Studying The Bible

How to study the Bible

2 Timothy 3:10-17 (NIV)

How often do you read the bible? . . . .

How do you read the Bible? –

• Out of duty?

• Just read the passage and close the book?

• Only when you need to because you just don’t find it that interesting?

And what about more than read – you ever tried to actually STUDY the Bible?

Maybe you tried having a commentary to refer to –

whose used a bible commentary before?

Whose had a study book with questions to answer about a bible passage?

They can be helpful, but if I’m honest – I find the questions in some these study booklets way too obvious.

You know, many of you could write your own questions to help you study.

I do it when preparing studies for the groups we have at Highfield – and they get in depth discussion going.

You can do it too.

Taking some time to study God’s Word, rather than just reading it, really can bring it alive!

Studying the Bible:

• Helps you understand it better

• Causes you to stop and see things you won’t have seen before

• Helps you reflect on how the bible relates to you today.

So this morning, I ‘m going to equip you with some simple questions (I’ll give out a card too)

They may be simple questions, but they will open up the bible to you in new ways.

Are you up for that?

First, let me mention a couple of things in this week’s reading (2 Tim 3):

13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Evil doers and imposters – how do you tell one?

Especially imposters – in fact, when it comes to understanding the bible, it’s not even imposters you need to check on.

There are those who teach in churches, on TV/video, and in books – some are less known, others are well known.

It doesn’t matter – teachers/preachers (including me) are all human.

That means, unless they are just reading the words directly out of the bible (God’s Word), they could be teaching (human word) incorrectly.

That could be by mistake, it could be by wrong interpretation.

How do you know?

How do you know if I am giving correct teaching or not?

And don’t tell me it’s because it “sounds right”

There are all kinds of things put on Facebook

“like this page and facebook will give $1 for ever like to . . . charity”

“Share this with your friends, and if it gets a million shares, we will get world peace”, or something like that.

And millions of people believe it!

Or you get an email saying things like: “... One of my friends received an email called "Join the Crew," and it erased her entire hard drive. If you receive such an email (which you won’t), don’t read it, but delete it. Pass this on”

People copy and paste it to all their friends and in so doing create a “lazy virus”.

It not only fills up peoples inbox, it creates a (small) slow down on the internet.

Have several of these going around and it’s like someone putting on their breaks in the middle lane of a motorway!

The point?

It takes a few seconds – at most a few minutes to “study” a hoax website – and you will know the truth for yourself.

Ask yourself a couple of questions and you will discover what the truth is.

In verse 15-17 of 2 Tim 3

15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We say before we read our bible on a Sunday, “I hold God’s Word in my hands. It encourages, corrects and instructs me.

The bible teaches, it tells how God wants us to live life to the fullest, it gives instruction.

We can read the bible on level one and enjoy it or even be challenged by it.

But, if only we study it on the next level, you and I could really be chewing on meat, rather than sucking on milk.

Ok so, how to go to the next level – How do we study the bible?

1. PRAY! . . . . Before you read the bible - talk to the Author!

2. Ask some simple questions

a. Author. Who wrote it, who was it written to, and why?

a. Ask that of even one paragraph

b. If you can, find out – online, commentary, front of the book (intro)