The Bible is the Christian’s code of conduct, marching orders, manual for life, and love letter from God. It is vitally important that every child of God reads and studies the Scriptures with great zeal, passion, and urgency. During this season, many people find themselves with extra time and can put more effort into studying the Bible. So, let’s take a look at some practical tips for studying God’s precious Word.
1. We Must Study The Bible Daily
It is unnatural to go a day without food. Fasting has been a challenge for most Christians because the body craves and desires food. The soul of every believer must thirst and hunger for the truth contained in God’s Word.
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
These Berean Christians are examples to every saved person that there must be a daily study of the Scriptures.
2. We Must Study The Bible With Careful Examination
Let’s once again look at the testimony of the Berean believers in Acts 17:11. It is said that they “searched the scriptures.” The word search comes from the Greek word anakrínō which means to examine with careful and thorough study. R.A. Torrey said, “Study the Bible with an absolutely single-eyed purpose to discover exactly what God intended to teach.”
3. We Must Study The Bible With A Readiness To Obey
The Christian should study the Bible with the full intention of obeying every command and believing in every promise by faith. Our will should be totally surrendered to God’s.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22)
If we are eager to obey, then our mind will be focused on what we are reading and our mind will cease to wander.
4. We Must Memorize Scripture
Memorizing Scripture allows you to hide the Word of God in your heart and stand on the Word of God when temptation comes. We should try to memorize a little Scripture every day.
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)
Scripture is best memorized by organizing verses topically. Memorize groups of verses according to their theme or topic. For example, the following verses can be memorized together under the topic of unlimited atonement: John 3:16, John 1:9, Titus 2:11, I John 2:2, Revelation 3:20.
5. We Must Study The Bible Completely
Though every Christian has favorite passages in the Bible, we must discipline ourselves to study the Bible in its entirety.
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
It is dangerous for a Christian to study only portions of the Bible without knowledge of the complete Word of God.
Next time we’ll look at five more principles the believer can use when studying God’s Word.
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Lankford Oxendine, GSBC Vice President
Bro. Oxendine serves as the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Golden State Baptist College. He has been teaching at GSBC since 2001. He also teaches the College Sunday school class at NVBC.
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