God’s people were once destroyed because of a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:16).  While that may not happen today on such a wide scale, individually and congregationally, we can still be destroyed due to a lack of knowledge.  The less knowledge of the Bible we have, the more vulnerable we are to the assaults of the devil.  On the other hand, having a good understanding of the Bible will give us an advantage over him.

To understand the Bible, there are a few things we must do.  First, we must study it.  There is no way around this.  I know many have busy schedules and limited time, but still, we must find time to study God’s Word.  The truth is if being knowledgeable in the scriptures is important to us, and if we love God’s Word the way we should, we will make the time to study it. 

Psalm 119:99 (ESV)
⁹⁹  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

Studying the Bible alone is not enough.  It will give us a certain level of knowledge, but alone it may not give us an understanding.  To truly understand God’s Word, we have to rightly divide it.

2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
¹⁵  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

How do we do this?  First, we have to make sure that we keep what we are studying in context.  Too many people take isolated statements from a passage, ignore the context, and come to erroneous conclusions.  Context always matters.

Let me give you an example.  Paul once said, “do not forbid speaking in tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39).  Some take that statement to mean that tongue speaking is still going on today, but that is not the case.  Contextually, Paul had just spent the entire chapter elevating prophesying over speaking in tongues.  Since he said things like, “…I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue,” he wanted the brethren to know that he was not condemning tongue-speaking.  However, that does not change the fact that speaking in tongues was a temporary gift (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Another thing that is critical in understanding the Bible, is knowing what law was in force when a passage was written.  Why is this so important?  It is important because we must have authority for everything that we do religiously (Colossians 3:17).  To look to the law of Moses for authority today would be a mistake since we are now under the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21).  Some try to justify things like using musical instruments in worship when we only have the authority to sing (Ephesians 5:19).  How do they justify it?  They do so by referring to passages such as Psalm 150, which, of course, was written while the law of Moses was in force.  Doing this causes many people to sin by doing unauthorized things since we are not under that law.

One more thing I will mention that is necessary to rightly divide the Word is to make sure you know who the writer is writing to in any given text.  Sometimes people apply a passage universally that was meant for a specific group of people.  For example, some passages refer to the apostles of Christ and are not applicable to the rest of us.  An example of this is when Jesus promised to give His apostles the Spirit to guide them unto all truth (John 16:13).  That passage was speaking of the inspiration that apostles would have after being baptized with the Spirit.  While many apply that to all, it was a promise given to and fulfilled by the apostles (Luke 24:36-49; Acts 1:1-4; 2:1-47).

Do you want to understand the Bible properly?  To do so you must study it regularly, and make sure you rightly divide it.  If you haven’t already, start making a habit of doing this as soon as possible.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.