We read the Word, meditate on the Word,
memorize the Word, sing the Word, pray the Word etc, but how often do we study
the Word? Whoa now, I graduated already
so why do I need to study? After all,
the Bible says, “…much study is a weariness of the flesh.” (Eccl. 12:12) Yes, studying something means a time
investment and can certainly make one weary.
More than once I fell asleep while studying for exams!
But anything valuable is worth putting
time and effort into. If we truly want
to know God as well as we can then we will delve deeply into the Word to
consume every last morsel. Paul told
Timothy (a young pastor), “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2Tm. 2:15 KJV)
The word study actually means: use speed, make effort, give diligence,
labour, study. This is in context of
rightly interpreting the Word. So in
order to properly interpret, we’ve got to invest some time into studying it.
Some ways to delve into
the Word:
Ask who, what, where,
when, why and how. Ex. who is speaking
and why?
Check out what some of
the important words mean in their original languages. A concordance helps.
See if there are any
oddities and why. Ex. Jesus speaking to
a woman publicly.
Find other scriptures
that relate to passage being studied.
Paraphrase it. (Put it
in your own words)
Meditate on the passage
to get different perspectives of the people it’s speaking of.
Ask- does the Bible
speak about this person in other places?
Check for a parallel
gospel account that may add information.
(A couple free Bible software programs are: e-sword and the Word- By free I mean many Bible versions, dictionaries, graphics, etc are free but there are some extras you could choose to pay for)
***Remember-
try to always use the Bible to interpret the Bible***
Still, when it comes right down to it,
all the reading, meditating, memorizing, etc does us no good at all if the
Spirit- who dwells in us (Rom. 8:9) if we are Christ’s, and teaches us (Jh.
14:26)- doesn’t open our eyes to understand it*. Then… and this is most important… we apply it
to our lives. So we should ask, ‘What
should I learn from this and how should I use the information to change?’
Jesus answered him,
"If anyone loves me,
he will keep my word,
and my Father will love
him,
and we will come to him
and make our home with him.
Jh. 14:23
*these
things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches
everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except
the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the
thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
1Cor 2:10,11