How to Better Understand Scripture

 

When Jesus summed up the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.), within those words was all the Law and all the Prophets even though every word in them was not written before your eyes to be read. In the same way, when you read the Bible and see a verse that seems to contradict another, you are not looking at the Spirit behind the words. The verse may be missing something that another verse said but that’s because, in this example, that the verse sums up what the other said, even though it’s not written before your eyes to be read. Thus, by only reading one verse you can get a wrong idea of what’s included in that truth, if you do not read other scripture and realize that the other scripture is contained in those words, as those words are summing up the other scripture.

 

For example, when I write Hearing the Word and believing God, repenting, confessing with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, as being necessary for salvation, I get this from three verses below. The verses that do not specifically say this, actually do have that meaning within them, because they are summing up the others. It is all there in Spirit.

 

Hearing the Word and believing God

 

John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Such a person has done (confessed) and believed, as all three of these verses state.

 

repenting

 

Mark 1:15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

 

confessing with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,

 

Romans 10:9-10 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

 

Even in what I wrote above: the believing God (after hearing the word) part, might overlap and/or be contained the believing God part of believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead depending upon how the Gospel is presented and accepted. I have all these elements written in one sentence so all the aspects from these other scriptures can be seen at one time, so you will understand what the Bible does say about being saved, so you will not miss the elements of what is necessary by looking at a verse that sums up another that was more detailed. I hope this helps you better understand this page, and scripture from now on also.

 

Think of scripture like this illustration.

 

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