Voices: A primer on how to read the Bible

Texas Baptists’ statement of values begins by summarizing how we understand Scripture. We call it “God’s written word,” elaborating: “We value the Bible as the divinely inspired record of God’s revelation of himself to us. It serves as the authoritative guide for life and ministry.”

If we believe God has spoken and continues to speak through the Bible, then it should follow that we give extraordinary attention to the study of the Scriptures.

But many faithful Christians aren’t sure where to start, especially when it comes to more in-depth and focused study of the biblical text. I want to offer readers a brief primer on how you can dive more deeply into Scripture without needing to pursue a seminary degree.

Before you start

While resources and methodology are quite important, first I want to discuss even more foundational matters. So, you believe the Bible is God’s written word, inspired by the Holy Spirit and authoritative over all matters of your faith and practice. That’s good. But there’s more to be done before buying commentaries and Bible dictionaries.

The first step in studying the Bible is reading the Bible consistently. And I don’t mean reading a few verses here and there; I mean a regular pattern of reading that eventually covers the whole Bible.

You don’t necessarily have to follow a strict “through the Bible in a year” reading plan or such, but regularly saturating yourself in great swathes of Scripture is vital. It is best to familiarize yourself with the breadth of Scripture before mining its depth.

And reading Scripture is not only—I would argue not even primarily—an individual practice. Reading the Bible is primarily a communal practice, done with other Christians especially in the context of worship.

Before you start buying commentaries and Bible dictionaries, plug yourself into a faithful local church that reads plenty of Scripture during worship, has pastors and teachers who focus on Scripture in their public ministry, and has members who devote themselves regularly to studying Scripture together.

Resources

I firmly believe the Holy Spirit is the one who guides us and illuminates our minds as we study God’s word. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot hope truly to understand what God is saying to us in Scripture. And one way the Holy Spirit guides us is by helping us find great Bible study resources.

There are innumerable books, e-books, podcasts, blogs, articles and more that try to help people understand the Bible. It can be overwhelming, especially when you realize not all these resources are good.

If you’re just getting started with in-depth Bible study and haven’t been trained formally in college or seminary, do not spend half of your paycheck on something like the Word Biblical Commentary series. This series and others like it are fantastic but are very technical and typically assume at least some familiarity with Greek, Hebrew and academic biblical studies.

Start with four volumes: a Bible overview/biblical interpretation book, a single-volume Bible dictionary, a single-volume Bible commentary and a study Bible. The first will give you a comprehensive scholarly overview of the Bible as a whole and the basics of biblical interpretation. The second and third will serve as accessible reference works. The fourth will contain the text of Scripture, notes on the text and other helpful material.

For Bible overview/biblical interpretation books, I recommend Grasping God’s Word by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays or How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart.

For a dictionary, look at the New Bible Dictionary or the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

For a commentary, see the New Bible Commentary or the Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary.

For a study Bible, consider the NIV Study Bible, Baylor Annotated Study Bible, CSB Study Bible or the NASB Zondervan Study Bible.

Also, if you want to take things further and look at more specialized resources still accessible to non-academics, the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentary, NIV Application Commentary and Story of God Bible Commentary are excellent series.

Digging into the text

You’re plugged into a faithful, Scripture-loving church. You are reading Scripture regularly as part of your devotions. You have purchased an overview book, a dictionary, a commentary and a study Bible. Now what?

If at all possible, I recommend finding even just a few fellow church members and/or Christian friends willing to join with you regularly to discuss your studies, look at different resources and more. Iron sharpens iron.

Also, try to read your overview book all the way through before diving deeply into a specific biblical text.

When it comes to diving into the text, here is a possible approach you could take: Pick a specific book—let’s say Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Read the book in its entirety. Read it slowly and carefully, paying careful attention. Read it in different translations. Take notes on details you notice. Focus on the text itself and what the text says. Avoid commentaries, study notes and such for now.

Once you’ve read Ephesians carefully and taken plenty of notes, re-read the section on Paul’s epistles from your overview book. Read the section on Ephesians in your dictionary. Then, bit by bit, make your way through Ephesians again, consulting your commentary and your study Bible’s notes as you go, especially in connection with your own notes. Look up key words in your dictionary. If studying with peers, discuss your readings together.

You don’t have to do all of this in one sitting. And remember: This is a suggestion, not a prescription. You don’t have to do it exactly like this. What you do have to do, however, is saturate your studies in prayer.

I hope this brief primer can help curious, Bible-loving Christians study Scripture more deeply and carefully. In the process, I pray you will be further conformed to the image of Christ.

Joshua Sharp is a chaplaincy services assistant at Waco Center for Youth. He holds a Master of Divinity from Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. The views expressed are those solely of the author.