How to Read the Bible: Literary Styles

The Bible is the foundation for our spiritual formation.

Yet, for many of us who follow Jesus, reading the Bible is difficult. We have good intentions for reading the Bible, but we often fail in those intentions.

One of the keys to understanding the Bible is to remember that it is written in different literary styles. What are those styles?



As we come to read the Bible it is crucial that we don't just come to gain new information. Rather, we want to approach the Bible asking the simple question, "How does this apply to me?"

There are certain literary types which make this easier to do than others.

Personally, this is why I prefer the New Testament over the Old. It is easy to skim through the laws found in Leviticus or the genealogies found in Genesis, or even the writings of the Prophetic books. The literary styles that make up the New Testament, especially the discourse nature of the Apostles' letters, make it easy for me to answer the question, "How does this apply to me?"

One of the best things we can do, as a general practice, is to see the Bible, not as a book to be conquered, but as writings to understand. To do this we need to approach the Bible prayerfully and humbly, asking God to speak to us from its pages.

Rend Collective - Rescuer (Good News) [Official Music Video]

It is Thanksgiving here in the United States.

On this day that we remember the many blessings God has given to us, may we not forget the greatest blessing of all.

Thank you God for Jesus!

Thankful for God's Love

We make the decision to love. While emotion might make the choice to love easier, we still decide whether or not we will love our pets, our neighbors, our friends, and our family.

The reason we have the capacity to love is because God first loved us. The reality is that our lives are products of God’s love.

If God did not love us, we would not exist. It is God’s love that is behind every gift and blessing that we enjoy.

Even before we became Christians, God’s love was freely given to us. The Bible teaches us that while we were God’s enemies He showed love to us through Jesus.

It is the gift of Jesus that made reconciliation with God possible.

God's amazing love is cause for thanksgiving!

Erwin McManus wrote

“It is gratitude that nurtures wholeness and expresses itself as generosity in the end. Gratitude is the pathway of love. It unleashes the healing power of love. It increases our capacity to experience love and give it.” (Uprising; p. 114)

Gratitude is an essential part of learning to be people of love. 

The thankfulness we experience because of God's love compels us to love those around us. While we know we should be grateful for God's love, the reality is that we don't always feel grateful.

The problem is that we haven't connected the blessings in our lives to God. We have grown so use to good health, a roof over our heads, and food in the refrigerator that we forget God's hand in this blessings.

Not only that, as time goes on, the feeling of gratitude that we had when we first became Christians begins to fade. The great gift of salvation looses its shine in our eyes.

Instead of thanking God for Jesus, we begin to act like it was no big deal. How do we show our gratitude for the love God has given us?

 I believe the first step in being grateful is to be humble. 

How do we become humble?

We take time to evaluate our lives.

The apostle Paul wrote,"As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you"(Romans 12:3; NLT).

This step reminds us of who we are the struggles we have without Jesus. It leads us to the place of humility. Without humility we believe that we deserve the gifts given to us. Only the humble see the blessings of God as the gifts they are and therefore respond in gratitude.

I believe the next step in showing gratitude is to be a steward. 

When we use the gifts, talents, and resources God has given to us, our eyes are opened to the work He is doing in and through us.

In 1 Peter we read, "God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you"(1 Peter 4:10; NLT).

By using our blessings we show our appreciation for what we have, and we allow ourselves to be a blessing to someone else.

 The third step in having a grateful life is to be a lover.

 Remember love is a choice. God's love for us opens up the possibility for us to be people of love. This is where our knowledge comes in above our feelings.

We may not always feel grateful, but because we know God has blessed us, we choose to love: to love Him and to love others.

Paul wrote:

"Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like a sweet perfume to him" (Ephesians 5:1-2; NLT). 

A life of love is a life lived in obedience to God’s will. A grateful persons seeks to please the One who has blessed him.

 God has given us the gift of love.

 Too often we treat that love as if it is something that we deserve, rather than an undeserved blessing given by a good God. In order to be grateful we need to be humble, we need to be stewards, and we need to be lovers.

This is how we express our thanksgiving to God for His gift of love.

How to Read the Bible: Biblical Story

The Bible is an important book.

 For Christians, we understand that the Bible provides us with the information that we need to guide our lives and move us along on the path of spiritual formation.

 Yet, the Bible is an ancient book, and it is not always easy to understand.

 While the Bible isn't easy to understand it does tell one unified story.



When we read the Bible, whether we are reading in the Old Testament or the New Testament, we need to pay attention to the choice that is being offered. Over and over again in Scripture we read about people who are offered a choice to either follow God's way or to do what they feel is right.

What the Bible teaches us is that when people choose to do what they think is right, the result is hurt, pain, distrust, division, and death. This is the explanation for why the world is in the shape that it is in.

The Bible does point to a person of hope. That person is Jesus. He is the one who always choose the way of God, and thus was able to bring restoration and renewal to the world. We are able to join with God in this renewal project as we follow Jesus.

Seeing this thread that runs through Scripture helps to know what we are to pay attention to as we read the Bible: How can we make the choice to follow God's will?

Live What You Believe

The direction of our lives reveal the condition of our hearts.

Our character is determined by the things that we do rather than the things that we say.

This is why I like what Henry and Richard Blackaby wrote in Hearing God's Voice:

“Whenever God speaks, what we do next exposes the condition of our hearts.”

Jesus taught about this very thing in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.  You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.  A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.  So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.  Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:15-20; NLT)

Here Jesus provided a test that helps us identify false teachers. The test is to observe their behavior. Do they practice what they preach?

False teachers may teach truth, but they do not live by the truth.

Truth is truth no matter what the source is. A person who does not live a life of faith still has the ability to speak truth. The problem is that the way they live often invalidates what they teach. Their lives will reveal whether or not they truly believe what they teach.

On the flip side, this teaching of Jesus should get us to examine our lives. We should ask ourselves the question: "Does my live align with what I believe?"

Our obedience to God's word reveals the love and trust we have in Him. It also shows those around us what it looks like to follow Jesus.

The more we love God and love our neighbor, the more we become the "light of the world."

This raises the question: "How can I consistently live what I believe?"

The problem many of us face isn't that we are unaware of the importance of  living authentic lives, it is that we find it difficult to do.

If we are going to live authentic lives we need to:

1. Follow the guidance of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23 the apostle Paul wrote, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" (NLT) Following the Holy Spirit will produce in our lives the type of fruit that is consistent with the life of Jesus.
2. Be in community with other people. The author of Hebrews wrote, "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25; NLT). A Christian community offers the encouragement and opportunities we need to love others and live in obedience to God's will. We are stronger when we are in a community.
3. Focus on doing good. The apostle Paul offered this encouragement; "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith." (Galatians 6:9-10; NLT). We can be discouraged when doing good because it appears that it is making little difference. The reality is that we can't see all the things God is doing behind the scenes. It is an act of faith and hope to continue to seize the opportunities to do good, trusting that God will honor our efforts and bring transformation.

To live lives that honor Jesus and align with his teaching requires intentional action. It doesn't happen by accident.

It is crucial that we read and study the Bible. We need to know truth.

Knowing truth is not enough. We need to live the truth. When we live the truth we demonstrate that not only can we recite the truth, but we also believe the truth.

Know the Bible. Live the Bible.

How to Read the Bible: What is the Bible?

For us who follow Jesus the Bible is a very important book.

It provides the fundamental truth for us to believe. It forms our faith. It teaches us how to follow Jesus.

Since the Bible is such an important book for our spiritual formation, we should know what it is.

 

The Bible is a collection of books written over a 1,000 years and tell the story of God and how He relates to humanity. The prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the New Testament both believed that these writings contain the truth that God wants His people to know and understand.

Since God's voice can be heard through Scripture we need to prepare ourselves to hear it as we come to the Bible to read. Before we open the cover of our Bible (or open the Bible app on our phones), we should spend a few moments in prayer and ask God to give us ears to hear the truth He wants us to know. It is important for us to invite God to speak to us through these words that were written thousands of years ago.

The Law is Incapable

"Law is always external. It is always imposed from outside. It can never make man good. It can only make him wish he had been good." ~ W. Carl Ketcherside; The Death of the Custodian

Law is incapable of changing people.

It would be great if it did. That would mean all we needed to do to rid the world of evil is to make new laws.

The reality that the law is incapable of changing us doesn't mean that law is useless. It does mean that we need to understand the limitations of law, so we don't put unrealistic expectation on it.

The law does have the ability to stop some people from doing certain behaviors. It  is capable of doing this because they are afraid of the punishment. In the back of their minds is that voice that is whispering, "What if I get caught?"

The restraint these people experience is not from the desire to do good, but the desire to avoid getting into trouble.  They wouldn't hesitant to do evil deeds if they could be assured there would be no consequences for their actions.

Their outward appearance appears to be good, but their hearts remain dark.

Consider these snippets from the Sermon on the Mount:

"You have heard that the law of Moses says, "'Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I say, if you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell" (Matthew 5:21-22; NLT). 

"You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28; NLT). 

"You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Love your neighbor and hate you enemy.' But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!" (Matthew 5:43-44; NLT).

Jesus taught that what mattered more than our obedience to the law is the condition of our heart.

The law cannot fix a heart twisted by sin!

Our only hope for a true change of heart is Jesus. Our faith allows Jesus to heal our hearts and empower us to overcome the sin in our lives.

Obedience to the law is powerless to take away the consequences of sin in our lives. Law can inform us what is right and wrong, but once it has been broken, it remains broken.

What does that mean?

One thing it means is that law can't change us. The law can point us in the right direction, but it can't make us obedient. If we are interested in the transformation of lives, then we have to look at things outside of law. We need to use things like love, truth, faith, and sacrifice.

A second thing it means is that everyone is in the same boat. We have all disobeyed God and broken the law. We are powerless to make amends on our own. We need God's help to change.

Yes, the law is important, but it is incapable of making us good. Only God can do that.