28 and he was returning
and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29
Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." 30 Philip ran up and
heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you
are reading?" 31 And he said, "Well,
how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and
sit with him. (Acts 8:28-31)Well, the treasurer was riding in his
chariot investigating the words written by the prophet Isaiah some seven
hundred years before. He was a nobleman and so probably had his own driver,
so we won't talk of the dangers of text messaging while driving just now and
press on toward other points. There was no New Testament at this very early
time in the church's history. Those messages would be written down as the Holy
Spirit directed in the next several decades and then compiled into the book we
know as the New Testament. With what we know from these writings, we can
fairly easily see that it is Jesus of whom Isaiah had prophesied in the
passage the treasurer was reading (Isaiah 53:7-8). Specifically, Isaiah spoke
in detail about the atoning death that Jesus would one day die to secure our
salvation from sins. That day had come and passed, but without the writings of
the New Testament the treasurer had no way of knowing this unless and until
someone told him. You and I do not have that problem. The
writings of the covenant of Jesus Christ have now been written so we have
access to information that the Ethiopian treasurer did not have. But we still need to seriously investigate
the written message to know the things God means for us to know. The New
Testament, along with the Old, tell us of the beginning; of man and his
nature, of history and future, of salvation and hope for those who live by
faith in Christ. It tells us of our eternal destiny-everlasting life or
everlasting nightmare, and how we may have the former instead of the latter.
We need to know this book!Investigating
MaterialsThe Bible The first item in our
investigator's briefcase is the Bible itself. It is first in every way. It
must not be left out, or even treated as something less than the single most
important and necessary item out of all the tools we may employ. Realize that God is communicating with you
and me through this Book. Carefully read the text itself. People say all
kinds of things about the Bible based on hearsay and tradition that are
totally inaccurate, and not just “relatively unimportant” misstatements such
as the claim that the Bible says Eve ate the apple or that there were three
wisemen or that money is the root of all evil. The Bible says none of these
things, and there is plenty more where these came from. Probably the simplest approach would be to
ask three questions about the text that you have personally read yourself: 1. What does God say?
(the text). 2. What does this
mean? (God's meaning). 3. How is it suppose
to affect me? (application).
Correct Attitude Right up there in second place in importance
is our attitude toward the message itself. We need to recognize and humbly accept the
authority of God as expressed in His holy word. Though there are several, a
good passage to consider in this is the writings of John who made the
following observation concerning the words of the apostles and prophets,
selected and sent forth by Jesus Himself and inspired by the Holy Spirit: “We
are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not
listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1
John 4:6). This reverent attitude toward the Scriptures
needs to be partnered with openhearted receptiveness, will and commitment, a
desire for exactness and a dissatisfaction with guesswork and assumptions. And
finally, a willingness to work at it. “Be diligent to present yourself
approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately
handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). Writing ToolsWhether scratch paper to write down thoughts
and notes or better quality paper upon which to make permanent notes, every
student knows that the things he or she writes down is easier recollected in
the future. Writing some of the things learned down for future reference just
makes good sense. Over a lifetime, one will accumulate lots of personal notes
and insights due to such efforts, and it will be easier to build on this
foundation in future studies. For example, if one studies the second coming
today, and then does so again five years from now, why start all over? Good
notes from the previous study will help immensely to go further and deeper the
second time around.
Outside HelpsThis would be good reference materials. Some
of these are more helpful than others, and probably a good concordance would
be the most helpful of all. Other reference books such as word studies,
Greek-English dictionaries and a good Bible encyclopedia and/or handbook would
also be very helpful. Commentaries and the notes of others might also be
helpful, depending on how accurate the comments are. Other
Suggestions Certainly one should take a
hands on positive approach to investigating the Word of God. Prove what is
right and then apply it (Romans 12:1,2). Consider the context. This is
the only way to ensure that a proper understanding will be reached. Consider all the passages on
a subject to establish the complete truth about it. Pray with faith and without
any doubting to the Divine Author of Scripture for wisdom and guidance. He
will hear you (James 1:5-8). God bless all who seek to better know and serve
God through His word!By Jon W. Quinn
From Expository Files 18.7; July 2011
