Reading is the first step.
After reading a larger section, we want to focus on a smaller section
like a chapter or a story. Let’s say half of our bowl of cherries. We now move
into Bible Study. This is where we gather facts. We ask the news reporter’s questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? We will want
to refer to other books to help us understand things such as the historical
context, the meanings of the original words and how the part we are reading
fits into the story of the Bible as a whole. Most Study Bibles are helpful in this quest
and there are many websites that have this type of information. Some you may
want to check out:
https://www.biblegateway.com/
http://biblehub.com/
The goal here is to obtain facts not opinions. The accumulation of these facts gives us knowledge. Gaining knowledge is a very important 1st step in studying but we must not stop there. The world says, “Knowledge is power.” While this statement has truth to it in the natural, we will never reach the goal of Bible Study by knowledge alone. The Bible says, “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV) Mere knowledge, knowing lots of facts, can lead to pride. The goal of Bible Study is for us to be built up and to build others up. It is a common mistake to believe that if I have accumulated a bunch of Bible facts I am growing in my faith. Facts are necessary but they are only the start of our journey toward spiritual maturity. So at the start, dig deep for facts. Write them down as you discover them and be grateful for deeper understanding.
https://www.biblegateway.com/
http://biblehub.com/
The goal here is to obtain facts not opinions. The accumulation of these facts gives us knowledge. Gaining knowledge is a very important 1st step in studying but we must not stop there. The world says, “Knowledge is power.” While this statement has truth to it in the natural, we will never reach the goal of Bible Study by knowledge alone. The Bible says, “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV) Mere knowledge, knowing lots of facts, can lead to pride. The goal of Bible Study is for us to be built up and to build others up. It is a common mistake to believe that if I have accumulated a bunch of Bible facts I am growing in my faith. Facts are necessary but they are only the start of our journey toward spiritual maturity. So at the start, dig deep for facts. Write them down as you discover them and be grateful for deeper understanding.
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