HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE
Bible Study Methods
Lesson six
(2 Tim 2:15 KJV)
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
(Heb 4:12 KJV)
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Preparation
To effectively study the Bible, you need to:
1. Read the Scriptures carefully and prayerfully.
As you take up the Scriptures to read, pray that the Lord will open your eyes, that you will see and understand what it is that He has for you today.
(Psa 119:18 KJV)
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
2.Take notes. Write down everything.
Create a notebook that is set apart just for your Scripture notes. This will be a helpful reference in the future.
(Deu 17:18-20 KJV)
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom,
that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book
out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
/{19} And it shall be with him,
and he shall read therein all the days of his life:
that he may learn to fear the LORD his God,
to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
{20} That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren,
and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left:
to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom,
he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
3. Be receptive to the Holy Spirit's teaching.
Leave your pre-conceived ideas behind. Let the Scriptures teach YOU, don't try to twist the scriptures to say something that God did not put there.
(Psa 86:11-13 KJV)
Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth:
unite my heart to fear thy name.
{12} I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart:
and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
{13} For great is thy mercy toward me:
and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
4. Memorize as much of the Scripture as you can.
This allows the Holy Spirit to bring verses back to your remembrance at appropriate times, and allows you to compare scripture with scripture in your mind at any time of the day.
(Psa 119:10-12 KJV)
With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
{11} Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
{12} Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
Three Ways to Study the Bible
There are three basic ways to study the Scriptures.
a. TOPICAL
b. EXPOSITORY
c. MEDITATIONAL
Let's take a quick look at each of these:
TOPICAL:
This is just what the name implies. You choose a "topic" in the Scriptures to study. Pick one that interests you. Something that you would like to learn more about.
Then, using a Concordance, look up all the references to that topic, write them down, and then look them up in the Bible. This can take some time. But the more time you set aside for serious study, the greater the rewards.
Read each passage carefully, and answer these questions in your notebook:
1.) What does this passage mean?
2.) How does it apply to me?
3.) What can I learn from it?
Examples of some Biblical topics are:
Prayer, fasting, grace, salvation, tithing, faith, repentance, confession, and there are so many others .
If you are using Bible Software with a concordance search engine, you can do multi-word topical studies, such as "fear not", "strong drink", "new covenant", "unto the end", "last days".
EXPOSITORY:
(Neh 8:8 KJV)
So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly,
and gave the sense,
and caused them to understand the reading.
This word literally means "a detailed explanation". Referring to a study of the Bible it means a detailed study of a verse, a chapter or a book (or books) of the Bible. To do an expository study, pick a verse or several verses to study. Start with just a few verses at first, because you will be essentally studying every word of the passage. This can involve a lot of work and time, but the result is well worth the effort.
Read your selection through very carefully several times before you start your study of it.
Then, when you are ready, read it through once again slowly.
Write in your notebook all the major words that are used in it.
Once you have them all listed, look them up in the Concordance.
Look up the meanings of the words and write those down.
Check for any verb tense information help in the Amplified Bible or the Expanded Translation or the Analytical New Testament, as mentioned in the Study Tools.
Check the references to other Scriptures where those words are used. Read them and make notes on how those Scriptures apply to the ones you are studying. This can get quite detailed. Take your time.
Check a Bible Commentary, a Bible Dictionary and/or a Bible Encyclopedia and see what they say about the Scriptures you are studying.
Make notes on all relevant material, listing the references used.
Then, looking over all the material you have gathered, write down the interpretation (What it Means) and the application (What it Means to Me and how I can apply it to my life).
MEDITATIONAL
Psa 1:1-3 (KJV)
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
{2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
{3} And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Meditational Bible Study is one of the highest forms of study. It is commended in Scripture as one of the ways to God's blessing on the life!
It begins by memorizing.
This is what the Scriptures mean when it talks about "hiding God's Word" in your heart. You hide it in your heart by memorizing it.
MEMORIZATION There are many little "tricks" to memorization.
SETTING THE SCRIPTURES TO MUSIC
One way is to set the section to music and sing it. There is something about the flow of a song lyric that aids memory recall. Take note that the words to Handel's Messiah are almost all Bible Verses. If you memorize the words so that you can sing the Messiah at Christmastime, you are memorizing Scripture and will quote it back easily as the music carries you along.
WRITING OUT THE SCRIPTURES BY HAND
Another effective method of memorizing Scripture is to write out the passage,that you are seeking to memorize, word for word, by hand .This method enables you to process the passage several times through your consciousness in several ways as you write the passage. By writing a passage down you have to :
1) Read it and look at it many times as you write down each word.
2) To process it through your brain as your hand writes it down.
3) To read it again many times as you write it down.
4) You can even read the passage out loud to yourself as you write it down.
5) You can write it down as many times as it takes to memorize the passage.
Note again the commandment to the King of Israel to do this very thing, and the benefits it will have:
(Deu 17:18-20 KJV)
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom,
that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book
out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
/{19} And it shall be with him,
and he shall read therein all the days of his life:
that he may learn to fear the LORD his God,
to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
Once you have a section of the Scripture memorized, you meditate on it by filling your mind with it and meditating on it. You let the words of the memorized portion run through your mind, again and again.
Joshua 1:8 KJV
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,
and then shalt thou have good success.
As you do this prayerfully, thoughts, ideas, and concepts will be revealed to your mind. You may even think of other verses that relate to the one you are memorizing, and how the truths of those verses apply to what you are studying. You may even consult "The 'Treasury of Scripture Knowledge", one of the most valuable Bible study tools, for related Bible verses to the one you are studying. Keep a notebook handy and write them down.
As you think on the Scripture you have memorized, look for
1.) Interpretation - What it means. and
2.) Application - How to apply it to your life.
Be sure to write down what you are learning. Quite often the more you meditate upon a Scripture or a portion of Scripture, the more revelation you receive about it. Again, take your time.
One way to use Scriptures you have memorized is to quote them out loud during times of emotional upheaval. For instance, if you have memorized the 23rd Psalm, during a period of "darkness" you can quote this Scripture. It affirms your faith, brings light and peace, and will help keep your mind from running away with worry or fear.
Try it! Pick out a method that intrigues you, or try them all, or make up one of your own. The important thing is to improve your Bible Study skills, and to become more skillful at using God's word for witnessing and your personal Christian Growth.
(Psa 119:103-105 KJV)
How sweet are thy words unto my taste!
yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
{104} Through thy precepts I get understanding:
therefore I hate every false way.
{105} NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
God Bless you as you study and meditate on God's Word.
In Christ.....brother bob.....<><
For further study, Check out these archives of past devotionals:
(Note: the devotionals may be under the headings of "discussions" "files" or "pages" )
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-devotionals-archive-part-2?msg=new&lnk=gcis&hl=en
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-devotionals-archive/web?hl=en
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-devotionals-archive/web
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-archives-part-3/
http://groups.google.com/group/ixtheus-devotionals-archive-4
IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN GROWTH DEVOTIONALS
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