context that produced the Bible.50. Most passages in the Bible don't have three points to communicate.51. The meaning of a word does not come from its constituent parts. 52. Non-literal doesn't mean "not real." 53. Be open to non-literal interpretation -- the biblical writers used it on occasion. 54. Total objectivity in Bible interpretation is a myth.55. If it's weird, it's important.56. You can't understand the Bible without understanding the worldview of the people who wrote it. 57. What a word meant before the writer lived isn't an indicator of what it meant to the writer. 58.A word in a given verse never simultaneously means all the things it can mean. 59. Genre is another word for context.;18. Attention to detail and clear thinking are not antithetical to loving Jesus.19. Bible study is about discovering the meaning of the text, not deciding how to apply the text.20. Don't allow anyone to protect you from the Bible. 21. Believe that God will help you.22. Believing what the Bible says isn't Bible study. 23. Five minutes is a long time. 24. Listening to a sermon isn't Bible study. 25. It's never too late to start studying the Bible. UNDERSTAND WHAT THE BIBLE -- AND WHAT YOUR PARTICULAR BIBLE -- IS26. The Old Testament came before the New Testament. 27. Read the Preface to your Bible translation. 28. There's no such thing as "Holy Ghost Greek." 29. Learn about Hebrew poetic parallelism. 30. The order of the books in your Bible is not chronological.31. The traditional Hebrew text of the Old Testament did not fall from heaven.32. Learn something about philosophies of Bible translation.