How to Understand the Bible

The Bible isn’t a single book. It is a collection of 66 books written over a large space of time. Each verse is connected to another in some way. Every doctrine found in it has an effect on another doctrine. That is why it is so important for us to know how to properly study the Bible.

Because of the nature of the Bible being many books in one it doesn’t necessarily have a beginning. Which is quite fitting since it is the word of God. A God with no beginning and no end.

Having said that these books have been placed in the order they appear for a reason. Genesis, being the first book listed, begins with the words “In the beginning…” The book itself gives us the very first foundation to understand the rest of the Bible.

It tells us the basics of how God created the universe, life, and mankind. It tells us how mankind sinned against God and how that resulted in the suffering and death we see in our world today. It goes on to tell us how God chose a man named Abram (Abraham) to produce a savior. It is foretold that this savor would come from his family line. This savior is named Jesus.

If you haven’t already received Jesus as your Lord and savior I invite you to do so now. Unit 3 contains all of the information you need for that. But to put it simply You have to believe Jesus died for your sins and was raised from the dead. You just have to accept that He has granted forgiveness and you should make Him Lord of your life.

Rightly Dividing The Word Of God

We need to get our understanding of the Bible from the Bible itself. I can not say this enough! Your job isn’t to interpret it. Your job is to understand it as it interprets itself.

Sometimes you may have to do some deep searching. The answers may not be easily found, but they are there. Just because you do not have a full understanding of something right now doesn’t mean it isn’t true. You have to search it out. That search may take time. It may even take a lifetime!

Let your critical eye be on your own understanding. People are not always 100% right, but God is. Your first thought should never be “Maybe the Bible is wrong.” It should always be “I must be missing something.”

With that said there are a few common things that cause misunderstandings of the Bible. None of these things are because of the Bible itself. They are all from our own ignorance, or even our own desire for evil.

Bible Contradictions

First, there are supposed contradictions within the scriptures. This is not because the scriptures actually contradict. It is always because we are ignorant as to how they connect with one another.

Symbolism In The Bible

Another problem that causes people to stumble is not being able to understand symbolism. This comes from our own ignorance of how to determine symbolism from what should be taken literally.

Adding To Or Taking Away From Scripture

This can happen without even knowing you are doing it! I’m sure you have experienced times when someone, or even yourself, put words into another’s mouth so to speak. This is typically since we make assumptions. These assumptions can be made based on our preconceived ideas, our emotions, and sometimes deliberately to twist the truth.

Lack Of Interest

I’ll be honest, sometimes I don’t want to read the Bible. There’s so many other things I could be spending my time with. But if something is important you make time for it.

This is the biggest problem. Your understanding of the Bible is effected by your priorities. Some things in the Bible may not line up with your own desires. In fact, a lot of people have a “just enough to get by” approach. They want to be saved, but past that they lack desire to dig deeper.

A deeper understanding usually requires curiosity, effort, time, and consideration. A lot of things in life can become greater priorities if you let them. But the Bible calls this being luke warm. Just enough care for God and His word to get by.

The subject of being luke warm is an entire study in itself. So you may want to look into it later. For now lets look into how we can properly handle the scriptures.

Handling Bible Contradictions

Imagine I held a coin you had never seen before and told you it had an image of a president on it. However, I only showed you the back side, which features a bird. Your immediate reaction would likely be, “That doesn’t make sense.” At that point, you would face a choice.

You could either conclude that I lied, or you could examine the coin from every angle. By doing so, you’d discover that it does indeed have a president on one side and a bird on the other—you just needed to view it from a different perspective.

Here is an example in scripture:

If we focus solely on James 2:24, we might think that our works are what make us justified. In that case, if someone claimed that we are not justified by our works, we would likely point this out.

But, if we focus only on Galatians 2:16, we might believe that justification comes solely through faith in Jesus. Then, if someone said that works play a role in our justification, we might point this out instead.

So, what is the truth? This situation shows us how one person can focus on one side of a coin while another focuses on the other side, leading to an argument about what the coin truly represents. But how do the two sides connect? We can’t simply choose one side and ignore the other.

Every coin has an edge that links the two sides together. The verses (edge of the coin) that link these two seemingly contradictory verses are:

We can now see that justification comes through faith and works working together—one cannot exist meaningfully without the other.

If that idea feels difficult to grasp, consider it this way: The words faith and belief are not the same thing. Belief comes first, followed by action. Together, they form faith. Faith is a belief that produces evidence (works) of that belief.

Taken together these verses are telling us that we are not saved by our good works. We are saved through our belief in Jesus that CAUSES evidence of good works in our lives. It is not the evidence that saves us, but without evidence of faith it isn’t really there either. Without fire there is no smoke.

This is how we should handle contradictory verses. We need to see contradictory verses in their proper context. We don’t need to engage in proof-texting the Bible (using a single verse apart from any other to prove a point).

I often see people argue over doctrine by using one verse to counter another. But the scriptures do not fight with themselves—they agree! The task is not to prove one verse right and another wrong; it’s to show how they connect. This is how we should handle contradictions.

Handling Symbolism in the Bible

A lot of the Bible is literal, but much of it is also figurative. How do you know which verses to take as metaphorical and which ones as literal? The answer is to let the Bible tell you.

Look for words that indicate symbolism, such as “like” or “as.” Verses describing events in a dream or vision are generally symbolic and are often followed by a direct interpretation. For example, Daniel had a vision, and then an angel said, “I will show you what the vision means.”

Sometimes the symbolism is obvious. Just like in any normal conversation, I may use a metaphor that you automatically recognize as figurative because you understand the context. It works the same way when dealing with symbolism in the Bible.

Adding To or Taking Away From Scripture

It can be very tempting to place meanings on words that aren’t there.

This verse is an example of one people often add to. They interpret it as saying we should “keep” asking, but that word isn’t actually in the text. The idea comes from the assumptions of the reader.

People often take this passage to mean we should continually ask until we get an answer, but it actually says the opposite.

Jesus said, “Hear what the unjust judge saith.” The judge noted that God will avenge those who call on Him. Yet the judge questions whether there will be faith among people.

In this parable, the widow had no faith in the judge’s integrity, so she hounded him day and night. The text describes the judge as unjust, and her persistence stemmed from her lack of trust. The parable compares her lack of faith in the judge to people’s lack of faith in God when they feel the need to repeatedly ask instead of trusting Him to answer.

To avoid misinterpreting scripture, we need to study carefully, never make assumptions, and always approach the text with fresh eyes. We must be willing to examine it closely and from every angle.

How Do We Gain Interest in the Bible?

Neglecting Bible study is like neglecting time with your spouse. Anyone who has been married for a long time knows how easy it is to let busyness distract you. Before you know it, you’ve missed an anniversary, and they’re upset.

But avoiding this is simple: make time. Set aside specific times to spend with the Bible. Use reminders if necessary. No matter how you do it, you must prioritize this important commitment.

Before long, it becomes a habit—and then a way of life. Once ingrained, it feels unnatural to miss your regular study time. Even when you have other things to do, breaking this habit feels like more of a chore than keeping it.

As for gaining interest, remember that sometimes we need to start something before we enjoy it. Think of times you didn’t want to go somewhere but were glad you did. When we aren’t initially interested, we need to press on and do it anyway.

Be Fully Persuaded

If you believe something to be true, you will naturally see anything contrary as false. This is true whether you are right or wrong. Surprisingly, this is good! We should be fully persuaded in our beliefs and ready to defend them—but not at the expense of truth itself.

Many people fight for their beliefs long past the point when they should let go. For example, if you believe the Bible never says “The Son of God” and I show it to you in scripture, you have a choice: abandon the false belief in favor of the truth, or ignore the truth to hold onto the lie.

Ignoring new information is never wise. Sometimes we do it because we feel that we are right, even if we can’t explain why, and we think this protects us from being led astray.

If your belief isn’t strong enough to engage with new information, your faith is weak. To strengthen it, we must test it! New information, even if false, is an opportunity to grow.

Examine evidence carefully. If it’s a lie, you’ll learn to defend against it and help others do the same. If it’s true, you can exchange your “wood, hay, and stubble” for “brick and stone” to build a stronger foundation.

Keep these truths in mind as we continue in our studies. We are about to get into the Bible in a much deeper way.

Unit 1:14 – Who and What is God OR

Return To Christianity 101 Unit 1 – The Bible and Faith in God