Online Bible Study Resources

October 8, 2021

I’ve been collecting Bible study resources since I was a teenager. I’ve purchased lots of books and electronic books over the years. But I also know what it is like starting out with very little to help you. I’ve pondered whether I could afford a particular book. So free online Bible study resources can be beneficial to people who don’t have a large library at their disposal. Here are a few that I like.

https://www.biblegateway.com

It allows you to read and search multiple translations including some foreign languages along with Greek and Hebrew. Some translations also have audio available. In the commentaries it also provides the IVP New Testament Commentary for free. They also have a paid level which grants access to other, newer commentaries.

https://biblehub.com/

Bible Hub has commentaries, concordances, dictionaries,
topical studies, Greek and Hebrew resources, and a way of viewing multi
translations at once. It also provides interlinear Bibles in Greek and Hebrew.

https://bibleproject.com

This site provides free videos on books of the Bible plus other topics. They are very well done and well worth looking at as you begin to study a book of the Bible or a specific topic.

https://www.biblestudytools.com

This site has online Bibles in various languages. It also has the Society for Biblical Literature’s Greek New Testament, the Septuagint, and Latin Vulgate. It can do parallel Bibles. It can do interlinear Bibles in the KJV and NASB. It has commentaries, concordance searches, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and topical Bibles. Check the site for a list of other resources.
Note: since this is free, the Bible study works will be older commentaries that
for the most part are in public domain.

https://biblia.com

Biblia is an online source by Faithlife (the company which makes Logos Bible Software). You can sign up for a free account and will receive access to a number of Bibles and resources. 

https://www.ccel.org Christian Classic Ethereal Library

A large site of public domain works of interest to Christians.

http://www.para-gospel.com

This site provides the synoptic gospels and the Gospel of John side by side. It will display a variety of translations.

https://www.studylight.org/

Provides commentaries, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and concordances.

https://bestcommentaries.com

Their tag line is rotten tomatoes for biblical studies. It is a review site for commentaries and other books in biblical studies. This can be a good site to check when considering what commentary you wish to buy. It will let you know whether the commentary is technical, pastoral, devotional, or special study. It will also give you an idea of the viewpoint of the author: critical, Roman Catholic, evangelical, Pentecostal, or Lutheran. It also lets you know whether the commentary is available in three major software packages: Logos, Accordance, and Olive Tree.

I don’t necessarily agree with everything on these sites. In fact, the owner’s of some of these sites state they don’t agree with everything on their site. But books provide the opportunity to think through passages with other students of the Bible. Test everything by scripture. Sola Scriptura!

These sites are worth exploring. May you be blessed in your study of the Bible.

— Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden

Life on Loan

October 1, 2021

The parable was told in response to a request; a request that Jesus refuses. A man asks for Jesus to arbitrate an inheritance dispute. Having asked the rhetorical question who made me a judge or arbitrator over you, Jesus concludes with a warning: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15, ESV). Then Jesus tells the story of the rich fool.

The rich fool has a problem – a problem that many of us would like to have. He has so much that he is struggling with where to put it all. What do you give the man who has everything? Answer: storage containers. The rich man decides to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. That is where many modern readers struggle to understand the story. We hear the word barn and think a large, red wooden structure. Barns in the ancient world were often underground granaries that were plastered or bricked. “Tear down” likely refers “to the deliberate taking down of the barns in such a way that the material can still be used.” This rich man has abundance, and he plots a way to keep it all.

The parable gives the rich man’s inner dialogue.

 …and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ (Luke 12:17–19, ESV, emphasis added)

It is interesting to count the number of times the words, “I” and “my,” occur. If all the world’s a stage, this man acts if he is in a one man play.

But the rich fool has his exit. “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” (Luke 12:20, ESV). The word for “required” is interesting. It means to demand something back or as due as in the case of a loan. Jesus has given us the image that our life is on loan from God.

What happens when I view my life as on loan from God? It changes everything. My life, my time, and my resources are matters of stewardship. I will have to give an account. I must view things from God’s perspective and priorities.

This changed perspective makes the warnings understandable. The abundance of possessions is not the most important thing; God is most important. If I haven’t laid up treasures in heaven, I have nothing that will ultimately last. God will demand my life back someday. My life is on loan.

— Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden