Lesson 17
HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE
2 Timothy 2:15
1. Why study it?
It is God's revelation of Himself and His will to man.
It is the instruction book for human life.
It is the only manual in existence written by the manufacturer of human life.
God has protected it through the years from all kinds of enemies. It must be important.
2. Read it
It would be good for all of us just to read through the Bible- over and over.
Follow yearly reading guides.
Start at the beginning and read through.
Don't just open and read from anywhere.
Be systematic.
Read until you get something.
3. Study
Get serious- find out what's in there. Look deeper.
Study Methods:
Subjects - seek all passages dealing with a certain subject or verses using a certain word.
Persons - study a Biblical person's life (Moses, David.)
Places - significant locations (i.e. history of Jerusalem & things that happened there; mountains; seas; etc.
Events - Elijah on Mt. Carmel, Jesus' Crucifixion
Book - study a whole book
The best way is inductive study- approach it with an open mind (no pre-conceived ideas to prove) and see what it says and means.
a) Read the book straight through quickly - get the general idea.
Use the W-Key:
Who wrote it? Find out something about the author.
When written? 66 books written over 1600 years, by 40 different authors. Know something of the historical background.
Where spoken or delivered? Where was the author when he wrote it?
Where was it read to people?
Why was it written? What necessitated this message?(i.e. Jeremiah wrote to a rebellious nation warning of judgement.
It helps to know Paul told women at Corinth to be silent in church, not because he didn't like women, but because the church was in turmoil and the women were disturbing the services.
To Whom written? Know some of the audience.
b) Start again reading short sections. (determine where divisions are)
c) Read a section over and over until you determine the main idea.
d) Read closely and determine what is being said about the subject.
e) Read the surrounding context - Consider the point in the context of the book.
g) Consider any cultural implications (check the context and attitude of the book; use a Bible Encyclopedia)
h) What does it mean for us today?
j) Interpret only what is there. Be careful of reading into it, or applying your own meaning. Don't squeeze out some meaning that is not there. (No scripture is of private intrepretation.)
k) Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten your mind and apply the scripture to your life.
Specifics:
Old Testament: read it straight through- story by story, section by section. Perhaps chronologically. Ask God to show you how it applies to you.
Gospels: read each incident or discourse on its own merit. Consider the context (what has just happened or is about to happen or is happening at the time.)
Epistles: consider each section in context of the whole message of the book.
Prophetic (Revelation): go for spiritual principle - not dogma.
A good commentary is very helpful but remember it is not the Bible itself.
Remember, look for the spiritual principle - the true meaning. It's not just important what the Bible says - its important what it means by what it says.
More harm has been done by misquoted, out of context scripture than has been done by the enemies of the faith.
Reference Book List:
Strong's Concordance
Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words
Naves Topical
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible
Matthew Henry's Commentary
Erdman's Handbook to the Bible
Modern Version
Self-study guide- various