Types of Bible Study
When someone says Bible study, what comes to your mind? Sitting at a table surrounded by reference books and journals? Filling in missing blanks in pre-made lessons? Sitting in a classroom as a theology professor teaches you the Greek word used in a passage? These are all situations where Bible study takes place, but they are only a small slice of the numerous methods that God uses to communicate through His word. There are many methods for diving into God’s word, and each type has specific advantages and limitations, as well as cautions that need to be considered. Before going into more detail about some of the most common techniques, I want to emphasize that every method should first begin with prayer to ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.
The most common method for reading the Bible is simply to open it up and start reading until a message pops out, meditate on the message, and then go your way. This technique has the advantage of being quick and easy. If you have free time while you are waiting in the car as a family member is purchasing something from a store, this is a great activity that helps you use your time wisely by communicating with God during an otherwise boring interlude. However, I am concerned because this is not only the most common method, but for many people, the only way that they study their Bibles. One of the limitations of this method can be avoided if you are reading systematically rather than simply opening up the Bible to a random passage and reading the first verse you see. The limitation I am referring to is that this method lacks context. The genius of the Bible is that all the material is interconnected. Paul, Isaiah, John, and Moses are all interacting with each other even across large spans of time. It is obvious how Paul and John could interact with prophets of the past, but how can the Old Testament writers comment on future Biblical authors? Simple, our all-knowing God has gifted them with prophecy so that they could comment on the future. Because of this cohesive Biblical message, it is important for you to get a feeling for the way the whole Bible fits together. Thus, a systematic reading through the Bible is better than a hit-or-miss random reading of verses. Of course, another limitation of this method when it is random is that some people think that they can use the scriptures as a fortune-telling device. They pray for a message and randomly open to a verse. Although this may be a way that God communicates with people sometimes, it should be used with caution. Most of us have heard the old sermon illustration of finding a verse about Judas hanging himself and then the next random verse says for the reader to “go and do likewise.” Have a little more respect for the profound truths of God’s word than using it as if you are reading your daily horoscope for the day. The problem is not just that this abuse of the Bible is treating it like it is a magic eight ball, this method also limits the transformational power of the Bible in your life. God’s word can make a difference in our characters because it is in His word that we can behold Jesus most clearly. Looking at God changes us, but magic fortune-telling devices simply affect a few outward actions without focusing on the heart. The third disadvantage of this method is that it encourages a quick snack of Bible truth rather than a healthy meal. We need to take time with God, but with this method, there is a tendency to jump in, gobble a piece of truth up, and jump out again. Just as only snacking will not maintain your health, this method may not provide all the spiritual sustenance that you need because of the lack of time spent with the word and the shallow interactions that it promotes. The final limitation of this method is that it does not provide the background information that we need to truly understand what is happening in the text. We need to be digging deeper into the layers of God’s word. We need to compare verses to verses within the book that we are reading, but we also need to compare messages from other books of the Bible to the present text. We need to ask questions and find answers. Sometimes, we need historical information to clarify the text. This spontaneous method is simply inadequate for an in-depth understanding of the messages of God’s word. To sum up, this technique is good for when you have a short time to study or when you just want a little change of pace, but it is inadequate as your main method of understanding God’s truth for your life.
The second most common method for Bible study is to simply read the collection of 66 books through from cover to cover. There are numerous read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans to choose from, and if you can read even faster, you may get a better feeling for the overall flow of the Biblical story. The advantage of this method is that you cover ground that you might not have read otherwise, and you get a chance to see the whole Bible in context. I think that everyone should use this method at least once. Again, my only objection is that for some people, this is their only method of Bible study. I have heard a fellow Christian brag about how her father read through the Bible five times as if I should be oohing and ahing at the achievement. My cynical mind was questioning whether the father had ever studied the Bible in-depth also. Reading the Bible through has many advantages in making sure that you do not neglect to read any passage in the Bible and for giving an overview of the scriptural forest, but it is important to come down to earth and examine individual Biblical trees in detail also. The disadvantage of reading from cover to cover is that it is impossible to spend time focusing on one book in detail. The truths of God’s word require us to slow down and examine them and incorporate them into our lives. A mere surface reading will not open up the treasure chest of Bible lessons in a way that allows the gems hidden there to be revealed. Thus, this method is helpful to get a feel for the way the scriptures fit together and to ensure that we do not miss out on reading any part of the Bible, but it is inadequate for diving deeply into the lessons that God wants us to learn. My recommendation is to use this method in conjunction with another method of Bible study and to change up methods every couple of years or so in order to see the shining truths of God’s word from a new light.
Pre-packaged materials for Bible study are available in many forms from weekly church lessons to topical studies to books by popular religious authors. As long as these pre-packaged materials lead to diving into the Bible and contemplation of the truths there, they can be extremely useful, especially when you lack confidence in your abilities to study the Bible, you are part of a group study situation, or you are new to a topic and need extra help. I only have three cautions for this type of study. First, the study needs to always lead you into studying the Bible rather than the pre-packaged material. For example, if you use a C.S. Lewis book to explore Biblical themes and are reading the verses in the Bible that teach the themes, the study is useful. If you are simply focused on reading the Lewis book and having a book club style discussion about it, you are wasting your Bible study time. The second caution is to choose your pre-packaged material carefully. These materials are written by uninspired writers and may promote ideas and attitudes that are simply not Biblical. There may be errors in doctrine and misleading statements in the ready-made lesson. The author may have an agenda that you would reject if you examined it carefully from the scriptures. Always read these materials, or any other writing including my own, in the light of God’s word. The third caution is extremely important simply because it is often overlooked. Using a pre-packaged material may encourage surface reading and cynicism rather than true communication with God. When you are focused on reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit speaks with you and reveals God’s love to you. There is an engagement with the word of God that is not mere reading. As you contemplate the scriptures, the Spirit opens up your mind to your own failings, encourages you in your distress, and teaches you how to relate with God. In my own study, I rarely experience this interaction with the Spirit using pre-packaged materials. However, when I am working with the scriptures alone, I frequently have communion with God through His word. To sum up, pre-made Bible study materials are useful to guide you through studying unfamiliar topics, as a tool for groups to study together, and to build your confidence in your ability to study the Bible. However, they can become the primary focus of the study rather than a tool to lead you deeper into the Bible, and they are only as good as the author who put them together. If they assist your communication with God, keep using them. If you are like me and they interfere with that communication, choose another method.
My favorite method of Bible study is to read a book of the Bible section by section using outside sources, such as commentaries and Greek/Hebrew dictionaries, to understand every idea that I can. The advantage of this kind of study is that you have the context of the whole book and the specific section that you are on clear in your mind as you read. It gives you a chance to learn background information that clarifies the meaning of the words and clears up previously confusing verses. This method helps you to identify misunderstandings that you have had of verses. At the end of this kind of study, the book is yours in a way that it could never be through a mere surface reading or topical study of only parts of the book. My first caution in using this method is to always read for your own understanding before looking at a commentary. Let God communicate with you first. It is helpful to me to summarize the verses I am reading and to identify the parts that I am confused about. See if you already know some verses from other parts of the Bible that correspond to the passage that you are reading. Only then should you start consulting other authors. Second, remember that Bible study tools like commentaries are flawed and may have errors or unbiblical attitudes. Just because a “fact” is written in a commentary, it does not mean that it is actually true. Also, a commentary author’s opinion is just that, an opinion, which should not carry any more weight with you than the opinion of your Spirit-led friends. Third, commentaries and other Bible references can be expensive, so spend your money wisely by reading reviews and checking out recommendations from people whose opinions you respect. There are free commentaries that I consult, but many times, I do not find them as useful as the commentaries that require payment. Fourth, this kind of Bible study takes time and can be fairly intense so that you cannot do it every day. My study through the book of Isaiah took me two years! Another drawback is that if you focus only on the book that you are deeply studying, you may miss out on valuable lessons from other parts of the Bible, so I recommend that you use this method in conjunction with another method, such as a daily devotional. Finally, this method can become frustrating for some people so that they just want to give up on all study. It is okay to stop working on a book that is discouraging you and go on to a different book or method. In short, this kind of Bible study can deepen your knowledge of a specific book and God Himself in ways that a more shallow reading cannot. However, the time and money investment involved, the risk of false information in a poorly researched commentary, and the tediousness of using reference works may outweigh any benefits for you. Again, use this method in conjunction with another method of study that you can perform daily so that you can pause this method as needed.
Another in-depth type of Bible study is to search out what the Bible says on a specific idea. This can be a word study or a topical study. The tools you need for this kind of study are a concordance/cross-reference app and a Bible dictionary. The advantage of this kind of Bible study is that you can have a fuller understanding of a topic. For example, when I was confused about the difference between praise and gratitude, I researched everything that I could find on praise. I was amazed at the richness that the study developed for me. Another advantage is that you can see what the majority of the Bible teaches about an idea, and you can examine outlier texts to understand how they fit in with the rest of the biblical teachings on the topic. Also, this kind of study is helpful for learning whether a doctrine is from God or not, so it is helpful for new Christians who are learning the basic beliefs of the Bible and for more mature Christians who are being challenged by the Spirit about a traditional belief that may be wrong. The materials are not expensive, but the time involved can be just as intense as reading through a book of the Bible for deep understanding. My first caution is to come to the study with an open mind. In this type of study, it is easy to take verses out of context and stretch them so that they mean what you want rather than what God said. Gather all your verses and read them in context before assuming what they mean. Secondly, the Bible is not a book of doctrines. It is mostly a book of stories about God’s interactions with humans. This method of study can give you the wrong attitude towards the Bible if you are not careful. The Bible is not a book of proof texts that you can use to uphold your assertions. Third, since this method can provide you with disjointed and isolated bits of information, you may focus on details and forget that the unifying theme of the whole Bible is God’s love for fallen humanity. Finally, remember that texts that use the same word in English do not always have the same word in the original language. Do not make connections that are not present in the original language. To sum up, this is an excellent method for seeing how a topic or word is treated throughout the Bible and to increase the depth of your comprehension in one area. However, be careful to always look at the texts within their original context and never read your own opinion into a verse. Be open to what the Bible actually says rather than what you think it says. Because of the time involved, this Bible study method is not for daily use, so it should be used in conjunction with another method like reading the Bible through, praying the Psalms, or some other daily devotional study.
Many people are required to prepare sermons or lessons on Biblical topics. This can be a rewarding experience as you find interesting new connections between ideas while constructing your lesson. As you practice a sermon to deliver it well, the truths that you are teaching are driven more deeply into your own mind. The preparation of a lesson may lead you into more in-depth study as you search for ways to present the topic to others. Thus, this is an excellent way to study the Bible. On the other hand, if you perform the preparations correctly, you are considering the needs of your students/listeners and finding lessons that they can relate to. Thus, this method does not always meet your own spiritual needs. It can never replace a daily devotional or similar technique that focuses on communicating with God about your needs and your own relationship with Him.
An extremely rewarding Bible study method is praying the Psalms. The Psalms are poetry/songs that are many times written as prayers. They can serve as examples for going beyond simplistic “I want & thank You” prayers. I used this method when I was having trouble praising God in prayer. I kept reverting to gratitude instead of praise. In praying the Psalms, I would begin by using the Psalm as the basis of a written prayer to God. During the first few lines, I was simply summarizing the Psalm’s words, but before long, I was able to praise using my own words and ideas. The Psalms speak to our emotional relationship with God and give us a template for communicating with Him. They can open our hearts and emotions so that we are not using our intellect alone to study the Bible. The biggest drawback with the Psalms is that they are written with the raw emotions of the original singer. Thus, they may speak of destroying enemies and doubting God. It is important to keep the original context in mind and relate it to the greater light that Jesus has provided for clarification as we pray through the Psalms. Also, I would not recommend only focusing on Psalms. Use this method in conjunction with a more in-depth Bible study technique.
The final topic that needs to be discussed is the difference between devotional and in-depth Bible study. A devotional study is a Bible reading and prayer combination that you should do every day to form a closer connection with God. In the devotional Bible study, you are reading a passage or verse and listening for communication with God about your life. Several of the methods used here can be part of your devotional time including reading a Bible passage until a special message speaks to you, a reading-through-the-Bible in-a-year plan, pre-packaged devotions, and praying through the Psalms. However, the devotional study is different from an in-depth study of a book or topic. It is also not lesson preparation for teaching someone else. Why? Because it has a different purpose. In-depth study is focused more on understanding the text. A daily devotion is focused on your relationship with Jesus. Your devotional study should be a time to connect with God at the beginning of your day and see what He has to say to you. Experiment to find the best method that works with your own learning style and personality. I find that my most effective devotional method is to choose a book of the Bible and read through three to fifteen verses. I try to understand the passage, ask myself what it reveals about God, and look for an application for my own life. Prayer is an integral part of this process. As I work my way through the book, I keep in mind how my present passage fits in with the verses that I read during previous devotions. Once you find a method that satisfies you, be consistent in meeting with God at the beginning of every day. As you commune with God through prayer and His word daily, you will develop a deeper understanding of who He is and how to relate to Him. Of all the Bible study you can do, the daily devotion is the most important.