How to Study the Bible

The Bible, which is the inerrant word of God, is best studied in a disciplined fashion to understand fully what God is saying to us through the Holy Scriptures. Haphazard study is to be avoided, as it can be confusing and misleading -- e.g. Matthew 27:5 and Luke 10:37 (the latter parts of both).
Then he went away and hanged himself. Go and do likewise.

The Bible contains 66 books, written by men under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. As it is the New Testament (or New Covenant) that mainly concerns us, we will concentrate on these books first of all.

There are four Gospels -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then, in order, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians,  Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation.

Firstly, decide to approach the Bible as a child would -- with no bias or ideas of your own; no preconceived notions of what the book should say, but with an open, enquiring mind -- and to let the Holy Spirit speak to you through the Scriptures. This is called the inductive method of reading.

Secondly, make sure that you have a large amount of notepaper handy because you will want to ask questions -- lots of questions -- and write those questions down.

Thirdly, choose a book to study -- say, Ephesians. Sit down and read the whole book through in one go to get a general outline of what it is about. (In the case of Ephesians, as if you were the original recipient of the letter.) Now read it again, but this time start to ask yourself questions about what you are reading.

For instance:

  • Who wrote it? 
  • Who was it written to? 
  • When was it written? 
  • Under what circumstances was the writer? 
  • Why did he write? 
  • What is the main reason for the letter? 
  • And so on.

Now you are going to end up with a lot of questions, but very few answers. Don't despair! The answers are available either through the Bible itself, or through other informative books.


What's wrong with this picture?
She doesn't seem too interested in her Bible, does she?

It is very important-that you use reference books correctly, for instance to gain a clear historical background or to better understand the many shades of meaning of a particular word, in the Creek. You should not, repeat not, treat these books as the definitive interpretation of the Scriptures. To do so negates the purpose of personal study. You end up ‘studying’ the commentaries, etc, and listening to what mortal men have to say to you, rather than God.

Having said all that, I recommend that you have access to the following:

  • NASB or NIV Bible
  • NASB Concordance
  • Unger's Bible Dictionary
  • Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
  • Zoridervan Pictorial Bible Atlas ,
  • Word Studies in the New Testament (Vincent cr Wuest)
  • Zondervan Parallel New Testament in Greek and English
  • The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Alfred Edersheim)
  • Handbook to the Bible (Lion Press).

You should be able to find out all the necessary background information from these books, as well as quite a lot of information about the meaning of different words and phrases as they were written in the original Greek. You will be able to answer questions like: When was it written? etc. simply by doing a bit of research.

Also, the keys to unlock a lot of the Epistles are in Acts, which is a book written by Luke describing the travels and experiences of the Apostles in establishing the early Church.

  • Be aware of things like where the writer was when he wrote.
  • (Paul was in prison whilst writing most of the Epistles.)
  • Be aware of the manners and customs of the people.
  • Ask yourself many questions like. Why did he say that? What does he mean? Who is he referring to there?
  • Look for the main outline in the book.
  • Divide the book into its respective parts and divisions.
  • How much space does the writer give to one particular subject? What mod was the writer in when he wrote?
  • Exactly who is he writing to, and why?

Ask Questions - Lots Of Them

Never assume anything -- get the facts.

  • Do I really know what these words mean? (Use a dictionary.)
  • What does the author mean when he uses this word?
  • Is he  using it literally or is it figurative?
  • Is he comparing  it with something, or is he contrasting it with something?
  • Look for a summary (e.g. Hebrews 8:1).
  • Watch out for questions that the writer is using (e.g. Romans 3). Watch out for generalisations/general statements (e.g. Matthew 3) Look for the particular (e.g. "do this"; "do it this way").
  • Look for the climax of the passage.
  • Note any similes (e.g. "like-sheep, we have all gone astray") and metaphors (e.g. "I am the bread of life...").
  • Observe the mood (e.g. sarcasm -- 1 Corinthians 4:8,9,10) or tone of the passage
  • Remember that chapter and verse divisions are not inspired -- there were none in the original Greek.
  • Ask:  What would this passage mean if it was read by those in the first century AD? Get your head back into those times.)
    • What did they mean to them? Think about it!
    • What was the situation of the writer? (Where was he spiritually?) (geographically?)

Use your imagination. Be there with him. Or put yourself in the place of the hearers of the letter.

Ask Questions - Lots Of Them

Remember that the book you are reading has to be read and understood in context with the rest of the Bible!

When you have answered all your questions, it is time for you to correlate all the information so that you have a comprehensive picture 3-f what the book is saying. Having reached this point, and in the light of your discoveries:

Read through the book again, to make sure that you understand it. Your next questions should be:

  • What does this book have to do with me now, in this day and age?
  • What is God saying to me through these Scriptures?
  • How does this affect me now?

Try to come to definite conclusions about what you have read. Dare to say -- this is what it means. (I am not saying that you should close your mind to all other interpretations, but try to form your own opinions about the book.) Pull it to pieces, investigate it, research it, question it, study it.

If you have a particular question on Bible doctrine, then always go to the Word of God for the answer.

Let's take an example: You wish to find out what the Bible has to say about water baptism, as you have been told by someone that you need to be baptised in water as part of salvation.

(This is where a concordance is extremely useful.)

Taking up your Bible, you turn to the Gospels to see what Jesus himself had to say about it. You would find that Jesus was baptised by John the Baptiser in the Jordan at the beginning of His ministry – “to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Then we find Jesus saying to Nicodemus, in John 3:5 that “unless man is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” and in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit ...”

Turning to Acts 2:38 we find Peter the Apostle saying, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus ...”. Other references would include Acts 8:12, Acts 8.138, Acts 9:18, Acts 10:47, etc.

Having established that water baptism is an important part of salvation, we then examine the word “baptism” itself, to see just what was really meant when it was used by Jesus and the Apostles. This is where our Creek Dictionary comes in handy. In the Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words we find the literal meaning of the Greek word “baptizo” is “to dip, plunge or immerse; to fully cover”. So, having this information, we can now come to the conclusion that as part of our salvation we must: repent; be baptised (read “fully immersed”) and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The same method can be used to either verify or refute another person's argument about anything pertaining to Bible studies or Bible doctrine. Remember, the Word of God is always the final arbiter. Be guided by the Holy Spirit in all things.

You may ask why it is necessary to know the Scriptures and to be able to exegete (interpret the text of the Scriptures) in such a manner. The Bible tells us about God -- the Old Testament points towards the coming Messiah; the New Testament presents Him to us in the flesh. The better we know the Bible, the greater our understanding of God's Son, Jesus, and the better our fellowship with Him.

Therefore, do not be “destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6) but strive to know Jesus Christ through a much greater understanding of His Word.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

I pray “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” and “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:17,18,19)

How to Study the Bible was written in 1983 by Ray Lainey, for the newsletter Breaking Free. The online version was set up in 2002 by David Martin, former editor of Breaking Free.

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