Five (5) Ways to Study the Bible
The Bible has so many interesting things going on like Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt for being nosey (Genesis 19), Jesus flipping tables (John 2), or Esau selling his whole birthright for soup (Genesis 25). Some of the wildest stories happened to be in the Old Testament. At one point, I thought the Old Testament was just so boring and full of names and numbers that I wouldn’t even want to look at it for fear I’d fall asleep. My mindset and intention clearly needed to change. Once I was honest with myself, did some research on how to approach reading the Bible, and set goals for myself, everything shifted. The Bible is like one big soap opera at times and I want to keep reading for the next thing that is going to happen.
I don’t mean it disrespectfully because I recognize how intentional each and every word, situation, and action is to guide us and show us God’s love, but some of the things that happen are just intriguing to read. The way I approached studying the Bible allowed me to open myself up to hearing from God and even desire more of God’s Word. I want to offer five (5) of the ways that helped me progress in my faith and shift how I viewed reading the Bible:
1. Who? Where? When? What? Why? How?
It’s good to have historical context to the book and chapters in the book because it helps the reader understand the context of the book and helps remove some misinterpretation of verses. By getting the overall picture, you can gain understanding of certain verses so as to not misuse them out of context. Some of the questions I ask:
Who – Who is the author of the book?
Where – Where was this book written?
When – When was this book written?
What – What was the purpose of this book? What is going on during this time?
Why – Why was this book written?
How – How does this book fit within the Bible? How is God trying to speak to us?
2. Read From God’s Perspective Instead of Our Own
It can be easy to read something in the Bible so that it only applies to a situation that you’re going through. For me, I found that was selfish on my part and excluded God from the conversation. By shifting my mindset to the reasoning for God wanting this specific book in the Bible or even why He wanted the author to utilize specific words, I really got insight into God. That’s not to say that you won’t learn something new each time because I can read a verse 1 day, come back to it in a week, and receive a new impartation from God.
3. Read Multiple Versions
King James Version (KJV) can be a bit overwhelming for someone new to the Christian faith or even someone who has never picked up a Bible. It can be more digestible to have a version that can be easier to understand. Reading one version over another doesn’t make anyone “more” or “less” holy. The Bible we read is reliable and inspired by God so as you read, hear what the Lord is speaking to you. I typically read the NASB, NKJV, ESV, NIV, NLT, MSG and KJV at the same time.
The Bible app also has a Compare button when you select a verse to look at different versions.
www.biblehub.com is a great tool to use to see a verse and what other versions say for the same verse.
4. Read More Than One Chapter
Some days I don’t want to read a ton and it happens. Some days I don’t want to read at all, but reading one verse or even one chapter may not be enough to give me a big picture of what is going on.
I like to set a standard in my study of reading at least five (5) chapters as a base or I may get overzealous and read the entire book. This has helped even with connecting the dots for certain things that I’m reading. Some books in the Bible are even one (1) chapter or (2) and can be a “quick” read to get context for why they’re even there. It doesn’t make them any less important.
5. Study Bibles
There are some Bibles that provide deeper guidance for the reader that can have maps, supporting verses in the margin, red text for when Jesus is speaking, etc. And those types of Bibles are so helpful!
How do you study the Bible? What has worked for you that may work for someone else? Comment below!
