How to study the Bible
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The Bible edit (Category edit) .
Pastor Doug Batchelor wrote an excellent guide for how to study the Bible called "Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2", which I will quote from extensively here because it is so good (I hope he doesn't mind)!
See also: Can we really hope to understand the Bible?; Why study the Bible?
[edit] 1. We need to make a commitment to regular Bible study
"The Word of God needs to be part of our lives. Sabbath morning study time is fine, but we need to spend more time with the Bible than once every seventh day. This will never happen, however, unless you make the decision to reserve regular time with the Lord in study and prayer." (Source: Doug Batchelor: Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2)
[edit] 2. Start with prayer
Source: Doug Batchelor: Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2:
- First of all, before you read the Scriptures, you should pray. A sincere prayer before you read is worth more than a long meandering prayer. The Bible is a divine book requiring divine guidance to understand it. The Lord says, “The word is Spirit and life.” God’s Spirit inspired the writing; God’s Spirit needs to inspire the reading. We’re told that spiritual things are spiritually discerned. That might seem like common sense, but most people try to read the Bible with their own feelings as the interpreter. They want the Bible to tell them what they want to hear; they want it to say what they want it to say. That won’t work—imposing ourselves on what we read rather than allowing God’s Spirit to impose on us what we need to understand. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
- James 1:5 explains, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” We can expect God to give us wisdom while we’re reading, especially when we with an earnest heart ask for His help. If you want to understand a book, who better to ask than the author? Sometimes you might read a passage in a book and ask yourself, “What did the writer mean by that?” Unfortunately, you can’t call most authors to ask what they meant. But you can ask God. He can grant you perfect understanding because He wrote it.
[edit] 3. Read it again and again
Source: Doug Batchelor: Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2:
- John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, said, “Read the Bible and read it again. Do not despair of help to understand something of the will and the mind of God as if they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble yourself though you may not have commentaries and expositions. Pray and read and read and pray for a little from God is better than a great deal from man.”
- Bunyan wrote one of the best-selling books of all time, but he was technically an uneducated man in the sense that he didn’t have a lot of formal training. He didn’t have a Ph.D. But he became a brilliant man through the devoted reading of Scripture. He read passages over and over again until they finally made sense. That’s exactly what happened with me [Doug Batchelor].
- When a solider in some distant land gets a love letter from his girlfriend or wife, does he read it only once? I don’t think so. No, he pulls out that piece of paper and reads it over and over again. He might even smell it and figuratively wrap himself up in her words of love and encouragement. He will search every word, every nuance, reading between the lines just to understand what his wife or girlfriend was truly saying. The Bible is a love letter from God to us; should we treat it with less interest?
You will continue to find new insights, even after you've been reading it for many years!
Source: Doug Batchelor: Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2:
- God was able to speak to me through His Word, even though I didn’t get everything straight the first time. Eventually, it became clear. And today, even after many years of studying, I am still blessed with new light when I read my Bible.
[edit] 4. Have a willing heart
Source: Doug Batchelor: Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2:
- Jesus said in John 7:17, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” One of the biggest keys to understanding God’s message is having a willingness in your heart to accept and act on what you read. It is so important to ask, “Lord, help me apply the things I have read in your Word to my life.”
- Approaching God with a cynical curiosity will most likely lead to confusion and frustration. I have a theory that there are some things God does not allow us to understand because we are responsible for what we understand. Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). If we aren’t walking in the light He has already shone on our path, why should He give us more? It would just make us more culpable in the judgment.
- Sometimes it can be hard to have that willingness to do what the Bible says, so you might even need to pray for God to make you willing. If nothing else, pray that He will make you willing to be made willing. Our carnal natures are in rebellion against God. Our sinful natures make us want to do sinful things, and we might not be that eager to surrender to what the Word of God tells us.
- [...]
- You must approach the Word of God with a heart willing to obey its precepts. That will get you on the right road, as it put me on the right road. “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). The biggest battle in comprehension we all face is a willing heart. Get your heart right with God, and your mind will follow.
[edit] Let the Bible interpret itself
[edit] Understand the context
[edit] Avoid private interpretations
Source: Doug Batchelor: Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2:
- “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:20, 21). Sometimes, we’ll hear someone say something like, “This is what I think this verse means,” or even, “I feel in my heart it could mean this because of a dream I had last night” or some other warm fuzzy feeling. Be very careful when you hear these kinds of subjective statements. It’s often an indication of people not letting the Bible speak for itself.
- Additionally, people who don’t study with others often develop eccentric beliefs. Of course, God can speak to you alone through His Word, but almost without exception people who don’t fellowship with other believers and don’t bounce their interpretations off stable Christians can come up with some very bizarre ideas. They become a law unto themselves, forgetting that in the multitude of counsel there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).
- In Acts 20:30, Paul warns, “And of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things,” meaning warped teachings, “to draw away disciples after them.” Sometimes these independent teachers want simply to be unique to gather a following around them, so they come up with an exotic doctrine and say they have a revelation from God that no one else has. But please remember, in Acts 17:10, 11, we’re told about the people of Berea: “And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” If you do that, diligently studying the Word of God with other Bible-based followers of Jesus, you will be safe.
[edit] Mature in your faith
Source: Doug Batchelor: Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2:
- The milk of the Word is certainly okay for starters. Peter tells us that “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). It’s clear that God can work with you wherever you are, but growing saints must graduate from milk to meat. That’s why we need to dig deeper for solid food. How long have you been receiving milk? When are you going to get ready for the real meat of the Word?
- “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able” (1 Corinthians 3:1, 2). Stop delaying and get studying; there’s a lot of nourishing meat in God’s Word just waiting to be assimilated.
[edit] Put it in your heart
And by that I mean:
- Internalize scripture; apply what the Bible teaches to your own life
- Memorize Scripture
Source: Doug Batchelor: Discovering the Word: The Ultimate Resource, Part 2:
- As we enter the last days, it will not be enough to have our Bibles in our pockets or in our backpacks—we must have the contents lodged in our hearts. Remember, we can keep from sinning when we have His Word written in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). There might be a day coming when your Bibles will be taken away and all you’re going to have is what you’ve stored in your heart. You might be brought before judges to defend your faith. They probably won’t hand you a Bible, yet we’re going to need to know how to give an answer for what we believe. When the devil tempted Christ, Jesus didn’t have a backpack full of scrolls. He had the Word of God in His heart, and the Holy Spirit brought remembrance to Him. He said, “It is written,” and we will be able to say the same as long as we are willing to open up the Word now and dive right in.
- That’s what’s I believe God wants for His people today. He wants them to be able to stand before anyone, anywhere, and, as Peter said, “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).
- And those answers are found in just one place, the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God ... the Bible. So take it with your hands, read with your eyes, and store it in your heart—starting today.
[edit] Different approaches/orders to read the Bible
[edit] Chronologically
Why teach the Bible chronologically? What resources do you recommend? (http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/chronological-teaching.html).
Jesus Christ did it almost 2000 years ago as he walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27). [...]
While it’s certainly not a new concept, Christians all over the world are realizing how effective a chronological teaching of the Bible can be. A great new book now available entitled The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, from GoodSeed International (former New Tribes missionary workers), brings this exciting method into an illustrated and simplified presentation anyone can use. You don’t have to be a gifted orator to sit down with a neighbor and read through a book together, and that’s the beauty of this resource.
Unfortunately, most people only hear bits and pieces of the Bible, and never really understand how it all goes together. No wonder so many are confused about what the Bible and the Gospel is about and what it all means. They have simply never had the whole story clearly explained from the beginning, in correct order.
...
Evangelists who show the Jesus film have found greater success when they first show the God’s Story video. Why does this work so much better? The apostles Peter and Paul understood this long ago. It is much like the difference in the Bible between evangelizing the Jews and the “Greeks” (the non-Jews). When the apostles shared the Gospel with Jews, they could start with a presentation of the evidence for Jesus being the Messiah. But the story of Christ sounded like foolishness to the “Greeks.” Why? They lacked a foundational understanding of who God is, where the world came from, sin, death, and God’s plan. That is why in Rome, at Mars Hill, Paul started at the beginning when he shared the Gospel.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Should we use a commentary?
I'm hesitant to use a commentary because:
- It might distract me from the important truth that the verse contains by pointing out nit-picky stuff or trivia that doesn't matter
- It might be wrong. And I know that I might believe what it says just because it sounds convincing and is written authoritatively.
On the other hand, they can help you enormously by shedding light on difficult or confusing passages or answering questions you may have about a passage.
They may be written by experts who know the historical context, who know the original texts and have compared translations, who, in short know things that you don't. It might be worthwhile to hear what they have to say.
[edit] How deeply should we study the Bible?
Some people go to seminary and study the finer points of theology and the Bible. This seems excessive, at least for most people.
How much do we really need to know about the Bible? How much should we want to know?
Examples:
- Do we need to know that Isaiah 66 contains a Gentile prophecy that can only be fulfilled spiritually?
- ...
Aliases: Bible study
