As you know, reading your bible is a practice that is encouraged by your church. How often do you say or hear someone say, “I need to read my bible more.”
Why is that? It probably has a lot to do with not knowing where to start, or you started, and you get so confused that you just put the book down. This is not just you. We all, at some point, struggled with it. It’s no secret. It’s just the reality.
Most likely you didn’t have someone sit down and give us the tools to study scripture.
So, here are 4 steps you should take when reading the bible.
1) Read The Scripture In Context
Step one is the most critical step in the process because we assume a lot about what is going on without this. So if you want to read a scripture or a chapter in one of the books, read a few paragraphs before that chapter starts. Step 1 will give you an excellent idea of what’s happening in that book and will answer questions like:
Who’s speaking?
Where is this story taking place?
Who is the audience of this section of scripture?
If scripture is taken out of context, it’s most likely because someone didn’t take the time to read what was happening before that specific scripture.
2) Ask The Question: What did this scripture mean to the original audience?
Believe it or not, the Bible was not written to the 2022 American church. Most of the New Testament was written before 64AD, about 30 years after Jesus died, and most of it was written for people that lived very different lifestyles than us.
You must put ourselves in their shoes to try to experience how they would have felt and taken the text.
3) Point out significant terms and define them.
Every scripture has a significant subject within it. There are also terms and places that help identify the overarching theme of the scripture. Most of the time, these can be applied to the next step 4.
Ex. In Mark 11, “Jesus comes to Jerusalem as King.” We see Jesus coming into Jerusalem for the final time. There are a few terms that we need to define.
- Branches – Symbolize Joy and Salvation
- Hosana – Means “Save Now”
- Colt – Most likely a Young Donkey
- Father David – The Messiah was to come from the line of King David
4) Now ask, “What does this mean for me?”
After going through the first 3 steps, you should have a good idea of what was going on in the scripture and its meaning to the original audience. You should have a good idea of how we can apply this scripture to our own life or learn from someone else mistake.
__________
As you practice these 4 steps, you will notice patterns and themes throughout the Bible. These are meant to be there and to help you understand why people said and did what they did. You can go far deeper than these steps and please do. People have spent their entire life reading and writing about the bible.
WARNING! The Bible is a messy book. There are a lot of stories of adventure, war, love, and sacrifice. Not all were good, and there were many failures. But, be encouraged on how God did not leave. He stayed faithful when his people were not and be inspired by the good news of the Gospel. That salvation has come through Jesus!
If this was helpful, tag a friend on social media. The more scripture
we study, the more we will know the Father!