How to Study the Bible - 1
	If there is a God, and  we  are  convinced there is; if  He  is  a  just  God,  and  we're convinced He is; if he has a  plan  for  us  to follow, and we're convinced He does, then it is certain that He has given us the answers to our questions about this plan.
	One of your first questions has to be "Who are you?  What is the church of  Christ?   What do you believe?"  
	We are simple, New  Testament christians, trying to follow  the  pattern  set down for us in the New Testament.  We  use  the Bible as our sole guide.  We have no  creed  or belief outside the Bible.  Like the  church  of the New Testament, we have no stucture  outside the local congregation. We have no headquarters this side of heaven to  direct  us or decide our doctrine.  We have no  separation of "clergy" and "laity."  Although we  do  have full-time  workers  such  as  myself,  we are nothing more than common people who  have  been given the opportunity to devote full  attention to  the  Gospel  of  Christ.    We   wear   the scriptural   description of preacher, or minister, or evangelist.  We reject titles such as "Reverend," since this term is found only in Psalms 111:9 where it is applied to God  alone, and "Father," since Jesus said in Matthew 23:9 to call no man on earth "Father" in a religious sense.  We are not pastors,  since  Acts  20:28 and 1 Peter 5:2 teach clearly that the pastors, or shepherds, of a congregation are the elders.
	Like the first century church, our worship consists of  five  simple  elements.   We  meet every Sunday to sing, pray,  study  the  Bible, remember Christ's sacrifice through the  Lord's Supper, and give of our financial means to help with the work of the church.
	There are  various  things  that  make  us different from groups with which you  might  be familiar.  But the primary thing that  sets  us apart is our dedication to the authority of the Bible.  This is not meant to imply that  others do not believe in the Bible.
	But, as changes were made to the practices of the first century church, many  well-meaning men  throughout  history  have   attempted   to correct the  system through  a  "reformation." Unfortunately, this reformation has resulted in more changes instead  of  fewer,  as  men  have placed their ideas and opinions along side  the teachings of the Bible.  So our plea is not one of   reformation,    but    rather    one    of "restoration."  It is our desire to restore the church of the New Testament  by  rejecting  all man-made creeds, dogmas and theologies in favor of the Bible itself.  
	It is not our purpose  in this first transmission to exhaust all  of  the differences between us and other groups.  It is our  desire  to  introduce  ourselves  and   to challenge all of you to join us in  our  search for the Biblical answers to our questions.   We love the Bible, and we  know  you  share   this love with us.  Yes, our attitude is  every  bit as important as our teaching.   Paul  wrote  in Romans l0:2 about people who have zeal for God, but without knowledge.  But he also wrote in  2 Timothy 3:7 about those who are always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of  the truth.  Remember that it  is  this  truth  that makes us free, but that we can never arrive  at it unless we combine knowledge with love.
	The Bible was written  by  about  40  men, most of whom were Jews,  The first  books  were written about l500 years  before  Christ.   The last  ones  were  completed  during  the  first century after Christ.  It was written  in  many places such as Palestine, Babylon,  Greece  and Italy.  It was inspired by the Holy  Spirit  (2 Pet. 1:21).  It must be studied  today  because only in it do we find the will of God  for  our salvation.
	Before beginning a study of the Bible, one must have two desires:
1) the desire to know the Truth
2) the desire to accept  the  Truth  (this includes obedience to it).  
	John 12:42,43 talks about men who knew the  Truth  but  refused  to accept and obey it, and James 2:19  points  out that even the demons believe and  tremble,  but they don't accept and obey.  John 3:36 makes it clear  that  belief  and  obedience   must   be synonymous for those who desire eternal life.
	Study of the Bible is more  profitable  if we remember the following seven suggestions:
1) try to study only one book at a time
2) start with the New Testament
3) try  to  understand  the  motive  of  the author.  For example, the styles  of  the  four Gospel writers are different because they  are addressing different groups of people.
4) this brings up the fourth point:  try  to understand to whom the book was written.
5) understand what the message meant to  the original reader
6) remember that every Scripture  should  be interpreted by other Bible passages and not  by theological theories
7) remember that, with the exception of some prophetic   passages   and   especially   some prophetic books such as Revelation, every verse should be understood as literal unless there is some clear motive to  consider  it  figurative. In  contrast,   prophetic   books   should   be understood to be  figurative  unless  there  is some valid reason to consider some  passage  as literal.  This distinction is not  as  hard  to make as it might seem if we deal honestly  with the    verses    that    we    are     reading. 
	How is the Bible set up?  There are 39 books in the Old Testament.  The first five (Gen-Deut.) are called books of law because they contain the law of Moses.  But they also include events from the creation of the world through the wonderings of the Israelites in the wilderness.  The next 12 (Joshua-Esther)  give the history of the Jewish nation.   Then  there are five books of poetry (Job-Song  of  Soloman or Song of Songs).  The last 17  are  books  of prophesy.  Some are called major prophets while others are identified as minor prophets.   This has nothing to do with the  importance  of  the writings.  It simply refers to  the  lengths  of the books themselves.
	The  New  Testament   starts   with   four accounts of the life of Jesus (Matt.-Jn.)  Then there is the book of Acts, the history  of  the church at the beginning.  From Romans  to  Jude there are 21 epistles written  to  churches  or various  individuals.   In  these  letters   we discover how we should live  as  Christians  or groups of Christians (known as  churches).   At the end of the New Testament is  Revelation,  a beautiful  prophetic  book  written   to   give courage to Christians of every era.
	Where should one start?  It is a good idea to start with one of the Gospels.  Then  go  to Acts  and  then  the  letters,  starting   with Romans.  Finally,  effort  should  be  made  to derive  from  the  Revelation   the   wonderful comfort it is designed to give.
	We must realize    from the beginning that the Bible is not a book that is difficult to understand, contrary to what many of the so-called Bible scholars would have us believe.  The Bible itself (in 1 Corinthians  chapter one,  for example) says that the Bible message is easy enough for any one of us to understand. This does not mean that there are no difficult passages.    Peter  says in 2 Pet. 3:16 that  some parts of the Scriptures are harder to understand than others.   But the point is that the basic Gospel message is  such that all who are willing can understand it.
The Bible is the Word of God.   Either this is true,  or it is  a book of lies since it claims to be the sole guide for salvation  (John 20:30-31; Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
	As was pointed out, the Bible is composed of two parts.  The Old Testament tells the story of the will of God until the coming of Christ.  The New Testament on the other hand, gives us the new covenant with God.   We of the 20th Century are under this new pact  (Col.  2:14).  Therefore,  we  find  the doctrine of the church in the New Testament.  Chapter nine of the book of Hebrews contrasts the old and new laws. All of this does not mean the Old Testament as a book is any less inspired and therefore less valid for study.  It does mean that the law that is contained in the Old Testament no longer applies to us so we should not go to its pages to find out about our relationship with God as New Testament Christians.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."