How to Study the Bible
As a pastor, I am frequently asked how to study the Bible. We have all been told that we must study the Bible, however, nobody really talks about how to study it (at least, not in my experience). When you do find someone who wants to help, they are bound to start talking about dictionaries and concordances and commentaries. These are all helpful tools, but they are just that: tools. We would never hand over tools to an aspiring scientist without teaching them a method by which they may use the tools to do their research. Similarly, we need a method for Bible study in which the tools will become useful. My father gave me a hammer and nails when I was a child, and I enjoyed pounding some nails into a piece of wood. But I didn’t have the instruction in using that hammer and nails to actually put something together. Likewise, we might enjoy looking up words in a concordance, but that is not in itself Bible study.
So let me first give two general pieces of advice to get the Bible study started, then we will hone in on these (especially the second) in later articles.
First, just open your Bible and read it. Don’t worry about commentaries or dictionaries or anything else. Just read. Try not to zone out. Stay focused. Pause every so often to digest what you have read. Repeat what you have read in prayer to God. Then keep reading. You can follow a reading plan such as a one-year reading plan (search for Bible reading plans on your favorite search engine for dozens of options). You can also set aside a few minutes everyday to read chapter by chapter through the Bible. It takes approximately seventy hours to read through the Bible at a normal speaking speed, so just fifteen minutes of daily reading will see you through the Bible at least once a year (with a few days off). The point is to know the Bible on a macro-level. Know the storyline, people, and events. Know how the story unfolds and progresses. Don’t be frustrated when you don’t understand everything the first time through. You won’t. Just keep reading. This in itself will yield immense benefits!
Second, study one section each week. Hone in on a verse or paragraph and study the text on the micro-level. You don’t need to spend hours at a time. Sneak in a couple of minutes here and there. Try to memorize the text. Familiarize yourself with what that text is teaching. I will write more about this in upcoming articles, but, for now, suffice it to say that we want to spend a lot of time in one section of the text. If your pastor preaches expositionally (biblically), then you might study the passage during the week before he preaches it. You can then compare what you thought was the main point to what he preached. You can see how he used word studies and cross-references to bring out the nuances. Additionally, you can use the videos on the “Let Us Consider” YouTube channel to help your study. For now, my point is that you need to study the text with a fine-toothed comb. This too will be of immeasurable profit to you in your walk before the Lord.
We can wrap up this article by asking, “What then is the point of all of this?” Our purpose will inform our method. Why should you devote hours upon hours every year to the study of the Bible? It is simple. We study, so that we will grow in our knowledge about God, be instructed in His will, and live according to God’s will. Our worldview must be conformed to God’s so that we will live according to His instruction.
Please check out the next article which will delve more into how to study a specific passage. Let me know your thoughts and comments! My passion is to see people grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through the study of the Scriptures.
So let me first give two general pieces of advice to get the Bible study started, then we will hone in on these (especially the second) in later articles.
First, just open your Bible and read it. Don’t worry about commentaries or dictionaries or anything else. Just read. Try not to zone out. Stay focused. Pause every so often to digest what you have read. Repeat what you have read in prayer to God. Then keep reading. You can follow a reading plan such as a one-year reading plan (search for Bible reading plans on your favorite search engine for dozens of options). You can also set aside a few minutes everyday to read chapter by chapter through the Bible. It takes approximately seventy hours to read through the Bible at a normal speaking speed, so just fifteen minutes of daily reading will see you through the Bible at least once a year (with a few days off). The point is to know the Bible on a macro-level. Know the storyline, people, and events. Know how the story unfolds and progresses. Don’t be frustrated when you don’t understand everything the first time through. You won’t. Just keep reading. This in itself will yield immense benefits!
Second, study one section each week. Hone in on a verse or paragraph and study the text on the micro-level. You don’t need to spend hours at a time. Sneak in a couple of minutes here and there. Try to memorize the text. Familiarize yourself with what that text is teaching. I will write more about this in upcoming articles, but, for now, suffice it to say that we want to spend a lot of time in one section of the text. If your pastor preaches expositionally (biblically), then you might study the passage during the week before he preaches it. You can then compare what you thought was the main point to what he preached. You can see how he used word studies and cross-references to bring out the nuances. Additionally, you can use the videos on the “Let Us Consider” YouTube channel to help your study. For now, my point is that you need to study the text with a fine-toothed comb. This too will be of immeasurable profit to you in your walk before the Lord.
We can wrap up this article by asking, “What then is the point of all of this?” Our purpose will inform our method. Why should you devote hours upon hours every year to the study of the Bible? It is simple. We study, so that we will grow in our knowledge about God, be instructed in His will, and live according to God’s will. Our worldview must be conformed to God’s so that we will live according to His instruction.
Please check out the next article which will delve more into how to study a specific passage. Let me know your thoughts and comments! My passion is to see people grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through the study of the Scriptures.
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