Before giving you some valuable keys to understanding the Bible allow me to suggest that these keys are very important. They are vital for properly interpreting what the Bible is “saying.”

If you think that the idea of keys to proper Bible interpretation is unnecessary, let me point out that there are some 300 Christian denominations in the United States of America alone. If not all, the great majority of them claim the Bible as the foundation of their faith. Follow my logic now.

For the sake of making a point, let’s assume that the Bible contains the truth of God. The Holy Spirit being the author, inspired a variety of writers in different ages and different places to record what He brought to their minds in thoughts or in visions. God cannot lie. He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Tim. 3:16.

Let’s think about these points. If the Bible is truth (and it is), and inspired by the third person of the Godhead, there can be no argument against its validity and trustworthiness.

The Bible cannot be a book of confusion or contradictions (and there are none when rightly understood). That being the case and the churches claiming that the Bible is the basis for their creeds, why are there so many different denominations? They are all using the same book, but arriving at divergent doctrines. Something is wrong, wouldn’t you say? It isn’t with the Bible.

The simple answer is that some churches use the Bible very selectively to prove their belief system. Others base some or all their doctrines on inaccurately defining what a text is saying. Many times a person, even a member of the clergy has been taught a certain tenet of faith as the church’s doctrine and they will then fit what they believe into what a text is not actually saying.

Allow me to give an example. If I should step on your toes, please forgive me, it is not meant in any way to be critical, but I just want to prove my last statement. You have the heaven given right to believe as you will, but keep in mind that Jesus had this problem all His ministry.

The established religion of His people, of which incidentally He was the originator, had gotten so unorthodox and twisted, so far away from the the truth. Jesus attempted many times to bring the truth to the people. He often went into the temple and stood up to read. Listen:

“…and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for the read.” “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.” “Never man spake like this man.” Luke 4:16,32; Jn. 7:46

Jesus brought to the people pure truth from heaven. Some people accepted Jesus’ truths and a few of the religious leaders were moved by His teaching and eventually surrendered their own traditions and followed Him. However, the majority of the religious leaders would not give in. They stubbornly clung to their traditions, and the majority of the people followed them.

Consider this, if there are so many churches, teaching such variances in doctrines, all supposedly from the Bible, there must be something wrong somewhere. Wouldn’t you want to know what Jesus taught? You can and will if you stay with this publication. The vital question for you to contemplate is, can you handle the truth? Are you willing to accept Christ’s teaching, or will you reject Him?

Key #1.Always begin Bible reading or study with prayer. Ask your heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit to help you learn the truths He has in His book just for you, asking in Jesus’ name. This is the counsel given by Jesus. “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (emphasis mine)

Key #2.Let the Bible interpret itself. Do not allow preconceived ideas to override the true intent of a text. This is why there are so many different denominations. People will often get something out of a text that further reading would show to be in error. One text does not set a doctrine. You need to go with the weight of evidence, the preponderence of proof texts on any given subject.

The Bible itself establishes the pricinples to follow:

“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa: 28:10; 8:20

In other words, the truth is found by putting texts from different books of the Bible together as a whole.

Key #3.The Bible speaks literally of course. But not every text is to be taken literally. Jesus often spoke in parables, which are illustrations He used to shed light on the lesson He was teaching.

There are many metaphors used in the Bible that should not be taken literally. Let’s look at just one example: Ps. 30:7

“Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mounrain to stand strong.”

If you read the entire short chapter, it is plain that David is praising God, because God has made him strong in the faith as a mountain.

Also, some texts are prophetic, already having been fulfilled, or which are to be fulfilled in the future. Often in prophetic texts the language used is symbolic, not literal in meaning.

Key #4.It would be well to have a concordance at hand so you can look up words that are not clear to you. Also, a concordance is a valuable tool in locating a text that you know is in the Bible but you cannot find.

Key #5.I use the King James Version (KJV). The language may be archaic, but the KJV is the most reliable in terms of consistency in its interpretations. Modern translations in too many places are not true to the original manuscripts. The translators often color a text with their own belief systems. You will see examples of this as you proceed with this publication.

It is well however, to have a modern version alongside the KJV. Better still, have a parallel Bible to which you can refer when a text in the KJV is difficult to understand. A parallel Bible is one that will show several different translations on a page.

Key #6.Prophecies are where you need to be especially careful. Do not attempt to fit events of the day into a prophecy. As stated previously, prophecies are many times written in symbolic language and you must allow the Bible to do the interpreting.

Key #7.Use the entire Bible. There are those who believe that we live in New Testament (NT) times and that the Old Testament (OT) is no longer valid. The fact of the matter is that approximately 40% of the texts of the NT, are taken from the OT.

When the apostle Paul wrote, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, and for instruction in righteousness,” 1 Tim 3:16, he was referring to the OT. Jesus always quoted from the OT. There was no NT in existence in their day.

The apostles and others had written letters, and also the four gospels were framed, but these writers totally relied on the OT for God’s word. The Bible was not yet structured in the form we use today. Both OT and NT are valid and necessary to glean the sure truths from heaven.