Foundational Knowledge for Better Bible Reading and Study

Purpose, Outcomes, and Assumptions

This series is intended to provide you with a few key Bible basics so you can read and study (or teach) with confidence. We often go straight to reading the Bible without grasping the basic “whys” and “hows,” and so the Bible remains mysterious, difficult, or confusing. So, the purpose of this series is to give you a solid foundation and to inspire you to open God’s Word with renewed clarity and purpose. 

I’ll give you some recommended reading lists along the way, since each week will only give you a taste of these topics.

If you already know all of these Bible basics, I’d encourage you to pray about who you could teach these basics to! We all play a part in increasing Biblical literacy in the Church today.

This week, we are going to look briefly at 3 things we need to know before we even open the Bible:

1. The Purpose
2. The Outcome
3. The Framework

1. The Purpose – To Know the Truth

What is the purpose of the Bible?  Our expectations and assumptions affect our reading of it. Is it a self-help guide or a personal map for life? Is it an ancient book for priests and pastors to explain? Is it ok to pass on it if you aren’t really a “book person”?  

Let’s see how Jesus felt about it. Jesus makes a fascinating statement about God’s Word in John 17 as He prays for His disciples:

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:14-17).

The last verse (John 17:17) is key:

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Here Jesus tells us that Scripture sanctifies (makes us holy), that it is the truth, and that this truth comes from God (“your word,” referring to the Father). These are very powerful statements that help us understand the purpose of the Bible. It is God’s very word to us–the truth about Him, the world, ourselves, and what’s really going on. It is how God makes us holy (more like Him). Because of these incredible purposes, and because it is God’s very word, it deserves our attention.

2. The Outcome – Christ-likeness and Preparedness

Why do we read Scripture? What’s the point? There are a lot of good answers to this question. We read to know God more, to help us become wise, to know the truth (as we just saw above). Scripture is helpful and useful because God knew what we would need! Indeed, the Bible is completely different from any other book. The Bible is alive (Heb 4:12) and achieves every purpose God intends (Is 55:11). 

The Apostle Paul says it this way:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17, emphasis mine).

We are not supposed to live by emotions, feelings, or guesses. We are to live by every word that comes from God in His Word. When we do, He makes us complete and ready for all He has planned for us.

3. The Framework – The Doctrine of Scripture

Now that we know the purpose and the outcomes to expect, let’s consider 5 principles that should guide our reading. We don’t open a mystery novel expecting a cook book and we don’t begin a Jane Austen masterpiece expecting Sherlock Holmes. Different types of literature work in different ways. It’s true that there are many different genres in the Bible (which we will explore next week). But even more fundamental than genre, is what to expect when we open its pages.  There are 5 key assumptions–5 truths that make up what theologians call “the doctrine of Scripture.” These are what Christians believe about God’s Word:

1. The Bible is Sufficient–In His Word, God has given us everything we need for salvation and Godly living. 

2. The Bible is Clear– The Bible explains the Gospel clearly, and everyone who studies the words of Scripture can understand it (even as we recognize there are difficult or mysterious parts, we also see these do not impede our ability to understand the Gospel). 

3. The Bible is Authoritative – Because this Word comes from God, it demands our attention and Christians are to submit to its words above all other human authority. 

4. The Bible is Necessary – We need God’s Word to reveal the Gospel and explain how to live in ways that please Him. We cannot learn this on our own.

5. The Bible is True–Because God cannot lie, neither can His Word. 

Conclusion

Knowing the Bible’s purpose helps us read it correctly. 

Knowing what the Bible will do in us as we read and study helps us to stay committed to reading it.

Knowing the doctrine of Scripture gives us the right assumptions. It helps us assemble the correct mindset to approach the Word whole-heartedly. 

Now we are ready to open the Word and look at the Bible from a 30,000 foot level. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do next week! 

For further study:

Taking God at His Word by Kevin De Young

30 Days to Understanding the Bible by Max Anders

Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem