How do I study the Bible?

How do I study the Bible?  This is a question I’ve had more than one person ask me in the past year alone, and it is a question I never quite know how to answer.  The truth is that I don’t have a good process for studying the Bible.  In fact, I pretty much stink at studying anything.  It is fortunate that I made it through college without having to do much of it!  But, as I’ve gotten to know people of different walks of life and backgrounds in the faith, I’ve also discovered that I also take for granted certain tools I’ve gained over the years.  So, I wanted to do a series of blogs on the book of Galatians.  I’ve decided to do this series for two reasons.  One, because I desperately need to get back involved in the Bible myself (this is a practice that has gone on the backburner since having Daniel), and two, because I want to try to analyze my process for studying the Bible and hope to show what study looks like.

 

This first blog will be more about my process, and I’ll start to get into the scripture in the second blog.  Let’s start with some FAQs.

 

1. How do I decide where to start studying?

If this is your first time studying the Bible, I’d suggest picking a plan that is doable.  There are lots of plans and places to start, but my suggestion would be to start with a book of the Bible. Which book to pick probably depends on personal preference and how much Biblical knowledge you already have.  For example, if you hate poetry, Psalms would probably be a hard book to navigate.  If you don’t have any working knowledge of scholarly views on the end times, Revelation might feel overwhelming and confusing.  If you know very little about Old Testament times, Numbers would not be enjoyable (though I’m really not sure that Numbers is EVER an enjoyable read!).  Choosing randomly is probably just not wise.  Here are some of my favorites:

 

Mark – This is the shortest gospel and scholars actually believe that the other gospel writers probably had access to Mark when they wrote their accounts.  It is a good introduction to Jesus and his life and wouldn’t take too long to read.

 

James – This book is written by Jesus’ half brother.  It definitely packs a punch as James doesn’t mince words.  It is pretty straight forward, but also has some cool underlying themes, too, that would come up as you read commentaries.  Added benefit – it is short!

 

Genesis  - This one would introduce you to the patriarchs (which is just a fancy way of saying the fathers of our faith).  It helps you get a handle on big time Christian figures like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.  It also helps you see how the Jewish nation was established – which is REALLY helpful when reading the New Testament.  Additionally, it reads like a story with a lot of family drama thrown in, so that is fun.  On the downside, it is long, so it might be best to just pick a section of it.

 

Those would probably be my three top places to start, but obviously, there are a lot of other good ones.  They are really all good, right?

 

2. What do I need to study the Bible?  So, the “church” answer is just your Bible.  But, frankly, I don’t do very well with only my Bible.  It helps me a lot to also have a commentary because, let’s face it, we all inevitably end up in passages we don’t understand which inhibit us from moving forward.  Commentaries go a long way toward helping clear up confusion.

 

I also like having a way to take notes.  My favorite way to take notes is in the margins of my Bible, so I bought a Bible with extra wide margins.  I like this method because when I’m in church listening to a sermon on a passage, I have at my fingertips other things I’ve learned about that same passage to help put all the pieces together.  The disadvantage here is that the margins fill up, and at some point, I’ll have to get a new Bible and start over (though mine has lasted for five years and is still going strong).  I also have friends who use journals and notebooks.  And the computer works well too.  I used the app “Evernote” for a while because it organizes notes pretty neatly, and I could take my IPad to services to record what I was learning.

 

3. What do I need to know about commentaries? I have no doubt that when I mentioned commentaries someone was reading and wishing I’d given more detail, so here it is!  A commentary is just a resource someone else has written giving their opinion of scripture.  One caution about commentaries is that they are NOT NECESSARILY RIGHT.  A commentary is different than scripture in that it isn’t the holy word.  It is just one person’s opinion, so when reading, you have to remember to analyze it yourself for truth – and you should do the same when listening to a pastor’s sermon.

 

Nevertheless, if I’m studying, I don’t do it without a commentary.  Andy has an Old Testament and a New Testament commentary produced by Zondervan that I think are good.  I also have an NIV study Bible by Zondervan with a short commentary at the bottom (which is really nice for anyone new to using commentaries as the information is helpful without being overwhelming).  Both options are pricey, though.  A free option would be to use Biblegateway.com which has online commentaries – just look under the “resources” tab.  The Matthew Henry one is a bit of a hard read but some of the others are easier.  One last option that isn’t free but good and not terribly expensive is anything by William Barclay.  You can find his commentaries on Kindle or even in hardback for less than ten dollars.  I like him and think he is really easy to understand, but I also don’t agree with all his theology – primarily his beliefs about heaven/hell – so you’d probably have to be a critical reader if you pick him (in my opinion).

 

4. How much should I read at a time?

For the book of Galatians, I decided to read it all the way through to get a concept of the overall themes, and when I blog, I’ll go back and read it with the commentary to understand the details.  I don’t think I’d recommend that strategy unless you were reading a short book like James.  A good process is probably to read sections at a time and then go back and read the commentary for that section and make notes as you do that.  Most Bibles have headings lumping together natural breaks in topics – so I’d start with those.

 

5. What am I looking for?

I’m stealing from Joe Cox on this one (and I bet he stole it from someone else).  Joe is a pastor and a friend.  I worked for him when he was a youth minister at a church in Greenville, and one year, he had us do this process with the kids we lead in small groups.  It was called VIBE.   It stands for the following:

 

V – Verse it.  As you read, you ask God to highlight a verse or phrase in the passage that sticks with you.  It is an effort to hear from God and look for what he is saying through scripture.  Honestly, I don’t think I hear from God every time on that, so don’t get discouraged if something just isn’t sticking out.  On the other hand, don’t be afraid to look for what God might be saying.  If you find something that sticks out, you can use it to meditate on throughout the day – you never know how God will use the scripture he has revealed to encourage you or someone else.

 

I – Investigate it.  This is where the commentary comes in for me, but I remember when Joe taught this method, he discouraged the use of other materials.  He encouraged us to just look at the passage for anything that might be repeated or emphasized.  He also encouraged us to look for what is going on.  As an English teacher, this part would be my Who, What, When, Where, Why, How questions about the text.

 

B – Boil it down.  This is where you try to go deeper with the text.  What was the message for the audience in that time period and what is the message to us?  Basically, how do we apply this scripture to our lives today?  This could also be personal – what is the Lord wanting YOU to hear in this passage?  How does it apply to whatever is going on in your own life?

 

E – Engage it with Prayer.  At the end, you write a prayer to God in response to what you learned in the scripture.  On a good day, I always end my study session with prayer.  It is a chance to reflect with the Lord and ask him to show me his truth throughout the day.

 

This blog is getting longer than I intended, so I’m going to cut it off here.  I think it does cover my process for study, and I’m hoping that my blogs on Galatians will provide more insight on the way I study – and will hold me accountable to following through!  Happy Reading!!