HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE
As you begin to study the Bible , determine your goals , methods and resources . If you simply want to be a more careful reader of the Bible , perhaps begin by reading a small portion of the text daily with a Bible reading plan . If you want to put serious effort into learning the Bible , you will need to make a greater commitment . Such an approach may involve several hours a week of focused study and the use of resources such as commentaries . If pursuing this level of Bible study , you will benefit from acquiring at least one Bible dictionary and two kinds of commentaries — one-volume Bible commentaries and commentary volumes corresponding to individual books of the Bible are both valuable . Using these as you study the Bible passage by passage will provide you with some of the same help you would get if you were to study the Bible in an academic institution . There are also some basics that apply .
TAKE SERIOUSLY THE IMPORTANCE AND QUALITY OF THE BOOK YOU ’ RE STUDYING
Although we may wish the Bible were entirely clear , students of literature would never expect that from other important books . When it comes to the Bible , it should be obvious that we have to study the Bible to understand it .
Some writing — a newspaper story , for example — might be understood by almost any mature reader . Other writing — such as a Shakespearean play — might require readers to consult dictionaries , study guides and other aids because of the nature of the language and the subject matter . Yet other writing — a calculus textbook , for example — might require years of prior study as well as patient , focused effort to understand even a single page . The Bible contains literature at all these levels : Some parts any reader can follow , some parts that require help and some that are difficult enough that even seasoned scholars struggle to comprehend them .
This is to be expected . A book claiming to be authored by the One whose thinking and communication can range from the simplest level to far above human understanding should require serious effort from seekers of its truth . It is naïve to think that the Bible differs from other literature in being automatically comprehensible , or that our good intentions and love of God will overcome our need to study in order to appreciate the quality of the ideas he has put into writing for us .
RESPECT THE BIBLE ’ S GENRES
No serious Bible student can ignore the various genres in the Bible . Ten predominate : narrative , law , wisdom , psalms and prophecy in the Old Testament ; and gospel , parable , Acts , letter and apocalypse in the New Testament . To understand and appreciate the Bible ’ s content , each of these genres must be read differently .
Consider two examples : Parables are stories told to willing students , not those who refuse to bother with what seems irrelevant to them ( Mt 13:10 – 17 ). Thus , they resemble puzzles , containing punch lines that help willing readers see a truth they might have otherwise missed . Western culture is not used to parables , but with reasonable study , the parables of the New Testament reveal a great deal about the nature of God ’ s kingdom .