As I travel around the country speaking, I meet hundreds of people. One of the most common problems I find existing in the lives of Christians is that they don’t study their Bibles! Now notice I didn’t say they don’t read their Bibles. There’s a difference. Reading is starting at the beginning of a chapter and then simply reading verse by verse till you get to the end, then closing your Bible and wondering, “What in the world did that mean?”
Studying your Bible starts by reading it, but then pausing to think about the things you don’t understand, looking up cross references and comparing a verse with similar verses, checking the definitions of the original language and so on. That’s studying!
view the Bible as their top source
of moral authority
(Barna, 2014).
This may be why in a recent Barna study of practicing Christian Millennials, only 39% saw the Bible as their top source for moral truth! What’s ironic is that they also believe that the Bible is the word of God and contains everything they need to know about life, yet it’s not their top source of truth. Could it be because they don’t have a deep study relationship with the Bible? The Bible gains your confidence as a supernatural source of power only when you study it and allow God to reveal truth to you personally. You can easily believe the Bible is God’s word because you grew up with that understanding, but when the rubber meets the road and it’s time to make tough moral decisions in your life, only 39% are saying it’s their top source of guidance.
I am actually not aware of any place in the Bible where we are commanded to “read” it. But, I am aware of many places where we are commanded to “study” it (John 5:39; Acts 17:11; 1 Timothy 2:15). I am finding that not only are most Christians not studying their Bibles, they’re not even reading! Most Christians are totally dependent on their pastors to know what the Bible says. Satan is counting on this and if you don’t know the Bible for yourself, he will make sure that you WILL be deceived in the end.
So studying is important. It is vital, but hardly anyone is doing it. This is why I’ve written these articles.
How do we study our Bibles?
Did you know that to have good Bible studies, there are several key things we need to do before we even open our Bibles? We’re going to look at these pre-studying principles now that will ensure that we have powerful Bible studies!
POINT #1: You can’t do it alone.
According to Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit’s job to reveal truth to our minds as we study.
John 16:13
Therefore, the very first step for anyone to have a revealing Bible study is to ask for the Holy Spirit. Luke 11:13 says that God is more willing to teach us truth than we are to give food to our children.
POINT #2: Search and hunger.
Only certain attitudes can receive the truth.
“Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
We need to value the truth for what it’s worth. The more we value the words of God as hid treasure, the more we will understand truth as we study the Bible.
Matthew 5:6 also says,
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
Do you hunger and thirst for the righteousness? Do you feel a deep need for God? Do you desire to know truth? If so, then you are a candidate to be taught by God. But if not, then don’t expect to learn much of anything, for only those who search for truth as hid treasure and hunger for it are filled.
POINT #3: Be humble.
James 1:21 says,
“…and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
And Mark 10:15:
“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.”
We should approach the Word of God as a humble child desiring to be taught. Many times, people approach the Bible as though they have something to teach God by forcing their own ideas onto the Scriptures. We must come to the Bible not to find whatever we already believe, but we should be prepared to believe whatever we find.
POINT #4: Live up to the light that you already have.
Will God bless us with new truth while we live in disobedience?
Let’s look at John 7:17:
“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”
A key to having discernment into spiritual things is to be willing to do God’s will whatever it may be. Deciding to do as we want regardless of what the Bible says is an immediate block to learning truth. Why would God give you more truth to be accountable for if you’re not even following what you already know?
Also notice Acts 5:32:
“And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
When we are living in known sin we are putting off the Holy Spirit which is God’s appointed Person to reveal to us the truth. Our souls are like windshields, the cleaner they are the clearer we will see. We must be willing to follow whatever truth God may reveal to us, because information without application equals condemnation.
POINT #5: Study early.
Does the Bible actually give an ideal part of the day to study? Yes!
“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early.” Isaiah 26:9
“Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits.” Exodus 22:29
The Bible says we need to seek God early and give Him the first fruits of our time. Study when your mind is sharp. That’s typically right after we have woken up for the day.
Also, we need to arm ourselves with the Word of God before we get thrown into the temptations of the day, not after the devil has finished making sport of us.
POINT #6: Study every day
You know the saying, “Practice makes perfect.” It is no different when it comes to Bible study.
Look at what Christ likens the word of God to.
Matthew 4:4
How often do we eat? Just like we need to eat every day physically, we also need to eat every day spiritually by studying our Bibles. Just like there’s food for our bodies, there’s also food for our souls. Which bread is more important: the one that feeds the physical life or the one that feeds the spiritual eternal life? No wonder so many Christians are overcome so easily. They don’t eat! Can you imagine trying to fend off an attacker with years of only eating one meal a week? Someone could just blow on you, and you’d fall over. The same is true spiritually.
Therefore, the more you’re studying the Word, the more you will be transformed into a stronger, smarter, and more spiritual Christian. You’ll love Jesus more, you’ll share your faith more, and you can be certain that God will enable you to be able to discern the dangerous traps Satan has laid by the scores in these last days. Sound like a good deal?
CONCLUSION
Perhaps you’ve heard some information that has enlightened you to the fact that God is calling you to something better. Maybe it’s starting to study the Bible and not just to read it? Maybe you haven’t made it a habit to study the Bible on a daily basis. Or perhaps you don’t desire the Word of God like you know you should. Or you know there is known sin in your life that you need to get rid of so that God can advance you in the truth. Whatever it may be, I invite you now to make the decision to take that step.
In our next article, we’ll discuss more of the nuts and bolts of good Bible study principles. They’re called hermeneutics. We’ll also look at some very helpful tools that will make the process much quicker and easier. These safe, proven tools will enable you to unlock the deep truths of Scripture.
God bless you, and if you have been blessed don’t forget to share what you’ve learned.
Gabriel Arruda