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This is the fourth and final in a series of posts on how to study your Bible.
The Bible is an awe-inspiring book. However, we don't want merely to admire it; we need to understand it. Most people don't understand what it says, that includes Christians. Understanding the Bible is crucial because the Bible is the Word of God, so we need to know how to study the Bible. That encompasses four things: reading it, interpreting it, meditating on it, and teaching it.
When we study the Bible we need to approach it with purpose, expecting it to let us know more about God and His plan for us. We need to approach our personal study of the Bible prayerfully.
Psalm 119:33 (NLT)33 Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end.
And to do so expectantly means we believe that the Lord is going to speak specifically to us
Psalm 25:4 (NLT) Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow.
Sermons, Sunday school lessons, and quiet times on our own are all things to be anticipated. God uses these to build us up, strengthen us, or offer us comfort—He certainly makes listening to Him worthwhile. And obedience is the only proper response to this kind of personal attention.
Approaching the reading of Scripture prayerfully prepares our hearts to listen well and ushers in an attitude of purpose and expectancy.
If you want to experience God working in your life, come to Scripture with a prayerful, expectant, purpose-filled attitude. The mourner will be comforted. The weary will gain strength. Those convicted of their sin will repent and know peace. All will sense joy. Recognize what a gift God’s Word is to you.
When we study the Bible we need to approach it with purpose, expecting it to let us know more about God and His plan for us. We need to approach our personal study of the Bible prayerfully.
The Bible is an awe-inspiring book. However, we don't want merely to admire it; we need to understand it. Most people don't understand what it says, that includes Christians. Understanding the Bible is crucial because the Bible is the Word of God, so we need to know how to study the Bible. That encompasses four things: reading it, interpreting it, meditating on it, and teaching it.
When we study the Bible we need to approach it with purpose, expecting it to let us know more about God and His plan for us. We need to approach our personal study of the Bible prayerfully.
Psalm 119:33 (NLT)33 Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end.
And to do so expectantly means we believe that the Lord is going to speak specifically to us
Psalm 25:4 (NLT) Show me the right path, O LORD; point out the road for me to follow.
Sermons, Sunday school lessons, and quiet times on our own are all things to be anticipated. God uses these to build us up, strengthen us, or offer us comfort—He certainly makes listening to Him worthwhile. And obedience is the only proper response to this kind of personal attention.
Approaching the reading of Scripture prayerfully prepares our hearts to listen well and ushers in an attitude of purpose and expectancy.
If you want to experience God working in your life, come to Scripture with a prayerful, expectant, purpose-filled attitude. The mourner will be comforted. The weary will gain strength. Those convicted of their sin will repent and know peace. All will sense joy. Recognize what a gift God’s Word is to you.
When we study the Bible we need to approach it with purpose, expecting it to let us know more about God and His plan for us. We need to approach our personal study of the Bible prayerfully.
The Best Way to Study the Bible: ”Prepare the Way”
By Tamra Hernandez
As in cake-baking, 5K-running, baby-birthing, and home-building, so in Bible-studying – preparation is indispensable. Study methods abound, but using any of them effectively requires preparation. Instead of hunting for ”the best” procedure, let the following thoughts guide your preparation for studying the Bible and remember it through the acronym, B.E.S.T:
B-Before, E-Expect, S-Seek, Search, Savor and T-Take Time.
Taking a closer look at each:
B – BEFORE
Before studying the Bible, answer the following the questions. Each answer has direct impact on the outcomes of your study.
– Why study? Studying the Bible involves nothing less than reading the Bible, but it requires more effort and commitment than reading alone. If you know why you are doing something, you are more likely to persist in that activity when obstacles come, when you encounter opposition, when the task becomes difficult, and when you just don’t feel like doing it.
– Which Bible? You will need some study tools (e.g., maps and timelines) along the way, but first, decide what will be your primary study tool-the translation and format of the Bible around which your study will center.
– To whom will you be accountable? Or, with whom will you study? Personal or individual study may be an important aspect of your Bible-studying efforts, but even the most independently competent Bible student is both dependent on and responsible to the Holy Spirit and the body of Christ.
E – EXPECT
The Bible is a book unlike every other (Hebrews 4:12-13). It is not designed to function as a textbook or a novel, for example. Whenever you read, but especially when you study the Bible . . – Expect its primary Author to speak to you, to reveal something about Himself. The Holy Spirit uses His Word to bring people into right relationship with the Father and to nurture those who belong to ”God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19).
– Expect not only to learn ”about . . .” or to learn ”that . . .” or even to learn ”how . . .”-that is, to add to your mental knowledge bank or skill set-but also ”to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).
– Expect the living Author of the Bible to convict of sin (John 16:8), to transform and renew your mind (Romans 12:2), and to call you to obey Him (John 15:10).
S – SEEK, SEARCH, SAVOR
The active, passionate pursuit of knowing, fellowshipping with, and obeying the Lord is the opposite of the passive, apathetic response of some who ”sit [in the pew], soak [in God’s Word], and sour [do nothing to apply it].” Prepare your heart to . . .
– Seek the Lord Himself, to meet with Him in His Word and be taught by Him (Isaiah 55:6).
– Search for and confess any sinful attitudes, motivations, or areas of disobedience. These can make your study of God’s Word ineffective.
– Savor God’s Word. To ”savor” or thoroughly enjoy the taste of something delicious is to hold it in your mouth for a while instead of simply chewing and swallowing (Psalm 119:103). Memorizing at least a portion of what you are studying will facilitate meditating on it-thinking about it outside of your study time.
T – TAKE TIME
Studying the Bible takes time. Spending some time in preparation for Bible study can maximize and protect the time you will be setting aside for study. As a disciple-a learner or student-preparing to meet with Christ your Teacher in the school of His Word, recall John the Baptist’s cry: ”Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him” (Matthew 3:3).
By Tamra Hernandez
As in cake-baking, 5K-running, baby-birthing, and home-building, so in Bible-studying – preparation is indispensable. Study methods abound, but using any of them effectively requires preparation. Instead of hunting for ”the best” procedure, let the following thoughts guide your preparation for studying the Bible and remember it through the acronym, B.E.S.T:
B-Before, E-Expect, S-Seek, Search, Savor and T-Take Time.
Taking a closer look at each:
B – BEFORE
Before studying the Bible, answer the following the questions. Each answer has direct impact on the outcomes of your study.
– Why study? Studying the Bible involves nothing less than reading the Bible, but it requires more effort and commitment than reading alone. If you know why you are doing something, you are more likely to persist in that activity when obstacles come, when you encounter opposition, when the task becomes difficult, and when you just don’t feel like doing it.
– Which Bible? You will need some study tools (e.g., maps and timelines) along the way, but first, decide what will be your primary study tool-the translation and format of the Bible around which your study will center.
– To whom will you be accountable? Or, with whom will you study? Personal or individual study may be an important aspect of your Bible-studying efforts, but even the most independently competent Bible student is both dependent on and responsible to the Holy Spirit and the body of Christ.
E – EXPECT
The Bible is a book unlike every other (Hebrews 4:12-13). It is not designed to function as a textbook or a novel, for example. Whenever you read, but especially when you study the Bible . . – Expect its primary Author to speak to you, to reveal something about Himself. The Holy Spirit uses His Word to bring people into right relationship with the Father and to nurture those who belong to ”God’s household” (Ephesians 2:19).
– Expect not only to learn ”about . . .” or to learn ”that . . .” or even to learn ”how . . .”-that is, to add to your mental knowledge bank or skill set-but also ”to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).
– Expect the living Author of the Bible to convict of sin (John 16:8), to transform and renew your mind (Romans 12:2), and to call you to obey Him (John 15:10).
S – SEEK, SEARCH, SAVOR
The active, passionate pursuit of knowing, fellowshipping with, and obeying the Lord is the opposite of the passive, apathetic response of some who ”sit [in the pew], soak [in God’s Word], and sour [do nothing to apply it].” Prepare your heart to . . .
– Seek the Lord Himself, to meet with Him in His Word and be taught by Him (Isaiah 55:6).
– Search for and confess any sinful attitudes, motivations, or areas of disobedience. These can make your study of God’s Word ineffective.
– Savor God’s Word. To ”savor” or thoroughly enjoy the taste of something delicious is to hold it in your mouth for a while instead of simply chewing and swallowing (Psalm 119:103). Memorizing at least a portion of what you are studying will facilitate meditating on it-thinking about it outside of your study time.
T – TAKE TIME
Studying the Bible takes time. Spending some time in preparation for Bible study can maximize and protect the time you will be setting aside for study. As a disciple-a learner or student-preparing to meet with Christ your Teacher in the school of His Word, recall John the Baptist’s cry: ”Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him” (Matthew 3:3).
Our Greatest Obstacle to Reading the Bible
Cory Mansfield
Have you ever seen a linebacker break through the offensive line, untouched, and lay out an opposing quarterback? That’s kind of how I felt when I read this portion of John Piper’s new book, Reading the Bible Supernaturally. The point is simple, but it hit me like a linebacker tackling me in a full-on sprint. Read this excerpt and then let’s ask God to reveal anything that could hinder us from reading, from truly reading His Word for His glory.
The Greatest Obstacle: Sinful Hearts
Those who love the darkness and hate the light may give their whole life to reading the Scriptures and yet never truly read them—never read them the way Jesus expects them to be read. You may read them day and night, yet hear Jesus say at every point, “Have you never read?” Or worse: “[God’s] voice you have never heard” (John 5:37).
The greatest obstacles to reading the Scriptures are not intellectual. They are not lack of skill. Rigorous thinking and literary skills matter. But nothing creates as great a barrier to seeing what is really there in Scripture as a heart that loves other things more than God. This, as we have seen in the case of the Pharisees, will nullify the greatest attention to Scripture. God’s aim for us as we read the Scriptures is, above all, that we see and savor the glory of God as more desirable than anything. That aim will abort as long as our hearts are enslaved to the adulterous love of our own glory or money or any created thing.
Therefore, if we are going to succeed in reading, as God intends for us to read, it will have to be a supernatural act. God will have to take out the heart of stone, with its hardness and resistance to his glory, and put in a heart of flesh, with its living sensitivity to God’s worth and beauty (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26). What will this supernatural reading be like?
You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. . . . Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation. - 1 PETER 1:23; 2:2
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth. . . . Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meek- ness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. - JAMES 1:18, 21
Editor's Note: Content taken from Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture by John Piper, ©2017. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.org.
Conclusion
Now that we've learned some practical steps to reading, interpreting, and meditating on Scripture, be careful that you don't start to think that you know it all.
Deuteronomy 29:29 (NKJV) The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
We can only scratch the surface of the infinite mind of God, but even that is a worthy pursuit because He has given us His Word so we might know Him. Our purpose in learning the Word of God is not to have knowledge for its own sake. Our purpose is to know God, and to know God is to learn humility.
1 Corinthians 8:1 (NKJV) Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. (Bold mine).
Cory Mansfield
Have you ever seen a linebacker break through the offensive line, untouched, and lay out an opposing quarterback? That’s kind of how I felt when I read this portion of John Piper’s new book, Reading the Bible Supernaturally. The point is simple, but it hit me like a linebacker tackling me in a full-on sprint. Read this excerpt and then let’s ask God to reveal anything that could hinder us from reading, from truly reading His Word for His glory.
The Greatest Obstacle: Sinful Hearts
Those who love the darkness and hate the light may give their whole life to reading the Scriptures and yet never truly read them—never read them the way Jesus expects them to be read. You may read them day and night, yet hear Jesus say at every point, “Have you never read?” Or worse: “[God’s] voice you have never heard” (John 5:37).
The greatest obstacles to reading the Scriptures are not intellectual. They are not lack of skill. Rigorous thinking and literary skills matter. But nothing creates as great a barrier to seeing what is really there in Scripture as a heart that loves other things more than God. This, as we have seen in the case of the Pharisees, will nullify the greatest attention to Scripture. God’s aim for us as we read the Scriptures is, above all, that we see and savor the glory of God as more desirable than anything. That aim will abort as long as our hearts are enslaved to the adulterous love of our own glory or money or any created thing.
Therefore, if we are going to succeed in reading, as God intends for us to read, it will have to be a supernatural act. God will have to take out the heart of stone, with its hardness and resistance to his glory, and put in a heart of flesh, with its living sensitivity to God’s worth and beauty (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26). What will this supernatural reading be like?
You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. . . . Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation. - 1 PETER 1:23; 2:2
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth. . . . Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meek- ness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. - JAMES 1:18, 21
Editor's Note: Content taken from Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture by John Piper, ©2017. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.org.
Conclusion
Now that we've learned some practical steps to reading, interpreting, and meditating on Scripture, be careful that you don't start to think that you know it all.
Deuteronomy 29:29 (NKJV) The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
We can only scratch the surface of the infinite mind of God, but even that is a worthy pursuit because He has given us His Word so we might know Him. Our purpose in learning the Word of God is not to have knowledge for its own sake. Our purpose is to know God, and to know God is to learn humility.
1 Corinthians 8:1 (NKJV) Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. (Bold mine).
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