A Method of Bible Study

I think Christians go through steps of Bible study in their walk. At first, reading God’s Word is very personal: “What does this mean to me?”

The next step is more selfless: “What does this mean for others: for the lost?”

Problems come from staying in either of these mindsets, though. The Christian looking to interpret the Bible through the lense of self-discovery will often begin to use personal Bible study time as sort of a fortune cookie reveal, or daily horoscope reading. I once listened to a mother tell of a time when she struggled with her children and she opened her Bible and read what was there. “Let them go,” it said. And so she did. She let go of the reins when they were very young and, like saplings in a windstorm, they broke. One by one, we watched these children fall. It was and is heartbreaking to see.

But one might, and often does, grow out of reading themselves into the text. Then they start to read the text for the sake of the lost. This is the greater good, isn’t it? I remember a time in my walk when I was convinced that all things happened for the lost, that God sustained all of life for the sake of even one more soul won for Him. It seems altruistic, right? To take ourselves out of the equation and put all of our efforts into saving the lost. But when we do this, our focus, although it’s not on ourselves, is still not on God.

I remember reading the beginning of Andy Stanley’s book, Irresistible, and he talked about some young girl who had just learned of Christ and was so overwhelmed with joy, but then she asked the fateful question: why isn’t everyone a Christian? The news was so good to her and she didn’t understand why anyone would not be happy to hear of Christ and then accept him eagerly.

This book was being passed around and praised in our church and I couldn’t get past the introduction! Sinners’ hearts are not inclined toward God! The whole premise of the book and the subsequent doctrine it taught was based on a denial of that fundamental truth.

When we turn our ears and our hearts to the lost, we are suddenly at the mercy of a people that hate God. We want to reconcile unbelievers to God on their terms, which makes reading the Bible very difficult, much less preaching it. We want so badly to save the lost that we turn our backs on the very God we are trying to save them for. Suddenly we are turning less and less to God’s word for how to do things and instead we are asking what the current culture wants. We are preaching acceptance and love, instead of sin and repentance, and literally “unhitching” from the word of God.

Personal Bible study with a heart focused on convincing unbelievers of God’s goodness makes us squirm through most of the Bible. They wouldn’t like what it says here, here, and here! We become apologetic and avoid most of what God has to say.

Now this brings us to another problem: how do we hear from God when we won’t read His Word? Now we are relying on a God who speaks directly to us, and I suppose the more confidently and frequently we can say “God told me…” the holier we are. And, if you’re very charismatic, or at least very convincing, this is a great way to start a cult. ;)

We have to outgrow these Bible study methods! It is a shame to see so many adult Christians stuck here. It is a tragedy to see so many preachers stuck here -in either of these two mindsets!

Instead, look to study God’s Word with the objective of knowing God. When we do that, we will easily see that God loves. He loves His people. He knows us individually, intimately: knitting us in the womb and knowing even the number of hairs on our head! He finds His sheep, and not one will be lost. I say those first because we don’t have to feel like turning our focus toward God means we are turning our back on the lost or ourselves. It is much better to let God direct our way to reach the lost than it is to try to figure it out on our own. It is much better to learn how we should live by faith through the direction of God’s word than it is to go by how we feel we should live. God takes care of us better than we can take care of ourselves.

When we study God’s Word to know Him, with the belief that He is good and just and all-knowing, we will not be ashamed or apologetic of what we read. We will not make excuses or compromise His commands to appease others. We will not make life-altering decisions based on one verse taken out of context. Rather, we will learn to apply the whole counsel of God to our lives. We will be driven daily to His Word to know him more.