Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – Are you confused about reading the Bible? Do you want to spend more time in Scripture? Have you made a Bible reading plan, only to see it collapse a week later? Do you keep telling yourself, “I’ll start reading the Bible once this is done”?
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction” (2 Timothy 3:16). Many people want to study the Bible more but don’t know where to start, or they start and then give up. This article points out three neglected aspects of Bible study and how to recover them. Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
Why Is Bible Study Hard to Sustain?
If that sounds a bit like you, let me share three often-neglected aspects of Bible study from Proverbs 2:1–5:
My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you, if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1–5)
3 Neglected Aspects of Bible Study
1. Urgency
These verses are a father’s instruction to his son, or a mature believer’s to a new one. The father wants his son to learn God’s Word. It is a matter of life and death. Proverbs shows us that evil lies in wait and seeks to destroy us every day. So is God present in your life, and are you ready to welcome His presence?
I think we all need to recognize this urgency. Often we merely “suggest” that people read God’s Word as an optional extra. But I long for young people to study the Bible. Today so many activities distract us from an urgent task: reading God’s Word. Only when you see Bible reading as essential to your life will you read and study it on your own initiative.
If we want you to do your best at football or in your studies, how much more do we long for you to study the Bible every day!
2. Diligence
Notice the phrases in the passage above:
accept my words
hide my commandments within you
incline your ear to wisdom
direct your heart to understanding
call out to insight
lift your voice to understanding
seek it like silver
search it out like hidden treasure
On one hand we need a sense of urgency; on the other, we need to work hard. Reading the Bible isn’t easy. It is hard. If it feels easy, you may not yet be digging deeply into Scripture.
Bible reading doesn’t happen automatically; it requires diligence. Accept, treasure, listen, incline your heart, call out, raise your voice and search. Personal Bible study is a battle, perhaps the greatest battle of your life, because you will face many obstacles. You have to fight to gain understanding and insight.
Maybe we should change how we talk about reading the Bible. Instead of just telling people “read your Bible,” we should be more realistic: “Friend, reading the Bible is a challenge. But you need to persevere. Ask for help and plead for insight. Seek understanding with all your heart. Keep listening, so you don’t miss the treasures God has for you.”
3. Imagination
Finally, we often fail to see God’s Word as treasure. The passage compares it to silver and hidden treasure. That is why the son is told to “pursue” it: he is searching for something valuable. I am convinced many of our problems with Bible study would be solved if we realized Scripture is treasure. You don’t have to persuade or beg someone to hunt for treasure; seeking treasure is natural to us.
This means we need a different approach to studying God’s Word, engaging our affections and not just our willpower. We need imagination more than sheer determination. The phrase “seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure” is emotional; it stirs your imagination. Once your imagination is captured, your will and mind will follow.
So how are you studying the Bible? Having observed many people, I find we usually stumble on one of these three. We tend to think of Bible reading as a habit, a schedule or a way to gain knowledge. I hope you will now change your thinking and see the urgency, diligence and imagination needed to study God’s Word and become what God wants us to be.
Starting Effective Bible Study
Choose one book of the Bible and study it from beginning to end instead of reading at random. Write down what you learn and the questions you still have, then bring them to your small group or ask your pastor.
Bible study isn’t about collecting information but about knowing God and being transformed. End each study by asking: what do I need to do today with what God has just taught me?
You may also like: The Most Highlighted Bible Verses and 5 Reasons Christians Need to Become Disciples.
Prayer
Lord, thank You that Your Word is a lamp to our feet. Give us a hunger and perseverance to study the Bible, to understand it rightly and live by it. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Article: Đài Trang
Adapted from: Unlocking the Bible
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