What is True Bible Study?

If you ask many Christians today, what do you wish you could do better? Be better at? Understand more?... The answers will be numerous. Christians, just like all others, experience struggles. Over the following blogs, we will attempt to shed light on several things Christians often struggle with to strengthen these areas of a believer’s walk. Today as we look at Bible study, we have to first ask what studying the Bible is. We often hear that it only takes a few moments a day to be able to read through the entire Bible in a year – but is this proper Bible study? The short answer is no. If Christians wish to enhance their relationship with God through the Bible, they must go beyond giving just a few spare moments to being in the Word. To reference a familiar passage, we must study in order to show ourselves approved, a workman that needeth not be ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15). What does it mean to study God’s word? If you think back to when you were in school, you would say that you mainly focused on your studies. This meant learning what the teacher was talking about, looking at how to understand the principle, and then applying it throughout your life. As an example, consider multiplication tables in elementary school. Many third graders will remember this as an integral part of their schooling and how much time they worked on memorizing these facts. As you went through your academic career, you discovered that you could use multiplication facts to find things like the area of a square. But, then you found out as an adult that when you find the area of a square, you can know exactly how much carpet you need for a room in your house. Because you learned how to multiply early on, you were ready to accomplish more complicated things later. The same thing could be said about Scripture. When you start with the basics, learn the principles, and repeat them multiple times, you understand how to implement them. Then you can appreciate more complex situations and apply the principles to something you would not expect.

Reading to Comprehend

So what is “accurate” Bible study? It begins with understanding the essential parts of the Bible. To gain this understanding, you have to actually read the Bible, pay attention to the words being read, look into their meaning, and then apply them to your journey in life. To give an elementary example, let’s look at the most quoted verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the World, that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.” Many of you know this is John 3:16, the very foundation of what the Christian life is all about. Why do we take this core verse as truth without much second thought?

Let’s break apart the verse, and then we will begin to show the application aspect of Bible study. The first thing this verse highlights is that God loved the world. We know that God loves everyone on this planet, including you and including me. Just as the Easter season commemorates, we know that God sent His Son to live on the Earth, that His name was Jesus, and that He later died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for the sins that we have committed. We also know from our investigation that we all make mistakes and must pay for the sins that we commit. This scripture shows us that believing in Him can look like trusting that the sacrifice on the cross did pay for our sin debt and hoping to be with Christ for all eternity. Based on this small aspect of picking apart words during Bible study, we can formulate concepts that are foundational to our Christian life.

Bible study is more than just reading; it is looking to understand what the words of the Bible truly mean and looking at how to apply them to our lives. The more deeply we dive into Scripture, the more conformed to the image of Christ we will become, the more fruit we will produce, and the more secure we will feel in our relationship with Him. The key to Bible study is that you will only get out what you are willing to put in. The model I will show you is not the only way Bible study can work. It is merely a suggestion to make your Bible study more meaningful.

Getting into the Bible is the first step to true Bible study. This can be done in a variety of ways. One way is going through a Bible reading plan. If you look on the internet, there are several great reading plans. One great place to look is YouVersion. This website, which is easily downloaded to your phone, will give you many studies that will help you read and think about your reading. Another way of reading is to look online, and many examples of daily Bible readings are available; a prevalent one that many people are familiar with is “Our Daily Bread.” They have this available in written format and electronic versions. The best part about both of these and many others is that they are available for free.

Memorization for Application

In our technological age, many adults struggle with remembering what the Bible says.. Years ago, people were encouraged to memorize the Scriptures and be able to repeat them, and sometimes, there were even competitions to see who could remember the most verses. We have gotten away from this principle in many ways because it is just as easy to Google it as to remember it. We need to not rely on technology to find the answer for us but instead work on memorizing the Scriptures. This practice creates a personal interaction with God and His word. Many people will say that they can’t memorize how they used to, and for many, it is because it is a skill that is no longer used. We need to be careful and not use modern luxuries as an easy way out of the more challenging tasks, which would lead us to deeper faithfulness. If we genuinely want relationship and comprehension, memorizing the Bible is critical to growing closer to God.

To enhance your Bible memorization, it would be great to add journaling to your regular practice; you can get your thoughts down as you are memorizing and then you are more likely to dwell on those Scriptures. Call back on our example about practicing the math facts and the repetition that occurred. In the avenue of Bible study, this is called meditation. This is where you are thinking about the verses you read throughout the day and bringing them back to memory. For example, when we look at the passage in Psalm 1:2, which says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and His law, he meditates day and night,” it’s clear that by continually meditating on the Word, we will be more able to understand what we are reading. Many websites are now available that provide specific verses related to a particular study. One such website is Sweet Blessings. This website has a specific monthly theme along with a couple of verses you are to read and then write down.

The goal of memorization is remembering it for a later time. While it may be a struggle, you will be able to access the Word in your memory whenever you need it. In our age of instant access and password savers, it has made the necessity to remember things less important. However, when it comes to the word of God, do we want to apply it to our hearts or just search in a search browser to answer the question in our minds? What is our priority? Only you can answer the question.

Tools for the Trade

For those looking for even more profound meaning and understanding, it is helpful to have a few other tools to access. A Bible dictionary can be helpful to explain more challenging words as you dive into the weeds of Scripture. One I have used over the years is Vine’s Dictionary. Available for about $25, it will be a great tool for someone to invest in for a deeper Bible Study.

Another thing to consider is a Bible Commentary. Numerous Bible scholars have taken the Bible and broken it down into words that are easier to understand. A good commentary is by Warren Wiersbe, and you can buy them for each book of the Bible or even as a whole set. It will cost a little more but will help you understand what the passages are saying.

Suppose you wish to understand the scripture from the Greek and Hebrew original languages. In that case, it is recommended that you find a Greek or Hebrew lexicon to see what the author's original writings were meant to say. An excellent tool for this level of Bible study is available through Blue Letter Bible. Here, you can look up a Bible verse to see what it says and find where other passages use the same words, which will help you gain a much deeper understanding.

Lastly, a small group setting is a great way to enhance your study. Finding one or two people you can study the Bible with together will help you significantly in comprehending and seeing how the Scriptures can be applied to your lives. Knowing that you are not alone in the study of the Bible is crucial to your success in your walk with Christ.

Bible study is essential to the Christian walk, and there are many other methods that can be used to study it. Many tools were not mentioned that are just as reliable and will aid you in understanding God’s word. The key is not to rush through your study just to get it checked off your to-do list. Your personal Bible study is genuine when you wish to spend time in God’s word and grow toward being a witness and testimony to all you come into contact with. The more you are willing to focus on the knowledge of what God has to say and willing to remember and understand it, the more you are able to face the trials life brings.

We still cannot forget the most important message, which is your local pastor's message to a congregation. These individuals are trying to help as many people as possible with what God has laid on their hearts. In many cases, the messages are there to help you grow closer to God and also provide a resource to go back to with the more challenging passages you will encounter.