The Bible is beautifully both simple and complex. So how does one begin to study the Bible?
My name is Dominick Alipoon and this is Just Pastor It.
Where we tackle the most googled theology questions.
How to Study the Bible was the 97th most googled theology question of 2020; which was asked over 74,000 times.
Let's be honest, there are countless ways to study the Bible.
You could study the Bible:
- by topic
- by book
- by reading from the beginning to the end.
- by using a concordance
- by following a guideline
But how should you study the Bible?
Well I don't know. That's not really a question I can answer.
But what I can do is provide you with helpful tips and tricks to approach God's word confidently and absorb the all the goodies inside.
Step 1: Pray
Before we even open the Bible, we should pray. Why pray? Because as we read and study we want to be guided and led by the Holy Spirit. Because our minds are not spiritually minded, it can be difficult to grasps spiritual concepts. That is where the Holy Spirit jumps in. With the Holy Spirit guiding us, we can't fail.
Step 2: The Big Picture
Step 2 is to understand the Big Picture. The Bible is not a series of separated stories or guidelines to receive salvation. The Bible tells a big story. Understanding where the many small stories, including your story fits in to the big story will help quite a bit.
For instance how does Adam fit into the story of scripture? And Esther? and Jesus?
Step 3: Questions
As we begin to understand the story of scripture we now are going to ask 3 main questions.
- What does this tell me about God?
- What does this tell me about Others?
- What does this tell me about Myself?
Asking these questions causes us to think critically as we process the stories, poems, prophecies, and pros of scripture.
Conclusion
This is how I study the Bible for my own personal spiritual growth. There are many ways to approach scripture. This way works for me. How do you study the Bible? What methodologies have worked for you?