Bob Young Resources

November 2018

Upcoming Mission and Ministry Schedule

The 2018 Calendar is available on this site. I hope you can attend an event when I am in your area. Contact me for specific details of events listed or to schedule an event. A few open dates remain on the 2019 calendar.

You Should Read the Bible Like the First-Century Christians Did

I am part of a fellowship that focuses on restoring the first-century church in its teaching and practice. BUT, most of us who are focused on restoration do not read the Bible like our first-century counterparts did!

Think with me! The Christians of the first century did not have access to all of the books of the New Testament. They did not have the luxury of doing word studies, finding parallel verses, and tracing topics through 27 books of the New Testament text. Many, if not most, of them did not even read the Bible -- they heard it read in the assembly. Also, they heard it read in its entirety. When a local church received a letter, they did not read Chapter 1 one week, Chapter 2 the next week, and so forth. (In fact, in those days there were no chapter divisions!) They did not read a small section of a letter followed by discussion and application!
The early Christians heard (or read) the text in order to understand a message. Before they began to think about application, they wanted to hear the message of the author. Their primary focus was on the message.

In my series of Bible study guides, I set forth five steps that will help you hear the message of Scripture in your Bible study. An overall orientation to a biblical book may be helpful as a first step, but an important beginning point is to read through the book of the Bible to grasp the content. Multiple readings will help you remember more details. A third step is to focus your reading on the specific section of text you are studying, with reading and rereading, followed by your own efforts to identify major points, thought patterns, divisions of the text, and subject matter. Finally, you can use Bible study tools to help you understand parts of the text that are difficult. All five of these steps are related to reading and grasping the message. Understanding the meaning or application of the text depends on correctly understanding the message.
I have published an article describing the "Message and Meaning Model" of group Bible study. The method shows how a group or individual may effectively study the Bible simply by trying to identify and hear the message of a passage, followed by conversations about the meaning of the passage.

I have a suggestion: before you start your Bible study with topical comparisons, word studies, or cross references, read the Bible! Read whatever book or section of biblical text you wish to study. Listen to the text; mentally process the message. What did the original recipients hear? The best way to do your Bible reading is to set aside enough time to read a book of the Bible (or a section of the text) in one sitting. That is how the books of the Bible were meant to be heard.
When you begin the study of a new part of the Bible, read the entire book. When you begin preparations for a class or sermon, read the entire biblical book. This kind of reading is a good way to guarantee that you are not taking verses out of context. It is a good way to avoid the tendency toward "proof-texting."
When you try to hear the biblical text like the first century church did, you are more likely to identify correctly the purpose and theme of the book and the overall message of the passage. You are more likely to hear the message the author wished to convey....

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The above is an excerpt. The entire article can be accessed and downloaded at: You Should Read the Bible Like the Christians Did in the First Century