Published by There are many ways a person can study the Bible. I’ve studied topics, people, and even tried reading and studying the Bible straight through. Yes, there are tools other than your bible to help when you study. Studying the Bible is the only way we can find Jesus and get serious with God. John 14:6 tells us we must find Jesus first. We have to understand what he did to save us. And we have to get into the Bible to find out. When studying the bible, get the whole picture. Don’t just take out what you want to hear. Read the whole picture so you can hear what God wants to tell you. A lot of the things God wants to tell you may be hard to understand or even harder to make yourself do. If we are diligent to know God’s will he will be faithful to us in the end.
For topical and people studies a concordance will probably be your most helpful tool so you can find all the Bible has to offer on the subject you’re studying. Topical and people studies can be good when you’re going through a rough time and you want to find out how people in the Bible dealt with their problems and what God’s advice for you is. But again be careful that you’re not singling out single verses always read the text around it to make sure you’re getting the big picture. When people single out verses they either only hear what they want it to say or they think the Bible contradicts itself when it doesn’t.
When reading the Bible straight through it’s best to have a commentary or study Bible with notes. Just to get an idea of what other people think a difficult passage means. However, don’t take the study notes and commentary as scripture unless God reveals it to you through other scripture. Pastors and evangelists that write the study notes are just as human as we are and can misinterpret God’s message. So it’s good to read what they think but it’s even better to try to verify and test what they say with other scripture, which is when a concordance can come in handy again. Some bibles also have an in-text concordance where there’s a middle column of scripture verses to help you find other verses that say the same thing and may be easier to understand.
Never use ignorance as an excuse to not study the Bible. There are many resources online and off to help us study the bible. Also if we pray to God with a sincere heart telling him we can’t understand he will help show us what he clearly means. He may use scripture or a pastor’s message to reveal to us what we don’t always understand we only have to ask.
