8 Rules for Bible Study (Part 1)

Whether you are a new Christian or have been saved for years, there’s something you MUST do – learn how to study the Bible. I say that for at least three reasons:

Every Christian should study the Bible for themselves because it is God’s Word. It teaches us what we should believe and how we should live out those beliefs – “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 2:16-17
Every Christian should study the Bible to love God and know His purposes for them – “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Every Christian should study the Bible so they can identify false teachers and avoid them – “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21 …. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 …. “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” Titus 1:15-16 …. “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” Acts 20:29-30 …. “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:17-18

There are many other excellent reasons for Christians to learn how to study the Bible for themselves, but I guess those would be my personal top three. If you know how to study the Bible for yourself, you will be better informed about what’s true about your worldview as a Christian and less likely to be led astray by false teachers.

The First Four Rules

I developed eight rules for Bible study through years of doing it, so I’d like to share with you what’s worked well for me. For the purpose of keeping this podcast brief, I’ll share the first four now and the second four next time.

See Everything
Ask Everything
Answer Everything
Interpret Everything

To ‘see everything’ means to observe every word, every phrase, everything that can be seen in the Scripture you’re studying.

To ‘ask everything’ means to ask every question you can think of about every word, every phrase, and everything that can be seen in the Scripture you’re studying.

To ‘answer everything’ means to answer every question you asked about the Scripture you’re studying.

To ‘interpret everything’ means to read out the author’s intended meaning (exegesis) rather than reading into the text your own ideas (eisegesis). I can tell you from decades of listening to Christians and their teachers that most people ‘eisegesists.’ Instead of finding out what the author of Scripture (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) meant when he wrote, a large percentage of Christian believe and their teachers teach the Bible based on personal bias and presupposition. That’s not how it’s supposed to work and is a big reason why Christians are so confused about the Bible and why so many churches are divided (e.g. thousands of denominations that have different interpretations of the same Scriptures).

I will be the first to tell you that this process of seeing, asking, answering, and interpreting ‘everything’ is time-consuming. It takes a lot of personal commitment to knowing the truth to discover in God’s Word. I’ve written a lot about this process through years of Bible study and will link below to other things I’ve written. Hopefully, you’ll find the articles and eBooks helpful in your quest for the ‘truth.’

I’ll share the Second Four Rules of Bible Study in the next podcast.