How To Study the Bible in 3 Not So Easy Steps
We live in a world that wants everything to happen at superspeed. Fast food. Instant downloads. Same-day shipping. Give it to us fast and easy, or don’t give it to us at all. Please hear me out: this is killing our faith. This isn’t how to study the Bible, and I’ll prove it to you in less than 10 minutes.
A Blessing and A Curse
Society moves at breakneck speed. It’s almost impossible to keep up. It seems the more we try to simplify things to give us time, the less time we have. One area where I’ve experienced this is in the way we handle studying the Bible. We have more resources available to us than ever before. We carry an infinite number of translations and study tools around with us on our smartphones. There are thousands of Bible reading plans in the YouVersion app, alone. But we still don’t know the Bible.
Here are a couple of examples:
One of the most famous verses in the Bible is Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” We plaster than on mugs, book marks, and social media feeds all the time. We quote it as a mantra telling us that Christ can help us get anything in life we want. But that verse is about the exact opposite meaning. Paul is saying it in the context of suffering and struggle and NOT getting our way. The verse actually means that Christ gives us strength to endure great trials
Another verse is Jeremiah 29:11 – “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Here we go again with another soundbite verse we use to make us feel better. That’s not what this verse is about. It’s about the Jewish people being taken into captivity in Babylon. God is telling them that in spite of what it looks, their captivity is God’s plan for them, and that plan is good.
We don’t know the context of these verses, because no one has ever really taught us how to study the Bible. Why? Because it’s not easy. Paul told his disciple, Timothy: Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 NLT)
3 Tips for How To Study the Bible
If you really want to learn how to study the Bible, it starts with setting aside time. Lots of time. Not 5-10 minutes at the beginning or end of the day. While that’s better than nothing, it’s just barely that. You can’t learn what the Bible says in taking a quick glance at the YouVersion Verse of the Day and calling it good. Our Daily Bread is a good start, but it’s only a start. But here’s the good news: using the Verse of the Day or a devotional can be a REALLY good start. Here’s what I mean.
Tip #1: Set Aside Time
Every morning, the very first thing I do is open up the YouVersion app and see what the Verse of the Day is. While I’m getting dressed and making my coffee, I think about it. But I don’t memorize it or stare at my phone. I just think about what it says. Then, I pray about it. I ask the Holy Spirit to speak to me about it. When the coffee is brewed, I’m ready to get started. But I’m just getting started. I set aside at least 30 minutes for the next step.
It boggles the mind to thing that we essentially have the entire repository of humanity’s knowledge in our pockets, 24/7. If you want to know something, all you to do is use the “Google machine” or some other tool like it.
Tip #2: Take Advantage of the Tools
After sitting in my favorite chair and taking a sip of that glorious first sip of java, I highlight the verse I’ve been meditating on., and hit the “Compare” button that pops up. I read the verse in different translations. And here’s where it can get really fun. Some of these translations are really academic like the New English Translation (more about that shortly). Others are really unique like the Complete Jewish Bible. And there are paraphrases like the Amplified Bible. I look for words that are both similar, and different.
Then I usually turn to another resource called the Blue Letter Bible. It’s a free website and app that lets you look up those verses and words in them. It uses several different concordances. And it also lets you cross reference the word in the rest of the Bible. When you see these other verses and how the word is used, it helps you really get a sense of the full meaning of that word.
Finally, I sit there.
I pray about the verse again. I ask the Spirit to show me what He wants me to know. Most of the time, it takes a while. I don’t rush it. After all, I’m waiting for the God of Heaven and Earth to help me understand His word.
And all that is good, but without a familiarity of the whole Bible, it’s still going to be hard. That’s the third and final tip.
Tip #3: Find a Track to Run On
After that 30-45 minutes spent meditating on that one passage, I move to my daily Bible reading. This is where I follow a plan. Over the past decade, it’s changed up several times. For a while, I read through each of the Gospels once a month – one Gospel per week. Other times, it was the whole Bible chronologically. Sometimes it’s just the Torah – the first five books of the Bible. The most important thing about this last step is that you find a plan of some sort that is truly about reading longer sections of Scripture, daily.
Over the years, this has become my practice. It’s more than just one verse and done. And it’s more than reading through several chapters at a time. It’s about meditating on the Word, studying the Word, and reading the Word.
