My Thick Skull and the Powerful Word of God!

I have developed a pet peeve over the last few years. I have the amazing Women's Bible Study Leaders at Highview Baptist church to thank for it.

Their goal was to draw women closer to Christ through teaching them how to feast on the word through and Inductive Bible Study approach. Though this method is not new or fancy it helped me to develop my peeve, CONTEXT!

When studying the word of God I used to really like topical approaches, after all I thought they really helped me to understand application. I used to like to study "women's" bible study books by all those well known ladies. (I bet you could rattle a few names off the top of your head.) Now, I am broken! Or am I fixed....hmmmm! These types of studies nearly drive me insane now!! Why?

When participating in one of these studies I can't stop thinking! Thinking you think wouldn't be a bad thing but for me it is. Let me explain. Many (not all) of these types of studies tend to focus on some key verses that help to make the point the author or leader wishes to make. Not so bad, right.? Except I cannot stop thinking about context. Many tend to blatantly disregard the all important CONTEXT! CONTEXT! CONTEXT!

The word of God is not meant to be used to prove our points. We are to study the word in it's context. If we fail to look at the word in the light of the context in which it was written we exponentially increase the likelyhood of wrong interpretation. The same goes for looking at commentaries on the word. Those that write the commentaries must be sure to write interpretation in light of its context.
We must not mindlessly read a commentary, bible study writer, or study bible notes and assume that author has remembered context.

The only way we will know about context is to do the work of STUDYING THE WORD! Not merely cursory reading, but truly consuming and digesting the word of God. Inductive study provides a framework with which we can really get at the meat of the word of God without loosing sight of  context!

Many people today do not feel capable of studying the word for themselves, and I mean really studying the word! You do not have to be "capable" in order to study the word of God. You need to have a humble heart, a willingness to do the hard work of  digesting the word and the rest is done by the word itself.

The Lord provided a clear description of the word and its power in Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." A friend once said to me, "If the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart,  do you not think it is powerful enough to get through your thick skull?"

We must not relenquish our means for knowing our Lord and Savior to others. We must not surrender our understanding of His words to us to the thoughts of others. We must take hold of the word and wrestle with it  until that sword is able to penetrate our thick skulls!