The Priscilla Principle

For a long time, I've been working on putting my system of Bible study into an organized format that is easy to share with others. I call my system The Priscilla Principle. Since I developed this system more than 30 years ago, I have not used another. I learned the basic principles of Bible study in a college class while under the teaching of a wonderful professor who had patience and wisdom in leading his students. Dr. Wayne Knife was always above and beyond expectation in his teaching methods and he strongly impacted my life with his simple, yet effective Bible study methods.

Another man who has been very influential in my Bible study life is Pastor Lowell Spencer, the man who led me to Christ. He preached the Gospel the very first time I heard it and I never got over it. He showed me how to look things up in the Bible and also gave me the greatest piece of advice I've ever received in my entire life - to never take anyone's word for what the Bible says, but to look it up for myself. I still practice that to this day.

If I had to name one thing that has prevented spiritual abuse in my life, this would be that thing. I don't care who is preaching, I look up what they are saying and test it to see if it is in line with the Bible. If not, I confront it. If I'm not in a position to confront it, I simply don't listen to them ever again. This has saved me from spiritual abuse. I have removed my children from under the teaching of various people for this reason. I simply do not tolerate false teaching and to determine false teaching, I must test every teacher/preacher every single time they teach/preach.

The Priscilla Principle is designed to help people do just that. Last week, I finally took the plunge and bought the domain name ThePriscillaPrinciple.com so that I could go forward with the project and take it to the next level. The website gives a brief look into The Priscilla Principle, explains why I chose that name and gives an example on how to make observations of Scripture. I will be adding more and more information to the website in short order.

Also, my book, The Priscilla Principle, will be published on Amazon in the coming months!

My system is not the usual method of:

Observation > Interpretation > Application

My system is:

READ  >  OBSERVE  >  INTERPRET  >  PRAY

This method eliminates the application process of Bible study altogether. Misapplication of Scripture has been the main cause of spiritual abuse in churches all over the world. The Holy Spirit applies His Word to our lives; He's more than capable. 

The main premise of The Priscilla Principle is:

if I am focused on my own behavior, 

or the behavior of others, 

I am not focused on Jesus Christ, 

therefore, my focus is not where it should be.

In Acts 17:10 & 11, the saints in the church at Berea were commended for searching the Scriptures daily to see if the things they were being taught were true. They were called "noble" for doing so! You can do the same. You can search the Scriptures to see if what you are being taught is true. 

Priscilla was a woman grounded in Scripture and not afraid to use it. She and her husband, Aquila, were used mightily in the life of a great preacher, Apollos, when they took him aside after hearing him preach an incomplete message. Priscilla did not tolerate false or incomplete teaching. She confronted it immediately and her confrontation produced wonderful results. Read Acts 18 for the full story. This principle is named after her!

~Tricia