Let Scripture Interpret Scripture

Chapter 6 (How to Study Your Bible)

God usually does not exhaust a subject in just one book; He has chosen to give us bits and pieces of truths throughout His Word.  Therefore, the process of interpretation often encompasses related passages from other books of the Bible.  To be sure that you accurately handle the word study all of the places in the Bible where a subject is taught.  This is where cross references come in.

A cross reference is a reference to another scripture that supports, illumines, or amplifies the scripture you are studying.  In other words, when you do cross referencing, you compare scripture with scripture.  

How do you cross reference a scripture?

Step 1: The first place you can begin is with a concordance and/or a study tool that will show you other places where the same Hebrew or Greek word is used, or where the same subject is referred to.

Step 2: Then in your Bible turn to each of the cross-references and study the context of each cross-reference.  A scripture cannot be wrenched out of its context (when studying) If you do, the text becomes a pretext.  

General Definition: A pretext is a false reason or excuse given to conceal a true purpose or motive. It's a deceptive justification used to hide what someone is really doing or thinking. In other words, it's an artificial front or cover-up. 

Definition related to scripture: a text taken out of its proper context and used to support a different argument or claim than what the original text intended. It essentially means misusing a Bible verse or passage by ignoring its surrounding context, which can lead to a distorted interpretation. 

Step 3: When you find a cross-reference that illuminates the Scriptures you are studying, you might want to make a note of it in the margin of your Bible next to the appropriate Scripture.  In this way you can develop you own cross referencing system in your Bible.

Step 4: In the course of checking these cross-references, you’ll probably notice that you will read quite a few passages that don’t really pertain to the subject you are studying.  This occurs because what you have done is a word cross-reference, and although the same word is used in these references, it might not pertain to your study focus, or even if it does, it might not help your understanding.