Recently, I started teaching a course at my church that teaches people HOW to study their bible. I have many different methods so in this blog series I will explain each one. We will walk through an example of what this looks like as well. I will put a disclaimer up front that none of these methods were created by me, but I do think I can do some justice in helping to explain them.
We will start with Verse Mapping. Verse mapping is a great way to start because it helps us learn to pick apart a verse, learn the context and what it means in our own lives.
Step 1 Choose a verse. This can be a verse you would like clarification on or just a daily verse you found on an app or a list on Pinterest. For our example we will use:
Jude 1:3: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.”
Now let's explore the verse by using symbols or highlighters to mark key words, repeated words or things we need clarity on.
Jude 1:3: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.”
These words stuck out to me, sometimes it's just a feeling I get. Though I know what they mean I want to see what the dictionary says to see if I can get a more descriptive picture of the meaning.
Salvation
Some of the different definitions I have read are as follows:
-deliverance of the soul from sin and its consequences
-preservation or deliverance of harm, ruin or loss
-deliverance from the power and effects of sin
-deliverance from evil
I notice so many of these definitions include the word "deliverance". I always think of salvation as God saving me, but these definitions remind me that God is not only delivering me from evil but also myself and the sins I give into.
Entrusted
-assign responsibility
-put into someone's care or protection
-commit to another with confidence
So, God entrusted faith to us. He committed this to us in confidence. This teaches me that we should nourish it, protect it and take it seriously.
Step 2
Now we want to find the context of the verse. This includes who is writing, who they are writing to, the time in history and what is happening around the verse.
We can do this by doing a quick google search, reading the surrounding verses, or consulting a commentary. I highly recommend the Blue Letter Bible App.
When we research the book of Jude, we find that though there are many key themes the one that relates best to our verse is 'contending for the faith'. This means standing up for the truth of the gospel and defending it against false teachings.
We learn also that Jude defines himself as a "servant of Christ." He is believed to be the half brother of Jesus. He is writing to a general audience which means believers in his day and also throughout history, us!
The exact timeline of this letter is not known but is believed to be around 60 A.D. It is in the New Testament after Christ had died.
Reading the surrounding verses leads us to the conclusion that Jude is warning the believers that ungodly people have slipped into their circles. These people deny Christ and use God's grace as a license for immorality.
This is where our responsibility comes in to defend the truth against false teachings. This job doesn't just fall to your pastor but to all God's people.
Step 3 Next, we will compare how different translations word this verse. You can do this by googling or using the Blue Letter Bible app which makes it really easy.
Here are two versions that stood out to me:
New American Standard Bible (NASB): “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”
New King James Version (NKJV): “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
In these verses Jude is telling us to contend "earnestly." Some of the different definitions include:
-with sincere and intense conviction
-in a serious determined way
-not lightly or in a flippant manner
So, now we've learned that this is something to be taken very seriously. Not something just to be brushed off.
Next, we want to find a cross-reference or two. A cross-reference is a bible verse where you can find the same thing or something similar.
Here are two:
1 Timothy 6:12: “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Deuteronomy 21:9: “So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord.”
In the first verse we see another call to be earnest, to 'FIGHT the good fight for faith'. In the second verse we see that if we do not call out these false teachings God may see that as us shedding innocent blood. Both of these verses implore us to take our faith seriously.
Step 4
Now to summarize and apply. In your own words write what the passage was about, how you can apply this to your life and a prayer using this verse.
I'm not going to give examples for these because these things require personal reflection, but I urge you to take the time to follow through with this part. It's the most important part of the entire study. If we don't apply what we have learned, then we might as well have not learned it at all.
I hope that was helpful to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or message me, I'd love to help.
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