The Discipline of Study

2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Corinthians 2:11-16

 

Many within the church today are Biblically illiterate and have based their understanding of God upon a variety of sources that may or may not be correct. “Although most Americans believe they already know the fundamental truths of the Scriptures, the Barna Research Group has discovered that fewer than 10 percent of American Christians (bolding mine) actually possess a Biblical worldview, a perceptual filter through which they see life and its opportunities. Lacking that filter, most Christians make important decisions on the basis of instinct, emotion, assumptions, past experience, external pressure or chance…In short, the spirituality of Americans is Christian in name only. We desire experience more than knowledge. We prefer choices to absolutes. We embrace preferences rather than truths. We seek comfort rather than growth. Faith must come on our terms or we reject it” (Barna, The Second Coming of the Church, 23).

 

In order to live the abundant life, one must accurately understand the nature and character of God, the events of life that are taking place around us and finally, we need to understand ourselves. If we are to live as God intended, and withstand the spiritual attacks of the world, the devil and even our own flesh, we must be firmly grounded in God’s truth. The study of the Word of God will enable us to develop a Biblical worldview and rightly understand what God requires of us as a response to the grace that we have received in salvation. But we first must come to grips with the fact that most of us have developed our understanding of God from a collection of sources including; sermons, Sunday school, friends, the media and personal experiences. These understandings may not reflect Biblical teaching and need to be brought in line with the teaching of Scripture.

 

In spite of the Bible being the best selling book in America, the general public, and the church of Jesus Christ, are woefully ignorant of its contents. Further, there is a serious lack of understanding when it comes to studying the Bible as God’s living Word to us. We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original manuscripts and wholly sufficient for life and faith. Yet, our interpretation and application of the Word often disregards the intended meaning of the author, the original meaning of words, as well as the context and literary form being used. The end result is we bend the text to say something the author (the Holy Spirit) never intended. 

 

How to Study the Word of God

 

• Prepare Yourself – Worship, confession, prayer (guidance of H S), obedience

We dare not underestimate the importance of preparing ourselves spiritually to receive the Word. To spend time in personal worship, reading one of the psalms or singing several verses of a hymn or chorus, along with a time of Spirit directed confession helps to insure that our heart is open and ready to receive God’s truth. Further, we must determine in our hearts that we will obey whatever God reveals and then ask for the guidance and ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s Holy Spirit who authored Scripture and He is the one best able to help us understand both the meaning of an individual text and its application for us in our current situation.

 

• Read through the Bible once each year.

• Read in different translations for new insight and discovery.

• Read several chapters repetitively looking for major themes, teachings.

• Seek first to understand what the author is saying

• Determine the intended meaning of the author (human and Holy Spirit)

• What does the Bible mean by what is says?

 

1. Avoid spiritualizing, superficial interpretations and reading into the text.

We must be careful to let the text speak and not bring to the text our preconceptions as to its meaning and application, even, maybe especially, if we have looked at it before and believe that we understand it. Some texts are self evident, others are less clear and still others require significant study and reflection to grasp their meaning. Allow yourself time and don’t just guess at the right meaning to a text. If you don’t understand it, say so and seek outside help to bring clarity and understanding.

 

2. Bridge the gaps of language, culture, history etc. with outside resources.

In most study Bibles now there are a host of helps that enable us to get at the original setting for every text. We must stop and make sure we know whom the author is and what their situation was like. To whom were they writing and what do we know about that individual or class of people that might bring additional insight into the text. Finally, we must pay strict attention to the usage of words and their meanings respecting both morphology (word form) and syntax (word order). Words can have multiple meanings (ie. sarx which we translate flesh, Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:19) or nuances of meaning but never violate the base sense of their meaning.  We must grow familiar with the use of concordances, grammars, Bible maps, commentaries and supporting historical works. 

 

3. Interpret within the immediate context and the unity of Scripture.

Context determines how a particular word might be translated and we recognize that Scripture will never contradict itself. To insure that we are interpreting within the original context we must read and consider, as a minimum, the preceding and following verses, with preferably the whole chapter or book in view. Without respect for this rule we can make a text say almost anything we want.

 

4. Respect historical context, grammatical principles and types of literary genre. 

We have already touched on this a little in number 2 when we discussed the bridging the language and culture gaps between the authors of Scripture and ourselves but to drive home the point I am talking about the fact that Scripture uses a wide variety of literary devices and literary forms to convey its message. In Matthew 18:1-10, Jesus uses hyperbole in His teaching to the disciples about humility. And in doing so states that if our hand or foot should cause us to stumble we should cut them off, or in the case of our eye causing us to stumble to pluck it out. These are not literal instructions for dismemberment but the use of language to bring home the point regarding humility and the reception of children.

 

Further, we must recognize that the Bible includes a wide variety of literary genre including; proverbs, prophecy, poetry, idioms, parables, Biblical narrative (history) and epistles, with each group having their own specific rules of interpretation. If we consider the “accepted” interpretation of Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it”, people generally believe that this is a “promise” or universal “law” that guarantees success in parenting if the right pattern is followed. Yet, a proverb is a short pithy saying that expresses a wise, general truth about life and in no way “guarantees” a given outcome. We must be careful to respect the type of literature we are studying if we are going to hear clearly and accurately God’s voice.

 

• Meditate upon what the Holy Spirit reveals to you.

• Memorize key verses and passages that are meaningful to you.

• Journal to detect recurring themes and life issues.

There is power in the act of writing down those truths that God reveals to us, for it enables us to clarify our thinking and get specific in our application. Journaling also allows us the opportunity to go back and refresh our minds regarding discoveries from previous times of study. Be sure to jot down words, phrases and concepts that you do not understand in order that you can go back later and resolve these questions. 

 

• Put into practice that which you discover.

The apostle James warns us of the danger of studying for the sake of accumulating knowledge, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).

 

• Teach what you discover to someone else.

While there is an admonition to be careful about becoming a teacher (James 3:1), there are also tremendous rewards to sharing our discoveries with others. Teaching others keeps us fresh in the word and forces us to truly understand and apply each truth before sharing it with someone else. Our level of understanding is expanded and our rate of retention is increased many times. 

 

• Find a coach (spiritual guide) to encourage you and keep you accountable.

Final Thoughts Concerning Study

• We need to be diligent in our handling of the Word of God recognizing that it is God who either approves or disapproves of our work. When we are finished with our study of the Word we need to be certain that we have accurately reflected the intended teaching of the Holy Spirit.

• The Holy Spirit, who is the author of Scripture, is also the one who will lead us into a correct understanding of His intended meaning. As we begin, we need to pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit, and for hearts that will receive God’s truth when it is revealed.

• The Word of God is sufficient to lead us into a life of godliness, ministry and service. As such it is authoritative in all areas that it addresses, and should be received with humility of spirit.

• The Word of God is the primary means of grace and lasting life transformation takes place as our minds are renewed by the truth of the Word of God. Feelings and experiences are an important part of our walk with God but must remain subject to God’s Revelation, the Bible, as we seek to understand God and the world around us.

• Also, we need to act on Foster's suggestion that we begin to study "non verbal" books.  He rightly points out that we can learn much about God and the spiritual life by studying nature, human relationships and ourselves.  In the process of self-examination we often discover the fears, circumstances and situations that control us.

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