[1]I am often asked, “What is your method of Bible study?” This is an important question, especially due to the high rate of biblical illiteracy in the Church. If biblical illiteracy continues on its current trajectory, the Church will be filled with immature believers, and one of the pillars of Western Civilization will be toppled.
But first, what is the Bible? The Bible is God’s Word written. It is the actual Word of God: two testaments, 66 books in total, 39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament, written covering a period of 1,500 years, by multiple authors, yet with the same unified redemptive story. The Bible is the self-revelation of God in written form as righteous men wrote down what God wanted them to write about what they saw, knew, and experienced. All of this was moved along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:16-21). This divine concurrence between the Spirit of God and writing men produced a book that is Spirit-inspired and objectively true.
The Bible is inspired (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Bible is inerrant. The Bible is infallible in that it does not mislead. The Bible is clear (the perspicuity of the Bible) in that it can be understood with the aid of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the final and ultimate authority in that it is the objective authority in all maters to which it speaks, and it speaks about almost everything. The Bible is sufficient in that it is all we need for what to believe, how to live and how to organize our personal lives, the life of our family, the Church and even government. Now, how do you study such a book?
First, read your Bible. This is the information gathering part of Bible study. You cannot avoid this step. It is the “grunt work” of Bible study. Many want to pass over this aspect of Bible study. You can’t. No one can read the Bible for you. Why? Because it matters that you know that it was Noah on the ark and not Moses, that it was Zacchaeus up the tree and not Nicodemus. If you don’t have the right information, you cannot know your Bible. Read your Bible consistently and regularly. This takes years of practice. Start now.
Second, think about what you’ve read. This is called meditation (Psalm 1:1-2). Read a section of the Bible and then think all day about one or two verses from that section of Scripture. While you’re driving down the road, mowing the yard, working at home, take the text apart word by word, phrase by phrase. This is how you can love God with your mind (Matthew 22:37). Role the verse over and over in your mind. Ask the Spirit of God to reveal the gold that is in the gold mine of those verses. And just as Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:7, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” So, read and think.
Third, as you read and think over time, life transformation will began to take place. The Word that goes down deep (Hebrews 4:12) will produce spiritual fruit and maturity in the believer’s life. The Word and the Spirit will, over time, produce a believer a family, and a Church that is spiritually deep and settled in a world that is often shallow and disturbed.
Fourth, as we read, think and are transformed by the Word and Spirit, we begin to apply the truths of Scripture to every sphere of life. Application is essential. This is called Christian obedience. We must avoid being like those who “are always learning and never able to arrive at the knowledge of the truth” by seeking a life of obedience as we apply God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:1-9).
Fifth, as we read, think, and are transformed by God’s Word, applying it to every sphere of life, we will begin to connect the dots in the Word of God. This aspect of Bible study occurs when we begin to see how one part of the Bible is connected with other parts of the Bible. For example, we see how John 3:14-16 is related to Numbers 14 in the lifting up of Jesus in His atoning crucifixion and subsequent resurrection for our salvation.
This takes time. But as the dots are connected we will begin to see that the Bible is not made up of 66 different, unrelated books, but is defined by the over-arching, unified story of the redeeming purposes of God in saving a people for His glory through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit for a witness to all the nations – and then the end will come.
Finally, as we read, think, change, apply and connect God’s Word with itself and to every sphere of life we will begin to think in biblical categories. The ultimate goal of Bible study is the transformation of the believer’s mind and life so that we cannot help but think in biblical terms about every sphere of life. In doing so we will go deeper into the Word of God and draw closer to the God of the Word.