Knowable Word - Bible study help

Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible: There’s an Elephant in Here

October 16, 2015 By Peter Krol

I confess: I have never read the entire King James Version of the Bible. I grew up in the 1980s, and I vaguely remember some dispute in my church when the New International Version replaced the KJV in the pews. But Bibles in my possession have always been either “New” or “Standard,” or both.

I confess further: I have at times been numbered among those who find KJV language to be quaint, outdated, “not modern English,” and an easy target for ridicule. Thou shalt not claim the KJV as good enough for Jesus or Paul. And everybody who is anybody knows there is no art in heaven. We pray to our Father who is in heaven. Hallowed be his name.

Yet the Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible intrigued me, and the publisher graciously gave me a free copy to review. And I must say: This Bible almost persuaded me to use the KJV for my 2016 speed read.* This study Bible is something special.

What it Does

Like other study Bibles, the Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (RHKJV) presents the full text of Scripture with study notes at the bottom of the page. But the RHKJV notes do a few things that make it unlike other study Bibles:

One-sentence summaries for each chapter.
Plain-language definitions for archaic terms. (Granted, most other translations don’t use as many archaic terms, but it would still be nice if they “translated” Christianese jargon into ordinary language.)
Application!

Allow me to expand on this third point. Every chapter of the Bible has study notes ending with “Thoughts for Personal/Family Worship,” which suggest potential applications of the chapter. These applications don’t always flow from the chapter’s main point, but they’re still usually very good. They’re not so specific as to become dated, and they’re not so general as to be useless to real people. I couldn’t believe the amount of space dedicated to such thoughtful application, but it fits with the editors’ vision to offer “a study Bible to feed your soul…a study Bible to instruct your mind…a study Bible to discover your roots.”

The RHKJV has short book introductions that get to the point quickly. Three cheers!

In addition, the RHKJV has three sets of articles.

Theological topics (57 one-page articles). These articles are inserted at relevant points in the biblical text, such that you can read about Satan after Job 1-2 or about adoption after Romans 8.
How to live as a Christian (36 one-page articles). At the end of the volume, these articles direct Christians on topics such as the fear of God, how to pray, and fleeing worldliness.
Church history (20 one-page articles and 9 creeds & confessions). There is one article for each century of church history, along with ecumenical creeds (such as Apostles’ and Nicene) and Reformed confessions (such as Belgic and Westminster). When I hit the articles about church history, I could not put this volume down.

There is a little more standard fare at the end: yearly reading plan, table of weights & measures, concordance, and maps.

What it Doesn’t Do

Unfortunately, this Bible does not please the eye. It has so many words that it may discourage some before they give it much of a chance.

There are no maps except for those on the last 14 pages.
There are no charts or tables to make information more digestible.
The typesetting of the KJV text retains some ancient conventions that might turn off many readers. The font has an ancient feel and is not easy to read. Every verse is printed as its own paragraph, and paragraph symbols (¶) show up along the way.
The notes and articles use a sans serif font, which is more suitable to digital reading than print.

Also, this Bible doesn’t offer a range of perspectives on hot topics. The editors tended to choose one perspective and run with it. If you’re into 6-day creationism, a young earth, a global flood, reading the Song of Solomon as an allegory of Christ and the church, amillennialism, and a presbyterian and reformed flavor of Protestantism, you’ll be at home here. It’s not so in-your-face as to be uncharitable, though, so if you have different perspectives on any of these issues, you’ll still gain much from this Bible as it feeds your soul and instructs your mind.

Conclusion

I’m happy to recommend the Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible to you. Of course, the KJV is something of an elephant in this Bible. But if you remember to use your study Bible as a reference and not as a Bible, the translation is no big deal. Of course, if you already love the KJV, this purchase should be a no-brainer.

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Disclaimer: My son, if thou wilt receive my words and click my Amazon links with thine own right hand, thou shalt supply an odour of a sweet smell when a commission from thy purchases provideth this blog with new tablets of stone upon which to engrave its writings. Blessed be ye of the Lord. But I say unto all which clicketh not: Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice?

*I had so much fun with my ESV Reader’s Bible last year that I must do it again. But the KJV might be just the thing for 2017.

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Choosing Good Bible Study Material for Women’s Groups

October 14, 2015 By Peter Krol

Mary Willson has a very good article with 5 Questions for choosing Bible study material for women’s groups. Her questions:

Will this material equip women by encouraging them to study and teach the Bible for themselves?
Will this material equip women by demonstrating the centrality of Christ and his gospel?
Will this material equip women by applying God’s Word to real life, showing the Scriptures’ relevance and power to transform hearts?
Will this material equip women by supporting the overall discipleship strategy I’ve prayerfully developed for this group?
Will this material equip women by coming under the teaching ministry of my pastor(s) and elders? Does it align with my church’s vision and doctrinal convictions?

Willson has very helpful things to say on each point, and I recommend you check out her article.

And I can’t help but ask a few questions: Why do we assume we must choose good Bible study material? Why can’t we just have good Bible studies? “This year’s women’s study will use Luke.” Would we not inspire people with deeper confidence to study God’s word, if we showed them how to do it? If every study uses another resource, another study guide, or another workbook, don’t we perpetually reinforce the idea that they need the experts to do the Bible study for them? Thus we might unintentionally undermine the first question Willson asks.

Imagine a women’s group (or men’s group, or co-ed group) that sat down with their Bibles, read their Bibles, and discussed what they read. Of course they’d want to reference supplemental materials from time to time to help with the thorniest parts. But what if they helped each other simply to open, read, and discuss? Soon enough, they’d each be able to do it on their own. Then they’d teach others who would teach others. And something truly amazing would take place in our churches and communities.

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4 Reasons to Train a New Bible Study Leader

October 9, 2015 By Peter Krol

This is bigger than you. There’s no need to be a bottleneck, decelerating the growth of God’s work in your community.

We’ve explored at length how to study the Bible and how to lead a Bible study. My compadre Ryan has reflected on how to be a helpful small group member. It’s time for the next step. With this post, I launch a new series on how to train a new Bible study leader. Why should we do this?

Jöran Maaswinkel (2012), Creative Commons

1. So your ministry will multiply

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:1-2)

When grace strengthens you, you might feel about to explode. You’ve got to share it. And one of the best ways to share grace is to entrust it to another person who will be able to teach others also. Now there’s not just one teacher, but two. Not just one Bible study, but two. If you do it well, two eventually becomes four. And four becomes eight.

If you train another leader, you’ll end up reaching far more people than you could ever reach on your own.

2. So others can surpass you in effectiveness

When Paul was in Corinth, he met and trained a man named Aquila and his wife Priscilla. They moved on to Ephesus together, and Paul left them there when he set sail for his home in Antioch.

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord…though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately…When he arrived [at Corinth], he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. (Acts 18:24-28)

Paul trains Aquila & Priscilla, who eventually return to Rome to lead a house church (Rom 16:3-5). Priscilla & Aquila train Apollos, who rivals Paul for influence in Corinth (1 Cor 1:12). And the point is not that Apollos sought to compete with Paul, but that Apollos acquired an exceptional effectiveness for the Lord Jesus.

We love to be loved, and we often need to be needed. But how much better it is for Christ’s kingdom when we’re willing to get out of the way so others can carry on the work! This means we must not put ourselves at the center of the ministry. We make poor high priests for those we serve. And we can actively train others to succeed in ways we ourselves have not. If it’s not finally about us, the success of others is a real delight to witness.

3. So the word of God may not be reviled

Older women…are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. (Titus 2:3-5)

Ministry training is not just for church officers, nor even for men. Women must also train and be trained. And lest you think the content of this training limited to homemaking activities and genteel feminine ethics, remember that a woman cannot love her husband without also speaking truth to him (Eph 4:13-16, Prov 31:26). Nor can she love her children without teaching them to read and study God’s word for themselves (Prov 1:8, 2 Tim 1:5, 3:14).

If women (and men, of course) don’t learn to study the Bible, or to train others in how to study the Bible, then we don’t really believe these Scriptures are useful for teaching, reproof, correction, or training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). And then why would we trust these Scriptures to reveal the good news about Jesus, which is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16)? And if we don’t functionally believe these things (as demonstrated by our failure to teach and train others), then the world should consider us hypocrites, and they’ll deem these Scriptures not to actually be the word of God.

Let’s prove the lie of such reviling by drawing this sword and unleashing its power, training others to wield it with expert care.

4. So you don’t wear out yourself and your people

Moses had two million people to shepherd. He had been appointed to this task by none other than God himself. Remember the burning bush thing? And yet…

What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. (Exodus 18:17-18)

Sometimes fathers-in-law know how to hit that nail’s head. Training a new leader takes time and effort. It slows us down in the short term. But a long-term perspective reminds us that it’s worth it.

I heard someone say that in one year we’ll never accomplish what we hope, but in five years we can accomplish more than we expect. I’ve seen the truth of this statement in the lives of trainees.

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Re-Ignite Boring Bible Reading

October 7, 2015 By Peter Krol

David Murray writes about a common struggle:

We’ve all been there. Reading the Bible can become boring. Our eyes are on the page but our minds are everywhere else; because everywhere else is just so much more interesting. That black book without pictures just isn’t quite so exciting as the black device that can show us anything in the world in just a click. We may pick up our Bibles, open the pages, and scan the lines, but our hearts just aren’t in it. We force ourselves to read our chapter(s) or fill up our allotted time, but we really can’t wait to finish and get on to much more fascinating and enjoyable things.

And he has some great ideas for coming out of the slump:

Develop a routine
Get enough sleep
Ban the cell phone
Read a different translation
Read more slowly (or more quickly)
Read a devotional first
Use a study Bible (but be careful with it)
Find accountability
See your need
Remember who is speaking
Pray
Serve your church

All Murray’s ideas are great and worth trying. I especially appreciate #12, as we often fail to realize our “boredom” comes from focusing on ourselves, and the solution doesn’t lie within ourselves. As Murray rightly suggests, getting out there and doing something for others will exercise our souls, make us hungry, and make visible our need for strengthening and guidance – thus leading us to “devour God’s Word more greedily.”

Check out Murray’s article for a fuller explanation of each suggestion.

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When to Leave Your Small Group

October 5, 2015 By Ryan Higginbottom

My daughters love the park. The open, green spaces, the playground equipment, the swirl of exuberant children—they love it all. There’s nothing quite like snagging a colorful, squeak-free swing on a sunny day.

Since my family loves good parks, we know lousy ones when we see them. The equipment is rusty, the grass is too long, the seesaws are catawampus. In these situations, we don’t need a traffic cop to tell us to move along.

Jacqueline Schmid (2015), Public Domain

Knowing when to leave your small group Bible study can be a lot harder. You probably started in your group with high hopes—you were eager to form strong relationships built on studying the Bible. But a trusted recipe doesn’t guarantee perfect brownies. Even well-intentioned Bible studies can disappoint you.

Should you stay or should you go? How do you know when it’s a good time to look for another Bible study group?

Remember the Purpose

By attending a small group Bible study, you should have the chance to serve others and be blessed yourself. You can grow in your understanding of the Bible and your love for God, and you can point your friends in the same direction. In an ideal group, you’ll leave each week strengthened, refreshed, and full of gospel-fueled hope about the future.

When your experience in a small group doesn’t match your expectations, it’s good to remember why the group gathers. What’s the purpose of this Bible study anyway?

I’ve written before about the benefits of attending a small group. But for the purposes of this article, we need to revisit the three questions to ask when joining a small group: Where can I study the Bible? Where can I serve? Where can I learn? Returning to these questions can help you decide whether to keep fishing or pack up your tackle.

Ask the Three Questions

Joining a Bible study group involves a level of commitment; you’re not signing papers at the bank, but you also don’t want to flit from group to group like an over-caffeinated hummingbird. Leaving a Bible study is a big step, so you should weigh your reasons carefully.

Where can I study the Bible? If your group has deserted the Bible, it’s time to rethink your participation. Book groups and reading groups have their place and can be valuable, but a Christian’s life needs a large dose of the Bible.

Where can I serve? Can you contribute to the Bible study discussion? Can you talk with others privately and draw them into deeper conversation? Can you help some group members learn how to study the Bible through your example or encouragement? Do you have any opportunity to challenge, cheer, or bear the burdens of friends in your group? Do you see avenues for service opening up?

Where can I learn? Do you engage with the Bible? Does your leader ask questions and encourage the group to interact? Are you spurred on to seek the Lord through his Word? Or do you sense that a barrier was placed between you and the Bible?

A Sobering Decision

No small group is perfect. Be sure to set a reasonable standard for your Bible study and be as patient with your friends as you’d like them to be with you. Try to work for the good of the group, praying and making suggestions as you find opportunity. But when it looks like the door to serving others and growing yourself is closed, it might be time to find a new group.

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Some Bible Outlines are More Helpful Than Others

October 2, 2015 By Peter Krol

mkorsakov (2014), Creative Commons

Bible outlines help us simplify and organize the author’s message. That’s why expository sermons outline passages and study Bibles outline books. I can’t remember the last time I read an introduction to a book of the Bible that didn’t propose an outline for the book.

But some outlines are less helpful than others.

Take, for example, this outline of Job 4-14 from the NIV Zondervan Study Bible:

First Exchange: Eliphaz (4:1-5:27)
Job’s Response to Eliphaz (6:1-7:21)
Second Exchange: Bildad (8:1-22)
Job’s Response to Bildad (9:1-10:22)
Third Exchange: Zophar (11:1-20)
Job’s Response to Zophar (12:1-14:22)

This outline succeeds at observing Job’s structure, but it does little to help us understand Job’s message. Many outlines stop short of significant usefulness when they state all the “what” but little of the “why.” In other words, they outline content but not meaning. They outline observation but not interpretation. They give us summaries but not main points.

What’s usually more helpful is to outline the logic of the passage. Figure out how the main points of each section flow into and out of one another, constructing a theme or message that the author wants to communicate to his readers. When an outline packages the building blocks of the book’s argument, readers are more likely to benefit from it quickly.

For example, consider this outline of Job 4-14 from The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible:

Eliphaz: You Strengthened Others but Now Are Fainting (4:1-5:27)
Job: You Do Not Know the Weight of My Grief (6:1-7:21)
Bildad: All Agree that God is Just (8:1-22)
Job: But How Can Man Be Just Before God? (9:1-10:22)
Zophar: Does Your Talk Justify You? (11:1-20)
Job: I Know that I Shall Be Justified (12:1-14:22)

I might argue that the last statement should be broadened to better capture the main point of Job’s entire speech in chapters 12-14—I would state it as “My Dangerously Unpredictable God is More Trustworthy Than My Clearly Logical Friends”—but that would be a minor quibble. The point is that the editors of The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible give us more than the order of speeches; they attempt to state concisely the message of each speech. In doing so, they help us get farther down the road in our study of the book. And for this I applaud them.

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If You Use a Study Bible, Do it Well

September 30, 2015 By Peter Krol

After taking a few posts to explain both the blessings and curses of study Bibles, I recently wrote about how to get the best out of your study Bible. I gave the following suggestions:

Treat it as a reference work, not as your main Bible.
Go heavy on overviews (book introductions) and historical background.
Wrestle with the biblical text without your study Bible.
Refer to the study notes when you have a specific, impenetrable question—then set them aside again.
Read the articles and genre introductions.

Within a week, two other posts appeared on the internet saying very similar things. I want you to know I’m not the only one holding these opinions.

Exhibit A: Andy Naselli, Assistant Editor for the NIV Zondervan Study Bible. Writing at Desiring God, he gives these tips:

Don’t use poor study Bibles.
Use quality study Bibles.
Don’t use the notes as a crutch or shortcut instead of wrestling with the text itself.
Don’t combine the authority of the God-breathed text with the notes.
Use a study Bible in the same way that you would responsibly use other resources that help you better understand and apply the Bible.

Exhibit B: Justin Taylor, Managing Editor for the ESV Study Bible. Writing at the Gospel Coalition, he makes these suggestions:

Use your study Bible discerningly. (“The most important feature in a study Bible is the horizontal line that divides the biblical text from the biblical interpretation. Everything above the line is inerrant and infallible. Everything below the line is filled with good intentions but may not be true.”)
Use your study Bible for more than just the notes. (“I am convinced that the most underutilized and yet important parts of a good study Bible are the introductions to each biblical book.”)
Use more than one study Bible.
Use your study Bible as an opportunity to interpret the Bible with the communion of saints. (“The best study Bibles don’t present startling new interpretations. They put you in dialogue with the best interpreters—teachers who are gifts of God to the church—to help us rightly handle His Word.”)

There you go. The point is not whether there should be 4 rules or 5, nor how exactly to state the rules. The point is that even the study Bible editors (who want to sell you their study Bibles) don’t want you to over-rely on their study Bibles.

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Great Deal on ESV Thinline Bibles

September 28, 2015 By Peter Krol

Westminster Books is currently offering 40-47% off all ESV thinline Bibles. If you want one, now is the time to get one. I use the “value thinline” edition as the Bible I preach from. Thin, simple, cheap.

Offer ends Oct 5, 2015.

Check it out.

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NIV Zondervan Study Bible: Too Much?

September 25, 2015 By Peter Krol

Update: This Study Bible has since be re-named the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible.

“English-speaking people have no shortage of study Bibles,” writes Dr. D.A. Carson in his preface to the NIV Zondervan Study Bible. But do these English speakers need another one? Does the NIV Zondervan Study Bible stand out in this crowded marketplace?

What it does

The NIV Zondervan Study Bible (ZSB) offers a library of resources in a single volume, focusing on biblical theology—”the ways in which many important themes work their way through Scripture and come to a focus in Jesus Christ.” The body of the book contains:

the full text of the NIV Bible
study notes (commentary) on the text
introductions to all 66 books of the Bible
section introductions (wisdom books, prophetic books, gospels, etc.)
maps
charts
photos
cross-references

Between Malachi and Matthew lies a very helpful article and timeline on “The Time Between the Testaments,” which brings modern readers into the cultural shifts that took place in Israel in the centuries before the Son of God entered history.

Following this body come further resources for the curious Bible student:

28 short articles on topics examined through a biblical-theological perspective
a 160-page concordance
14 large maps indexed by location

What it does well

The ZSB has a lot of material. If you love swimming in large amounts of information about the Bible, you’ll love the ZSB.

The commentary generally directs your attention to the text and not merely to what others have said about the text. Tremper Longman’s notes on Daniel stand out as a prime example.
The book introductions have lots of historical, literary, and theological details. Along with the section introductions, they give much attention to the Bible’s storyline and historical context.
The 28 articles tell and re-tell the single story of the Bible (creation, fall, redemption, consummation) through different filters: Temple, City of God, Holiness, Sonship, Worship, etc.

The charts in this study Bible are outstanding. Page 197 has a full-page chart of Old Testament offerings and sacrifices, tracing the 5 main types of offerings and their materials, associated offerings, blood manipulation, portions burnt on altar, portions eaten, and purpose. Between John and Acts, a 7-page chart lists the 186 enscripturated events of Jesus’ life and places them in chronological order, with probable dates, probable locations, and references to show which Gospel records the event.

What I find unique in this study Bible, however, is the photos. Perhaps other study Bibles include color photographs, but they haven’t hit my desk. Here I can see the ruins of ancient Laodicea, the massive theater in Ephesus, the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a preserved seal impression that mentions Baruch son of Neriah, a carved ivory of a chariot with horses, and a branch of hyssop. If you are a visual learner, you will love this study Bible.

I must also mention that Kevin DeYoung shines brightly over a sea of bland academese. One gets used to phrases like “The essential concerns,” “a regular part of life in ancient Israel,” and “among significant theological concepts, few are as fundamental and comprehensive in scope as….” But hitting DeYoung’s article on “Sin” is like voluntary shock therapy:

Sin is another name for that hideous rebellion, that God-defiance, that wretched opposition to the Creator that crouches at the door of every fallen human heart. Sin is both a condition, inherited from Adam, and an action—manifesting itself in thought, word, and deed—that when full-grown gives birth to death.

Would that more scholars wrote like this!

What could be better

The massive amounts of information may be this Bible’s greatest detraction. At almost 2900 pages, this is the largest study Bible I’ve handled. It’s huge and heavy, and unfortunately wordy.

In a world of search engines, do folks still use concordances? This Bible could have dropped a quarter of an inch right there.
The book introductions are long (usually 6-8 pages), and their length limits their usefulness. For example, you might want to know what 1 John is about. The answer is here to be found (“1 John was written to bolster their assurance by providing criteria they could use to evaluate the spurious claims of the secessionists and with which they could reassure themselves”), but it’s buried on the second page in the middle of a long paragraph.
The 28 articles at the end are concise in themselves, but they get repetitive when read one after another. I’m not clear on the need for separate articles on “The Glory of God,” “Worship,” and “Mission.” Or “Holiness” and “Justice.” Or “Love and Grace” and “The Gospel.”

The ZSB’s Assistant Editor, Andrew Naselli, recently claimed this volume to be one of the two best study Bibles on the market. If you’re totally juiced by color photographs of ancient ruins and archaeological finds, go for this one. If not, I suggest you’re better off with the other one.

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4 Reminders About the Word of God

September 23, 2015 By Peter Krol

This week’s “check it out” post comes from Collegiate Collective, a blog for encouraging and training collegiate ministers. But even if you’re not involved in campus ministry, Lance Crowell’s reminders get at the foundation of what we believe to be true. When you’re tempted to grow weary or be discouraged in your family, small group, church, or other ministry—remind yourself of these things.