Scripture Part 7: How To Study Scripture

Studying scripture is not hard. It is not time consuming. It is not just for pastors. Everything keeping us from studying scripture is a lie. And it is a lie of Satan. That is not hyperbole, it is fact. Satan wants to keep you from scripture. So do those who serve him. Because scripture teaches about the real God and the real gospel, and protects us from the deceptions of Satan and his followers. Do not be deceived, most people today follow Satan. But they don't know that's who they are following. If they studied scripture for themselves they would realize it and reject Satan. Therefore he does his best to prevent that.

There isn't one single way to study scripture. Some people use a variety of methods. What is important is to do it, and to get the teaching of scripture inside us. Then, and only then, can we spot error and deception. No matter how good a Christian your pastor is, they are human. Therefore, they make mistakes. So however we choose to study scripture it needs to get it inside us to equip us with the wisdom to know what is true and what isn't. For those who don't have a study method I offer this advice. Take what works for you and leave the rest.

The first step is to be sure we accept scripture as authoritative. The first article in this series, "Scripture Part 1: Why Believe Scripture?" covers this. This is important because scripture will contradict what we think on some things. We are imperfect. God alone is perfect. By really understanding that fact and that scripture is the word of God we will be able to accept when we are corrected by scripture. It's not easy to admit it when we find out we are wrong about something. But a mature person accepts the teaching of scripture over their own thoughts and ideas.

Second, we should pray. Prayers should include praise to God for who He is, thanks for specific things he's done for us, and requests that the Spirit help us to study. This takes less than a minute. But it's a good way to get our minds right and have a receptive attitude towards scripture. And most important, it's the right thing to do. More instruction on how to pray is found in Matthew 6:5-14 and will be covered in a future article.

There is one issue that needs to be addressed before starting step three. It is important to separate what is scripture from the writings of men. Be sure to keep them separate in your mind as you read. Most Bibles have footnotes and cross-references. Some have commentary and articles as well. These are not scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit. These are the writings of men, and may not be accurate. Some of them are unsupported speculation by the writer presented as fact when they are false. An example is the footnotes of a particular NIV Bible which states that Samson was a good person when scripture makes it clear he was a pig of a man his whole life until he was captured and blinded by the Philistines. Other footnotes assert that King Saul was a bad person from the beginning and assigns bad motives to his actions. But actual scripture makes it clear he was a humble and God fearing man at the beginning. It was much later when he valued being king over following God's will that he went bad. When trying to fill in the information that the writers of scripture don't include, I am always careful to put in terms like, "it is likely", "it is possible", or "it is almost certain" unless there is definitive evidence for any conclusion I might make. It is arrogant to think we can know the motivation of a person we encounter today. It is arrogance beyond arrogance to think that we can know the motivation of a person in scripture if it isn't stated in scripture.

The third step is to choose a book of the Bible and read it all the way through. Right now many of you have a voice in your head saying the books are too long. That is a lie. Most are not long. Many are quite short, especially in the New Testament. The vast majority of people read more on social media in a day than a book of the Bible. And you don't have to read it all at once. But it wouldn't hurt to go all the way through a book of the Bible without stopping, especially the shorter books. Once you have read the book of the Bible you have chosen all the way through you will have some sense of its context.

It's best to start out in the New Testament. A couple good books to start with are the Gospel of John and Romans. Different gospels have a different target audience. The Gospel of John was written to everyone. As such, the wording does not assume a Jewish reader. In this book we meet an absolutely powerful God in human flesh who controls and rules the Universe He created. The best known verse in the Bible is found in John, that God loves all of us and offered His Son as our only hope. Paul's epistle to the Romans gives the gospel truth and theology of God. It is the best letter of Paul to start with because it covers a broad spectrum of what it is to be Christian. Paul's other letters are in response to specific sins and problems at a Church, so it would be good to have that context in mind when reading them. When starting to study the Old Testament, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles are good places to start. Genesis is a good one too, although there are parts that are difficult for a new Christian.

Fourth, read the book again. But this time do it slowly. You can start with reading the context of the book such as who wrote it and who it was written to. Some history of the area can also help, such as knowing that Corinth was a nexus for trade between the east and the west, and because of that there were all kinds of religions and pagan temples there. Then as you read think about what the part you are reading means. If you can't understand something, don't worry about it. You can skip that for later. When an Old Testament passage or story is referred in the New Testament book you are reading, turn to that passage and read it in context. Then return to the book you are studying.

Fifth, scripture instructs us to meditate on scripture. This is not the pagan meditation where you empty your mind. That is to invite evil to come in. Christian meditation is to fill our minds with scripture, going over it again and again. If this is difficult for you try listening to an audio version during your day. There are free apps that offer this ability. As we meditate on the book of the Bible we are studying we should think about what it means and what it means in our lives. That is what this step is about, understanding scripture for what it says. Whatever you do, do not say, "What does this verse mean to me?" That is blasphemous. Instead say, "How can I apply this in my life?" That is Christian. Scripture means what it means. Its meaning does not change. Its meaning is not up for a vote. How we apply the truth of scripture to our lives is up to us.

At this point, you have a good plan for studying scripture. Beyond this is trying to fully understand scripture, which is the advanced level. That is something that should probably wait until you have studied multiple books of the Bible and are starting to see them as a whole. When you are beginning see how a passage in one book of the Bible can only be understood one way because of what is said in another book you have reached the advanced level. Then it's good to do further study into the culture and background.

While there is good information in books and writing by non-Christians, it's important to understand what is compatible with scripture and what wrongly tries to contradict it. Anything that isn't scripture is suspect, even or especially that by those who claim to be Christian. And to be able to see that for yourself requires personal knowledge of what scripture actually says. For example, the Word Biblical Commentary is the gold-standard of commentaries in evangelical seminaries for its thorough scholarship. It is very good to use academically. And many of the authors are good Christians. However, some are demonstrably not Christians. For example, in Volume 10, 1 Samuel, the author Dr. Ralph Klein states that an action of God is an example of God doing something that is evil. This denies that God is good. This is a denial of the fundamental nature of God and even of God's divinity. Thus Klein cannot be a real Christian, but follows his own beliefs and sets them above scripture. His work can be used, but only while being on constant guard against the heresy that peppers his writing. Almost all the books I was required to read in Seminary were by people who claimed to be Christians. But at least half of them denied or argued against Christianity. Thus to guard against them we must be knowledgable about scripture. You can't spot a fake by being fake. We have to know the real first before we can spot and discard the fake.

One more note of caution. It seems every day there is another person who pulls one thing out of the Law of Moses and try to tell everyone we have to follow that rule. That is not true and is contradicted by scripture. If you are going to follow the law then you have to follow all of it. It's not a pick-and-choose buffet. Not every command and promise is for us. Some are only applicable to Israel. But as Christians we are not under the law. The Law of Moses is only for Israel before Christ. Only Israel was judged by God for not following things like tithing. The pagan nations were not. But there are things in the law and the Old Testament that the pagan nations were judged by God for, such as murder, human sacrifice, injustice, and such. These are universal laws of God for all humanity. However, it benefits us to study the Law of Moses. All of scripture teaches us about God, who He is, and about His nature.

Finally, always be ready to go back and study a book again. As we grow more like Jesus Christ we understand scripture better. I studied Galatians for decades before I really understood it. For decades I thought Paul was arguing against Judaizers teaching justification by works. Finally I understood that the justification by works was coming from the pagan temples that the Galatians had come from. And they were mixing it up with the nomistic teachings of the Judaizers, which affirms salvation is only by the grace of God. They taught that we have to be nomistically identified with Judaism for the grace of God to be an option. And thus the book of Galatians was Paul trying to unscramble the eggs between the pagan belief of justification by works and nomistic teaching of the Judaizers. After I understood that Galatians made so much more sense and was finally coherent to me. We will never stop learning until we meet Jesus face to face.