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Memorizing The New Testament


Dr James Ach

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I encourage Scripture memorization, it is required of our school student and of the college students.

 

Also, we take a passage (18-25 verses long) and memorize it as a church over the course of a year - quoting it (or reading it or quoting and referring in to it as an aide as needed while working on it) in every service.

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Update?

It might be a while because I'm still moving some things back home from the US and taking on some different projects. But I am slowly working on it. What I am working on now is going chapter by chapter and breaking down what parts to memorize in order of context for memorizing 5 verses a day. Since some chapters do not end with 15,20,25,30 verses etc..some times you have to pick the best division so you remember the context better. For example (since you are working on Romans), Romans 1 has 32 verses, so some where you have to decide if you want to just do the last 2 on one day, or split them up and do 6 each, or 3 days of 4 verses, or one day of 7 verses. I would split at verse 21 and group it with verse 17 because the context is similar, then 22-27 (because 22 is a short verse), then 28-32, etc.. I'm doing that on every chapter so it might take a while LOL.

 

I'm trying to give divisions that will make it easier to recall the context. When I was a kid, as a Jew I had to memorize Genesis to Deuteronomy, and sometimes I had to think about where a verse was because even though I knew all the verses, I had the think about the context I was looking for. That is sometimes the snag of memorizing large passages at once. It helps to make notes about verses and contexts as you memorize them too. That way some of the verses you memorize will "stick out" and help memorize the context instead of just verses strung together. You will get plenty of those little "epiphany" moments going through Romans because 1-5 is different from 6-8, and then 9-11 is different context about corporate Israel, and then 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are all different. There is so much in Romans that every time you start repeating certain verses, as the Holy Spirit helps you verses will come out like "I never thought about it that way before" and be sure to write those down because it will not just help memorize the verses but also memorize what they mean.

 

But I hope to get something together sometime this year more comprehensive than forum comments because that is a passion of mine to teach memorization of Scripture. :)

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It might be a while because I'm still moving some things back home from the US and taking on some different projects. But I am slowly working on it. What I am working on now is going chapter by chapter and breaking down what parts to memorize in order of context for memorizing 5 verses a day. Since some chapters do not end with 15,20,25,30 verses etc..some times you have to pick the best division so you remember the context better. For example (since you are working on Romans), Romans 1 has 32 verses, so some where you have to decide if you want to just do the last 2 on one day, or split them up and do 6 each, or 3 days of 4 verses, or one day of 7 verses. I would split at verse 21 and group it with verse 17 because the context is similar, then 22-27 (because 22 is a short verse), then 28-32, etc.. I'm doing that on every chapter so it might take a while LOL.

 

I'm trying to give divisions that will make it easier to recall the context. When I was a kid, as a Jew I had to memorize Genesis to Deuteronomy, and sometimes I had to think about where a verse was because even though I knew all the verses, I had the think about the context I was looking for. That is sometimes the snag of memorizing large passages at once. It helps to make notes about verses and contexts as you memorize them too. That way some of the verses you memorize will "stick out" and help memorize the context instead of just verses strung together. You will get plenty of those little "epiphany" moments going through Romans because 1-5 is different from 6-8, and then 9-11 is different context about corporate Israel, and then 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are all different. There is so much in Romans that every time you start repeating certain verses, as the Holy Spirit helps you verses will come out like "I never thought about it that way before" and be sure to write those down because it will not just help memorize the verses but also memorize what they mean.

 

But I hope to get something together sometime this year more comprehensive than forum comments because that is a passion of mine to teach memorization of Scripture. :)

 

This is excellent. You’re definitely systematic in your approach. Your comment regarding context is good. In a similar thought, I’ve noticed it is easier to memorize 20+ verses about a topic such as “the blood of Christ” as opposed to memorizing a chapter.

 

Another technique I've done which has led to those "epiphany" moments it this: I have a program that can play my Bible Mp3s at faster speeds 2x, 4x, 6x etc.  When you read while playing at 4x or 6x, you cover a lot of ground quickly. You can read the entire book of Job in a sitting. Of course you're not going to absorb things the same way as you would reading carefully, but I've had those "epiphany" moments while doing this because you connect thoughts from other chapters that you may never have otherwise.

 

Request reminder: Please make a video quoting Romans. This would be a motivator for me (and my son) and an encouragement to your online friends.

 

I’ve heard that Jewish children memorize the Torah. However, in my many experiences with Jews in the business world, they know more about the Kabbalah than the Pentateuch. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

 

I have more questions but I’ll forgo them for now…

 

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This method works! For example, Ron Hood memorized more than half the New Testament this way. I think Ron Hood attended Bob Jones University in the 1960's. Here, found a youtube link to a video of him explaining the method:

. He lets people ask him to quote various scriptures at the end of the video.
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Also, I never did put an emphasis on memorizing the verse reference. Although I remember many of them, most I do not. Please comment in this regard.

Somehow I missed this comment.

 

You don't always have to know the specific address of the verse. In Hebrew 5:6 Paul quotes a verse but does not give the exact reference (and of course there were no verse divisions when Paul quoted this) but instead says "as he also saith in another place". Knowing the context and verse is the most important part, but knowing the reference is useful if the person you are talking to says "prove it". Knowing the reference saves time in trying to dig through pages while trying to keep the persons attention on the subject you are talking about.

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This is excellent. You’re definitely systematic in your approach. Your comment regarding context is good. In a similar thought, I’ve noticed it is easier to memorize 20+ verses about a topic such as “the blood of Christ” as opposed to memorizing a chapter.

 

Another technique I've done which has led to those "epiphany" moments it this: I have a program that can play my Bible Mp3s at faster speeds 2x, 4x, 6x etc.  When you read while playing at 4x or 6x, you cover a lot of ground quickly. You can read the entire book of Job in a sitting. Of course you're not going to absorb things the same way as you would reading carefully, but I've had those "epiphany" moments while doing this because you connect thoughts from other chapters that you may never have otherwise.

 

Request reminder: Please make a video quoting Romans. This would be a motivator for me (and my son) and an encouragement to your online friends.

 

I’ve heard that Jewish children memorize the Torah. However, in my many experiences with Jews in the business world, they know more about the Kabbalah than the Pentateuch. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

 

I have more questions but I’ll forgo them for now…

I had to memorize the first five books when I was a child, and quoted all 613 Mitzvot at my Bar Mitzvah for my 13th B-Day.

 

Not all Jews are Kabbalists, but I'd have to say all who follow Talmud and Midrash ultimately find the Gemara compatible with Kabbalism and make the leap from there. I think it's more prominent in Hasidic and Sefardic Jews then they care to admit, and I would have to agree that more emphasis is placed on traditional views of the Tanakh because tradition helps to explain away the obvious prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ. There's several different variations but ALL Talmud, Midrash writings have their source in BABYLON and to me is no different than the ideology of Kabbalism. 

 

That could be a project for me to write out here someday, the difference between the various Jewish traditions, and Jewish and Non Jewish forms of Kabbalism.

 

I have the Bible on MP3 on a little palm-sized MP3 player (Sansa) and take it with me whenever I jog or am driving. It's probably one of my favorite earthly possessions next to the Bible book form. There are a few websites where you can download the KJV on MP3 for free and then copy it to a Sansa player.

 

Quoting an entire book on video might be impressive to some, but would bring more criticism than accolades (which I really don't care for). Not to mention it's just time consuming LOL. Although I'm pretty fluent in English, I speak it much slower than my native language. 

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In my opinion the book of John would be the best to memorize.

Why?

Key verse: John 20:31 (KJV) 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

One can find life in it. (Yes, I know all have life, but this book clearly reveals you can have life because of what is written therein) also, it teaches you must believe and in whom to believe

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If the length of the book to be memorized isn't a factor, I would say John would be a good one to memorize.

 

If length is a factor then I would prayerfully read through the shorter epistles to consider memorizing one of those.

 

Perhaps memorizing a small book first will motivate one to memorize more.

 

I know when a friend and I set out to memorize at least one verse (in most cases it was more than one verse, often a whole passage) from every book in the New Testament that seemed like a big challenge. As it turned out, we completed that sooner and easier than we expected. This prompted us to do the same thing with the Old Testament. When we were finished that meant we had 66 verses/passages memorized along with whatever we already had memorized before then.

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Perhaps 1 John as a first book, which is shorter (these things written ... that ye may know ... and believe) followed by a larger project, John (John 20:31), followed by Revelation (Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.) ? Which brings the question: Which books come with a specific promise from God for reading/knowing?

 

 

So, 1 John, (maybe 2 John, 3 John) John, Revelation   <----- that would be a good start on the New Testament/Bible yes, with a theme?

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.What book of the Bible would be a good first book to memorize? How about if one only memorized one book which would be the "best"? Why?

The first NT book I memorized was Romans. It was like the Proverbs of the NT for me. Then after that I memorized James, and then 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, then all of the Pauline epistles, then John, Acts, Matthew, Luke and Revelation. Of course, when I was a child raised in Judaism I had the first 5 books memorized but did not have the greatest recall on them.

 

Before I started tackling entire books, I did have verses memorized by subject. I was fascinated with studying the Jehovah's Witnesses after having several debates with some of their overseers. Christian Research Institute had an outline of the Trinity with 700 verses to prove, and I memorized close to 200 of the list. Then I met Joe Boyd and went soul winning with him for a while in California and he had a soul winning book that covered a lot of the different religions and cults, and I memorized all the proof texts he had listed for all of the major doctrines.

 

If a person is just started to take on memorizing, I would actually recommend gathering about 5-10 verses on all of the major doctrines first because they are easier to recall in conversation that way. I had a similar problem that Jack Van Impe described when I memorized all of Romans in that when I needed a verse, I knew where it was but I would often have to quote the preceding verses in my head before I got to the one I needed. Once you have a solid foundation where you can give a reference for everything you believe and support it by about 5-10 other verses, then I would say it's safe to tackle entire books at a time.

 

It also depends on what your "Calling" is as well. For women, they tend to relate better on personal and emotional levels so for them, it is easier to memorize devotional type verses that address everyday struggles and how to encourage others. Not that men never encounter that as well (and I think when it comes to counseling, men should only counsel men and women-women [Titus 2:4-5], but since preaching is relegated to men, men tend to want to know the doctrines, and women focus more on how to live it and make certain verses personal and thus for women, memorizing "counseling" verses seems to stick better.

 

I also have a separate box of cards that I use for books I read. I take notes as I read through good books, and then make up cards for certain facts that I want to remember out of the book. This is critical when studying textual history when you want to explain to someone why the KJV is superior to other translations. It is also helpful to memorize historical facts about the church and the history of Rome, like just knowing certain important dates and figureheads. That box I don't rigorously systemize as I do Bible verses. I usually carry those cards with me and just review them when it's convenient, or record them on an MP3 player and replay them while I'm walking or driving. But "redeeming the time" (Eph 5:16, Col 4:5) is important in how much and how efficient and quickly you absorb information.

 

Something also helpful to me has been to write out my own commentary as I memorize verses. Just use a notebook and write out what you think each verse means. It doesn't have to be thorough, just enough that it cements the context of the verses in your mind. I also have written my own chapter headings for every chapter of the Bible (something I think you already hinted at which is a great idea). Now I haven't memorized those headings yet, which is something still on my agenda for the OT.

 

As far as a good starter on memorizing an entire chapter, actually I would say Psalm 22, and memorizing the corresponding fulfillment of each prophecy in the NT. For example

 

Psa. 22:1 – What Jesus said on the cross (Mat. 27:46)

Psa. 22:6-8, 12-13 – Reviling Christ (Mat. 27:39-44)

Psa. 22:11 – None to help Him (Mk. 14:50; Heb. 1:3)

Psa. 22:14-16 – Crucified (Mat. 27:35)

Psa. 22:17a – Bones not broken (Jn. 19:33)

Psa. 22:17b – Starring at Him (Mat. 27:36)

Psa. 22:18 – Parted His garments (Mat. 27:35; Jn. 19:24)  

 

There's so many different ways to do this I think it works better depending on what interests each person. Kind of like how some people love math, and others like history. Some subjects stick better. I kind of forget that it's just easier for me to talk about memorizing entire chapters and books because it got easier for me after about 5 years of memorizing other subjects first. But if it gets overwhelming, then switch your tactics, but stick to memorizing! Once you start, don't quit.

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I have been thinking about doing this.  I have read that kings used to be required to write out their own Bibles.  Since I am also very into penmanship, I have a desire to write out the entire Bible, but since I am still learning, I will prOBably have to re-write much of it as my skills build.

here is a video I made on a way to go about writing out the bible one book at a time:

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