The Proper Approach to the Study of the Bible

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I. The Proper Approach to the Study of the Bible
     A. The Person Must be Honest
            1. Come to it neither for it or against it
            2. The reader must be unprejudiced
                 a. There is great value of being prejudiced in its favor
                 b.  If the prejudice causes the mind to be closed to its teaching, 
                       it is not good
                3.  Must allow the Book to deliver its own message
            4.  A study of the Bible means a person must be openminded
            5.  If the Bible is given the oportunity, it will win its own victories
            6.  Set aside your prejudices in its favor, your prejudice against
                      it, and your prejudices against the prejudice of those who
                      believe it or do not believe it
 
    B.  The Person Must be Reverent
          1.  Our knowledge of the Bible and of God is limited
                a.  The Bible professes to tell us of Him
                b.  We need to listen reverently to what it has to say
          2.  The best men of the centuries have had great devotion for the
                Bible, therefore no one of a few years has a right to trample
                underfoot these convictions
          3.  This is God's revelation to man, therefore it demands our
                profoundest thought
                a.  It is the "still small voice" that speaks to men today
                b.  God may reveal Himself to us through nature and
                      universal laws
                c.  He only speaks to us through the Bible
          4.  The Word gives us light into the eternities
                a.  Man wants to know from where he came and where he is going
                b.  All knowledge outside the Bible cannot give the answer
          5.  Life is short and lived but once
                a.  A person cannot afford to make a mistake about the
                      journey's end
                b.  God and Christ have been over the road
                c.  They through the Book of books are able to guide us
          6.  So we must study the Word of truth reverently, humbly, and
                devotionally
                a.  Seek to be benefited spiritually
                b.  A person seeking for truth will not be disappointed
 
     C.  The Person Must be Diligent
            1.  He must be zealous in his work
            2.  He must give his best time and attention to the work
            3.  He must study the Bible when the mind is the freshest
            4.  He must remember the Bible is a personal message to him
                  a.  Take the Word seriously
                  b.  Treat the Word seriously
 
     D.  The Person Must Study the Bible Systematically and Regularly
            1.  The Bible should be read daily
            2.  Begin at the first of a book and read it through to the end
            3.  Start with the New Testament, the Gospels
            4.  Form the habit of regular daily reading
            5.  Have a certain time each day to study
            6.  Haphazard reading is not study
            7.  Understand some part of the Bible each day so that the life
                  will be filled with Biblical truth
 
     E.  The Person Must Respond to the Teachings of the Bible
           1.  The Bible makes its appeal to the conscience and will
           2.  Obey its first teaching and a person will understand its second
           3.  Study the Bible with the attitude "If it speaks to me, I will obey"
           4.  The Bible is an interesting and enjoyable Book
           5.  Start the study with a prayer for guidance and understanding
           6.  Rich rewards are obtained through intellectual and devotional
                  study