Bible Study Toolbox: Thoughts about Extra Resources

Articles

Brian Messerli
10/07/17 - Articles

Bible Study Toolbox

Thoughts about Extra Resources

In the following installments, I’d like to introduce you to additional resources for Bible study. Such include survey books, dictionaries, lexicons, commentaries and online tools. However, some words of caution are in order before we go there.

The Bible is our only standard. “No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20b-21). This cannot be said about any other book, article, or website. Every source outside the Bible is an act of human will, a matter of man’s interpretation, and susceptible to error. Even resources written by faithful brethren are not infallible. That means we, like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, need to search the Scriptures to make sure what we read in man-made resources is true.
It’s good to use additional resources. Some believe it’s sinful to read man’s interpretation of the Bible in commentaries, yet ironically they listen to man’s interpretation from the pulpit every Sunday. They believe “the Bible is its own best commentary” (which is true) but forget they heard that from man’s commentary. Extra-biblical resources are nothing more than written Bible classes and sermons. They help us better understand historical, geographical, cultural, and literary context. They also help us understand the original languages and how the text applies to our lives.
No two commentaries are alike. It might be tempting to buy an entire commentary set for the Bible, but most sets are written by many different authors, and they’re not all the same quality. Even the same author can write a commentary on two different books, yet one is great while the other is lame.
It’s best to use more than one resource. Sometimes a commentary or article on the web makes a point that sounds amazing, yet finds no support anywhere else. God was wise when He instituted the rule in court, “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.” (Matt. 18:16). If an author says something happened in history yet you can’t find support for it anywhere else, that’s a red flag.
They aren’t replacements for personal study and original thought. When we have access to scholarly writings, it’s tempting to start there and ask them to spoon feed us what the text means. Let’s study first. Let’s think for ourselves first. Then we can use extra resources as an aid to our study, not a replacement.