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Now, I come to the fifth item about

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how to study the Scriptures, and this is

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read what others have written on the Scripture.

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Now, this is the fifth guideline for the

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study of the Word of God.

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Now, I won't be able to get very

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far on this, and we won't spend too

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much time developing this one, but it's very

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important, and I recognize that it's rather a

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dangerous rule, because a great many folk just

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depend on what someone else says about it,

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and there are so many books that are

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out today that give wrong teaching concerning the

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Word of God, and we need to test

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everything that's written by the Word of God,

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but this becomes a vicious circle, because we

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also need what somebody else has to say

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to give us some light on a particular

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passage of Scripture.

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May I say to you that a good

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commentary on every book of the Bible is

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very important, and you'll notice in all the

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outlines that I have sent out and shall

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continue to send out, we have certain recommended

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books at the end of each book of

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the Bible.

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These are books that we can wholeheartedly recommend.

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It doesn't exhaust the list of good books,

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but the only reason I put it in

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like this is to try to lead people

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to good books and steer them away from

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bad books, because there are bad books.

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Now, may I say again that we said

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there is a danger in reading certain literature.

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There are some that teach us false doctrine,

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there are some that's quite liberal, and you

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will not find these very profitable, I can

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assure you, that is, if you want to

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know what the Bible has to say.

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We feel that there are some very fine

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commentaries that have been written.

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There are very fine books on different books

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of the Bible.

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We've already recommended Dr. G.

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Campbell Morgan, Living Messages of the Books of

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the Bible.

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We also would like to recommend our own

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book, Briefing the Bible, and we would be

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delighted, of course, to send it to you.

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And we have put at the end of

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Briefing the Bible and the notes that we're

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sending out to you at the end of

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each book the books that we recommend, and

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if you'd like to follow them, I'm sure

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you'll find them helpful.

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Now, every minister of the gospel, of course,

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has a set of books that he studies.

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He needs those.

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Of course, someone says, should he give them

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verbatim?

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Should he present what somebody else has written

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verbatim?

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Well, my point is that he ought never

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to do that, but he has a perfect

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right to use what others have written.

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He ought to give credit if he's going

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to quote a great deal from it.

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I've been told that sometimes some of my

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feeble messages are given by someone else, and

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sometimes credit is given, and sometimes no credit

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is given at all.

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As far as I'm personally concerned, it makes

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no difference, but it does reveal the individual,

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his character, that will use someone else's material

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verbatim and not give credit for it.

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I had a professor in seminary that I

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felt solved this problem, and he said this

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when someone asked him, should you quote other

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writers.

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He said, you ought to graze on everybody's

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pasture, but give your own milk.

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And that means that you are to read

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what others have said, but you put it

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in your own thought patterns and express it

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your way.

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And I think that we have a perfect

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right to do that, and I encourage anyone

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to do that.

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But understand the Bible for your own private

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reading.

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It's well to read something that is good,

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something that is well worthwhile, and we encourage

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that, of course, that you read what others

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have written on the Bible and Scripture.