What The Bible Says
“What The Bible Says - Vol. 8 / No. 2”
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What The Bible Says
Vol. VIII - No. 2 June 22, 2025
THREE IMPORTANT RULES FOR BIBLE STUDY
The notion that the Bible is too difficult and mysterious to be understood is a misconception. The Bible has been given and preserved for the very purpose of teaching and guiding man. God is not a God of confusion. With honesty and diligent study, His word can be comprehended.
Here are three points to keep in mind when you are studying the Bible. Failure to practice any of these can result in confusion over or misunderstanding of a Bible passage.
1) Observe the subject at hand. To properly understand a verse or several verses in the Bible, you must get a feel for the context that you find it in. This is only common sense. Suppose that you are sitting in a park. Two women walk by and you overhear them talking about their husbands. A few minutes later they walk by again and you hear one woman say, “I took him to the doctor and he recommended that he be put to sleep”. In light of what you heard before you might be tempted to jump to the conclusion the woman is planning to dispose of her husband. Yet, the fact is that the women had changed the subject of conversation from husbands to dogs. Without an understanding of the context of the conversation, it is easy to be confused.
The same is true with studying the Bible. You just can’t open up to a page, read a statement, and expect to come away with the right idea. You must read each statement of the Bible within the context in which it is found. Read several verses before and after each statement. A good practice is read the entire page on which you find the statement. Determine the general subject at hand. Look for the main idea. Then you will have a feel for the environment in which the statement is found. Then you will be closer to properly comprehending the phrase under consideration.
2) Harmonize all passages that are related to a subject. One of the most dangerous things that you can do is to zero in on one passage and ignore others that are related to it. Satan did this when he used Scripture to try and persuade Jesus to jump off the temple and test God’s care (read Matthew 4:5-7). Jesus clarified the passage that Satan used by quoting another. Thus, Jesus showed the importance of combining or harmonizing all passages that have to do with a given subject.
Often people quote John 3:16 to explain what we are to do to receive salvation through Christ. That passage teaches us that if we believe in Christ we can be saved. Yet, the Bible says more about our salvation. Mark 16:16 states, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved;…” The Bible teaches that both belief and baptism are necessary for salvation. Unless you combine all that the Bible says on a given subject, you will come up short on what God wants you to know.
3) Lay aside what you have been taught by men and let the Bible speak for itself. Many people are confused in their study of the Bible because they read things in it which do not conform to what they have previously been taught. There are a lot of strange ideas floating around in the religious world. And, if you expect the Bible to correspond with all that you hear from religious teachers you are going to end up frustrated.
One very important step that is necessary in order for you to fully grasp the teaching of the Bible is to put aside the teachings of men. Go into your Bible study with a clean slate. Let God chisel on your mind and engrave on your heart through His Word. As long as you hang on to human teachings that clash with the Bible you will never come to a complete understanding of the Scriptures. —Phillip Mullins
BENEFITING FROM A GOSPEL MEETING
Gospel meetings provide us with an opportunity to receive instruction in God’s word for several consecutive days. Early Christians at times gathered daily for instruction in God’s word. Acts 2:46 tell of Christians, “continuing daily with one accord in the temple” (NKJV). Acts 19:9-10 tells us about some of Paul’s actions while in Ephesus. It says, “But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:9-10, NKJV). Obviously, early Christians had a longing for God’s word which should equally characterize God’s people today (1 Peter 2:2; Psalms 119:72 , 97 , 103, 127, 131, 162, 174). Instruction in God’s word is an important feature of a gospel meeting. How can we make sure we benefit from such instruction?
One obviously does not benefit from a gospel meeting and the encouragement it provides if one is not present at the meeting. Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us to, “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (NKJV). When people choose to allow things to keep them from being present during a gospel meeting when they could be there, they are not going to benefit from the instruction which takes place and the encouragement they could receive from the meeting.
A person can benefit from a gospel meeting if they have the mindset of the Bereans. Acts 17:11 describes the mindset of the Bereans, saying, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (NKJV).
One can only benefit from instruction when one has a readiness to receive what God’s word teaches. One will not benefit from instruction no matter how well it is presented if their heart is hardened to making the necessary changes. One benefits from a gospel meeting when one, like the Bereans, searches the Scriptures to verify what is being said is in harmony with God’s word. 1 John 4:1 teaches us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (NKJV). One should be ready to accept whatever God’s word teaches (Acts 10:33). However, one does not need to come to a gospel meeting ready to accept whatever a preacher says. One should only accept what a preacher teaches when it is in harmony with the word of God. The only way to know whether what is taught is in harmony with God’s word is for us to study the topic for ourselves.
A person can benefit from a gospel meeting if they are not only hearers of the word but also doers of the word. James 1:21-25 emphasizes this point, saying, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing is natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues it it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (NKJV). In the course of a gospel meeting, an individual might see things about himself he needs to change in order to be pleasing to God. It is easy to perhaps sit there and think, “That is something I need to work on or change,” but then as soon as the sermon or the meeting is over never do anything to change our life in that area. If we respond in that manner to the lessons presented in a gospel meeting, we have not really profited as much as we should from hearing the truths which were taught. Let’s be serious about applying the truths we are taught and make effort throughout the meeting and after the meeting is concluded to apply the truths taught to our lives so we can be blessed by the Lord. —Derek Long
"What The Bible Says” is e-mailed twice a month. If you know of others who might benefit from the articles contained in this bulletin, we would be glad to have you submit their e-mail addresses and we will include them in the next mailing. If you are receiving this bulletin and do not wish to continue to do so, please e-mail us with your desire to be removed from the mailing list and you will be removed promptly. Continue to the bottom of this page for further instructions as to how you may contact us.
--- E.R. Hall, Jr.
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
For The East Albertville Church Of Christ
meeting at
4777 U.S. Highway 431
Albertville, AL 35950
Sunday
Bible Classes …………..….…………… 9:30 AM
Morning Worship ……..…….….……… 10:30 AM
Evening Worship …………………........ 5:00 PM
Wednesday
Bible Classes …………..………........... 7:00 PM
Radio Program
Sunday
WBSA 93.5 FM/1300 AM ………………………….. 8:30 AM
Monday - Saturday
WBSA 93.5 FM/1300 AM ………………………….. 11:15 AM
Website: www. EastAlbertville.org
