Think back to those long nights in high school or college. The ones where you stayed up all night studying for an exam the next day.
Maybe it was for Physics or Biology or Sociology or Calculus or Geography…one of those classes that required a lot of brain power to fully comprehend the subject matter.
Now think back to how you studied for that exam. You probably read and reread the textbook. You probably highlighted and took notes. Maybe you color-coded those notes to organize the thoughts in your head and help you remember them. You may have jotted notes down in the text book. You may have even referred to several different text books on the same subject matter to really cement your understanding. You probably even searched the web to further clarify ideas that didn’t quite make sense to you.
Now think of the way you study the Bible. Is it anywhere near as rigorous a process as the one described above?
Now, wait a minute, you might say. The Bible is a completely different book and subject matter than any of the topics I had to study for in school. Plus reading the Bible affects my emotions and my heart. Reading the Bible is a totally different experience!
This may be true. But isn’t the Bible oftentimes a difficult book to understand? Aren’t there parts of it that require more thought and comprehension than a mere read-through can provide? Is it not made up of different genres of text such as poetry, law, narrative, and epistle that require different methods of study that need to be learned?
In order to get the most out of our time spent reading the Bible, in order to see the heart-change within ourselves that we so desire, we must see the Bible as a book to be studied and not just read.
I am preaching to myself when I exhort you to study the Bible instead of just reading it. Most of my Christian life I had merely read the Bible instead of studying it, wrestling with the text, and seeking to understand it on my own. The thought to study it, as I had studied other textbooks, had not really occurred to me. I expected to be able to read it once, understand it perfectly, and begin to see heart change without spending much time and effort actually studying the text.
But then my perspective changed. I spent some time reading several books and articles on the subject of Bible study, including Jen Wilkin’s Women of the Word (not an affiliate link), which I highly recommend. My eyes were opened to the world of true academic study of the Bible and reading it with my mind and not just my heart. I now study the Bible with a double-spaced copy of the text, a special Bible study binder, several different colored pens and highlighters, and several translations of the text to name just a few of the tools I use to help me in my studying endeavor.
I suspect I am not the only one who thought the Bible was a book to be merely read instead of rigorously studied. Listed below are 4 mistakes we commonly make when it comes to reading the Bible:
Mistake #1: Reading the Bible with our hearts first instead of our minds
Although it’s important to hide the Word of God in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), Jen Wilkin is quick to point out that the Bible says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), not our hearts. We are so quick to read the parts of the Bible that elicit in us a certain emotion without truly understanding the meaning of the text or the context in which it was written.
An example of this is what commonly happens with verse 11 in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (NIV).” If we read this verse with our hearts first, it elicits in us a hope that God truly wants us to prosper above all else. But if we use our minds to think of the context of this verse (it was written to those in exile in Babylon) and the intentions of God as outlined in the rest of the Bible, we come to understand that although all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), the prosperity referred to here was meant for a specific people at a specific point in time.
What to do instead: We should read the Bible with the intention of first truly understanding the text with our minds before we let our emotions run away with us. Does this mean that the Bible will never affect our hearts? Absolutely not! Once we truly understand the text and the God behind it, our hearts cannot help but overflow with love and affection for this God and His Word!
Mistake #2: Reading only the parts of Scripture that we understand and like
I am very guilty of making this mistake. I have read Paul’s epistles dozens of times over but have never once studied the book of Leviticus! Why? Because Paul’s epistles make me feel good and Leviticus gives me a headache. This mistake is then related to the first one, I am only reading the parts of the Bible that elicit emotions within me and not studying it to truly understand the God behind it.
But if we are to take 2 Timothy 3:16 seriously that says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” then it is of the utmost importance that we study ALL of scripture – even the parts that give us headaches!
What to do instead: Study the Bible. All of it! We need to recognize that not all of scripture should be studied the same way using the same methods. If we’re trudging through the laws in Leviticus or some of the strange prophesies in the Minor Prophets without getting much out of it, we might need to change our method of study. All of the Bible is meant to be read and savored and loved. We just might need to alter the way we approach certain texts in order to learn to savor and love it.
Mistake #3: Relying solely on the teachings of others in order to understand the Bible
What do the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other “Bible-derived” religions have in common? They trust the “authority” of someone else’s teaching of the Bible instead of reading it for themselves. The Mormons will even tell you they were not meant to read the Bible for themselves. This has led to gross misinterpretations and the forming of anti-Bible cults.
But this problem is not exclusive to those “other” religions. Oftentimes we as Christians rely solely on others to teach the Bible to us rather than reading and studying it for ourselves. When we do this we are liable to receive different and opposing interpretations of scripture. How then are we to know which interpretation is correct?
What to do instead: We must read and seek to understand the Bible for ourselves. I am not saying this is easy. When we set out to do this we will often find ourselves wrestling with texts we just don’t understand. But dear friend, we are not alone in this endeavor! Christ has sent us a helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide our reading of the text and lead us toward the one true and right interpretation of it. We need to come to the Scriptures prayerfully, without any preconceived notions, and be open to the Spirit’s teaching as we seek to understand His Word. Once we’ve attempted and are comfortable with the understanding we’ve gained from our own attempts at studying the text, then we can look to the teachings of others and see how our understanding compares.
Mistake #4: Settling for not understanding the text
Back before God opened my eyes to beauty of truly studying scripture, I used to come across difficult parts of the Bible and do one of two things: Skip it with the idea that I wasn’t meant to understand it OR tell myself that someday someone would probably explain it to me. I was okay with not understanding the text.
What to do instead: While it is true that there are characteristics of God and the way He works that we will never fully comprehend, we need to understand that the Bible was written to be read and understood by all people. With this in mind we need to resolve to try and understand the parts of the text that are difficult for us. This may take days, months, even years of wrestling with the text and fervently asking the Holy Spirit for understanding. We need to remember that this is part of the process and dedicate ourselves and our time to this pursuit. For it is indeed a worthy pursuit!
If we are to commit ourselves to studying and understanding Scripture, we need to realize that this is truly a lifelong endeavor. We need to be willing to give ourselves to the process no matter how long it takes and how difficult it may be at times. The truth about Bible study is, it takes work! It is not a simple or quick process. But I promise you, it is worth your while!
This blog is dedicated to helping you in this pursuit. My printable resource library has tools and workbooks to help you walk through the text of the Bible inductively. My heart is for you, dear reader! I long to help you discover, as I am, the beauty of God’s Word and the great adventure of unveiling His character for ourselves.
Want a place to start? Download my Inductive Bible Study Workbook on the book of Ruth! It’s designed to help you work through and understand the text yourself. It’s free, but you will need the password to access this page. To get the password: click here. Once you have the password, click the picture below:
