Bible Study Guidelines

Webster's 1828 Dictionary of American English defines the word study as, "A setting of the mind or thoughts upon a subject; hence, application of mind of books, to arts or science, or to any subject, for the purpose of learning what is not before known." The current Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines study as, "The application of the mental faculties to the acquisition of knowledge". To study, simple put, is to learn more about a subject.

I bring this up to take the pressure off of those who look at bible study as a daunting, unattainable task. It is as simple as familiarizing yourself with the bible through repetition and practice.

Having that said, let us tackle a quick, easy three-step plan to studying the bible. We will come back to the meaning of study and why it is important in a moment.

1.) Make sure you are a Christian.

(Okay, this step only needs to be completed once.) If you are not a Christian, you may find it very difficult to digest the meaning of the scriptures. This is not because the scriptures themselves are necessarily difficult in terms of intellect, but because the scriptures must be spiritually discerned. If you do not have the Holy Spirit (which you will receive upon becoming a Christian), you cannot know the mind of God.

First Corinthians chapter two verses twelve through fourteen says, "We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."

The things of the Spirit of God must be discerned by the Spirit Himself. He must enter you and reveal to you His truth. The things of the Spirit of God are in His Word and are specifically about Jesus Christ.

Fortunately for the unbeliever, the bible also teaches him how to be saved. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." If you believe in Jesus Christ, who will not perish but have eternal life. At the same time you believe, you will be born of His Spirit and have Him residing in you to teach you and guide you in truth.

2.) Before and during and after your study, pray.

In simpler terms, always pray. Pray pray pray pray pray. As you read the bible and think upon it, ask the Lord to teach you.

David in the Psalms said, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." If we want to understand the bible, it would do us well to seek the council of its Author.

Again, refer to First Corinthians chapter two verses twelve through fourteen. Without the Holy Spirit's direction, the bible will scarcely be understood even by the Christian. But with the Holy Spirit, the deepest truths of the bible can be understood even by a child.

3.) Read the bible.

Sounds too simple huh? Really; just read it. God's word was written for us and it is not meant to be difficult.

Read it a lot. Read it over and over again. Don't stop reading if you are confused or if you don't understand.

Here's a couple helpful tips as sub-points to help you.

a.) Get a bible you understand.

You don't have to read the King James Version. Try out the New Living Translation or the English Standard Version. You may also enjoy the New International Version or the New King James Version. All of these translations are reliable to the original manuscripts and are much easier to understand than the King James Version.

b.) Get a concordance.

A concordance is just an alphabetical list of the primary words used in a book. The Strong's Concordance lists nearly every word used in the bible and even cross references you to the Greek or Hebrew word used in the original text.

A concordance is helpful in two ways. It helps you find passages you recollect partially so you can look at them again and be reminded what they say. Also, by looking up the original meaning of the word, you can learn even more about the verse.

Sometimes, translators foul up a word and you can discover what God really meant; or, the translators may have got the right word, but the definition can help you understand it better.

c.) Get an American dictionary.

Big bible words are not often in our everyday vocabulary. A good example is the word "propitiation". Gesundheit. No, no, I didn't sneeze. Propitiation may not be a word you know right off hand, but if you look it up in the Merriam-Webster's dictionary you learn it means, "To gain or regain the favor or goodwill of; to appease." Webster's 1828 dictionary sheds even more light on the word, defining it as, "The act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious." This makes Second John chapter two, verse two a lot more meaningful. "Jesus is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." Jesus appeased the wrath of God and brought us back into favor with God.

d.) Use a computer to speed things up.

If you are a computer savvy person, there is lots of great software available to help you study the bible more efficiently. My favorite is E-Sword. It is free on http://www.e-sword.net and includes oodles of reference materials including a Strong's concordance and Webster's 1828 Dictionary. E-Sword's search tool is especially handy making finding that verse you read a couple days ago that much easier. Other helpful features include daily reading plans, daily devotions, and dozens of reputable commentaries.

e.) Get a reputable commentary.

When you are having trouble understanding a particular verse, another tool God has given to help you, is other people's insight. There are many well-known, reputable people out there who have blazed a trail through difficult scriptures to help us who are a little less scholarly understand what God is trying to say. Keep in mind when you read other people's writings that their words, while often very helpful, are not always 100% accurate. You'll even find that many Bible commentators disagree on certain passages. This is where point number two comes in very handy. Pray pray pray pray pray. Ask God to help you.

A few reputable commentators to look for are Matthew Henry, Jon Courson, John Wesley, and Albert Barnes.

Always keep in mind that God's word is not written to be decoded like a secret letter or a treasure map. It is a love letter meant to reveal to you His plan of redemption through the person of Jesus Christ. When we study the Word, we are not trying to get smarter just to be smarter, but we are trying to discern God's heart for us.

Remember, the definition of study gives us no strict, regimented rules. It is simply to set the mind upon a subject to learn more about it. Read and study the bible because you want to, not because you have to. You'll find God revealing Himself to you and quieting you with His love time and time again.