How to Study the Bible
 

Dear Friends,

Introduction
Thoroughly studying the Holy Bible is the most important thing you will ever do. It literally makes the difference between an eternal stay in Heaven or eternal damnation in the fires of Hell. So no matter how important all those other things you have been doing in your life might seem, they are all irrelevant. All that matters is studying the Bible and following all it's laws. And hurry! If you die before you have completed your study, it will be too late. James 2:10 teaches us breaking even a single law is as bad as breaking all of them and the only way to never break a single law is by knowing all of them by heart!

Start with Prayer
Before you start each study session, begin by praying and asking God for guidance. The Bible says in 2nd Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." So, as you pray, realize that the words you are studying are inspired by God! Psalm 119:130 tells us, "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple." So no matter how limited your brain is, with God's help you can study and understand the Bible. As mentioned in Matthew 21:22, if you encounter something you don't understand, that simply means you haven't been sincere while praying for guidance!

Read the Entire Bible
Next you'll spend some time, perhaps several weeks, reading through the entire Bible. Do this more than once. As you read, look for themes that may be woven into the chapters. Sometimes you'll detect a general message. For example, in the book of Exodus, an obvious theme is "smiting your enemies." Take notes on the ideas that jump out at you. If at the end of your study, your notes do not contain the entire Bible, you have been slacking off and you have missed important parts of the Bible. Just start over until you get it right. Are you starting to get excited about Bible study? It feels great to save your soul!

Be a Doer of the Word
Don't just study God's Word for the sake of studying. Be sure to put the Word into practice in your life. Jesus said in Luke 11:28, "But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." You will only go to Heaven if you practice 100% of what the Bible teaches us. Just reading the Bible is not enough!

Conclusion
You may want to spend much more time digging into the Old Testament and some of the longer books of the Bible. Once you finished all books, start over and over again until the day Jesus finally kills you. Bible Study is something you should spend your entire life on as the alternative is eternal damnation in the fires of Hell!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor J.C. Manning, M.D., Ph.D.

Re: How to Study the Bible
 

Thank you for that encouragement. This week I'm reading the twelve minor prophets and think I can see a pattern emerging but had recently been helping out with some young people who can't read. I wondered if I ought to read to them? but was told that would be pointless because they didn't understand language at all. One of them knew maybe half a dozen words but they seemed to be all swear words and although some could make noises these were mainly squealing sounds. All of them were in pain so took strong painkillers which made them drowsy, until the painkillers wore off when they'd start making sounds again.

That seems a rather unsatisfactory existence and I'm posting this to find out what happens if they can't understand The Bible? If I did read it out loud, would it still be effective in bringing Salvation? How should I know whether they'd accepted Jesus once they'd heard The Good News?

ROMANS 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
context .. kjv