Why Topic Bible Studies Are Vital To Understanding
A lot of people go to church on Sundays and hear/read some verses here and there. Often a pastor or preacher will read one single verse and preach the entire sermon on just that one verse. They do the same thing in Bible studies. This is not the mots efficient and proper way to understanding God's Word.
The Bible is full of parallel verses. They are verses all throughout the Bible that confirm and clarify each other. The good thing is that it is much easier to study well, if you have internet. My most used Bible website is kingjamesbibleonline.org . That particular site has the best layout for studying and won't steer you away from the KJV.
Imagine topics like a puzzle that's scattered all throughout the books of the Bible. When you read all the verses in context on one topic, it helps you see the whole picture of what the topic is about. It's also important to note during study the things that changed when Jesus came. Those would be differences between what's allowed by God, between the Old Testament and New Testament. For example the topic of divorce. In the O.T. the law allowed people to get divorced for whatever reason they decided was fit. When Jesus came to preach to the people He corrected that by saying:
Matthew 5:32
“But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.”
Things like that are important to note so we can understand what God expects us to be obedient to. There aren't a whole lot of those but still it's important to know the Word. Many people don't make enough time for study and try to get understanding from a verse without parallels. That is not a good way to gain understanding without seeing the whole picture.
Think about it like this: If you truly believe in God you would want to understand everything He has to say about anything. You would have a thirst for God's understanding that will have you searching the scriptures to find all answers. If you truly want to understand you must study by topic with diligence. When you use the forementioned Bible site you can type key words into the search bar and it will show you every verse that has that word in it. Sometimes you will have to do a couple searches to find different variations of a word. Read all the verses that it mentions and go into the context if you have any questions about a verse. Interpretation does not come from the mouth of man, but rather from the Holy Spirit which is within us which are saved. There are way too many preachers who don't use this method. There are also too many preachers which parrot the world's interpretations instead of getting it from the Spirit. Most of those are teaching standing in the perspective of former military. They don't want to admit that war is wrong and they manipulate verses like when Jesus said "turn the other cheek" to meet what they want it to mean and that comes from pride. Those preachers are blinded by the ways of the world and stuck in their ways. If the Blind lead the blind, they both fall into a ditch! Don't leave your understanding to a man who more likely than not has this military mindset.
Below you'll find some of the most important topic studies that I have covered with the corresponding verses that help see the whole picture of the topic.