I periodically receive sale notices via email from the company that produces my Bible software program. A recent one contained offers concerning several different “study Bibles.” A study Bible is a particular version of the Scriptures along with explanatory commentary notes and insight from human authors. The following sales blurb was included in the description of one of these texts: “This comprehensive and reliable reference work should be the first place Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, missionaries, and pastors turn to for biblical insight.”
I shook my head as I read the words. I know these sales people would say, when asked, that the Bible is the most important part of their product, but that isn’t what they are being paid to promote. It’s the human notes that makes their “study Bible” different from others. It’s the Bible AND their added notes and commentary that makes it a must-have resource, at least according to their advertising.
I have nothing against study Bibles or any other works that offer help in understanding, like commentaries, dictionaries, or word studies. I have several examples of each and use them in my own study. They can be helpful in a lot of different ways. But one must be careful to keep them in their proper place. The danger is that one can be more impressed with someone’s interpretation of the Bible than what the Bible actually says. They can become a crutch that we lean on rather than doing the hard work of studying the text for ourselves.
The Bible itself should be the first place we turn for biblical insight, not some other book or set of notes. Only the Scriptures are “...inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), not the words of those commenting on the Scriptures. As long as we keep that in mind, we will be able to avoid trouble. And be wary of any sales literature that suggests otherwise.
God loves you!
Mike
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