Would the Real Bible Study Please Stand Up?
Bible Study is extraordinarily rewarding!
When was the last time you were involved in a Bible study? Are you involved in one right now? What are you studying? Are you learning more about God’s character and how we are to respond to His character through the study?
My next question is: Are you sure it’s really Bible study?
You might be surprised to hear that what we often call Bible study may not actually be Bible study.
Anytime a single person, or group of people, open God’s Word, we tend to call this Bible study. But the true definition of Bible study is actually narrower than that.
The term “Bible Study” seems pretty self-explanatory. Bible study involves the study of the Bible. This simple definition is true, but oftentimes we call certain activities “Bible Study” when actually studying the Bible isn’t what we’re doing.
There are two common instances where I’ve seen the term “Bible Study” used incorrectly. I address these two instances below. Keep on reading and see if what you are actually engaging in is “Bible study” or something different.
Topical Study or Bible Study?
You’ve seen it in your church’s bulletin: Come join the Wednesday Night Women’s Bible Study! We’ll be studying Ann Voskamp’s book One Thousand Gifts. Bring your copy of the book, your Bible, and a pen.
What a wonderful idea, you think! A Bible study on Ann Voskamp’s book. I’m even told to bring my Bible, so it’s gotta be good! I can’t wait to jump into God’s Word!
Good for you! You should definitely join that study! Having read the book myself, I’m sure you will glean lots of valuable information and that you will grow as a result.
But it’s not a Bible study.
You’re not actually going to sit down and study a book of the Bible. You’re not going to mine it’s depths, observe, interpret, and apply the information you gain and let the topics you discuss arise as they come up naturally in God’s Word.
What you will study is Ann Voskamp’s book. You’re going to study the topic she is writing about (Thanksgiving) and discuss how certain passages from God’s Word fit her topic. This is a book study.
Do I think we should disregard such studies? Absolutely not! Like I expressed above, there is much to be valued from topical book studies like this. But we need to be careful not to confuse them with Bible studies.
And here’s why: If we think that every time we join a book or topical study we are actually joining a Bible study, we won’t be making actual Bible study a priority. We think, “I’m already doing Bible study so why would I need to join that class on Ephesians?”
The problem is, if we only ever do topical studies, we miss out on what the Bible really has to offer us. We can’t get a complete and accurate picture of who God is and what His Word says if we only ever do topical studies.
We also fall into this danger when we replace true personal Bible study with reading devotional books. Again, devotional books are great! They can really enhance your quiet time and there is certainly a time and place for reading them. But if devotional books are all you ever read, you end up not knowing what the Bible actually says, only how certain Bible verses fit the day’s topic.
As Charles Spurgeon once said, “Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.”
Bible Reading or Bible Study?
Maybe now I’ve inspired you to start reading your Bible. Wonderful! I certainly hope that is the case. But before you pop open Genesis and dig in, let me further narrow our definition of Bible study.
Bible reading is different than Bible study.
BOTH Bible reading AND Bible study are important for Godly living.
For the longest time, I thought all Bible reading qualified as Bible study. I didn’t understand the need to actually study what I was reading, I was content to just read it… until I came to a part that I didn’t understand. Then I didn’t know what to do. Should I just skip it and hope to understand it at a later time? If I started to do that, it wasn’t long until I skipped bigger and bigger sections of Scripture and then gave up on my Bible reading habit entirely.
This seems to be what happens with “Read the Bible in a Year” plans. We start out loving what we’re reading in Genesis and Exodus, but when things get tough and tedious in Leviticus and Numbers, we get tired and give up. At least, that’s been my experience.
Bible reading is good. It’s the best way for us to understand the big picture of the Bible. But Bible reading alone is inadequate for our growth as Christians. We need Bible study as well. John Piper addresses this issue in an episode of “Ask Paster John” here.
Bible study involves actually studying the Bible, much like you would study a text book for a test. You will consult multiple resources, consider the context, take notes, highlight, research, ask questions, make comments, wrestle with the text, diagram, make lists, create outlines, paraphrase, consult the experts, and maybe even draw pictures. If your “Bible study” doesn’t involve doing these things, then are you sure you’re actually engaging in true Bible study?
If true Bible study sounds like a lot of work to you, you’re right! It is a lot of work. But there is no substitute for it. Topical studies, devotional books, and Bible reading are all wonderful pursuits, but they cannot and should not replace rigorous Bible study. We have God’s very Word to us right at our fingertips! What an extraordinary gift! In order to understand the God of the Universe, His creation, ourselves, and His great plan of redemption for His creation, we need to really buckle down and actually study the Bible. Yes, it’s work – but it’s the most worthwhile work you will ever undertake.
Friday Morning Bible Study’s Mission
One of the main missions of this blog is to help you in your pursuit of true Bible study.
If Bible study is something you’re excited about starting (I hope so!), and you’d like some guidance, select one of the following options:
- Follow my series on How to Study the Bible with Part 1: Prepare with Prayer. Click the picture below.
2. Enter your email here to get the password to my library of free workbooks (one on Ruth and one on James – more coming soon!). These workbooks are designed to help you study the Bible inductively. There are questions to think through and lots of room for note-taking. Once you’ve got the password, you can click on one of the pictures below. If you enter your email, you will also get weekly encouragement for gospel-centered living and free Bible study tools!
Whatever you choose to do, make Bible study a personal AND relational experience. It’s good to study the Bible for ourselves, but there is a lot of value in sharing what we’ve learned through our personal study experiences with other people. Gather a group of people together to study a specific book with you. Share what you’ve learned and ask someone more knowledgeable on the Bible to lead you. And yes, this WOULD be considered an actual Bible study! 🙂
May God richly bless you through your studying endeavors.