Now, I come to the fifth item about
how to study the Scriptures, and this is
read what others have written on the Scripture.
Now, this is the fifth guideline for the
study of the Word of God.
Now, I won't be able to get very
far on this, and we won't spend too
much time developing this one, but it's very
important, and I recognize that it's rather a
dangerous rule, because a great many folk just
depend on what someone else says about it,
and there are so many books that are
out today that give wrong teaching concerning the
Word of God, and we need to test
everything that's written by the Word of God,
but this becomes a vicious circle, because we
also need what somebody else has to say
to give us some light on a particular
passage of Scripture.
May I say to you that a good
commentary on every book of the Bible is
very important, and you'll notice in all the
outlines that I have sent out and shall
continue to send out, we have certain recommended
books at the end of each book of
the Bible.
These are books that we can wholeheartedly recommend.
It doesn't exhaust the list of good books,
but the only reason I put it in
like this is to try to lead people
to good books and steer them away from
bad books, because there are bad books.
Now, may I say again that we said
there is a danger in reading certain literature.
There are some that teach us false doctrine,
there are some that's quite liberal, and you
will not find these very profitable, I can
assure you, that is, if you want to
know what the Bible has to say.
We feel that there are some very fine
commentaries that have been written.
There are very fine books on different books
of the Bible.
We've already recommended Dr. G.
Campbell Morgan, Living Messages of the Books of
the Bible.
We also would like to recommend our own
book, Briefing the Bible, and we would be
delighted, of course, to send it to you.
And we have put at the end of
Briefing the Bible and the notes that we're
sending out to you at the end of
each book the books that we recommend, and
if you'd like to follow them, I'm sure
you'll find them helpful.
Now, every minister of the gospel, of course,
has a set of books that he studies.
He needs those.
Of course, someone says, should he give them
verbatim?
Should he present what somebody else has written
verbatim?
Well, my point is that he ought never
to do that, but he has a perfect
right to use what others have written.
He ought to give credit if he's going
to quote a great deal from it.
I've been told that sometimes some of my
feeble messages are given by someone else, and
sometimes credit is given, and sometimes no credit
is given at all.
As far as I'm personally concerned, it makes
no difference, but it does reveal the individual,
his character, that will use someone else's material
verbatim and not give credit for it.
I had a professor in seminary that I
felt solved this problem, and he said this
when someone asked him, should you quote other
writers.
He said, you ought to graze on everybody's
pasture, but give your own milk.
And that means that you are to read
what others have said, but you put it
in your own thought patterns and express it
your way.
And I think that we have a perfect
right to do that, and I encourage anyone
to do that.
But understand the Bible for your own private
reading.
It's well to read something that is good,
something that is well worthwhile, and we encourage
that, of course, that you read what others
have written on the Bible and Scripture.