6 Habits for Successful Bible Study
Stay on Track
Years ago, when I was serving in high school ministry, we offered this simple plan to our students as they learned how to lead small-group Bible studies with their peers. It consists of the cultivation of six habits that constitute a basic approach to studying any passage of Scripture. Developing these habits will help keep you on track in your study—paying attention to the text, avoiding rabbit trails, and doing everything you can to get the main point and the central application as God intended it. Let’s look at these habits.
1. Read carefully.
Our first habit is simply careful reading. So many mistakes are made in hermeneutics (biblical interpretation) because people read too quickly through a passage, assume they understand what it’s saying, and then make a leap to something in their experience that the passage makes them think about. Carefully reading the text several times can be the first and most important step in making sure we are listening to what the Bible is actually saying. Take time to read slowly. Make observations and linger over the text. Read it silently, then out loud. And don’t forget to pray for God’s help as you listen to his word and seek to understand and apply it faithfully.
2. Read in context.
It’s important to understand that mistakes in the interpretation and application of the Bible often can be avoided simply by taking time to understand the context of specific verses and passages. A verse that seems to be saying one thing at first glance could actually be understood to mean the opposite when it’s read in its proper context. When we study the Bible, then, we need to pay attention to the verses directly around the passage we’re reading. We need to think about the historical situation of the original audience in order to understand what the biblical author was saying to them before we apply the passage to ourselves. And we need to make sure that we are remembering the context of the entire Bible, which tells the story of God’s creation, humanity’s fall, redemption through Christ, and the promise of resurrected life in God’s new creation. Reading every Bible passage—and every Bible verse—in its proper context is vital for proper understanding and application of God’s word.
Understanding God's Word
Jon Nielson
In this accessible guide to biblical interpretation, pastor Jon Nielson presents 6 hermeneutical tools and demonstrates how to use them effectively to improve personal or small-group Bible studies.
3. Identify core terms.
Next, we must look for core words or phrases in a passage of Scripture. As we study a Bible passage, we must ask, “What words or phrases are repeated? Are there ideas that keep coming up again and again in the passage? Is there a particular point that the author makes—perhaps at both the beginning and the end of a story or section of Scripture?” This habit is designed to help us get closer to the crux (main point) of the text (see the next habit) by identifying repeated emphases employed by the biblical author. When we tell a story or give a speech, we almost always repeat or emphasize the points that are most important to us. It’s no different with the biblical text, so paying careful attention to repeated words often can be a helpful way to capture what God’s word is saying to us.
4. Identify the main point.
This habit can help pinpoint the theme of a passage of Scripture, which can be defined as the timeless theological truth that the passage is teaching. The theme of any biblical passage is just as true today as it was when the passage was written. It may be a truth about the character of God, humanity, sin, salvation, or our fallen world. Whatever it may be, an important discipline in Bible study is to work hard to capture that main point. Try to put this theme into just one sentence—something like “The main point of this passage is _.” Taking this step in Bible study doesn’t mean you’ll always get the main point exactly right, but it will help you discipline yourself to not only study a passage of Scripture verse by verse, but also to see a chunk of Scripture as a whole, seeking to discern the overall main point that the biblical author, as inspired by God the Holy Spirit, was making to his original audience (and is making to us, God’s people today).
Don’t forget to pray for God’s help as you listen to his word and seek to understand and apply it faithfully.
5. See Christ in the text.
The simple conviction behind this habit of Bible study is that the Scriptures ultimately are about God’s redemption of sinners—and all of creation—through the life, death, resurrection, and final return of his Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible’s climax is the saving work of God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. So it’s appropriate for us to ask, when studying any passage of Scripture, “How does this passage relate to Jesus and the gospel?” Of course, it’s important to remember that different passages of Scripture point to Jesus and the gospel in different ways. Some Old Testament passages offer direct prophetic words about the coming of Jesus, while others simply display the need for Jesus, the Messiah, to come and save sinners. Some New Testament passages explain Jesus’s work on the cross in detail; others apply his saving work or hold him out as an example for Christians to follow. Whatever the case may be, it’s important—and valid—for Christians to seek to connect every passage in the Bible to the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of all who believe.
6. Answer God’s call.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Here we ask that all-important question, “What does the truth of this passage mean for the way I think, act, and speak?” We are asking ourselves, “What is the central call of this passage to me as a follower of Jesus Christ?” We’re talking, of course, about application. If the Bible is true—and if Jesus indeed is our Savior and Lord, who invites us to follow and obey him—then every passage of Scripture should have a real impact on our lives. If we do not practice this final habit of Bible study, there is a very real danger that while we may engage in some cerebral or academic study of Scripture, we will not allow the Bible to challenge and change us. God’s word is living and active (Heb. 4:12); our Lord intends for us to obey it and to be constantly changed by it as it calls us to deeper obedience, sanctification, and growth in Christ. When we study the Bible, then, we are trying to discover what it means, but also what it means for the way we live as faithful followers of Jesus Christ.
This article is adapted from Understanding God’s Word: An Introduction to Interpreting the Bible by Jon Nielson.
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