I want you to experience the delight of a genuine connection with Jesus Christ, which can only be obtained by understanding the meaning of Scripture. Here’s a quick guide to getting started.
Since the moment I felt God’s call to full-time ministry, my driving ambition has been to simply grasp God’s Word and then make it understandable to others. I’ve never desired to be known as an academic theologian or a revered pastor. I simply want to understand what God’s Word means and to share it with others. All of my pastoral efforts—preaching, shepherding, teaching, writing, and even visitation—are directed toward that single aim.
It is my view that the Bible is not difficult to understand for the believing heart. And the more I learn, the more certain I am that the Bible is God’s living, authoritative, inerrant Word. It has an amazing effect on me: the more I study it, the more I want to know. So God’s Word not only fills my hunger but also arouses an even stronger desire for more.
I want you to feel that hunger as well. I want you to experience the delight of a genuine connection with Jesus Christ, which can only be obtained by understanding the meaning of Scripture. Here’s a quick guide to getting started.
Step 1 – Reading the Bible
Making a plan for your approach to reading the Bible through should be your first step. You can get familiar with the Bible’s themes, history, and situations just by reading it. Bible reading cannot be replaced in any way.
You won’t likely read it cover to cover like you would most other books. There are numerous excellent Bible reading schedules offered (like The MacArthur Daily Bible). What I suggest is as follows:
At least once a year, read the Old Testament cover to cover. As you read, make a note in the margins of any truths you wish to remember in particular and jot down anything you don’t grasp right away in a different document. You’ll discover that the text itself frequently provides the answers to many questions as you read. The queries that remain unanswered serve as the basis for more in-depth research using commentaries or other reference materials.
Make an alternative reading strategy for the New Testament. Repeatedly read one book at a time for at least a month. That will aid in your memory of the New Testament, allowing you to stop constantly using a concordance to find things.
If you want to give it a shot, start with a brief book like 1 John and read it cover to cover every day for a month. You will be familiar with the book when that time is up. The main idea of each chapter should be written on index cards. As you read every day, you can refer to the cards to help you recall what each chapter is about. In fact, you’ll start to form an image of the book in your head.
When you get to the longer novels, break them up into manageable portions and read one of them every day for a month. The gospel of John, for instance, has twenty-one chapters. Make three portions of seven chapters each. You’ll finish John after ninety days. If you alternate short and long books for variety, you can finish the entire New Testament in less than three years—and you’ll truly know it!
Step 2 – Interpreting the Bible
Philip questioned the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:30, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Or another way to ask the question is, “What does the Bible intend by what it says?” It is not sufficient to read the text and then go straight to the application; you must first understand what it means in order to avoid having an inaccurate application.
One basic question should always be on your mind while you read the Bible: “What does this mean?” Utilizing the analogy of faith, the most fundamental interpretation concept, is necessary to provide a response to that query.
Search the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit has written while allowing Him to be your teacher (1 John 2:27), making use of cross-references, analogous chapters, concordances, indexes, and other resources. Consult your pastor or godly men who have written on the subject if any sections are still confusing to you.
Step 3: Putting God’s Word into Practice
If you finish your personal Bible study at this point, Jesus offered the following promise to you: “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them” (John 13:17).
You should have a fundamental knowledge of what the Bible says and what it means by what it says after reading and interpreting it. However, Bible study does not end there. The final objective should be to allow it to speak to you and aid in your spiritual development. That calls for individual effort.
God’s truth must enter your life and transform it. It would be like cooking a banquet without eating it to study the Bible without allowing it to reach the depths of your spirit. How can the divine truths and principles revealed in any passage apply to me in terms of my attitude and behavior is the fundamental question to ask.
Be sure to follow any instructions that are given. Claim any promise that is available to be welcomed. If there is a caution that has to be heeded, do so. The final stage is to submit to Scripture and allow it to change your life.
Step 4: Correlating the Scriptures
This final step ties together the teaching you have learned from a certain text or book with biblical principles and divine truths given in other places to create the overall picture. The Bible is one book divided into sixty-six portions, so its truths and ideas are repeatedly taught in a variety of settings and situations. By cross-referencing and correlating, you can start to establish a solid doctrinal platform on which to stand.
Get to work now! You’ll be astounded by the rich richness your study unearths as you delve into God’s Word using those five straightforward procedures. My prayer is that the Lord will use this strategy to rekindle your interest in Bible study, heighten your desire to learn and comprehend His Word, and continue to shape you into the likeness of His Beloved Son.
God bless you.