Understanding the
Scriptures
The Bible gives
us the key to understanding God’s word.
Psalm
119:97-100
O how love I thy law! it is
my meditation all the day.
Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for
they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
Psalm 119:104
Through thy precepts I get understanding:
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have
all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth
for ever.
Isaiah 28:9-13
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the
breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line
upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with
stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he
said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the
weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But
the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept;
line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they
might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
God here is saying that his word is in code. A
precept is a law. So the code is "precept upon precept" or "law
upon law". Many preachers say they know God and have understanding of God's word. God's
word says they don't (unless they keep the law).
To understand the scriptures I would first study the
first 5 books of the Bible (The Law). I
would go though and try to make sense of all the law, and try to find out how
all the law hangs on the 2 great commandments (Matthew 22:35-40).
When you see how not committing idolatry and keeping the Sabbath and
eating only clean foods also falls under “love thy neighbor” and that “Not
stealing, or not killing, also falls under “Love God…” then a lot of
understanding of God and his law opens up.
Peter says,
that Paul’s epistles are hard to understand for those who don’t know the
scriptures.
2 Peter 3:16-17
as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand,
which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the
Scriptures. You therefore, beloved,
since you know this beforehand, beware
lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error
of the wicked;
The word translated “wicked” is
the Greek word “athesmos” which means lawless or one
who breaks the law. Here is Strong’s
only definition:
1) one
who breaks through the restraint of law and gratifies his lusts
So Peter here is saying, Paul’s epistles are hard to understand for people who are
untaught in the rest of the scriptures… (then right
after he says)….Beware of the lawless.
So, before I would read Paul’s
epistles, it makes sense to read “the rest of the scriptures”.
