BIBLICALIST / STUDY LIBRARY

SCRIPTURE EXPLAINED

4 CHAPTERS · 30 LESSONS

Difficult Passages. Careful Context. Clear Answers.

Some Bible verses are frequently quoted without their surrounding context. Others are difficult because they involve salvation, judgment, prophecy, baptism, works, or doctrines that must be compared carefully with the rest of Scripture.

Scripture Explained examines difficult and commonly misunderstood passages by reading the text carefully, studying the immediate context, and comparing Scripture with Scripture.

THEME VERSE

“Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.”

GENESIS 40:8 · KJV

FEATURED STUDIES

Begin With These Passages

These lessons address especially common misunderstandings involving judgment, salvation, baptism, works, and eternal security.

01 “Judge Not” MATTHEW 7:1–5 › 06 “Born of Water and of the Spirit” JOHN 3:5 › 09 “Repent, and Be Baptized” ACTS 2:38 › 11 “Justified by Works” JAMES 2:14–26 › 14 “Impossible to Renew Them Again unto Repentance” HEBREWS 6:4–6 ›

30 DIFFICULT PASSAGES EXPLAINED

01 CHAPTER 01 · 8 LESSONS

The Words of Jesus

Examine frequently quoted and commonly misunderstood statements of Jesus concerning judgment, prayer, endurance, salvation, spiritual birth, and His own identity.

01 “Judge Not” Matthew 7:1–5 Does Jesus forbid Christians from making any judgment? › 02 “Where Two or Three Are Gathered” Matthew 18:15–20 Is this mainly about prayer meetings, or is the context church discipline? › 03 “Ask, and It Shall Be Given You” Matthew 7:7–11 Does God promise to give believers everything they request? › 04 “He That Shall Endure unto the End” Matthew 24:13 Does enduring to the end earn salvation? › 05 “One Shall Be Taken, and the Other Left” Matthew 24:40–41 Is the person taken rescued or removed in judgment? › 06 “Born of Water and of the Spirit” John 3:5 Does the water refer to baptism, physical birth, cleansing, or something else? › 07 “Eat the Flesh of the Son of Man” John 6:53–56 Was Jesus speaking literally, sacramentally, or spiritually? › 08 “Ye Are Gods” John 10:34–36; Psalm 82:6 Did Jesus teach that human beings can become divine? ›

02 CHAPTER 02 · 8 LESSONS

Salvation, Baptism, Grace, and Works

Study difficult passages concerning repentance, water baptism, justification, works, grace, deliberate sin, apostasy warnings, and the believer’s new nature.

09 “Repent, and Be Baptized” Acts 2:38 Does water baptism produce forgiveness of sins? › 10 “Baptism Doth Also Now Save Us” 1 Peter 3:20–21 In what sense can Peter say that baptism saves? › 11 “Justified by Works, and Not by Faith Only” James 2:14–26 Does James contradict Paul’s teaching about justification by faith? › 12 “Work Out Your Own Salvation” Philippians 2:12–13 Must believers work to earn or preserve salvation? › 13 “Fallen from Grace” Galatians 5:1–4 Does falling from grace mean losing eternal salvation? › 14 “Impossible to Renew Them Again unto Repentance” Hebrews 6:4–6 Who are the people described in this difficult warning? › 15 “If We Sin Wilfully” Hebrews 10:26–31 Does deliberate sin make forgiveness impossible? › 16 “Doth Not Commit Sin” 1 John 3:9 Does a person born of God become completely sinless? ›

03 CHAPTER 03 · 8 LESSONS

Doctrine, Judgment, and Eternity

Explore difficult teachings concerning Christ, God’s sovereignty, suffering, rewards, resurrection, judgment, spiritual beings, churches, and eternity.

17 “The Firstborn of Every Creature” Colossians 1:15–18 Does “firstborn” mean that Jesus Christ was created? › 18 “All Things Work Together for Good” Romans 8:28 What does God’s promised “good” actually mean? › 19 “Jacob Have I Loved, but Esau Have I Hated” Romans 9:10–18 What does this passage teach about God’s sovereignty and human responsibility? › 20 “Saved; Yet So as by Fire” 1 Corinthians 3:11–15 Is this purgatory, loss of salvation, or the judgment of a believer’s works? › 21 “Baptized for the Dead” 1 Corinthians 15:29 Were Christians being baptized on behalf of dead people? › 22 “She Shall Be Saved in Childbearing” 1 Timothy 2:11–15 Does motherhood provide spiritual salvation? › 23 “Preached unto the Spirits in Prison” 1 Peter 3:18–20 Who were the spirits, and when did Christ preach to them? › 24 “Behold, I Stand at the Door, and Knock” Revelation 3:20 Is this primarily an invitation to unbelievers or an appeal to a compromised church? ›

04 CHAPTER 04 · 6 LESSONS

Old Testament Difficulties

Examine difficult Old Testament passages concerning the sons of God, Pharaoh, the witch of Endor, the Holy Spirit, parenting, calamity, and divine judgment.

25 “The Sons of God… Took Them Wives” Genesis 6:1–4 Were the sons of God angels, rulers, or descendants of Seth? › 26 “The Lord Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart” Exodus 9:12; Romans 9:17–18 Did God force Pharaoh to rebel? › 27 Samuel and the Witch of Endor 1 Samuel 28:3–20 Did Samuel truly appear, or was the figure a demonic deception? › 28 “Take Not Thy Holy Spirit from Me” Psalm 51:11 Can a New Testament believer lose the indwelling Holy Spirit? › 29 “Train Up a Child” Proverbs 22:6 Is this an unconditional promise about every properly raised child? › 30 “I Create Evil” Isaiah 45:7 Does God create moral wickedness, or does the word describe calamity and judgment? ›

STUDY METHOD

How Every Passage Is Examined

Every lesson follows the same careful process so that an isolated phrase is never allowed to control the meaning of the whole passage.

Read the Text

The full KJV passage.

Identify the Problem

Why the passage is difficult or commonly misunderstood.

Examine the Context

The verses, chapter, audience, and situation surrounding the statement.

Study Important Words

Key expressions explained without removing them from their context.

Compare Scripture with Scripture

Clearer passages used to illuminate the difficult passage.

Understand the Meaning

A direct explanation of what the text teaches.

Reject the Misinterpretation

A clear statement of what the passage does not teach.

Apply the Truth

Why the correct interpretation matters to Christian faith and practice.