RULES FOR INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE

  1. The first presumption is always that God meant just what He said.
  2. Make the same allowance for figures of speech that you make in other literature.
  3. Do not explain away or cripple one passage in order to make it harmonize with another.
  4. Read prayerfully seeking the wisdom that comes from God. (Ps. 119:18; 1 Cor. 2:14-15)

 

The following words from John Wycliffe (1324-1384), a great scholar and translator of the Scriptures, if followed will prove of immeasurable value in studying the Bible:

“It shall greatly helpe ye to understande Scripture if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what words at what time, where to what attempt, with what circumstances, considering what goeth before and what followeth.”

(Editor’s note): The following was written in 1949. In selecting a Bible for study, you should notice the version. The King James Version (KJV) is the most commonly used but it was translated in 1611 and naturally contains many words and expressions whose meaning is not clear to the average person today. The best and most accurate translation today (1949) is the American Revised Version (ASV), translated in 1901. You should also select a Bible with print large enough for you to read without eye strain. If the print is too small you will find yourself dreading to read it. Also, there should be room between the type and on the margin for you to market and write in helpful notes. The underlining of passages that especially appeal to you, writing illuminating notes that you get from your own study or from others, and cross references that throw light on the subject at hand, will be great help in your Bible study.

The following suggestions by F. B. Meyer are worth copying and putting in your Bible:

  1. Read the Bible, not as a newspaper, but as a home letter.
  2. If a cluster of heavenly fruit hangs within reach, gather it.
  3. If a promise lies upon the pages as a blank check, cash it.
  4. If a prayer is recorded, appropriate it and launch it as a feathered arrow from the bow of your desire.
  5. If an example of holiness gleams before you, ask God to do as much for you.
  6. If the truth is revealed in all its intrinsic splendor, entreat that its brilliance may ever irradiate the hemisphere of your life.