Bible Study Part 3, External Resources
This is part three of my four part series on Bible Study. You can read part one here and part two here. Today we are going to talk about external resources to help aid your study.
In the first part of this series, I said it was best to have as little “extras” in your Bible as possible. I still stand by that claim. Many Bibles today are annotated with commentary, maps, charts, and only God knows what else. These things can become distracting or confusing, especially to first timers.
But
After you get familiar with the Bible and its purpose (to tell us about Jesus), you may want to start going a little further. There are many things we may not understand unless we know more about the history and culture of ancient Palestine. Maybe there is a passage of Scripture Jesus is quoting, and we are not quite sure where it comes from. Or, we are having a hard time understanding a section of Scripture for some reason.
Enter the commentary
There are great books out there called commentaries. These books are like the extra features on a special addition DVD. With these you can get the views and opinions from other sources. They can provide wonderful insights into Scripture by detailing doctrine and the culture.
Here is the official warning
Not all commentaries are created equal. Some are great and some are heresy. You have to be careful to pick out commentaries by reputable sources. I recommend the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (following the link takes you to the entire NT set, but you can buy just one at a time if you like and the OT books are available). There is also the infamous Matthew Henry’s Commentary in one volume. I would recommend doing some research and going with guys you know you can trust like Calvin, Spurgeon, Luther, Edwards, Stott, D.A. Carson etc. If you have a question on a commentary, post it in the comments or send me an email (don [at] youseedrybones.com ) and I will help you out.
Take a survey and get an introduction
Another great tool is a survey or introduction. These books tend to give you a broad overview of the Bible. You can find out the history of the book, themes, and maps. I personally recommend An Introduction to the New Testament by D.A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo.
Like Commentaries, these can be both good and bad. You will want to do a little research on the author before you jump in and purchase one. You can email me or leave a comment with questions.
What about all the notes already in Bibles?
Many Bibles come with notes (called annotations) already in them. I frown on the majority of these but some are good. The reason I frown on most of these is the way they are often there to reinforce the sub-theme of the Bible. For example, a Bible themed for married couples will skew every verse to be meaningful for that purpose. Or, it will leave out other important sections of scripture in favor of the sub-theme. Others are bad because they are written by people who have no love for the Bible (Joel Osteen for example).
Not all of them are bad, some are very good. My personal favorite is The ESV Study Bible. It packs in great commentary by some of the brightest Biblical scholars today. I know there are others out there (NLT Study Bible, Indexed Edition, The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today’s World to name a couple) which are very well done.
Adding commentaries and introductions to your library can really help aid your study of the Scriptures. Getting a Bible commentary and an introduction is a great start. To tell the truth, I do not know any pastors or theologians who do not have at least a few of these.
I am sure some of you have some free resources out there. Let the rest of us know in the comments!
-Don-
