Holiness, Godliness, Usefulness
05/07/2015, by John Kincaid
Lesson 594: Principles for Studying Scripture
Principles to guide our study of Scripture are given in Proverbs:
Prov.2:1-5 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
The verbs in italics illustrate the principles:
receive: be receptive to God’s Word, accepting, willing to be instructed
treasure: appreciate and store up God’s commands with the intent to actually follow them
making: intentionally listening, paying attention, focusing, tuning out distractions
inclining: being disciplined, desiring an understanding of Scripture more than sin
call: willing to humble ourselves to admit that we don’t have the answer, and ask God
raise: prayer combined with a desperate cry for mercy, recognizing that God is our only hope
seek: willingness to go looking for what God says is valuable
search: willingness to continue looking when God doesn’t answer immediately
If we practice these principles, the verse concludes: “then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”
Studying this way will cause us to fear and love God, the foundation for devotion to God.
About This Series
The goal of this series is to become more useful in serving the Lord Jesus Christ, as an instrument in the Redeemer's hand. The theme verses for the series are Ephesians 4:22-24, Philemon 11, 2 Timothy 2:21
- to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
- and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
- Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.
- Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
