HOW DO YOU STUDY THE BIBLE?
Thank you again for taking our survey. There were 822 responses! Full survey results are here.
While the Bible does not provide exact methods for studying scripture, I am providing comments from my own experience below the answers. I hope the comments are of help.
Comment: These findings show the importance of the local church in biblical education. However, it also demonstrates the importance of online resources. As wonderful as the internet is, we urge our students to be careful of Bible themed online resources. Investigate the author’s biography if possible and their doctrinal statement on the site. Make sure they believe in biblical authority, Jesus as Christ, God, man, and salvation by grace, and other spiritual based biblical themes.
Comment: We emphasize to our own students the importance of verse-by-verse study to add to the vital knowledge gained form their pastor’s sermons. Verse-by-verse study discovers the most interesting and complete information from scripture to know Christ and to gain its benefits in our lives.
Comment: We believe it’s vital to study scripture not only verse-by-verse to gain all that scripture offers, as noted above, but also to study prospectively and not just when the need arises. Obviously, we do not know all the reasons people seek information online; however, when we seek God in advance before troubles arise we can perceive bad entrapments more clearly regarding people or situations to avoid to keep ourselves from problems. It is better to see the rock on the trail before you trip than to look back having fallen flat and say ‘oh yah I shouldn’t have done that!’ Scripture is the light that helps us avoid mistakes.
Comment: Be careful! Your time is valuable. Seek resources that can help educate you most efficiently in scriptural knowledge so you can be the best servant of God that you can be as soon as possible, but also avoid life’s mishaps which could have permanent and long-lasting results in career, family and marriage.
Comment: Gaining a general knowledge of each book, its history, major themes and how it fits into the plan of God, does not take much time and completes an overall knowledge of scripture until the books can be studies individually.
Where verse-by-verse gives you an exciting idea of what is in each book and a competency in reading and interpreting scripture, studying the major biblical themes such as: salvation, security, the Church, the Holy Spirit, etc. integrates scripture from all portions of the Bible to provide you topical knowledge. This is vital because as you talk to others you typically do so topically and not verse-by-verse. We have a wonderful text of scripture that is reliable and our ability to know God through it is almost endless. Our study of scripture takes a lifetime and provides a chance to influence not only our own lives but society and those people coming along behind us.
