In his book The Word Explored, author David Jenkins writes, “Many Christians believe that they need to read the Bible but do not properly understand how to approach the Word or what its purpose is in their life.” He cites statistics from LifeWay Research, which are not surprising. LifeWay reports these Bible reading habits among church attendees:
- 19%- Everyday
- 26%- A few times a week
- 14%- Once a week
- 22%- At least once a month
- 18%- Rarely or never
Are you surprised by these numbers? Where do you find yourself on this list? Why aren’t more Christians reading their Bibles? The answers may vary, but let’s consider one reason in particular: they don’t know how.
Recently, I began a new series in our Sunday evening service titled How to Study the Bible, and I started with a question: how many of you had someone teach you how to read your Bible? Crickets. Unfortunately, I wasn’t surprised. Apart from college, I never had a pastor, Sunday School teacher, deacon, or anyone else in the church sit me down and teach me to read the Bible.
When I studied my Bible, I was flying blind, so to speak. I didn’t know about genres, context, interpretation, or other principles. Maybe your experience is similar. Perhaps it’s not. If you’ve had someone walk beside you to teach you how to study the Bible, thank the Lord. So, how do you study the Bible? I want to offer four ways to improve your Bible study.
Prayerfully
This may seem like a church-y answer, but I stand by it. We should begin our Bible study in prayer.
We need help in our Bible study. More specifically, we need the Holy Spirit’s help in Bible study. Jesus told his disciples in John 16 that the Holy Spirit would “glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (16:14).” The Holy Spirit points us to Christ. He testifies to biblical truth. The Holy Spirit ministers to us by opening our eyes to the truth about Jesus and the truth of God’s Word. He [the Holy Spirit] helps us to hear, receive, and properly understand the message of God’s Word.
Hear these words from the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church. He writes,
These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual (2 Cor. 2:10-13).
Charles Spurgeon once said, “Texts will often refuse to reveal their treasures till you open them with the key of prayer.” We should begin our Bible study with prayer. Well, what should we pray?
We should pray for eyes to see. The psalmist writes, “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law (Ps. 119:18).” We should pray for the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to behold the beauty and wonder of God’s Word.
Second, we should pray for focus. The psalmist writes, “Unite my heart to fear your name (Ps. 86:11).” Matt Smethurst writes in Before You Open Your Bible: Nine Heart Postures for Approaching God’s Word, “perhaps you recognize this scenario: Okay, Romans chapter 2. Let’s do this! Where did I leave off? Okay, this part looks familiar. Man, I love the apostle Paul…I am so hungry. Is my lunch meeting tomorrow at 11:30 or 12:30? Let me check…”
I’m sure we can relate to the scenario mentioned above. We are distracted. We need help to be focused while studying the Bible. Satan loves to distract us while we’re seeking communion with the Lord. God, give us hearts that are united to you!
We could pray many other prayers (for humility, obedience, joy, expectancy, etc.), but we need to move on.
Contextually
The Bible wasn’t written in 2023. Shocker! Right? It’s true. The Bible is a historical book written by specific people to a specific audience at a particular time for a specific purpose (try saying that five times fast!).
It’s often said that one of the most essential principles in real estate is location, location, and location. For Bible interpretation, it’s context, context, and context. We need to read the Bible contextually. When studying a passage of Scripture, we should do everything we can to understand the historical and literary context of that book/passage of Scripture.
What is the historical context? It’s the author, recipients, date, location, and circumstances. Are there places mentioned? What are they? Why are they added? A helpful tip is to consider the five W’s: Who, what, when, where, and why?
Literary context is different. When looking for the literary context, we’re looking at genre, grammar, and passages before/after the one we’re reading. You could also study the canonical context. By that, I mean how this passage fits within the context of that particular book and the Old/New Testaments as a whole. You might also consider noting the covenantal context. Is there a covenant that the people are under at that time?
Now, I know what you might be thinking: how do I figure all of this out? Good question. I would encourage you to invest in a solid study Bible like the ESV Study Bible (Or the KJV Study Bible from Reformation Heritage Books). You can also purchase Old/New Testament introductions or the Bible Handbook from The Daily Grace Co. I’ll link to these at the bottom.
Christologically
All of Scripture points to Jesus. He is the centerpiece of the Bible. So, when studying the Bible, it’s worth asking how this points to the gospel. Or, how does this look back upon the Gospel? You might also ask, how is Jesus foreshadowed or typed? Does this passage speak to the person and work of Jesus?
These are good questions to consider when studying the Scriptures. Smethhurst says, “The Bible has one ultimate plan, one ultimate plot, one ultimate champion, one ultimate King. This is what “Christocentrically” means—centered on Christ.” Alistair Begg once said, “We find Christ in all the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, He is predicted; in the Gospels, He is revealed; in Acts, He is preached; in the epistles, He is explained; and in Revelation, He is expected.” From beginning to end, the Bible is a story about Christ. We should read it Christologically.
Experientially
I hesitate to use the word experientially because I don’t mean to convey a sort of mystical approach to the Bible. However, we are called to “live out” the truths of Scripture. But let me say this before going any further, applying the Scriptures to our lives should be the last step in our Bible study process. We don’t start here; we end here. Why? Because if we begin with personal application, we’ll be in danger of missing the context and focus on Christ. We don’t start with personal application but end with personal application.
We are called to be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22). We should seek to apply the Scripture to our lives. How can we apply it? Ask questions. Here are some questions that are useful for application:
- What does this passage tell us about human nature and our world?
- Is there a sin highlighted or condemned?
- Does this passage demonstrate my need for a Savior? If so, how?
- What does this passage mean for the Christian? Non-Christian?
- How does this passage call me to repentance?
- How does this passage warn or rebuke?
- Does this speak to men? Women? Family?
- What does this mean for me as an employer or employee?
- What does this mean for the life of my local church?
- What does this say about my life in the public square?
These questions are not exhaustive, but they give a good foundation.
There’s more that can be said about Bible study, and if you’re interested in learning more, feel free to contact us through email at thereformedlife1689@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Josh Chambers
Recommended Resources:
https://www.crossway.org/bibles/esv-study-bible-case/
https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/kjv-study-bible-black-faux-leather-w-thumb-index.html
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