Hello:
When the conversation comes up about Bible study, there is usually the same group of questions. The first being “How do you study the Bible”? Others are: Is there a right way to study? Where do I start? How long should I study? Should I get involved in a group study?
I have a few pieces of advice to those who would hear it. I have been some what of a maverick when it comes to this, but never the less, here goes.
Start with the New Testament. Yes, you heard me correctly. If you have been going to church for any length of time, especially if you have attended Sunday school, you are probably already well versed in the stories of the Old Testament. The problem is – while there is incredible merit in all Scriptures – Psalms, Proverbs, and other portions of the Old Testament seem to get all of the attention. The New Testament gives us context for the Old Testament, so we should start there. My recommendation would be to start with Galatians. We as Christians need to learn to live without the Law, and Galatians is the primer for this. I know some may argue with me, but once you get done with Galatians I am sure you will understand where I am coming from. Give it a shot, then give me some feedback.
Read the whole book. I mean to say, read the whole book in one sitting. After all, these are letters. You get a better feel for what the author is saying when you read it all at once. If you haven’t done this before, it can be quite refreshing. I mean, you wouldn’t read someone’s email to you a paragraph a day, would you? 🙂 I am not saying to read entire books in one sitting all the time. I mean that when you begin to study a new book, start off by reading the whole book in one sitting.
Slow down. After you have read the entire book, you are now ready to start looking at the pieces that make up the whole book. I know that your Bible comes with division markers already provided, but most of the New Testament books are letters. Chapter and verse markings were not part of the original writings. Instead we should be looking to natural breaks in the books, where the units of thoughts are divided. That would be paragraphs. I know, those weren’t in the original writings either, but these are what we use today. Have you ever heard a talk, or sermon, where you liked what you heard, but you couldn’t exactly recall what was said if you were asked about it later? In the same way, if you bite off more ideas than you can process in your study, then you may over look a point that is being made. You may also jump to some wrong conclusions.
Stay in the passage. I know cross references have a place, but it should be way down the list on studying the Bible. You will get all sorts of ideas that will remind you of all sorts of passages. Don’t go there. Write them down for later. The author is making a point. It is a great idea to let them make it. When you go else where before it is time, you run the risk of making your own point. Let the Word speak. Also, if you use a cross reference, it needs to be placed in its own context. In the end, by using cross references it equals more work, which may lead to results that lead away from the current author’s point and not to it. After studying enough books, themes will start to materialize, which will give you a bigger piece of the meta-narrative. Now you are understanding the author’s theology. This is the whole point of Bible study. Remember that the authors – and of course I ultimately mean God – have the answers, you don’t.
Link ideas. Now that you are slowing down, you want to make sure that you don’t go too slow so that you don’t link the thoughts together. At your next study, read the paragraph that you studied last time. See where the author is going. If you have to, read the whole book before you start. It really does help.
Ask questions. The two questions that I always ask are: What subject is the author talking about? What is the author saying about that subject? Now I can’t take credit for thinking this up. I learned this from my preaching professor, Dr. Rappazini, who in turn learned it himself. It is in fact how we were taught to find the main idea of a passage, so we could learn what to preach on. Some other questions to ask would be: Who is the author talking about? Does this still apply to Christians today? Is there something about life that I now need to rethink through?
Leave the Greek alone. Now, I don’t mean to offend here. I took three semesters of Greek at Moody Bible, and I learned so much more than just how to translate and gloss. After the first semester, you are basically feeling like you are walking on water. I mean, you are reading an ancient language. I felt like I could take on the commentators, and wondered why the translators of my Bible didn’t do a good enough job. Then second semester came. Along with the complexities of grammar, we learned that we don’t really know Greek. We learned that word for word glosses don’t always give the correct interpretation. There are clauses, much like our own slang today, that are also translated. So just glossing every word doesn’t always work. Dr. Armstrong, my Greek professor, used to tell us that going to the Greek is the same as watching a movie in color instead of in black and white. Everything is the same, except for the vividness that seeing in color conveys. Making too much of the Greek, can also take away from the authors point, and you run the danger of again making your own point. Disagree with me? Give me your feedback.
Use the proper study tools. When ever we run into a passage that we don’t understand, we often look at the study notes in our Bible, or maybe grab the first commentary that we can find. We have all done it. I mean all of us. But is it the right thing to do? Now that we are pretty far down this list, I would recommend when we run into a problem spot, simply start at the beginning of this list. See if the book can explain the passage first. If that doesn’t work, then I have another list of study helps and how to use them.
- If you run into words you don’t understand, use a dictionary. I wouldn’t go much further than the first definition though, otherwise you run the risk of making the passage say what you want it to say. Remember, the goal is to find an answer, not make one.
- If the dictionary doesn’t help, then I would go to the Greek. I know, I know. I said to leave the Greek alone, but I didn’t mean that entirely. Use the Strong’s Concordance to find the word, and then use a Greek Lexicon, or Vines Expository Dictionary to find out the gloss of the Greek word. Just remember what I said about Greek, and don’t go too far.
- Go to 3 different commentaries. I don’t mean for you to break your pocket book for this, but you can find some free ones online. Also, your church library should have some handy. Please remember one thing about commentaries. These are opinions. They may be well learned and experienced opinions, but they are still just opinions. Commentaries aren’t inspired, after all. That is why I say use a few of them. You would be surprised how often they may disagree.
- Ask someone who knows. I am sure we all have our favorite teachers. The benefit of asking your pastor or Bible teacher is that they either have read commentaries or have access to them. I will just throw this out there. I am always available to answer questions.
To group, or not to group. Group studies are good, but they are no replacement for your individual study. Group studies, aren’t really studies. They are discussions, and discussions are the best when everyone has individually studied the same passage. Most structured group studies require some homework. These are the best. I find that nothing beats people getting together and talking about what they are learning in the Word. Iron sharpens iron.
I hope this can be of service to you. I have a course that I have put together on how to study the Bible. If you have any feedback for me, and/or are interested in the Bible study course shoot me an email.
May the Lord’s peace be upon you,
Jason
No Barriers 