How Do You “Study” The Bible?
One of the saddest truths in the American church is that we have so many resources to study and learn the Bible and yet there is so much Biblical illiteracy. This article is my humble attempt to equip Christ’s church to study the Word. I want everyone who reads this post to feel encouraged and equipped to study the Bible with an easy “step by step” guide that will aid and enrich their time in Scripture. May the Lord be praised as we study His Word!
WHAT IS BIBLE STUDY?
Bible study is a lot like paleontology. The first step is to go out into the field with all of your tools and begin collecting the raw material. You carefully dig through the sand, sediment, rock, and earth to collect bones, fragments of bones, and fossils that you will one day examine, assemble, and put on display for the world to see. In the same way, Bible study begins with specific tools that are designed to help you collect the raw Biblical data (This is called the Observation Phase). Once you have that data, you will examine it and attempt to assemble it into meaningful and coherent thoughts (This is called the Interpretation Phase). And then, once you have some concrete thoughts on what the passage means, you will begin displaying that truth so that you and also others can benefit from what you learned (This is called the Application Phase).
With that example in mind, let us consider the three phases of Bible study, beginning with the Observation Phase.
STEP 1: THE OBSERVATION PHASE
As we said above, there are specific tools that are going to help you extract the Biblical data from the text. Remember, this is not just an academic exercise but also a spiritual exercise. So, let us begin by sharing some tools that will help you engage with the Bible spiritually.
THE SPIRITUAL TOOLS FOR OBSERVATION
SPIRITUAL TOOL 1: READ THE PASSAGE 10 TIMES.
This may sound like an arbitrary number, but reading the passage multiple times will peel back various layers and help you get to the heart of the text. My recommendation is to use various faithful translations of the Bible (like the ESV, NASB, KJV, etc.) and then read the passage in each of these different translations. As you do that, like a good paleontologist, jot down notes in your journal. Take note of differences and word changes between the translations. Note questions you have about the text. Jot down any new insights that you gain or see. And then move on to the next step.
SPIRITUAL TOOL 2: PRAY THROUGH THE PASSAGE
What you want to do is read a few words and then turn those words into a prayer to God. For example, in Psalm 23 it says: “The Lord is my Shepherd”. Take those words and pray them back to God like this: “Lord, thank you for being the one who leads me, protects me, is guiding me, and looking after me like a good and faithful shepherd. I am like that poor sheep that keeps falling off cliffs and getting stuck in large cracks, but you are always faithful to find me and keep me safe”.
Once you have spent some time in prayer, move on to the next tool which is confession
SPIRITUAL TOOL 3: CONFESS SIN THROUGH THE PASSAGE
The goal of Bible study is not dead knowledge, but a thriving relationship with the living God. And in that relationship we need repentance. It is the lifeblood of serious devotion and no serious relationship can survive without it. By repentance we mean acknowledging our sin to God, asking God to help us kill that sin, and then turning away from it in courage to a life without that sin. Here are some pointers for you as you do that.
As you read the passage, list any sins that your Bible passage exposes. Sometimes those sins will be spelled out explicitly in the text and sometimes the Holy Spirit will use implicit truths to reveal your sin to you. However this happens, take an account of what the Spirit is revealing to you.
Take a moment and confess that sin(s) to the Lord in prayer.
Remember that Jesus has triumphed over this specific sin on the cross.
Remember that the Spirit has raised you to new life and has given you the power to
make war with this specific sin.
THEREFORE, repent and turn away from this sin, lay it down, and ask the Lord to help
you stay away from it moving forward.
SPIRITUAL TOOL 4: WORSHIP THROUGH THE PASSAGE
Remember that you have been forgiven. When you lay your sin down and repent from it, resist the temptation to remain in sullen shame, but instead celebrate the forgiveness you have in Jesus! Praise Him. Sing a song of victory. Let your heart be stirred that your sins have not been counted against you because they were poured out on Christ. And as you see that, let your love and affections be multiplied for your savior who loved you so much to be treated as you have deserved.
SPIRITUAL TOOL 5: JOURNAL THROUGH THE PASSAGE
A journal is one of the most important tools you will have. Not only should you record any questions you have, or the list of sins you will be repenting of, but you should also write down some initial thoughts about the passage. What do you think it means? What are the implications for your life concerning this passage? And even be thinking about ways you could communicate this truth to others.
SPIRITUAL TOOL 6: MEDITATE THROUGH THE PASSAGE
Once you stand up from your study, your goal is not to leave those truths in the Bible, but to carry them away inside of your heart for a life time. One of the best ways to solidify truth in your heart is to meditate on it throughout the day. Here are some tips for you as you practice this discipline.
Revisit the thoughts on lunch break.
Set an alarm to read through your journal or pray through the thoughts you discovered.
Calendar a reminder to think through the questions you still have.
Try seeing situations in your day where you can implement the truths you discovered that morning.
Try avoiding things in your day which will tempt you back into old patterns of sin
Pray for a real opportunity to share these truths with someone else.
The above 6 items are very helpful tools that will get you thinking spiritually about the text. BUT, Biblical study is also not simply a devotional and spiritual exercise. Bible study also requires that we love God with all of our minds, which means we also need mental and cognitive tools to be able to extract Biblical data from the text as well. So, below I list out some tools that will help you study the Bible academically.
NOTE: Not every tool is the right tool for every text. Some may be helpful in one scripture but not very helpful in another. With time you will learn how to intuitively employ each of these tools, but for the time I want to list them out so you will have them and can begin using them.
THE STUDY TOOLS FOR OBSERVATION
STUDY TOOL 1: IDENTIFY KEY TERMS
With this first tool, you will seek to identify key words, phrases, parts of speech (like nouns, adjectives, and verbs) and any word that sticks out to you in the text. For instance, in John 6:44 it says:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them”.
With this verse, you could grab a journal and list the following key terms with a few words of explanation as to why these particular terms stood out to you.
“No one” (Noun) - All humans have a fundamental inability caused by sin.
“Can come” (Verb) - That renders our actions incapable of getting us to God on our own.
“To me” (Preposition) - The only hope of salvation is through coming to Christ and we are incapable of this on our own.
“Unless” (Conjunction) - God provides a condition that could allow us to come to Jesus.
“Father” (Proper Noun) - That condition is that God can use His perfect ability to choose us in our inability.
“Draws” (Verb) - The way God chooses us and gets us to Jesus is by dragging us to Christ… Since, we were so unwilling and stuck in our sin, praise God He grabbed and dragged us to Christ!
STUDY TOOL 2: IDENTIFY AUTHORIAL EMPHASIS
With your journal, jot down a few notes on why you think the author is writing this and what the author is trying to emphasize to us. What is the underlying theme of this passage? And why is that important?
STUDY TOOL 3 IDENTIFY REPEATED WORDS
Sometimes, an author reveals his intended emphasis by repeating a word and using it multiple times in a passage. For instance, in John 8, Jesus and the Pharisees are engaged in a detailed argument. And as you read it, it would be easy to get lost in the mix of the details and miss the overarching point of what is going on. To avoid that trap, we look for repeated words and see that the word “father” and other familial words like that are used 8-10 times in this chapter. As we look more closely at the word Father and how John is using it in John 8, we see that both the Pharisees and Jesus are claiming God as their Father and both are appealing to various evidences to prove it. This lets us know that the passage is about who has a true relationship with God? Is it the one claiming to be the Son of God? Or is it the religious leaders who claim to speak for God? Once we know that this is the authors emphasis, we can see how Christ is the only solution!
STUDY TOOL 4: IDENTIFY CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS
Whenever one event causes a particular response you have a cause and effect relationship. And these can be incredibly important whenever you see them and you should get into the habit of noticing them and noting them in your journal. For instance, look at Romans 8:28, which says:
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
In this passage God is promising to call men and women according to His purpose and bless them with His good. The point is very simple, if we have been called by God unto salvation (The cause) then everything must and will work out for our good (God’s desired effect). Knowing this will encourage us as we look at situations in our life that do not feel good, but in some way, are good and are working good according to the Father. Knowing this will allow us to lay down our definition and expectation of good and accept His.
STUDY TOOL 5: IDENTIFY IF / THEN RELATIONSHIPS
This is a specific kind of cause and effect relationship called an “if / then” relationship, which is much simpler to identify. Essentially it looks like this: “If____ happens, then ____ will be the result. This happens all over the Bible and it worth taking out your journal and making a note of it. For instance, Jesus says:
“and IF Christ has not been raised, THEN our preaching is vain, and (THEN) your faith also is vain.- 1 Cor. 15:14
In this passage, the resurrection of Christ is the conditional reality. If that had not happened, then all preaching would be pure vanity and all faith would be totally pointless. Yet, since we know that the resurrection happened, preaching is useful and needed to build up our faith that is not given to Jesus in vain.
NOTE: The word IF will always be present in the text because it creates the condition, but this is not true for the word THEN. Sometimes THEN will be implied and you will have to supply it as I did above in parenthesis. Another example is this: “IF you seek me, you will find me” The IF is there but THEN is simply implied. Take note of that in your journal.
STUDY TOOL 6: IDENTIFY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN THE TEXT
With your journal, write down any questions the characters in the text, the author of the text, or the text itself asking? Sometimes you will be able to identify this because a “?” will be provided. Other times a question will be less obvious. Write down what you see and trust that the Lord will use this investigation you are undertaking to reveal more about His Word to you!
STUDY TOOL 7: IDENTIFY COMPARE AND CONTRASTS IN THE TEXT
Look and see if something is being compared or contrasted. Also look for common literary devises that make comparisons such as similes, metaphors, personification, and others. Take those and write them down as you will come back to them later.
STUDY TOOL 8: IDENTIFY THE LITERARY GENRE
What kind of literature is this? Is it historical prose, narrative, poetry, legal, prophetic, apocalyptic, wisdom, or other? Once you know that, think about what rules should dictate understanding this genre. For instance, we do not read poetry the same way we would read the Wall Street Journal. Acknowledge this and jot a few notes in your journal that will help you navigate the text.
STUDY TOOL 9: IDENTIFY THE MOOD OF THE PASSAGE
As you read the text, what emotions are present and controlling the narrative. Identify what the emotional state of the author is and then jot down what you think the mood of the passage might be. For instance, is this passage an encouragement? A rebuke? Is it celebratory or admonishment? Knowing this will be helpful when interpreting the passage.
STUDY TOOL 10: IDENTIFY DIRECTIONAL WORDS
Are there any words in the passage like “go” that command a direction? Or words that simply identify direction, such as: up, down, left, right, over, toward, or anything that would give us a clue of to travel? For instance, in Acts 8:38, the directional words help us interpret the passage. It says:
And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.
The point of this passage is not that both of these men were baptized by immersion. Frankly, we do not know what method of baptism that was employed. All we know is that both men exited the chariot, then both men walked together into the water, where the eunuch was baptized. The words “down into” in this passage help us understand what is happening and what is not happening.
STUDY TOOL 11: CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT
One of the most helpful tools that you have at your disposal is context. And let me say this plainly, if the meaning you are seeing cannot be established by the context, then you have misunderstood the meaning. For instance, we all have heard the verse in Jeremiah 29:11:
For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:11
This verse sounds clear when we read it in isolation from it’s context. God is going to give me a cush life, with a white Tesla, and a nice house on 80 acres… Or something like that. But when we read the context, we see that this passage is surrounded by a terrible circumstance. The Lord has allowed Jerusalem to be decimated because of her rebellion. The people were captured and forced to walk hundred of miles in the blistering heat, with sores on their ankles from rusty shackles. They were deported from their homes and made to settle in a land that nauseated them. And yet, in the midst of that, God had not forgotten them and will still work for their good.
Context teaches us that God is still with us in calamity. In fact, calamity might very well be the good plan God has for us and we must learn how to praise Him for it. That is an altogether different interpretation than the one that cherry picks a verse out of its context. (See our good friend Philippians 4:13 if you do not believe me)…
STUDY TOOL 12: CROSS REFERENCES
Another critical tool is called a cross reference. These are little numbers or letters in your Bible that will let you know your verse is either quoting, or alluding, to another passage somewhere else in Scripture. Here are some quick tips for how to handle these.
Do not skip them. Some of the best discoveries I have found in the Bible came from a cross reference.
Look up every cross reference in your passage. Read all of those passages in context so you do not miss the meaning and jot down any additional truths that these verses shed on the verse you are studying.
While you are at it, look up your cross references’ cross references. Yeah, I actually think this is critical to do.
Make a note to Consult additional tools. There will come a day when you have exhausted all of the above 12 tools and you still do not fully understand your passage. That is ok. Proceed to the next step and we will address how to use additional tools in just a moment.
STUDY TOOL 13: COMPILE YOUR DATA
Spend some time polishing up your notes. You can take the thoughts you have jotted down and compile them into a neat outline, list, or some other form to show what you know about the passage. After you know what you know it is time to begin asking questions about what you don’t know.
STUDY TOOL 14: ASK AS MANY QUESTIONS AS YOU CAN
This might be the most important and fruitful step in the entire process. And all you have to do is begin assembling a list of questions from the text that you do not have answers for. You can ask questions that you are confused about. You can include questions that you want to study further. There is no limit to the questions you can ask a text and I share some examples below to get you going. For example, look at John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
I may want to ask questions such as
What is the context of John 3?
How does John 3:16 fit into the book of John?
Who does the “whoever” refer to?
What is Biblical love?
What does John mean by the world?
What does begotten mean? Is that important?
What does perish refer to?
What is the nature of true belief?
Where does belief manifest itself?
When does God’s love become true for me?
Why would God give us anything?
Why does the sentence begin with “for”? (For what?)
How will this gift work itself out?
How will God give us His Son?
Etc.
When you have finished gathering all of the Biblical details that you can find on your own, you may also want to invest in additional tools that will cause you to dig even deeper. I list the following tools here because they are not essential. God has given you the mind He wants you to have to discover what is in His Word and there is no need to purchase a bunch of resources to do the work for you. Many (pastors included) will skip the hard work of study and go straight to the “experts”, which is so sad, because the Lord wrote His Word for you to be able to explore it and find the diamonds that He has hidden within it for you.
Yet, there are times that these tools will be helpful, especially to the student who is dilligently studying but would like to go deeper or understand something that is still confusing him/her. With that disclaimer, let me describe a few helpful tools that will enhance your Bible study!
THE “EXTRA” TOOLS FOR OBSERVATION
Extra Tool 1 - A Faithful study Bible (See Justin Taylor’s article on why this is such a good tool)
A study Bible will have all kinds of notes and articles available to you to aid you in your study. Of the study Bibles that are on the market, there are a few I would recommend:
The ESV Study Bible,
The John Macarthur Study Bible,
The Reformation Study Bible
Extra Tool 2 - Bible dictionary.
Bible dictionaries help you understand the Biblical meaning of words, which may differ sometimes from their common English meaning. Zondervan has a really good one that you can find here
Extra Tool 3 - BIble Concordance
A Bible concordance will help you see under the English text to see which Greek or Hebrew word was originally used in your passage. It will give you excellent details and much more information about that word that could prove vital in understanding it. Of the Bible concordances I know Strongs is one of the best and you can find that here
NOTE: There is a video on how to properly use the concordance so you can get the most out of this tool. You can find that video here.
Extra Tool 4 - Bible Atlas
Bible Atlas’ orient you to the world of the Bible and help you understand where a passage is happening and what direction the movement is occurring. Zondervan’s essential atlas is a good choice. You can find it here.
Extra Tool 5 - Manners and Customs
Books on manners and customs transport you back into the ancient world and give you a lot of detail on how the ancient world, looked, smelled, felt, sounded, etc. (This is one of my favorite resources and very inexpensive)
Extra Tool 6 - Bible Commentary
A commentary is a tool that explains a book of the Bible in detail. Think about it this way, if you want to understand the book of Genesis in a deeper way, or if you have questions that your personal Bible study is not able to answer, then you would usually buy a commentary. But there is more I need to tell you so that you buy the right one.
First, there are three kinds of commentaries in regard to their approach to Scripture.
Technical - These are academic commentaries focused on original language study and are usually more difficult for the average reader.
Pastoral / Preaching - usually focused on how to take a passage of Scripture and communicate it as a sermon (I do not use this kind very often because it is aimed at the pastor who is looking for communication help on how to communicate his sermon. But, I guess it could be helpful if you like reading other peoples sermons.)
Practical - these explore the meaning of the passage in a deeper way, but not so obtuse that it feels like only a seminarian can learn from it. This is the kind of commentary I would recommend for most people.
Second, there are also two kinds of commentaries as it relates to the scope of Scripture.
Whole Bible - If you want a whole Bible commentary, Matthew Henry’s full Bible commentary is a wonderful example of a practical commentary that gives additional information on every passage in the Bible. . I use this one almost weekly and it is super helpful. You can find a hard copy here.
Individual Book - If you want a single volume commentary on the book you are reading (i.e. Genesis), there are lots of great options. I recommend going to bestcommentaries.com which rates the very best commentaries on each book and often will have reviews so you know which would fit your needs best.
ALSO... feel free to ask me if you have any questions.
Extra Tool 7 - Bible Encyclopedia (If money is not an option, this is a great option)
Zondervan has a great one you can find here (This is volume 1, apparently they are sold separately now and not as a set. When wanting to do a deep dive, this resource is invaluable)
REMEMBER
Once you have investigated and found all of the things you know about this text, and have answers to all of the things you did not know and did not understand from this text, then it is time to take that data, like the paleontologist, back to the lab for interpretation.
STEP 2: INTERPRETATION
When you begin the process of interpreting the data, you are moving beyond understanding WHAT the Bible says to understanding WHAT it means. You are analyzing all of the data you have compiled and you are asking specific questions to get at a final and faithful interpretation.
NOTE: The first step (Observation) is always the longest. Remember, it becomes easy to interpret what you have carefully and with great detail observed.
ASK THE TEXT SOME QUESTIONS
What did this passage teach the original audience?
Does it reveal anything about God’s nature? The fallen nature of humanity? Or God’s original purpose for humanity?
How does this passage magnify or anticipate Christ?
If you are in the Old Testament, you know that this passage somehow and in some way looks forward to Jesus. Try to imagine how Jesus is the hope of the passage. How only He can fulfill it. And Jot that down.
If you are in the New Testament, think about how this passage looks back to Christ and how He is the only reason this passage will become true. Jot down some reflections upon this. What role did the Holy Spirit play?
Is the Holy Spirit involved in this passage at all? (Other than authoring the text)
How does this passage relate to Christian doctrines? (such as sin, sanctification, justification, etc.)
How does this passage anticipate eternity and glory?
What challenges would a modern world have with this passage? What about me?
In a single sentence, what is this passage about?
NOTE: When you finish the interpretation stage you should know the meaning of the text. Every text has only one meaning, which is the meaning God intended it to have. A text may have a million relevant applications, but it only had one meaning. This is important to remember as you proceed to the final step of Bible study, which is application.
STEP 3: APPLICATION PHASE
Application is the final step. Like the paleontologist who has collected all of the bones, assembled them into a coherent specimen that can be desribed and labled, now we move to the step where we will showcase what we have found. To do this, we employ application. First shining the truth of this passage onto our own hearts to see how we may repent and live different. But, we also must take this truth and show it to others as well. God’s truth is meant to be displayed!
ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS (Don’t forget to journal)
How will the truth revealed affect my relationship with God?
How does this truth affect my relationship with others?
How does this truth affect me? What should I do about this?
What kind of person, under the Spirit’s power, should I become in light of this truth?
What am I willing to do about it?
How does this truth affect my response to the enemy, Satan?
What things should I confess? Repent from? Pray about?
What relationships need repentance or work?
What behaviors should I avoid? Commands I should now keep?
What promises do I need to claim and rest in?
How will this help me praise God? Thank God? Worship God?
Any people I need to reach out to?
How could I share this truth with them?
How will I begin praying for this interaction?
STEP 4: PRAY
As you conclude your time of study in the Word do not forget to pray. Adore God for giving Him your Word. Confess your short comings. Thank Him for His infinite perfections. And pray for the men and women God will put in your path this day and that He will open doors for you to share the hope you have in Him. When you study the Bible this way it actually will change your life.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Kendall