Finding relevant scripture

[dasadler]

There are times when I am talking to someone and I share some Christian thought or directions from God that I recall but when I am pressed for a Biblical reference I often fail to remember what it was and so I wondered if anyone can recommend any good site where I can look up scripture pertinent to what I am trying to explain?
A couple of examples:

1) I was talking to a new Christian and I told them that their life in Christ will get better and better as they grow in faith. However, I was unable to back up what I said with any scripture.

2) I was talking to a non-believer and mentioned that after being saved you don't HAVE TO stop sinning but you WILL WANT TO stop and live the righteous life Jesus would have you live. Again, I was unable to back up what I said with any scripture. Where would I even begin to look for something like that?

Hopefully, there is a site where I could enter a concept and find appropriate verses. Where would I even begin to look for something like that? I know there are many sites that will search the Bible for instances of a word... but not a concept as in the examples above.

 

[dysert]

I think you may want to look at something called a Topical Bible. They aren't really Bibles, but they're books that are categorized and provide verses for each category. For example, you may find Christian Living as a topic and the verses related to that. Or, in your second case, Righteousness, Sanctification, Holiness, etc. Of course the best thing is to be reading your Bible every day and eventually these topics will pop into your head. Then it's a simple matter to find the verses ;-)

There are some good Topical Bibles out there. The most popular is Nave's Topical Bible, but John MacArthur has one as do others. Good luck.

 

[Greg J.]

Consider your words before you speak them to someone who doesn't believe the Bible is from God. If it is something you haven't experienced yourself, you are really relaying something you have read or heard. Our primary testimony to unbelievers is what we have experienced ourselves, not what we believe (although if you know why you believe, that is good). It is not your responsibility or within your capability to prove things you believe. Whether you really believe those things or not will be a question on people's minds. The answer to that is to not hide your love (and/or obedience) to God under a bowl, but let it shine.

Whenever you read or study Scripture, ask yourself if the verse you are reading answers a question you or others might have. Then make a mental note of which book and chapter this "answer" is in. Eventually, you will remember phrases from the passages whose concepts you have understood. If you can't remember the book and chapter, then you can use a Bible search to find the passages. (You can get a searchable Bible for your cell phone.)

 

[farout]

There are times when I am talking to someone and I share some Christian thought or directions from God that I recall but when I am pressed for a Biblical reference I often fail to remember what it was and so I wondered if anyone can recommend any good site where I can look up scripture pertinent to what I am trying to explain?
A couple of examples:

1) I was talking to a new Christian and I told them that their life in Christ will get better and better as they grow in faith. However, I was unable to back up what I said with any scripture.

2) I was talking to a non-believer and mentioned that after being saved you don't HAVE TO stop sinning but you WILL WANT TO stop and live the righteous life Jesus would have you live. Again, I was unable to back up what I said with any scripture. Where would I even begin to look for something like that?

Hopefully, there is a site where I could enter a concept and find appropriate verses. Where would I even begin to look for something like that? I know there are many sites that will search the Bible for instances of a word... but not a concept as in the examples above.

The Open Bible has something like what you want. It is a good Bible with many helps well worth while.

 

[Mudinyeri]

Google usually works pretty well. So do most mobile Bible apps with a search function.

 

[dasadler]

Thank you all for your responses. Very helpful.

 

[football5680]

http://www.openbible.info/
This site has a topical Bible so you can look up a topic and then get all the verses that pertain to that. Also, if you know how a verse sounds, you can simply type that in to a search engine and it will bring you to a site that has the full verse.