| FUNDAMENTALS |
| The Analytical Method of Bible Study |
| 1. Understand the circumstances (where & when) of the writing of the Bible (and each particular book). Each passage must be interpreted in relation to where it is found: Covenant, Section, Book, Chapter, Paragraph, Speaker, Audience. The Bible is one book comprised of sixty-six separate books written by more or less forty writers over about 1,600 years. It is divided into two covenants, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each covenant is divided into five sections, which comprise prose, poetry and prophetic literature. The writers lived, or wrote about times where the people were either nomadic, a nation without a king, a nation with a king, a nation divided with kings, or a nation in bondage to either the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Modes, the Persians, or the Romans. All of this needs to be taken into account when attempting to understand the Bible. 2. The ordinary sense in the textual content is the meaning of the word(s). Look in the lexicons (dictionaries) and extra-biblical sources to see the ordinary sense of the word in context. 3. The dispensations give a gradual unveiling of the divine plan (patriarchal - star: Genesis, prophetic —moon: Exodus - Malachi & present - sun: Matthew - Revelation). 4. Salvation is a covenant between God and man (it is conditional and unilateral). A covenant is the statement by God of his promises to man. To receive the benefits of a covenant one must meet its requirements. However, a covenant becomes the defining arrangement whether it is accepted or not. 5. God is the Sovereign, and presents the terms of salvation. He has presented grace in the gift of Jesus upon the cross, the terms of salvation in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the promises of reward and punishment in heaven and hell in the last day. God has made provision for each and every man to be saved. God wishes every man to be saved. 6. Man accepts or rejects the covenant in his own free will, choosing by his own volition to understand and/or obey the terms of the covenant. If man wishes to accept salvation, each and every person can understand the will of God. Understanding the will of God, man has the choice to believe or not. Believing, man has the choice whether to obey or not His salvation, or his damnation, depends upon his own will and response. |
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