Not too long ago, I began to realize that as I have been on this journey of re-discovering Biblical truth about so many things, there really can't be anything that is off limits. It has led me to re-examine basic, fundamental parts of Christianity, such as the essence of the gospel, discipleship, and the church itself. Basically, the primary question with all the areas I am "re-searching" (as in, searching again) is, What does the Bible plainly teach?
My method of discovery has been an elaborate two-step process:
(1) Open the Bible.
(2) Read it.
Not sermons, websites, commentaries, etc. - just a plain reading of Scripture in context. Sure, it leaves me with lots of questions, but there are also many plain insights apparent to any objective reader.
One of my strategies has just been to take a word or concept, use a concordance or index to find the times and places it is mentioned in the Bible, and then go read those passages in the context of the chapter or book in which they are found. Recently, I did that with the word "gospel."
I began with the premise that the gospel is, in fact, the thing we are supposed to teach and preach. It is the good news! So, my follow-up question was, Do I really know the gospel? In turn, I wondered not only what it is, but what it does. How is it conveyed? Is it simple or complex? What is the centerpiece of the gospel? These are the kinds of thoughts that guided me into an interesting personal Bible study about the gospel. I begin sharing what I discovered in the next post.
My method of discovery has been an elaborate two-step process:
(1) Open the Bible.
(2) Read it.
Not sermons, websites, commentaries, etc. - just a plain reading of Scripture in context. Sure, it leaves me with lots of questions, but there are also many plain insights apparent to any objective reader.
One of my strategies has just been to take a word or concept, use a concordance or index to find the times and places it is mentioned in the Bible, and then go read those passages in the context of the chapter or book in which they are found. Recently, I did that with the word "gospel."
I began with the premise that the gospel is, in fact, the thing we are supposed to teach and preach. It is the good news! So, my follow-up question was, Do I really know the gospel? In turn, I wondered not only what it is, but what it does. How is it conveyed? Is it simple or complex? What is the centerpiece of the gospel? These are the kinds of thoughts that guided me into an interesting personal Bible study about the gospel. I begin sharing what I discovered in the next post.
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