What Is A Proper Way To Study The Holy Bible?
Knowing how to study the Bible is important, because determining the meaning of Scripture is one of the most important tasks a believer has in this life.
God does not tell us that we must simply read the Bible. We must study it and handle it correctly (2 Timothy 2:15). Studying the Scriptures is hard work. A cursory or brief scanning of Scripture can sometimes yield very wrong conclusions.
Therefore, it is crucial to understand several principles for determining the correct meaning of Scripture.
First
The one who would study the Bible must pray and ask the Holy Spirit to impart understanding, for that is one of His functions.
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come” (John 16:13).
Just as the Holy Spirit guided the apostles in the writing of the New Testament, He also guides us in the understanding of Scripture. The Bible is God’s book, and we need to ask Him what it means.
If you are a Christian, the author of Scripture—the Holy Spirit—dwells inside you, and He wants you to understand what He wrote.
Second
To study the Bible properly, we cannot pull a verse out of the verses that surround it and try to determine the meaning of the verse outside of the context. We should always read the surrounding verses and chapters to discern the context.
While all of Scripture comes from God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21), God used men to write it down. These men had a theme in mind, a purpose for writing, and a specific issue they were addressing.
To study the Bible, we should understand the background of the book we are studying: it’s helpful to know who wrote the book, to whom it was written, when it was written, and why it was written.
Also, we should take care to let the text speak for itself. Sometimes people will assign their own meanings to words in order to get the interpretation they desire.
Third
To study the Bible properly, we should not think of ourselves as totally independent in our analysis of the text. It is arrogant to think that we cannot gain understanding through the lifelong work of others who have studied Scripture.
Some people, in error, approach the Bible with the idea that they will depend on the Holy Spirit alone and they will discover all the hidden truths of Scripture.
Christ, in the giving of the Holy Spirit, has given people with spiritual gifts to the body of Christ. One of these spiritual gifts is that of teaching (Ephesians 4:11–12; 1 Corinthians 12:28).
These teachers are given by the Lord to help us to correctly understand and obey Scripture. The teacher is a student as well as a teacher, because the teacher is constantly learning, processing information to share with others.
It is always wise to study the Bible with other believers, assisting each other in understanding and applying the truth of God’s Word.
In Closing
So, in summary, the proper way to study the Bible is to prayerfully and humbly:
- Rely on the Holy Spirit to give us understanding
- Study verses in their context
- Recognizing that the Bible explains itself
and respect the efforts of other Christians, past and present, who have also sought to properly study the Bible.
Remember, God is the author of the Bible, and He wants us to understand it.
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This is a really great piece of information that I know everyone would find very good and excellent to relate with.
I love studying the word of GOD and to do that, there is a need for proper care and dedication to it. I agree with you that the words of GOD cannot be studied and understood in isolation.
There is a need for proper taking care of the words and to also share knowledge with others would help boost our knowledge too.
Thanks
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on this study session. There are a lot of changes that must be made and challenges that must be overcome for growth to begin to take place.
Warm Regards To You My Friend!
Nice of you to share your advice on bible study. I agree, you shouldn’t just read, you should go beyond. I haven’t done it myself yet, so I’m going to take advantage of your advice. I’m sure this article will help many people.
Keep up the good work!
See you soon for your next article 😀
Thank you for your comments about this Bible Study Session.
Favor Filled Blessings To You!
I grew up in a really religious environment.
I went to a Christian School and studied the Holy Bible for some years, I don’t remember it all but I do remember some specific things that, to this day, I still don’t understand.
Nor do I understand the conflicts between religion and basic humanity.
What are your thoughts on that?
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on The Foundation – Building Blocks To Bible Study.
I believe in a Personal Relationship with GOD, for me that is the most important relationship we can have. Everything else are just distractions to keep our minds occupied, by diverting our action from GOD.
Warm Regards To You My Friend!
When we study or before we study the bible we need to pray and ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Even though we have our bible tools like the bible dictionary and other bible tools we need the Holy Spirit to speak to us as we keep an open mind to receive what He has to say.
Hello,
You are absolutely correct, in my opinion, I feel the exact same way concerning Holy Bible Study.
Thank you for you comment,
Jerry
This is very helpful information. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hello,
Thank you for you comment, and you are welcome for the sharing of this information.
Have A Great Day,
Jerry