How to Read the Bible
Reading the bible can be an intimidating endeavor. It is a big book, causes a lot of controversy, and uses words and concepts that we aren’t naturally familiar with, yet it is within the pages of the scriptures that we encounter the Living God.
At Portland Gospel Church, we desire to help you LIVE the gospel, and that means knowing and applying the word of God (John 8:31).
To help you get started, we have a church-wide bible reading plan which provides accountability for reading the bible throughout the year.
A Process For Reading
1. Pray
One of the most important things that we can do before reading the scripture is to humble ourselves before it. If we truly want to understand what it says, hear from God, and find answers for our lives, we cannot come with our own preconceived ideas.
The bible is said to be authored by God (2 Tim 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21), and if we are going to hear from the God of the bible, we ought to open our hearts to Him. He does not like pride (James 4:6), and promises that if we ask for wisdom He will give it (James 1:5).
This is where most people fail. If we approach the scriptures with our own idea of who God is, and what the bible is, then we will never hear clearly. If we don't 'want' there to be a God, we may very well walk away unchanged (James 1:23)
Example Prayers:
Prayers do not need to contain magic words. The God of the bible is not trying to 'trick' anyone, He wants to reveal Himself (John 1:9) and save the world (John 3:16). Prayers can be audible or in your heart. The important thing is to mean what you say.
A Prayer for the Unbelieving
God I am not sure if you are real, but if you are, I want to hear from you. Please show me who you are and show me what to do!
A Prayer for Christians
God I humble myself before you and want to hear from your word. Please open my heart, help me to hear from you, and give me the strength to obey whatever you say.
2. Read
There is not easy way around it, reading requires… reading! If we truly want to understand the bible, then we have to spend some time with the contents. Study tools and overviews are helpful, but they should not be where we start.
To get started, we simply need to read! Find a place and read through the contents slowly and thoughtfully. We recommend starting with our reading plan.
Set Time to Read
To get the most our of reading the bible, set aside an undistracted time to truly engaged with it. It is advised that you turn off distractions like music, screens, etc. and seek a quiet place to focus. Length of time is not as important as time at attention.
Read it Again
Eventually everyone drifts off a bit. That's ok! Just simply go back to where you last remember what you read and continue again. Sometimes it helps to read a passage or a chapter multiple times.
Time to Move On
The bible will contain some things that we simply don't understand, especially the first time through (John 16:12). That is ok! Instead of getting stuck in one place, make a note and keep going. It's possible that the upcoming chapters will shed more light, or you can ask friends and pastors at church.
Trust It Anyway
The bible is the most credible book on the planet. It simply cannot be matched by any other book in terms of manuscript evidence, internal consistency, or divine inspiration. When we do not understand something, we should always assume that the bible is true anyways (John 17:17). The bible is true, whether we understand it or not.
3. Write
One of the best ways to remember what you read is to write it down. It could simply be things that you'd like to remember, or something that you feel like is speaking to you. Writing things down forces our minds to think specifically about the words that we write. This is especially helpful for scripture memorization.
Digital journaling provides the benefit of timestamping your notes and provides searchability. Most bible apps make it easy to copy/paste verses along with your personal thoughts. The downside to digital is that it doesn't focus our minds quite like writing.
The kings of Israel were instructed to write out an entire copy of the word of God on their own and read from it every day (Deut 17:18-21). This is great advice for us as well! Writing out scripture helps us focus on individual words, and to see patterns that we may otherwise miss.
4. Apply
The whole reason that we read the bible is not to be more religious, it is to get direction and hear from God (Psalm 119:105). If when we are reading, we believe that God is enlightening and teaching us, then we would be wise to do what He says.
As you read with an open heart, the Lord will direct the "thoughts and intents" of your heart (Heb 4:12). When the light of the word of God is shed upon the heart, it reveals our true nature and motivation. It also reveals who God is and how different His ways are from our own (Isaiah 55:8-9).
The Three Applications of the Bible
As we read the bible, we must be careful to keep certain things within their context. As a general rule, there are three applications of the scripture.
Historical
What is the Bible Saying?
Much of the bible is not written to you, therefore you will not be able to apply everything that you read. We can solve most issues of poor interpretation by simply allowing the bible to speak for itself, within the time that it is written.
For example, Christians are no longer bound to the Old Testament 'law' (Gal 2:16). Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law (Matt 5:17), therefore we cannot have an ‘application’ that includes animal sacrifice or observing ceremonial laws.
Doctrinal
What is the Bible Teaching?
Sometimes there is more going on in the passage than we realize. It is here that we can learn what the bible teaches us about who God is, the world around us, etc. Some things are prophetic and have a future fulfillment, so we must be careful to "rightly divide the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15).
Doctrinal application is for mature believers. For this reason, you should consider signing up for Discipleship, joining a bible study, and taking advantage of every opportunity to grow (Heb 5:14, Eph 4:14).
Personal
What Should I Be Doing?
One might ask, why read the whole bible if only some of it applies to me? Good question! While it may not all be directly applicable, it is still able to direct our path (Psalm 119:105)
The New Testament uses many examples from the Old Testament to help us realize that man has long had the same struggles, and we can learn from those who went before us in the faith.
Romans 15:4
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.1 Corinthians 10:6
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
We should be finding direction from what we read in the scriptures, but that direction can never violate the first two principles:
1) we cannot directly apply something outside of our timeline
2) we cannot violate the doctrinal teaching of scripture.
5. Meditate
Some things in the scriptures simply take time to learn. For this, we require meditation. God is infinitely complex, and His ways are not the same as the natural man’s (1 Cor 2:13-14), therefore we have a lot of catching up to do.
Meditation is often thought of in an Eastern sense, like yoga or emptying one’s self, but that is not how the bible uses the word.
The bible’s use of the word is more about filling one’s self, or being preoccupied with a thought or idea. The more our hearts and minds process the words of the bible, the more insight we gain into them.
Meditation can be done while doing other things. For example, while doing the dishes or the laundry, one can bring to mind what they have been reading. It helps to keep a journal for quicker recall.
Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Are You Ready to Get Started?
We would love to help you read the bible! It really helps to do so wit ha community of people around you and other ways to learn the scriptures like sermons and bible study.
Join us on Sunday! Or join in Bible Study. See you there!