Elements of Bible Study

Bible study boils down to the following elements:

Bible -It may seem obvious, but it’s still crucial to have a Bible open when you study. It’s helpful to have at least two different Bible versions opened to the same passage. Speakers and readers of the English language have a priceless gift of multiple translations of the Scriptures. These can often help you gain new insight from the way that specific terms are handled in different texts.

For example, you can read Ephesians 3:17a in one version as, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (New International Version), and then turn to the New Living Translation and read, “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.” Comparing the versions allows you to sense the depth of Paul’s prayer.

Attitude -Receptivity and attention are crucial for those who want to benefit from their study of the Bible. This means that you open the Bible expecting God’s Word to speak to you, and that you are willing to put into practice what you learn. Those who read the Bible with a ho-hum attitude, expecting to learn nothing, are rarely disappointed. But God rewards curiosity, hunger, questions, and an openness to him.

One of the best ways to manage your attitude involves praying before you study the Bible. Ask God to open your eyes, mind, and heart as you read and think about his Word. Ask God to point out any barriers that might keep you from learning and then wait for a moment in silence to allow him to answer your prayer. Open your Bible with anticipation.

System -Over the centuries, followers of Jesus have developed many approaches to reading and studying the Bible. The discipline of studying is more systematic than the very beneficial practice of simply reading the Bible for devotional reasons. Bible study is methodical, deliberate, and time-consuming. Devotional Bible reading is much like eating nutritious fast food, whereas Bible study parallels a full course meal. Both kinds of spiritual nourishment have their place.

One system may involve using a notebook or journal for taking notes. Another system may involve using a prepared study guide or workbook. Bible study should involve multiple readings of the passage, and maybe underlining important texts. Have in mind a list of the things you want to observe as you read: verbs (where commands hide), people (where life-lessons hide), character traits (where examples hide), and odd items that might provoke a good question. Familiar passages require even more attention, not less. (For example: 1 Corinthians 13:13 lists “faith, hope and love” and informs us that “the greatest of these is love.” Why is love the greatest of these?) Then look for answers in the whole context of the verse or pasage.

Choose a system or approach to Bible study to follow and use it for a while. Develop the skill to approach various passages in the same way, training yourself to be observant and thoughtful.

There are many tools available (see the article “Study Tools” on this website) to help you answer common questions and avoid errors caused by lack of knowledge of what the rest of the Bible teaches. There are many pre-outlined study guides (such as the Life Application Bible Studies from Tyndale Publishers) that you can use to facilitate your study. Other tools such as Bible dictionaries, concordances, and commentaries will help to give needed background information and broaden your understanding.

Involvement -The Bible is “alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). God’s Word will speak into your life. Get involved with it. Be ready to obey. If you find yourself primarily thinking about how passages apply to other people’s lives, you are probably not paying careful enough attention.

Confidence -The Bible is God’s Word, so you can be confident that it is true and right. It will be your guide and companion for life. Don’t expect to understand all of it at first. You can grow into it. Don’t worry, because those parts that you do understand will be plenty to keep you busy doing Bible study for a long time.

Mastering Bible Study

The Bible was written to change us, to lead us to a right relationship with God and other people. This is a compelling reason to study the Bible, but how do we do that? Elsewhere on this website you will find a number of suggestions and motivations for launching into Bible study. There are many fruitful Bible study methods. Perhaps you have experimented with several of them. You are ready to move to a deeper level of “wrestling with scripture.” Here is one solid method that will allow you to grasp the meaning of a book as a whole, along with its key themes. We’ll call it the systematic Bible study method. It has five steps.

1. Read through the whole book several times.
In this step you’re getting a general feel for the book. As you’re reading, pay attention to the topics the author covers, who the audience is, the purpose of the book, and anything the author says that pops out at you. Read the book at a normal pace and don’t spend too much time on the details. Those will come later.

2. Find the major divisions.
An author has several main points to make when writing a book. The goal of the second step is to find out what those points are and to determine where the author begins and ends his discussion of each point. Some clues to look for are places where he changes the subject, places where he makes a statement and then elaborates on it for several paragraphs, and places where he changes his tone of voice. If the book is a narrative, look for changes in the setting or character. Once you find the major divisions, look for the divisions within those. Or you could start with the smaller sections and put them together into larger ones. Keep in mind that your divisions might not fall in the same place as the beginning of a chapter.

3. Determine the function of each section.
In this step you are looking for the logical flow of the book. Does this section introduce a topic? Does it explore a conclusion that flows from the previous section? Is the author explaining several topics in a series? In a narrative, how do the events in this section follow from earlier events, and how do they lead to the events that follow? Have the characters developed? Clues to look for are logical connection words like for, since, because, and therefore; contrast words such as but and although; and series words like and.

4. Identify and study key words.
In this step you’re looking for the main themes in the book rather than trying to dissect every word. Observe how the author uses each key word throughout the book. How does he describe it? How does it relate to the other ideas in the book? How does he feel about this theme?

5. Summarize the book.
In your summary, include information about the book’s purpose, audience, main points, and practical applications. James Boice offers this summary of Romans: “This book was written to the church of Rome and also applies to other churches in other places. It’s a general statement of Christian doctrine. It says the human race is lost in sin. The answer to that predicament is the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. Romans explains the gospel, and it applies doctrines to show how Christians are supposed to live.”

And there you have it! There are other important things to know about studying the Bible, but this method will get you off to a good start.

Of course, the point of Bible study isn’t simply to accumulate a pile of book summaries. The most important step in any method is application, the step in which you take the Bible’s teaching to heart and do what it says.

This article is adapted from “Five Keys to Studying the Bible” by James Boice, in Practical Christianity, edited by LaVonne Neff, Ron Beers, et al (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1987).