It’s easy to take for granted that the Bible is our preserved written revelation of the living God. We owe a great debt to the reformers of yesteryear who sacrificed their own lives to get the Bible into the hands of the People. Unlike the obstacles they faced at that period of history, we have had it at our fingertips along with a wide array of textbooks and online Bible study resources. We tend to get complacent about reading and studying this precious, ancient Scripture. But if it’s the source of God’s written revelation, shouldn’t it be a priority for us?

   

Mastery Defined

   

The majority of professing Christians are easily intimidated by the Bible. Many have even been misled to believe that it is not possible for them to grow in their mastery of it. After all, we are persuaded to assume that only “professionally” trained Bible school or seminary graduates are competent in all things Bible. As one of those myself, I can tell you that is not true. My education in many ways was helpful and I use a lot of my training and resources to study and prepare messages from the Bible. But anyone can learn how to correctly study and interpret the Bible.

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I think there has been a misunderstanding about what “mastery” means. It doesn’t mean you know everything about the Bible. That’s impossible even for the most astute scholar. Here is what mastery means. It’s the ability to know and understand the big picture, to be able to articulate it and fit the parts of the Bible into that big picture. It’s learning how to correctly use the tools of interpretation to rightly understand the Scripture. It’s a process and an ongoing matter of growing in the mastery of the Bible.

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Would you be able to sit down with someone else and, in a half hour, explain what the Bible is about and who it is written for? Could you start with Abraham and go right through the history of Israel, connecting it to the New Covenant in Jesus in historical sequence?

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Approach to Mastery

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Basically, mastering the Bible begins with a logical, historical progression. Why? Because the Bible is a story – a true story. It primarily begins with God’s calling and choosing Abraham and his physical descendants through Issac and Jacob. It’s in this approach that the biblical story unfolds and unveils what the Bible is about and who it is for.

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It's in this approach that all the key people, key events, and key covenants come together in a unified, consistent whole without contradiction. We may not understand everything about the Bible, but we will have a foundation for the mastery of it.

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Pitfalls to Mastery

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Along the road to increasing your mastery of the Bible, you will have to be aware of a few booby traps that could derail your progress to grow in your mastery of the Bible. The first one is preconceived beliefs or ideas that may sway you to not examine the text of the Bible objectively. It’s common to feel the need to “prove” what you currently assume to be true. No one comes to the reading and studying of the Bible without some sort of prejudicial viewpoint. We must be willing to set aside our assumptions and study, using the tools of interpretation to make sure of the truth. However, if we are unyielding, we may not be able to dispassionately come to an understanding of what the Bible actually says and means.

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Second, we may step into quicksand if we succumb to the fear of an unpopular position or risk the displeasure of the majority opinion. It’s not very pleasant to be talked about and defamed. I have been labeled a “heretic” more than once. I have lost friends and colleagues and been shunned by family members. But I cannot deny the Truth and have studied to show myself approved by God’s grace. My goal is to help the sons and daughters of true Isarel learn how to know and understand the Scripture. We have provided textbooks and a video teaching and training course that will take you through the Bible so you can discover for yourself what it says and means.

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Basic Mastery

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Do you have a working knowledge of the Bible so that in one or two sentences you could write out an accurate summation of what it’s about and who it’s for?

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You will be able to do that after you have read through Book One of the Covenant Heritage Series or completed Module One of the Bible Mastery Boot Camp. You will have a basic, foundational mastery of what the Bible says and means. And you will discover it for yourself. Why? Because it will be self-evident!

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Even as you begin to apply yourself to start on the road to Bible mastery, you will see the contrast between what it says and what is being taught out there in mainline Christendom. And the implications are huge.  You just may discover your life’s purpose.

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Lawrence Blanchard, ND, MDiv
Author of the Covenant Heritage Series
Creator of the Bible Mastery Boot Camp