How to Effectively Study The Bible

In my “line of work” in full-time ministry, I often get asked this question, “Where do I start in studying God’s Word?” This post is an attempt to answer that by sharing one way we can approach the study of God’s Word using some specific questions and focusing on the passages we read.

Let me set the stage for you. One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is found in Colossians 1.

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;” Colossians 1:9-10

These verses and throughout this chapter have been a challenge to me to know my God in an intimate and real way. It is something that every Christian should desire. Paul was praying here in Colossians 1 and sharing his desire for the believers in the city of Colosse. But knowing what we know about Paul, I believe that he had already prayed this prayer for himself, and he was active in the process of knowing God for himself. From Paul’s writings, we know that he knew God and desired that others would experience the same type of relationship with God that he had. How do we, in modern-day culture, get to the point that Paul was at to know our God—Who, by the way, is the same God that Paul served in the first century? We have to be in His Word!

How often do we open our Bibles and just read to say that we have read?

We can easily walk away from being in God’s Word and feel the same or maybe even worse than we did when we opened His Word. This is an area of my life that I frequently have to “preach” to myself in. We like to take the easy road in so many things. The thing we have to remember is that getting to know your God is not something that comes easily.

We would all say that we want to know God and have a relationship with Him, but that will not happen for us unless we study His Love Letter to us in which He has revealed Himself and His will for our lives.

There are countless ways we could talk about to learn how to study God’s Word, but I want each of you, friends, to know that YOU can study the Bible and see God for yourself. You don’t have to wait until you reach some artificial status level in your spirituality. You can understand it all now with the Lord’s help and a bit of diligence. ​

5 Questions to Ask For Effective Bible Study

There are 5 questions to use in your Bible study time so that reading your Bible doesn’t become a stale and boring ritual.

1. ​Is there a truth for me to discover?
2. Is there a lesson for me to learn?
3. Is there a promise for me to claim?
4. Is there a commandment for me to obey?
5. Is there an example for me to follow (or not to follow)?​

These questions are fairly straightforward. I am sure that you have looked for some of these things in reading in general. I used to teach literature, and I was always trying to help my students see more than just the words on the page. The awesome thing is that the words on the pages of your Bible are not the words of a famous author in a work of literature. They are the eternal words of the God Who has already saved you from eternal punishment and has given you eternal life in Heaven with Him. He wants to talk to you through these words.

Practical Ideas For Effective Bible Study

Let me give you some practical ideas to make this process work for you.

• ​Get a quiet time journal or notebook devoted to your relationship with the Lord.
• Spend time in prayer before reading to ask the Lord to open your heart and be ready to receive the truths from His Word that day.
• Use the same passage for one week to keep from being overwhelmed. There is something to be said about quality over quantity!
• Take notes along the way so that you have something to review later on. Paul admonished us to “continue” in the things we have learned (2 Timothy 3:14).
• It is practical to take one question for the passage for each day of the week (Monday-Friday).​

• On Saturday, spend time memorizing one of the verses/passages that you found during the week that will be a help to you as you grow in your walk with the Lord.
• On Sunday, spend time reflecting and reviewing notes that you have taken over the past week or from previous weeks.
• Invest in a good study Bible and even some simple study helps like a  Bible concordance or a Bible dictionary. There are even simple Bible programs for your computer that can aid in study.

One of my favorite books to study in the New Testament is 1 Peter. I want to give you some examples of how to answer these questions using the book of 1 Peter. Don’t worry—we aren’t going to read the whole book here! But I would highly encourage you to use a short book like this to get started in a study like this. Let’s look at a few verses along with each of these questions.

An Effective and Practical Bible Study of 1 Peter

Is there a truth for me to discover?

• 1 Peter 1:18-19
  Truth – Christ redeemed me for all eternity with His blood. He was brutally slain for me, and I have the blessing of knowing an incorruptible inheritance (See 1 Peter 1:3).
• 1 Peter 4:12-13
  Truth – The “fiery trial” in my life is an indication that we “are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” In other words, as a child of God, when we are sent trials, we are counted worthy to be suffering like He suffered for us. We can use this truth to help us realize the opportunity we have to reflect Christ in suffering.
• 1 Peter 5:7
  Truth – God cares for me! It doesn’t get much clearer in truth than that! The verb “careth” in the original language has a progressive active sense which means that He is actively (right now) and continuously caring for us. Give Him all your cares because He is always caring for you!

Is there a lesson for me to learn?

• 1 Peter 2:1-3
  Lesson – How to grow in the Word! He explains that I must put away all the sin that has plagued me; and then, as a baby in Christ, I will desire the Word like a baby desires milk. It will be the necessary food for my life. He then comments that if I have tasted the Word as I should I will know “that the Lord is gracious” to me. These things produce growth in my spiritual life.

• 1 Peter 5:8
  ​Lesson – Be aware of Satan’s desire to influence your life! I must be careful to understand that the devil is seeking to devour me and render me ineffective in the service of the King. Peter gives me the picture of Satan searching the earth for those whom he could trick to follow him just like a lion prowls the land for the weakest prey to pick off. I must learn this lesson from God’s Word so that I do not have to experience the failure of falling to Satan.

Is there a promise for me to claim?

• 1 Peter 1:5
  Promise – He will keep me forever! When I am saved by faith, He promises to keep me in that salvation until it is “ready to be revealed in the last time.”
• 1 Peter 4:7
  Promise – The end is near! We will not be on the earth forever. This is a promise for us to claim as we watch for the Lord to return. We know the end of the story, so to speak, and that should encourage us in this promise.

Is there a commandment for me to obey?

• 1 Peter 2:13-14
  Command – Be submissive to all authority in your life! This is a hard part of any person’s life, but it is something that everyone must come to understand and follow.

• 1 Peter 4:10-11
  Command – Use the spiritual gift(s) that you have been given! It is not an option for those who have a spiritual gift because Peter says that every man has received a gift, and it is our job to minister with that gift whether it be speaking or ministering. The lesson here along with this command is that everything we do should point back to One who made it possible so that He gets the glory for the gift and not us.

Is there an example for me to follow (or not to follow)?

• 1 Peter 2:11
  Example – You are a stranger and a pilgrim in this world. This is an example that I must follow because living in this world as one that does not belong here permanently makes a difference in the things that I may do. I should stay as far away from the world as possible and still be a witness to them. I should follow the example of the pilgrims and strangers to live in this world without being of this world.
• 1 Peter 2:21-25
  ​Example – You are to patiently forbear under the persecution of the world. Christ never once retaliated against those that “reviled” Him, beat Him, and crucified Him. Peter uses references to Isaiah 53 to illustrate what Christ went through and how He perfectly reacted. Any persecution and suffering that we might come in contact with will never compare to what Christ went through for us. I can follow His example to help me in times of suffering.

These are only a few of the truths, lessons, promises, commandments, and examples that we can find in 1 Peter. I would encourage you to try this method and then make it your own as you study and seek to know your God. He wants you to know Him, but you have to do your part!

What Bible study methods have helped you get to know God better?