Bible Study

For the majority of church history, Christians have not had access to their own personal copy of God's word. For centuries, scripture was communicated verbally through pastors and evangelists to those without a manuscript. Technology such as the printing press (1440's), the internet (1980's) and Bible apps (1990's) has allowed for low-cost distribution of scripture at a global scale. What a gift we have that we can access God's inspired word from our pocket! Additionally, we have interpretive works of theological giants created over the span of nearly two millennia. Christians today have a strong foundation and great opportunity presented to them to learn theology.

While it is important to be aware of the vast pool of resources available to study scripture, it is also wise to understand the Biblical reasons to study God's word. Such purposes are:

1. It is God-inspired. [2 Timothy 3:16]

2. One must understand it to teach others. [2 Timothy 3:16]

3. One must understand it to reprove others. [2 Timothy 3:16]

4. One must understand it to correct others and oneself. [2 Timothy 3:16]

5. One must understand it to be trained in righteousness. [2 Timothy 3:16]

6. Understanding is required for the believer to be completely equipped for good works. [2 Timothy 3:17]

7. Understanding is required to evaluate spiritual truths one is taught. [Acts 17:11]

8. It is the key to defeating sin. [Psalm 119:11]

9. Scripture will guide the believer's life with light. [Psalm 119:105]

10. Christians are instructed to be approved by handling God's word correctly. [2 Timothy 2:15]

11. There is wisdom in meditating on the truths of scripture. [Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-2]

12. Biblical study is portrayed as a treasure hunt. [Proverbs 2:1-5]

Questions To Ask Oneself:

1. Am I regularly learning spiritual truths from scripture?

2. What level of priority is studying scripture in my life?

3. Do I place as much effort into studying scripture as I do for my education or my job?

4. Does my Bible study cause me to love God and love others more?

5. Am I able to remember and recall what I read from scripture on a regular basis?

6. Do I understand the theological implications of what I read in scripture?

7. Am I studying the Bible Biblically as the above points define?

There is not a single correct way to study scripture since God's word always maintains depth beyond our understanding, but there are practical approaches to pursue its truth accurately. Some of these approaches are listed below.

• Historical Primary Sources: The Bible is a collection of 66 primary sources (since it is God-authored) that tell the story of his interaction with the world. Many of the same questions that historians would ask about any ancient manuscript can be asked about books of the Bible. Such questions may include:

  • Who was the writer of the manuscript?

  • Who was the manuscript written to?

  • When was the first manuscript copy written?

  • Where was the manuscript written?

  • How was the content of the manuscript preserved over centuries?

Some of these questions can be directly answered by the manuscripts themselves!

• Multiple Literature Genres: Scripture was not written as a single literary genre and is not meant to be interpreted as such. For example, not every verse is meant to be interpreted literally, given that symbols are used across books. However, all scripture is meant to be interpreted seriously and correctly within its context. The literary genres in scripture are:

  • Law (Torah/Pentateuch): Genesis - Deuteronomy

  • Historical Narrative: Joshua - Esther, Acts

  • Wisdom & Poetry: Job - Song of Solomon

  • Major Prophets: Isaiah - Daniel

  • Minor Prophets: Hosea - Malachi

  • Gospels (Biography): Matthew - John

  • Pauline Epistles: Romans - Philemon

  • General Epistles: Hebrews - Jude

  • Apocalyptic: Revelation

It is important to notice that scripture is arranged first by old and new testament, and then by literature type.

• Author's Purpose: Every writer has a purpose for their audience. Biblical authors are primarily focused on informing and persuading their audience of spiritual truths at a general level. Additionally, each writer introduces various themes and build arguments to convey their message. When reading Biblical literature, it is important to ask:

  • What is the general author's purpose of this book?

  • What is the main point the author is trying to make?

  • What themes does the author use to convey their main point?

  • What arguments does the author use to support their points?

Understanding the author's purpose will refine one's interpretation of scripture.

• Bible Software: Multiple extensive softwares such as Blue Letter Bible (BLB), Logos, and Bible Gateway have been created to assist students of scripture.

• Commentaries: A Biblical commentary is a written, audio, or video interpretation of scripture by a particular author.

• Book Introductions & Outlines: Theologians have written overviews of every book of the Bible that give historical context and order ideas and events into a hierarchy. These overviews can be found as paper copies or on BLB.

• Concordance: A concordance is an alphabetical arrangement of the principal words contained in a book, with citations of the passages in which they occur. It is primarily used to search topics throughout scripture. They can be in book form or on BLB.

• Topical Analysis: A topical analysis is a hierarchical search tool that groups scripture based on theological concepts. Here is an online topical analysis tool.

• Inline Interlinear: An inline interlinear shows the Hebrew and Greek translation of scripture and provides definitions to the words. Sometimes, it is good to gain clarity on particular words or passages by referencing the original text when the English seems ambiguous. One does not need to be fluent in Hebrew or Greek to use this tool. An interlinear can be purchased as a physical copy or visited for free on BLB.

• Learn Ancient Biblical Grammars: Free online resources exist to learn Biblical Hebrew and Greek on the web. Also, many books have been written that can be purchased online to learn Hebrew and Greek.

• Harmony of the Gospels: Theologians have ordered the events of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John into a timeline and added scripture references. Resources such as this can be found on BLB.

• Harmony of Mosaic Law: Theologians have indexed verses according to laws established in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy and placed them on BLB.

• Miracle Study: Lists of miracles performed in the old testament, by Jesus, and by the apostles in the book of Acts have been aggregated.

• Parable Study: Parables told in both the old testament and the new testament by Jesus have been aggregated.

• Prophetic Fulfillments: Theologians have traced and indexed the giving and fulfilling of Biblical prophecy in both the old testament and new testament.

• Parallel Passages: Theologians have listed passages in the new testament cited from the old testament.

• Divine Names: Theologians have listed all of the names of God in both the old testament and the new testament.

• Bible Book Counts: A BLB tool to see the number of chapters and verses in each book of the Bible.

• Study Bible: Some Bibles are designed specifically for intensive study sessions, and typically include multiple of the tools listed above.

• Apostolic Portraits: Historical views about each of the apostles are available on BLB.

• Timelines: Theologians have pieced together timelines of significant figures in church history such as the apostle Paul, including that of the writing of Acts and the epistles.