What does it mean to 'study the Bible'?

[BarneyFife]

well, there is, but as far as 'studying the Bible' for example i wouldn't think 'going two miles when someone compels you to go one' is 'Bible study' -- it's something different; it's carrying out what we learn from Bible study. just like having a class in college is different from going to work and applying what you learned in that class.

since it's the 'Bible study' forum, being the mathematician that i am i figured, hey, we need to define 'Bible study' =]
((us mathematicians are big on precise definitions and language))

Honestly, not to be argumentative, what I'm talking about is forethought, way before the 'going the extra mile' phase. Like cultivating a desire to do whatever Scripture instructs, no matter how much it cuts across my current path. I may be over-analyzing. I really like this thread.

 

[post]

Honestly, not to be argumentative, what I'm talking about is forethought, way before the 'going the extra mile' phase. Like cultivating a desire to do whatever Scripture instructs, no matter how much it cuts across my current path. I may be over-analyzing. I really like this thread.

oh! that makes sense.. hmm, how to phrase it..

like, 'desiring to please God' ? as in 'study to show thyself approved' which would be different from just studying for the sake of knowing.
is that what you are getting at?

 

[GRACE ambassador]

• Reading the scripture

• Believing it

• Praying for understanding of it

• Delighting in it

• Meditating on it

• Finding Christ testified of in it

• Internalizing it

• being taught by the Holy Spirit through it

• testing doctrine by it

• taking all of it into consideration

Precious friend, have you Also Considered These?:

• Study God's Preserved Word = KJB!

• Study It Rightly Divided

• Compare Scripture With Scripture
• interpret the difficult by The Plain and Clear

• Don't ADD to It, Nor Take Away from It
• Keep It In God's Context
• search It daily

• precept must be upon precept; line upon line; here a little, and there a little
  
• study to The Glory Of God

Quite a bit to "learn about studying Scripture," God's Way, eh?

Precious friend, post, hope These help you on your "study" journey...

 

[GRACE ambassador]

like, 'desiring to please God' ? as in 'study to show thyself approved' which would be different from just studying for the sake of knowing.

Agree, that would be Rightly Dividing In order to know "What IS And IS NOT"
for us, Today, Under God's GRACE! "Know And Obey The Correct Commands
FOR US!" Amen? For example, my "own Rightly Divided studies":

God's Approval/TWO Gospels In Prophecy vs Mystery
"Distinctions" of Prophecy vs MYSTERY

Please Be Richly Encouraged, Enlightened, Exhorted, and Edified!
God's Simple Will!

 

[post]

• Don't ADD to It, Nor Take Away from It

• Keep It In God's Context

hello buddy =]
it's nice to see you here!

i think a lot of what you put is concerning 'good study habits' rather than 'definition of Bible study' -- like, answers to 'how to study' instead of 'what does it mean to study' -- if that makes sense?

i'm still thinking over a lot of what's been said, this has turned out to be a nice thread

but these points i quoted, i think that's a great addition -- i think we all agree Bible study is exegetical not eisegetical. which is, if we're imposing preconceptions or ideas onto the scripture, we're not studying it, but looking through it to validate something or trying to conform it to something. does 'letting the Bible say what it says' sum that idea up, do you think?

((adding yours & @BarnyFife's points to the ongoing list))

• Reading the scripture
• Believing it
• Praying for understanding of it
• Delighting in it
• Meditating on it
• Finding Christ testified of in it
• Internalizing it
  
• being taught by the Holy Spirit through it
  
• testing doctrine by it
  
• taking all of it into consideration
• seeking to please God
  
• letting it say what it says

 

[post]

(2) Study ALL Scripture Rightly Divided! :

“Study to shew thyself Approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth!”
(2_Timothy_2:15 KJB!)

i'm not sure how to put 'rightly divide' into the list i've been making.
remember, the list is supposed to be a kind of definition of what 'studying the Bible' is or means.
by itself in English it's pretty vague and open to interpretation..

it's a really interesting phrase, in Greek it literally means "to cut straight"
orthotemno - made up of "ortho" meaning right ((as in a right angle, 'orthoganal')) or straight, and "temno" meaning 'to cut'

the Word of God is our spiritual sword -- clearly we aren't supposed to 'cut' the Word, but the Word itself cuts - 'dividing soul from spirit' e.g.
orthotemno is the word you would use if you were building a road from point A to point B - you would 'cut the road straight' - not make it meandering or leading to the wrong place. it's the word you would use if you were doing carpentry or stonework and fashioning a part to go into a whole; you would 'cut it straight' so it's the right shape, and doesn't 'offend' the rest of the whole construction.

it also has application in swordsmanship - if you mean to cut something with a sword, it's very important that the edge of the sword is aligned with the direction the blade is swinging. if you are off, the whole blade will 'twist' when it hits the target, and not cut deeply. the further off from being perfectly aligned, the worse the twisting will be. to cut efficiently, as well as possible, you have to have the edge of the blade 'straight' in line with the motion of it when it's swung. think hitting a nail with a hammer sideways, and it messed up the wood and bends the nail. or like trying to split a log with an axe but you hit the wood with the blade turned sideways, and instead of driving into the log it takes a chip out and bounces off. or hitting a golf ball, if your club isn't 'straight' ((its face at a perfect right angle to the direction of the swing)) you'll slice the ball & it won't go where you mean for it to.

so what Paul writes to Timothy, that he should 'cut straight' with the Word of Truth - that's a very complex comment. IMO it's more about interpreting scripture according to the Holy Spirit and the revealed knowledge of the Son of God & His work, than it is about 'sectioning off' parts of the Bible in some way. of course that's an oversimplification, and it is important to know who things are being said to, why and when they're said, and whether that who = us, but all of this is, well, an example of what it means to study the Bible. looking into not only the immediate context, but also the greater context of the entire scripture, seeking how it testifies of Christ, digging into the literal and/or idiomatic meanings of the original language used, avoiding seeing it through the lens of a theological construct, meditating on it looking for every deep layer of meaning, hearing what the Spirit indicates about it, etc.

so -- overall, on topic, i'm not sure how to put 'rightly divide' into the list as an aspect of the definition of Bible study. it may be that we've already got it represented, since we have **considering the whole counsel** and **letting it say what it says** and **being taught by the Spirit**
i feel like if i put 'rightly divide' i'm immediately going to have a bunch of questions about 'what does rightly divide mean?' -- which will be a whole other thread.

lol pretty sure i made that thread on CC last year, actually

anyway, thinking out loud.
appreciate everyone's input and welcome more of it =]

 

[n2thelight]

ok, but 386 pages is kind of a lot to parse.
i am looking for the answer to "what does 'study the Bible' mean?"
can you put what you learned about defining that, from this 400 page pdf?

i.e. what qualifies as 'Bible study' and why?
if i tell someone to study the Bible, what am i expecting them to do?

I understand what you mean, so I would suggest you just read the intro ,it will give you the basic for how .

Heck I didn't read that whole thing the first time I came across it. I really believe even the intro will give you answers .

But when the rubber meets the road ,just start reading and ask God for understanding

 

[post]

I understand what you mean, so I would suggest you just read the intro ,it will give you the basic for how .

Heck I didn't read that whole thing the first time I came across it. I really believe even the intro will give you answers .

But when the rubber meets the road ,just start reading and ask God for understanding

i will read it. i am in the middle of a short set of long lectures by A.G. Fruchtenbaum right now, but i'll read Bullinger when i'm done. i've heard the name with respect but i can't place where? and i haven't ever read him before, so thank you for the link. i don't mean to sound like i am brushing it off because of it's length; it's that i haven't got that sort of time today - it will take a bit before i can get back to you with what i get from it.

about the rubber, yes, amen - and in our current version of the thread list ((below)) we have reading scripture, and looking to God for understanding of it

• Reading the scripture
• Believing it
• Praying for understanding of it
• Delighting in it
• Meditating on it
• Finding Christ testified of in it
• Internalizing it
  
• being taught by the Holy Spirit through it
  
• testing doctrine by it
  
• taking all of it into consideration
• seeking to please God
  
• letting it say what it says

 

[BarneyFife]

oh! that makes sense.. hmm, how to phrase it..

like, 'desiring to please God' ? as in 'study to show thyself approved' which would be different from just studying for the sake of knowing.
is that what you are getting at?

Check.

 

[post]

Check.

wonderful

 

[Robert Gwin]

thanks -- i think what you've put, taking knowledge from it, is kind of already represented in the current list, "believe it"
as far as the latter part of your comment, i would consider 'applying the Bible to your life' to be kind of a separate category from 'studying the Bible'

i'm looking for, what does it mean to 'study the Bible' ?
when you 'study the Bible' what does that look like?

you know? like if i say, 'i was feeding the poor today' that isn't equivalent to 'i was studying the Bible today'

Perhaps you are familiar with our work Post. We conduct Bible studies with individuals under Jesus' command to make disciples Mat 28:19,20. Here is a short video link as to how we conduct those sir: https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/VODMinistryTools/pub-whbs_x_VIDEO

This will help you to grasp our viewpoint on it.

 

[amadeus]

Thanks Nancy!

• Reading the scripture
• Believing it
• Praying for understanding of it
• Delighting in it
• Meditating on it

Be led always by the Spirit of God!

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Rom 8:14

Always be one of His sheep so as to hear His voice and then follow and obey His voice:

"To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." John 10:3-5

Is not His voice heard in our Comforter?

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26

"[God] Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." II Cor 3:6

 

[amadeus]

oh! that makes sense.. hmm, how to phrase it..

like, 'desiring to please God' ? as in 'study to show thyself approved' which would be different from just studying for the sake of knowing.
is that what you are getting at?

Just studying, even the scriptures, for self aggrandizement is more like this:

"And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh." Ecc 12:12

 

[post]

Just studying, even the scriptures, for self aggrandizement is more like this:

"And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh." Ecc 12:12

a lot of commentaries could stand not to have been written, for sure

 

[amadeus]

a lot of commentaries could stand not to have been written, for sure

Too many men follow their own ways of logic alone or a mixture of their own ways and the Way of God. When we are always following God alone by the Holy Spirit and never quenching the Holy Spirit in us then we will always be right. The multitude of church groups [denominations] many of them using the same Bibles while holding sometime diametrical positions [beliefs, doctrines] is to me a good indication that a whole lot of people who are believers are not growing because they are not studying and surrendering to the Holy Spirit so as to grow closer to God.

Study alone will not do it! The smartest man [highest I.Q.] who is a good Bible student will Not automatically be the one closest to God. God doesn't work that way. How does God work? How does one grow closer to God? By studying the scriptures alone?

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. " Matt 6:33

 

[BarneyFife]

Too many men follow their own ways of logic alone or a mixture of their own ways and the Way of God. When we are always following God alone by the Holy Spirit and never quenching the Holy Spirit in us then we will always be right. The multitude of church groups [denominations] many of them using the same Bibles while holding sometime diametrical positions [beliefs, doctrines] is to me a good indication that a whole lot of people who are believers are not growing because they are not studying and surrendering to the Holy Spirit so as to grow closer to God.

Study alone will not do it! The smartest man [highest I.Q.] who is a good Bible student will Not automatically be the one closest to God. God doesn't work that way. How does God work? How does one grow closer to God? By studying the scriptures alone?

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. " Matt 6:33

This is really good stuff, John. No undue flattery intended.

 

[amadeus]

This is really good stuff, John. No undue flattery intended.

Give God the glory my friend!

 

[BarneyFife]

Give God the glory my friend!

Youbetcha!!!

 

[CharismaticLady]

okay let me add it to the list this way:

• Reading the scripture
• Believing it
• Praying for understanding of it
• Delighting in it
• Meditating on it
• Finding Christ in the OT
• Internalizing it
  
• being taught by the Spirit through it

i want to be careful to point out how that clearly people read the Bible and are led by 'a spirit' to draw very strange, even blasphemous conclusions from it. don't you agree? false teachers and heretics don't generally just pull their heresies out of thin air, but justify them by distorting and perverting scripture.

how do we know that it is the Holy Spirit that is teaching a person something in scripture, rather than an evil one?

Yes, that 'spirit' produces what the Bible calls "doctrines of demons."

 

[marksman]

um, you're not saying 'to study the Bible' = speed-reading, are you??

lol

clearly putting in little or no effort doesn't qualify as 'study'
but describe the effort: what are the things a person does that legitimately count as 'studying the scripture' ?

No. What I take from its original meaning is that we need to get on with the job and stop messing around with this that and the other.