Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - REPLAY: Reading the Bible

Episode Date: January 3, 2020

Why is studying Scripture so important, and how should it be done?

Hey guys, welcome to the podcast. Happy Monday, as you guys know, it is Theology Monday. Now, when I say theology, it sounds like we're talking about these kind of complicated issues every week, but of course we're not. We're a lot of times we're refuting some kind of pseudo-Christian lie that we've heard in the mainstream and going to God's word and seeing what it actually says. Sometimes we are talking about more complex subjects. Sometimes we're talking about more practical subjects like biblical suffering, but in everything, we always go back to the Word of God as our Supreme Authority. And that's really what I want to talk about today. Why reading the Bible and knowing our Bible and knowing theology is so important. And that doesn't mean that we have to have

every question answered about our eschatology at all points. Of course, all of that is very important, but it's a process. It takes time. And it all starts with knowing how to and, even why to read the Bible. This is a question that I get a lot, especially from people who are just becoming Christians. They just don't know where to start. And if that's you, I just want you to know that is the perfect place to be. That's a normal place to be. Anyone who has ever become a Christian, especially people who were not raised in the church, have all asked that question. There is not a single person who has become a Christian and said, oh, totally understand this Bible thing. Totally get it. I've got no questions. It all makes perfect sense. No, we are finite human beings. That

means we are limited in our understanding. We only have so much of a capacity to be able to understand complex subjects. But what I'm here to tell you is that you have a much bigger and better capacity to understand the complexities of Scripture than you think. Thankfully, with the power of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of God, there's so much that we get to know through the Bible. So If you are intimidated when you are reading the Bible, normal. If you are confused when you are reading the Bible, normal. If you are scared to open the Bible just because you feel like you don't know anything and you don't want to ask stupid questions, normal.

Okay? So just take a deep breath. Understand that when you're listening to people who you're like, oh my gosh, I'm never going to know as much as this person that I see on Instagram or my friend or my pastor, you don't need to worry about that. You don't need to worry about that. what you need to worry about is reading the Word of God as much and as well and as accurately as a human being possibly can. And that is what we are, that's what we're going to talk about today.

We're going to talk about some very basic things. We're also going to talk about a little bit more intricate or complicated things depending on how familiar you are with church and with kind of the Christian sphere. But I do think for anyone, no matter where you are in your walk, I think that this will be a very important episode, even if you have been walking with God a lot longer than I have. You know the Bible a lot better than I do. I'm sure there are plenty of you out there that that is true of. I still think that this will be an edifying episode for everyone, especially if you have friends who are just now learning the Bible for themselves. It's a very exciting time, by the way, if you are becoming a Christian, it's so exciting to really discover God's word for the first time. So I'm excited for you. And you should be excited for yourself too.

and you should not feel at all bogged down or weighed down by this task that you have before you of reading the Bible. This summer, we are going to cover a lot of theological subjects that are on the more complex side that maybe you wouldn't tackle until you've been following God for a little bit and you start, okay, you understand the gospel and it's not that you move on from the gospel, but you realize that there's a lot there and there's a lot to uncover and there's a lot to unpack that happens. over time, the more that we study, the more we, uh, the more we know about God, the more that we know that we don't know. And so the questions just kind of multiply the longer that you've known him, which is great. That's a really fun and exciting thing, I think, about following God and about reading his word. So I wanted to kind of lay this foundation before this summer when we get into those complicated issues about, uh, you know, predestination and, uh, Tulip and Calvin is all that good stuff. woman in the church, these very controversial topics, I wanted to kind of lay this foundation

before we get into all of that. So my personal journey with God, if you want to call it that, I'm not even sure if that's theologically accurate terminology, but my relationship with God, I was raised in a Christian home. Both of my parents were Christians. We went to a Southern Baptist Church every Sunday. But my relationship with him, I didn't start taking the Bible seriously and reading the Bible for myself and being interested in the Bible until I was probably a junior in high school and I would even say the latter half of my junior year. Now, if I go back and I read some of the journals that I had when I was like eight or nine years old, I've always kept journals my entire life. I was, you know, like writing scripture and prayers and things like that.

So it was always something I knew about in Sunday school class. I went to a Christian school. It was always something that I was from an academic standpoint, intellectual standpoint, interested in. But it wasn't until the latter half of my junior year. I was in a Bible class in high school that was very different than any Bible class that I had taken. My teacher was extremely vulnerable and extremely real and authentic about sin and struggles and learning God's word. I don't even know where this teacher is now or what he's really like. I don't even really remember much of what we talked about. But he really trusted us to be able to study scripture and to talk about it and to explore complicated subjects that we had never explored before.

And that really started piquing my interest. I remember reading Romans all the way through for the first time my junior year. And I was like, wow, there's a lot here that I don't know when I've been raised in the church. And then we read my senior year of high school. We read this book called Reason for God by Tim Keller. And I started reading C.S. Lewis, Great Divorce, Mere Christianity. And all of a sudden I realized, oh my gosh, there's. so much about God, so much about his word, his church that I don't know. And this stuff is fascinating

to me. Even just from an intellectual perspective, I found it really fascinating. And then so that just became a passion of mine, setting God's word, probably starting my senior year of high school. A few other things happened that brought me close to God in understanding the gospel for probably the first time I started listening to teachers. I started going to a church that was, you know, my own church. I was able to drive. And so I didn't go to the same church as my parents anymore. That had a huge profound impact on me. And then I went to college with that same spirit. And then my friends gave me an ESV study Bible that I still use every day now when I was a sophomore. And that totally, I don't want to say that totally changed my life too because I was

already a Christian. But that awakens an even deeper love, I guess, for studying scripture and realizing there was so much that I didn't know. And then I've talked about, Before my senior year, I went through this really hard season where I decided that I was going to have fun, as they say. I went through a hard breakup and I reacted to that breakup in a very immature and ungodly way. I decided to fill my life with things that I thought would make me happy. Really, what I was seeking during this point in college was wanting to be wanted. I felt rejected. And so a way to feel wanted and to feel whole when I was 20, 21, 22 years old was drinking, was hooking up, was going out, was getting attention from friends,

things that a lot of people do all four years of college and even high school. I had a lot of encouragement from people around me that this is what I was supposed to do. And that's not to blame them at all. That it was totally my responsibility. But it was fun. I was getting attention, affirmation. It was awesome. But really, I was miserable.

I was also struggling with an eating disorder. and I just remember, this all ties back to what we're talking about, I just remember during this time and mind you, I had been chaplain in my sorority, I was genuinely passionate about the word of God, and then I just decided after this breakup, no, no, no, I want to numb the pain, how I want to numb the pain, I'm going to live it up this last semester, and I remember trying to pretend like I was following God at the same time. I remember trying to read the Bible. I remember trying to keep up with what, you know, we call in Christianese our quiet times. I remember trying to do that and not being able to.

I remember trying to open my Bible, trying to journal, and I just could, it made me feel physically sick because I knew what I was doing was wrong and it was totally incongruent with the life that God had called me to. I felt convicted of my sin. but instead of turning towards that conviction and repenting, I just pushed it down and I closed my Bible and I said, you know what, I'm not going to, I'm not going to do this anymore. This hurts too much. It hurts too much to pray. It hurts too much to read the Bible. I'm just going to do what I want to do. I'm going to numb my pain with alcohol, with guys, with over-exercise, with not eating enough, and I'm going to keep up this image that I think is going to make me happy and whole, that didn't work. Long story short, I ended up in the counselor's office a few months after

I graduated from college, her telling me, if you keep up your eating disorder, which at this point had turned into binging and purging, you're going to die. And I, I just, I didn't know how to, I think that probably was the thing that woke me up. And then I started reading God's Word again. And I started reading the Bible again and allowing my heart to be pricked and soft. after a while of sinning, you grow callous and you convince yourself that it's fine and you harden your heart as a way to not feel conviction and that's what I had done. And so I had to painfully go through this process of repentance of allowing God's word to seep into my heart and steep into my life and remind me just how needy I am, just how sinful I am, just how much I desperately need God,

that I'm not self-sufficient, that I can't do this on my own, that the avenues that I pursued to find happiness actually were going to end in destruction and devastation. And that's always what sin does. That is the game that Satan has been playing since the very beginning in the garden. When he said to Eve, did God really say? Did God really say? And he showed her the fruit and the fruit looked good. And instead of telling her the consequences of this, he said, no, no, no, Don't worry about it. God's just worried that you're going to be more like him, and you'll know the difference between good and evil, and that's what you want. Well, that sounded enticing to Eve, and just like Satan does in all of our temptations today, he doesn't talk about consequences.

He talks about how good it's going to feel in the moment. And Eve gave into that. I gave into that. And the consequences are always so much worse than the fleeting pleasure that you get from sin. and I learned that the hard way, I racked up a lot of regrets in that probably eight-month period of rebellion that I have that I wish that I could take back, all because I decided to walk away from the word of God. And because I wouldn't allow conviction, I pushed it down and I became callous and I followed my own way. So if there is one reason, and we'll get to all the reasons, but if there is one reason,

to stay in God's word, it is to remain, it is to remain convicted of your sin, to remain in obedience to God, and to avoid the pain and devastation that inevitably comes along with following your sin and your flesh and your desires. I can tell you from experience, it is not worth it. So listen to me when I say that. You might not know that about me. People who have been listening to this podcast from the very beginning have heard me, give the story before. I have not always in every stage of my life been this on fire for Christ reading the Bible everyday girl. No, I went through a period where I rebelled and I am thankful for the grace of God and the wisdom that he gives us in his words. So that is why this subject is so

important to me because I want something different for you. And if you've already been there like I have, know that there's grace for you and know that there is forgiveness for you and there is wisdom for you and there is goodness for you found in the Word of God. So let's talk about, let's talk about the reasons why, the reasons why we need to study scripture in addition to the reasons that I just gave you. So Psalm 119 is an amazing passage. We see how passionate David is about God's law and about his promises, how eager David is to follow them and to hold on to them. Here are verses 9 through 16 in this particular chapter. How can a young man keep his way pure by guarding it according to your word? With my whole heart I seek you. Let me not

wander from your commandments. I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your statutes. With my lips, I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget your word. There are a lot of reasons to study the Bible and to rejoice in the intimacy that we gain with God through studying the Bible. And the first and the foremost reason is to know God, is to know God and his ways. The Bible is filled with passages about God revealing himself to his people, showing him his strength, his faithfulness, his goodness, revealing his will

in His Word. And in God's sovereignty, he has chosen to reveal himself to us through his written word in the Bible. Psalm 254 says, make me to know your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Psalm 199, 25 says, I am your servant. Give me understanding that I may know your testimonies. Jesus prays to the Father in John 1717. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. So those who are in Christ gain intimacy with the God the universe by understanding him, that the truth that he gives us in scripture, it is a privilege for us to get to know the God of the universe through his word and the word that he purposely left for us. There are a lot of other reasons that all kind of fall under that umbrella to read God's word. And that is always going to be the main one to know God in his ways. And in knowing

God in his ways, we gain a lot of other benefits. We gain wisdom. and discernment for how to live, how to navigate the rough waters of life. We're given direction. We are offered perspective for how to see what's happening in the world, what's going to happen. In the future, we're given a framework for righteousness that applies to our own lives, but also applies to the public sphere like the government. We are able to better understand how to love and to serve other people. We are shown our sin, our neediness of God. We are convicted of our wrongdoing. We are called to repentance.

We are comforted by the reminders of God's faithfulness. We are also able to distinguish through God's word between what is true and what is false, false teaching and the true word of God. Reading the Bible as it draws us closer to God and gives us wisdom also sanctifies us, as that passage says that we read in John 17, meaning that as we conform to God's will, we become more like Christ, more like who God has called us to be. as 2 Timothy 316 through 17 says all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete,

equipped for every good work. So it's useful for teaching, for reproof, and for correction, to train us to become righteous, that we in God might be complete, that we might be ready, prepared, equipped for every good work that he has prepared for us, as Ephesians 2 says. There are many people, unfortunately, who will tell you that reading God's word is secondary or even tertiary in your relationship with him, that knowing scripture isn't really all that important compared to what these people would call your personal relationship with him. They kind of separate these two things, where they say that God may say that he doesn't say, or God may say things to you that he doesn't say in his word.

He might reveal things to you that are just specific for you. He might give you feelings that you can't actually find in the Bible. That's what these people will say. It's hogwash. It's total, total deception. This is not to say that God won't convict you as you are praying or God won't press something into your mind or heart, but every conviction, every connection, every direction he gives

will be in perfect alignment with what he says in scripture because he does not change. He will not give you something that contradicts scripture or goes outside the bounds of scripture or is contrary to his character. It's very sad to me when people say, when I hear people say that God's word is limiting, that we need to go beyond it because what it tells me is that they have not spent very much time studying it. Anyone who says that God's word restricts their relationship with God or puts limitations on their relationship with God has not read the word of God. I guarantee you they don't know much about the word of God. Chances are they read something at one point that they don't like or didn't understand and they decided, okay, I don't really need this. This is too

confusing for me. This person tends to view scripture as a static collection of ancient writings that serve as a very small supplement to your faith, but really shouldn't be used as the foundation for your faith. But that is not a correct way to look at scripture. That verse in Second Timothy that we read says that God's word is breathed out by him. And God, as we've said, does not change. Therefore, his word does not change. It is applicable today right now. It is static in the sense that it doesn't change depending on our mood or on our culture or a trend, but it's also dynamic. And the that it is not stuck in the past but is ever applicable to the right now. Now, you may say, well, Allie, what about all the people who can't read the Bible or who maybe

don't have a Bible with them, but they are Christians? Can they not have a relationship with God? And to that, I would say, of course they can. God in his sovereignty can. He has the power to accommodate himself to anyone and draw someone's heart to himself through whatever means necessary. but, but again, this means, or these means that he uses in this revelation of who he is and his gospel will not and cannot be incongruent to what he word or with what his word says.

Jesus says his word is truth. God's word is truth. Second Timothy says his word is useful, is profitable for everything and it is breathed out by God. Psalm 119 speaks to how vital God's word. it is in our lives. There is a branch of Christianity that really wants to wed Eastern mysticism with Christianity and reject the importance of knowing the Bible. So they seek to have, you know, certain kinds of energies or feelings to have special revelations that they claim are from God

that are not actually found in the Bible. You'll hear them using all of this kind of like new age terminology that God wants to give you some kind of special. gift just for you in the moment. What? Like, can you tell me where you find that in scripture? Beware of this. Be wary. This doesn't negate the power of the Holy Spirit. I'm not negating the power of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit works in our hearts through the truth revealed in God's word to empower us, to encourage us, to convict us, to draw us to God himself through Christ. Ephesians calls the Holy Spirit the guarantee. of our inheritance, that word for guarantee can also be translated as a down payment. So it is a

guarantee of our salvation. The Holy Spirit is very important. But again, this is not some ethereal feeling by which we can justify contradicting the word of God. Here's what happens. When we try to separate the Holy Spirit from God's word, we end up mistaking our feelings for the Holy Spirit. So let me repeat that. when we try to separate the Holy Spirit from God's word, we end up mistaking our feelings for the Holy Spirit. So we begin following our personal convictions. And we say that we are following God. I remember a conversation that I had with a friend in college, and this was before my own rebellious period, where I basically did the same thing. But I remember her telling me that she didn't feel bad for dating this guy who wasn't a Christian because she didn't feel convicted about it. So,

that must mean, of course, she thought that the Holy Spirit is telling her that this is okay. Like I said, I've done this too. That's what happens when we think that the Holy Spirit is separate from or different than who God has revealed himself to be in his word and that the Holy Spirit must just have different desires than what God is outlined in his word. And that, my friends, leads us to sin. We follow our hearts, which the Bible tells us are desperately wicked. They are not worth following. That's what happens. So that's what happens when we try to say that the spirit or our feelings are more important

or lead us rather than what scripture says. So the word of God is crucial. I've said it before and I will say it again. It is impossible to know God intimately without knowing God accurately. It is impossible to know God intimately without knowing God accurately. accurately. Now, this does not mean that we know everything about him at all times. That's impossible for us. This doesn't mean that we can't have any confusion or have any misunderstandings. We do because we're finite. But if we follow a God whose character is reflective of our own imagination,

rather than reflective of who he says he is in scripture, then we do not follow God at all. We follow ourselves and we justify this self-worship with a form of pseudo-Christianity that does not equal salvation. So reading, studying, and knowing our Bibles so that we can know God and who he truly is is vital. Now, there are many right ways to read the Bible, and there are many wrong ways to read the Bible. And within the right ways to read it, there are different approaches that are taken based on preference. So not everyone has to read the Bible, the exact same way for it to be correct as long as how you are reading the Bible falls under the umbrella of the correct approach. And there is a correct approach. So some of you might say, no, Ali, you're being

legalistic. There is no wrong way to read the Bible. Who are you to tell me how to read the Bible? Well, if you want to know how bad theology happens, how people become completely lost and confused with their own brand of Christianity that doesn't even reflect the gospel revealed to us in scripture, it is this, a poor reading of the text, a poor reading of the Bible. So here are just a few of the ways that people read the Bible incorrectly. Number one, this is probably the biggest one. They decontextualize the verses, taking a verse out of context in order to apply it to a situation or an idea in a way that suits what you want this verse to mean. So a few great examples of this that most of us have probably heard if we grew up in the church. You've heard Philippians 413. I can do

all things through Christ who strengthens me. Psalm 374, delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Jeremiah 29-11, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope in a future. Matthew 7-1, judge not, let's you be judged. These are all awesome verses. I'm not, I'm not at all hating on these verses. They're awesome verses, but so often they're taken out of context to mean something that they don't mean. And the list really goes on and on of verses that people will extract from the surrounding verses and say, this verse means what I want it to mean in this situation. And typically, the reason people do this, and we've all done this at some point in our lives,

but the reason people decontextualized verses is to make them feel better, to stroke their own ego, to justify a decision they've made or to win an argument. Rather than asking the question, what does this mean? So many people find themselves asking, what does this verse mean to me? Well, that's not how the word of God works. scripture means something, not something to you or to me. It means something. Now, how we apply and take comfort in what a Bible verse means might vary depending on our circumstances, but we do not change the meaning of the text to fit into what we want. And we will get into how to discern the

meaning of the text in just a minute. So another way that people read the Bible incorrectly goes along with the first, and that is to insert themselves into the text where they do not belong. This again goes back to the question that people erroneously often ask themselves when they're reading the Bible. And that is, that is what does this passage mean to me? They ask, how can I insert myself into this story? And again, this is typically about ego, about getting something from God that they want, about justifying an idea or a decision that they've made. So you see this a lot in a story like David and Goliath that I'm going to smite this giant before me just like David did. Well, no, you're not necessarily.

necessarily because you're not David in this story. It might not work out like that. The better way to look at this passage is to ask ourselves, what does this mean? And what does this say about the Holy God of the universe? If you constantly insert yourself into the Bible and into the stories of biblical characters as a way of determining how your life is going to work out, you are going to end up severely disappointed. And you are going to find yourself questioning the faithfulness of God. Well, the problem is not with God. It is with you. Similar to the prosperity gospel, when things don't work out, when God doesn't provide for us how we think that we deserved once we pray more and do more and earn more and God still doesn't deliver in the way that we want him to, we end up very disappointed in our faith falters. Well, that's because that's not what the word of God says.

It's the same thing when you try to insert yourself into a story where you do not exist. Another way that people, read the Bible incorrectly, goes along with the first as well. And that is opening the Bible to a random passage and assuming that whatever verse you landed on is a sign from God. No, I remember in middle school the first time that I heard a pastor say that this was wrong. And I was like, oh, shoot. Like my 12-year-old self probably thought that it was like, that's exactly what I was supposed to do to read the Bible. But I remember him saying this and it's still true today. That is called mysticism. That is called putting the Lord your God to the test, which we are not called to do. or which we are actually specifically told not to do.

Now, you can, of course, pray for wisdom as you read the Bible, and we'll talk about that. We should be praying for wisdom. But opening up to a random verse, putting your finger on it and assuming that that is God's special word for you for today is not a correct way to read the Bible. So here is how we read the Bible. This is the systematic way to read the Bible. The most important thing, and like I said, there are preferences within this that are personal. but they fall under a proper reading of the text.

Context. Context is key. You want to know the context of what you're reading. If you have never read the Bible, I always advise starting out with the Book of John. It is one of the Gospels. It's one of the Gospels and in it are extremely clear passages about who Jesus is and his work on the cross. And then I would read the epistles. And again, in all of this you're looking, well, I'll get to the context thing later. I shouldn't have said that first. I'll get to the context thing later. But so start with John. That's what I would start with. Then I would read through the epistles. I would read through Romans, the Corinthians, you know, all of the epistles. You can just go in order. These will tell you what it looks like to live a godly life according to God's own word.

If you go to the Old Testament, you start in Genesis. Genesis is one of my favorite books of the Bible. It's just genuinely interesting. When you read through Genesis, you will find things. that you just didn't know we're there. It's just a good story that is true, by the way. So I recommend going slowly, especially in the New Testament. This is not a race. This is not about quantity of study always, but about quality. It is about understanding. So first, before you read, you pray to God for wisdom. You pray for understanding. You pray that you would be able to grasp the text and that you would comprehend what is being said. Then you read. It's okay if there are things as you read that you don't understand. You mark them. No question that you have, especially when you're starting

out, it's stupid. Ask the question. There's no one judging you. You're not getting graded on this. Personally, if you're starting in John, for example, I would read a whole chapter. Just read the whole chapter through. You don't have to worry about if there are things that trip you up. Read the whole chapter. Then go back and take one to three verses and really, study them. That's what I do because I like studying in small chunks better than in large chunks because I just get distracted. It gets too overwhelming and then you just get frustrated. So take a really small chunk, even if it's just one verse, but you can take, you know, three verses, however much you can handle and really study what they mean. So of those few verses, the questions

to ask yourself. And of course, if you're staying in one book for a long period of time, you don't have to ask these particular questions every time. But here are questions to ask yourself as you're starting out, who is writing this? When is it being written? To whom is it being written? And why is it being written? So it's also important to ask, like, is a literary device being used? Is this a metaphor? Is this a particular reference that I don't understand because it's a cultural reference? If you have a study Bible, I personally recommend the ESV study Bible. I find it to be extremely reliable and thorough and good. I like the ESV version of the Bible as well. So I would purchase, if you don't have an ESV study Bible, I would highly recommend it.

It is going to contain these answers for you of who is writing this. Why are they writing this? What's the context? The historical context, the cultural context at the beginning of every book, it's going to answer those historical questions for you. So you don't have to go to the library and figure that out or even Google it. It's going to give you that context, which is really important. And then you're going to ask, okay, what does this verse say?

Something that I like to do, and this is where the preference comes. I like to write out the verse and then, or write out the verses and pick out the words that are most significant or words that I'm not really sure what they mean. And then I, so I pick however many words, like five of the main words that are in this. And then next to them, I write synonyms that I know are synonyms to this word. Now, this is not me saying this is my inerate interpretation of the Bible. But for me, a finite individual who is trying to understand scripture, it helps me if I can say, okay, this also means this. Okay, now this is starting to make sense to me. I see what he is saying.

It also helps if you have like an original Greek in Hebrew Bible. I do. It has references in the back of the Bible that'll tell you the original Greek for particular words. And so you can really see what the original word was and what the definition of that word is and what the original translation is. If you want to do that, obviously that's not always, some people would say that that's necessary every time. I'm not sure that it's necessary every time as long as you are not just using your subjective interpretation. So you'll ask, what does it say? And then you'll ask, what does this mean? Or what does this reveal about the character of God? And then there is an application part of this. Does this say something about sin? Does this say something about something

I need to be doing? Do I have something to repent from? Do I have something to start doing, to change, to stop doing. How do I use this to be more obedient to God? So how do I understand God more? How do I apply this to my life? So I am more obedient to God. And what does this say about God? And also, what does this say about God in reference to me? And that is not pleasing yourself in the center of the text, but that is applying the truth of God's word to your life and to your heart. I also write out the questions that I have. I have a lot of questions when I I'm reading the Bible, even passages that I've read a million times. I have questions about them. So if it seems to me like a passage that I'm reading contradicts something else that I've read,

I look at the footnotes and I say, okay, am I getting this wrong? What does this person say? Footnotes are not inerrant, by the way. They're not inerrant. They are not themselves the word of God, but they can be good direction from people who have been studying this longer than we have. So I look at the footnotes. I go to the verse that seems to contradict it. So for example, if you are in Romans and you're reading that we are justified by faith and not by works, but you remember that you read in James that were justified by works and not by faith alone, then you might have a question about the contradiction there. So I'd go to James as well, and I would read the footnotes there.

And then I would say, okay, how do I reconcile these things? I can't throw one verse out in favor of the other. That's not good theology. I look to scripture. I look to God's word to reconcile what, I feel like is a contradiction. And I always fall back on my own misunderstanding and my finite nature rather than on an untrustworthiness of God's word. And so truth can be reconciled with more truth, not with your feelings, not by throwing one thing out in favor of the other, not saying

that you are sovereign and God must have just made some kind of confusing error. No, I go back on, okay, I must not understand this. I need to pray for wisdom. I need to go more deeply into God's word to understand how to reconcile these two things, to realize that they're both true and they cannot contradict each other. Then you pray again. You pray for wisdom, for obedience to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. You thank God for His word. You ask for God's will to be done. You ask for provision. You ask for strength to resist sin. Do this for 20 to 30 minutes every day of the week that you can. Also, there is a resource that I use systematic theology by Wayne Grudum. It's a really good book to, and again, commentaries are not in air. And they are not themselves the word of God,

but these people have taken a lot of time to study God's word and to tell you what God's word says about certain subjects that you might be confused about. So when I have questions about eschatology, when I have questions about predestination, when I have questions about prayer, whatever it is, systematic theology by Wayne Grudem is a really good resource for that. That'll say, okay, well, here's what God's word says about this. It's also a really good way, not systematic theology, but just the word of God, it's a really good idea. In fact, I would say it's necessary when you're listening to teachers of God's word or when you're listening to pastors that you like to ask yourself, okay, does this align with what God's word says? And it's also

good to ask yourself, does what this pastor or teacher is telling me, does it give me glory or man glory, or does it give God glory? Does it rely on God's sovereignty, his provision, or Or does this seem to glorify me and to rely on me? And if that's the case, go to the word of God and see what the word of God says. Because like I've said many times, one way to, I think, ask yourself about your own theology is, am I believing things that glorify myself rather than glorify God? Am I becoming less and God becoming more or is it the opposite? So that's it.

I hope that's a good primer for you guys, for understanding the Word of God, of course, as always there. are so many more things that we can talk about. If you've got any questions about that or pointers or corrections, of course, feel free to email me. If you love this podcast, I would love for you to give me a five-star review on iTunes. It means a lot to me. I read those reviews. And be sure to subscribe to the Allie Beth Stucky channel on YouTube if you haven't already. And I will see you guys on Wednesday.