Should We Use Commentaries?

Should commentaries be used in the study of scripture. I think both yes and no. Not in personal Bible Study. In personal Bible study you want to absorb the Word and nothing but the Word. I do think it's ok to use tools like Bible Dictionaries and Concordances in personal Bible Study.

But in preparation for a sermon or Sunday School Lesson, commentaries are fine, as long as doctrine is derived from the scripture and not the commentary.

Books are OK, too, but for the most part I try to avoid using books for doctrinal teaching. The church I currently attend and some that I visit use lesson books That is, in a sense, a commentary.

Personally, I do not use commentaries, but I do use concordances and Vines Dictionary of New Testament Words. I use online resource tools also, but not in my personal worship and reading. My articles, however, could be considered commentaries. I comment on my views, opinions and interpretations of scripture and other things like gardening and health.

In the church I was visiting this morning I picked up a free copy of a business type directory dated 2009 that goes by the title of: Believe Christian Business Directory & Magazine. On page 6 of that magazine is the first 20 tips of an article entitled 50 parenting tips by Steve Levitt. Those tips are comments by Mr. Levitt, which makes that article a commentary. So are the other articles in the magazine section. Of course, they just had to continue on pages 24 and 37. Continuing on pages 7 and 8 just makes too much sense.

Well, I have a strong disagreement with #15 which talks about the "love language". Well, in my opinion it's a made up language, one made up by psychologists (psychicologists) like Steve Levitt.

Some translations of the scripture might be better used as commentaries. The notes in a study Bible are comments, which makes them commentaries.

Conclusion: Commentaries have their place, they can be used as an aid to teach Sunday School Lessons or to learn from, but they are not scripture and should not be treated as such.