“How do I study the Bible?” is a question that every student of the word should ask themselves. When studying the bible it is important to make sure that you are equipped to do so. I will break this down into three sections to make this as easy as possible to follow.
Section I – Getting Started
1. Biblical Translation
2. Biblical Dictionary
3. Biblical Commentaries
4. Biblical Introductions (Old & New)
Section II – Get Studying
1st Step: Read the Bible
2nd Step: Read the Biblical Introductions (Old & New)
3rd Step: Interpreting Scripture
4th Step: Biblical Exegesis
5th Step: Biblical Theology
6th Step: Systematic Theology
7th Step: Practical Theology
Section I – Getting Started
All new believers should start in this section. This section will help you gather all the necessary tools you need for studying the scriptures.
1. Biblical Translation
Right off the bat you will need a solid biblical translation. This might seem like a “no-brainer”, but in time you will begin to see why. Some Christians, not all, begin by looking for the simplest version to read the bible (i.e. a paraphrased version like MSG), but don’t realize that the grammar is often stripped out of these versions to make it easier to read. Although it may be simpler to understand and read, it will miss out on the grammatical structure. A “Word-For-Word” translation will get you the closest to the original meaning out of all the biblical translations and is the best place to start your studies.
This image will show you the differences of translations.
Source: https://godsword.org/pages/bible-translation-guide
Ian’s Recommendation
My recommendation is to pick up one of the following:
i.) NASB
ii.) NKJV – easier to read than the KJV
iii.) ESV
iv.) LSB – not shown above but as good–if not better–than the NASB2. Biblical Dictionary
This is often something that is neglected in the beginning, but because you are dealing with two vastly different languages (Hebrew/OT) and (Greek/NT) you should have a tool that will help you with your word studies.
Ian’s Recommendation
i.) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
ii.) Vine’s Expository Dictionary3. Biblical Commentaries
“No man or woman is an island”. Many leaders, elders/pastors, teachers have spent their lives diligently teaching the word of God so that we could understand it. We should not be looking to ourselves as the final arbiter, but should seek for guidance in prayer from the Holy Spirit, as well as listening to what others have said about the passage(s) we are studying.
Ian’s Recommendation
I realize that commentaries are not cheap, but they will be super helpful in your studies (trust me). If you are able to, it is always a bargain to look for “single volume commentaries” that way you don’t have to look for multiple books from every author of the bible.
i.) Wycliffe Bible Commentary
ii.) Believer’s Bible Commentary
iii.) The International Bible Commentary
iv.) The Moody Bible Commentary
v.) Evangelical Commentary on the Bible
vi.) The New Bible Commentary: Revised
vii.) The Bible Knowledge CommentaryAnother great resource that has benefited me greatly has been this website: https://www.studylight.org/
4. Biblical Introductions (Old & New)
This will prove to be incredibly important in understanding the backgrounds to the texts. It is one thing to read through both the Old and New Testaments, but very quickly you will gloss over important details that you would miss because you aren’t possibly familiar with the context and times of what is being written. It is important that you ask yourself the basic “W” questions.
When was this book written?
Who was this book written to?
Why was this book written?
Where was this book written?
What was this book written for?Ian’s Recommendation
I would definitely recommend getting hold of one Old Testament Introduction and one New Testament Introduction.
i.) Gleason Archer: A Survey of the Old Testament
ii.) Merrill Unger: Introductory Guide to the Old Testament
iii.) Paul Benware: Survey of the New Testament
iv.) Zuck & Bock: Biblical Theology of the New Testament
Section II – Get Studying
After having collected the 4 key tools above (translation, dictionary, commentaries, and introductions), it is now time to get studying.
Often, I get asked questions like: “where should I start?”, “should I read the New Testament and then go back to the Old Testament?”. My hope is to clear this up right away in this section.
1st Step: Read the Bible
Christians, the most important thing you can do to begin is to read through the bible from cover-to-cover.
Do not use commentaries, introductions, sermons or any other means of understanding the text at this point. Just read it trying to understanding the context without the lenses of others who have different beliefs on each book.2nd Step: Read Biblical Introductions
At this point, I would start to familiarize yourself with some of the key names, themes, and concepts found within each of the books. Introductions will help situate you at the time of the writings. You will begin looking at the historicity of the texts. I recommend looking at maps of the middle east, learn about customs, practices, etc. This will stop you from bringing in (eisegesis) ideas into the text, because biblical exegesis is us trying to get the singular meaning out of the text.
3rd Step: Interpreting Scripture
This is a critical juncture in your studies. You will have the biblical introductions behind you, now you will be able to understand how to interpret the texts. We call this “hermeneutics”. Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpretation. You will need to have the right tools to study the scriptures and only a biblical hermeneutic will do. The biblical hermeneutic is presuppositional, it is based upon 3 presuppositions:
1. Language effectively conveys meaning
2. Meaning is derived by authorial intent
3. Meaning consists of the literal grammatical-historical hermeneuticIan’s Recommendation
I would definitely recommend looking at books that will help you understand the proper hermeutical approach to scripture.
i.) Ramm – Protestant Biblical Interpretation
ii.) Fee/Stuart – How to Read the Bible for All its Worth
iii.) Fee/Stuart – How to Read the Bible Book by Book
iv.) Tan – The Interpretation of Prophecy
v.) Couch – An Introduction to Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics
vi.) Kaiser/Silva – An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics4th Step: Biblical Exegesis
This is another incredible step for studying scripture and often where people go astray. They might have the proper hermeneutical approach, but will not use it properly when coming to scripture and will come up with all these odd interpretations.
Every Christian should go verse-by-verse pulling out (exegesis) the meaning of the passage as it was originally intended to be understood. We should not be adding (eisegesis) to the scriptures what we think they should mean.
Exegesis is hard work. This is where the bible dictionaries and the commentaries will come in handy. They will help you get deep down into the passage and will narrow in on the grammar.5th Step: Biblical Theology
At this point you’ve begun to move into forming your understanding around doctrines. It is always important to have done your homework in step 4. If you don’t you will begin forming incorrect doctrines and incorrect conclusions about the passages.
Begin looking at how themes are being woven across testaments. See how important themes like Kingdom, Covenants, Redemption, Salvation, Blessings/Curses, Sin, Death are to the Bible.6th Step: Systematic Theology
A lot of Christians start here for some reason. They get super excited to read one of their favorite theologians and begin looking at their systematic work. Systematics are a culmination of all the steps before. They are very focused works that narrow in on the implication of the biblical doctrines that they have formed, and cohesively how they fit across totascriptura (all of scripture). All systematic theologians did what you’re doing, so don’t be impatient, you will get here, and you will begin to see why theologians have come to the conclusions they do. They often come from step 3.
7th Step: Practical Theology
The last and final step is now understanding the practical implications of Christian Living. We can now apply what we have learned from our studies. You’ve done it! Praise God.