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The Christian Publishing Show is the podcast for writers who want to advance Christ’s Kingdom through excellent writing. Whether you’re writing Bible studies, dragon fantasies, devotionals, or cozy mysteries, you can advance Christ’s Kingdom through your writing.

But what does it mean to advance the Kingdom through writing? How can authors do it?

When we abide in Jesus and meditate on his Word, the natural result is that the life of Christ will overflow from our hearts into our writing. The more we read and study the Bible, the more it reflects in our writing. If you read the Bible enough, it will start to leak into your writing. 

But be careful! If we misunderstand the Bible, our misunderstandings get amplified through our writing. We could even unintentionally lead others into error.

A better understanding of Scripture will improve our writing. But how do we learn to understand it better?

I interviewed Christian author Carolyn Rice. She hosts the Abide in Jesus podcast and has written five books, her latest being Healing the Father Wound: A Women’s Bible Study Through the Gospel of Mark.

What does it mean to “correctly handle the word of truth,” and why is it important?

Thomas: What does it mean to “correctly handle the word of truth,” and why is it important?

Carolyn: Correctly handling the word of truth means reading the Bible in context and realizing that it was written to a specific audience at a certain point in history. The Bible cannot mean to us what it couldn’t have meant to the original audience.

Thomas: We can’t read into it and make it say what we want. Is Christianity a buffet where you pick and choose what you want and customize it to your preferences? Or is it a standard to which you submit yourself?

Is God in control, or are you in control?

People in the New Age movement pick and choose the elements they like. Many Christians have adopted that thinking and are picking and choosing as well. When they come across a passage they don’t like, they say, “Well, it doesn’t really mean that,” and they wave it away.

But Christian orthodoxy means we submit to God and obey his Word, whether we like it or not. We follow what the Bible instructs us to do and to believe.

What advice do you have for an author who wants to study the Bible better?

Carolyn: I suggest gathering some Bible study tools. I love BlueLetterBible.org (supported by donations) and Bible Gateway Plus ($4.99 monthly subscription). I prefer using Blue Letter Bible because it’s simpler and less distracting.

How are online Bible study tools different from a regular Bible?

Thomas: How is BlueLetterBible.org different than a regular Bible?

Carolyn: Beside any Scripture you look up, you’ll see a blue Tools button, which gives you a menu of Bible study tools. The first one is the Interlinear Bible tool, where you can find the Greek and Hebrew meanings of words in a particular verse. You’ll also find a Cross Reference tool, a Bible dictionary, and various commentaries.

Thomas: Commentaries are important because they give you access to the doctrinal knowledge of Bible scholars who’ve gone before us.

Christian doctrine is settled. We’ve had 2,000 years to read the Bible and learn to interpret it. If you discover a “new” doctrine, I’d caution you to be very suspicious of it. If you disagree with all the saints who’ve gone before, that’s a big red flag.

Every once in a while, someone like Martin Luther helps Christians see where they’d gone astray. But rather than starting over with a doctrine, he just rewound and drew from Saint Augustine. Luther was an Augustinian monk and relied heavily on Augustine’s interpretation of the Scriptures.

When you read the saints who’ve gone before us, you may be surprised how little Bible commentary has changed over the centuries.

A friend of mine used to listen to podcasts of ancient sermons. He got translated versions of sermons that were 1,000 years old or older. He told me, “They’re not that different from the sermons we have today.”

Christianity doesn’t change much. Commentaries help you determine whether you have an orthodox understanding of a passage.

Carolyn: In Bible college, we learned commentaries help you check your work. You study the passage on your own first, but then consult commentaries to check your work. Commentaries also give you additional ideas of what angle to take with your writing.

Case Study: Proverbs 18:22

Thomas: I remember using a similar Bible study tool when I was a single man.

I was wrestling with Proverbs 18:22 , which says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and gains favor from the Lord.”

My friend and I were curious about the Hebrew meaning of the word “find.” In English, “find” has several meanings. You may “find” or discover a $5.00 bill as you’re walking along the road. But you can also actively search for something and “find” it.

My friend and I were wondering which meaning Proverbs 18:22 employed as it related to finding a wife. I was wondering if I should be actively searching or just living my life hoping I’d find a wife along the way.

If I remember correctly, about half the occurrences used the discover meaning while the other half used the search meaning. I remember he closed his Bible and said, “The results are inconclusive.”

I realize this is a terrible example because we didn’t ultimately find the answer, but it caused us to get into the Scriptures. It also gave me the confidence to know I wasn’t sinning against God by searching for a wife. I was trying to “find a wife and find a good thing.”

Carolyn: When you use the Blue Letter Bible’s Interlinear tool, you can scroll down to find every occurrence in the Bible where that Greek or Hebrew word is used and its various meanings.

Why do I need to use the Interlinear tool?

There aren’t enough English words to directly translate all the Greek and Hebrew words. Blue Letter Bible will show you where the words are different and how they are used in English.

Thomas: Sometimes, you’ll have multiple Greek words that translate into one English word. You’ve probably heard that there are four Greek words for the English word “love.” In Greek, the four words are used in various contexts and give more detailed meaning to the passage. But in English, we always translate those words as “love.”

Another issue is that English doesn’t allow for the plural “you.” Here in Texas, we’ve solved the problem with the very useful “y’all,” but you won’t find that distinction in the English Bible. That means that when the Scriptures say “you,” we don’t know immediately whether the writer was talking to an individual or a group.

The classic example is Revelation 3:20 , which says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in.”

That passage uses the plural form of “you.” It’s the church. It’s not an individual opening the door of their heart. Understanding the Greek usage helps shape our understanding of the passage.

Carolyn: Yes, and I love checking cross references as well. In college, we were taught to let the Bible interpret the Bible. When we look at cross references, we can see how words were translated in different passages and translations. Every Bible translation starts with the Greek and Hebrew.

How do I use the Bible to interpret the Bible?

Thomas: Allowing the Bible to interpret the Bible is even better than asking what the saints of old said about a passage. It’s better to ask what the Bible has to say about that passage. How would I find that out with a tool like the Blue Letter Bible?

Carolyn: Under the Cross Reference tool, you’ll find a list of words it’s cross-referencing. If you are studying John 3:16 , “God so loved the world,” you would find the word “God” and “gave” and all the cross references to those words. They’re all grouped together.

Thomas: If I was looking for the Bible to interpret a specific verse, I’d want to know Jesus’ interpretation of that verse. Is there an easy way to find that on Blue Letter Bible?

Carolyn: I’m not sure about that. I do know that Naves Topical Bible would take you to certain high-level topics like prophecy.

What are some different methods of Bible study writers can use?

Thomas: When we’re reading the Bible and applying s