Getting Started With Serious Bible Study
Lots of people of faith are interested in becoming a serious student of the Bible -- but they're unsure where to start. Becoming a serious Bible student needs a real commitment and a systematic strategy, but it isn't quite as complicated and confusing as some may have you believe. In this article I want to outline a view general recommendations which can allow you to get started.
A Definite Plan Desired
One of the most crucial things to be stressed is that in order to become prosperous in Bible study you need to have an organized strategy. Lots of people believe this is beyond them cause they're too busy -- but in reality, the busier you are the more you need a strategy! With a plan in place, even if your time is limited, you will be able to know exactly where you left off in your research -- busy people don't have enough time to fool around using a disorganized, hit-and-miss strategy. There are, of course, that a multitude of different types of Bible study schedules and programs which are available -- you can find many of them from Christian book publishers and from online resources online.
The important issue is to have an organized approach -- if you're a pupil in school studying economics, as an instance, your instructor would map out a complete program that would take you through the whole textbook -- and this is how you need to approach your study of the Bible.
The Importance of Context
Ultimately, on your study of the Scriptures, your ultimate objective is to make sense of everything -- to comprehend it, to interpret it -- correctly. And among Video Bible Study of proper Bible interpretation is to think about the circumstance of a Bible passage. "Context" has many distinct levels: the immediate context, which are the poetry and passages which surround the one which you are studying, the publication context (how a particular Bible passage fits in with the theme or concept of a particular book of the Bible), the literary context (how one prophetical writing, as an instance, fits in with another prophetical writings), and finally the total context of the entire Bible.
It is also important to comprehend something of the cultural and historic setting in which the writings of the Bible were given. The Biblical documents were written thousands of years ago -- during times far removed from our own, when distinct nations ruled the earth, and when different customs and manners of living prevailed. None of us is born with a built in knowledge of these ancient times -- we have to take the opportunity to learn about them.
Fortunately, there are a terrific number of resources available that can assist individuals in understanding the historical and cultural backgrounds of the Bible -- Bible study tools such as Bible Encyclopedias and Bible dictionaries can place the huge sources of biblical scholarship at our fingertips.
Get a Larger Perspective
As you study the Scriptures, attempt to relate the message and significance of a particular passage of the Bible into the total message of that entire biblical book. By way of instance, suppose you are studying Exodus Chapter 20, the accounts of the giving of the 10 Commandments. You need to ask yourself questions such as -- who wrote the book of Exodus? Who was the book of Exodus composed to? What is the purpose of the book of Exodus? Getting answers to those questions is essential to obtaining a proper comprehension of what the Bible is all about.
Use Good Tools
Again, none of us is born with this information already packaged inside of our mind -- we'll at some stage need to look up and research this backdrop utilizing different types of biblical reference tools -- that means that part of your job as a serious Bible student is to develop, over time, a tiny private or household biblical reference library. It is not that you're hoping to develop into a "bookworm" -- you should see these materials as tools, just as any contractor or contractor or a electrician has their set of resources which they need to find the job done.
A Definite Plan Desired
One of the most crucial things to be stressed is that in order to become prosperous in Bible study you need to have an organized strategy. Lots of people believe this is beyond them cause they're too busy -- but in reality, the busier you are the more you need a strategy! With a plan in place, even if your time is limited, you will be able to know exactly where you left off in your research -- busy people don't have enough time to fool around using a disorganized, hit-and-miss strategy. There are, of course, that a multitude of different types of Bible study schedules and programs which are available -- you can find many of them from Christian book publishers and from online resources online.
The important issue is to have an organized approach -- if you're a pupil in school studying economics, as an instance, your instructor would map out a complete program that would take you through the whole textbook -- and this is how you need to approach your study of the Bible.
The Importance of Context
Ultimately, on your study of the Scriptures, your ultimate objective is to make sense of everything -- to comprehend it, to interpret it -- correctly. And among Video Bible Study of proper Bible interpretation is to think about the circumstance of a Bible passage. "Context" has many distinct levels: the immediate context, which are the poetry and passages which surround the one which you are studying, the publication context (how a particular Bible passage fits in with the theme or concept of a particular book of the Bible), the literary context (how one prophetical writing, as an instance, fits in with another prophetical writings), and finally the total context of the entire Bible.
It is also important to comprehend something of the cultural and historic setting in which the writings of the Bible were given. The Biblical documents were written thousands of years ago -- during times far removed from our own, when distinct nations ruled the earth, and when different customs and manners of living prevailed. None of us is born with a built in knowledge of these ancient times -- we have to take the opportunity to learn about them.
Fortunately, there are a terrific number of resources available that can assist individuals in understanding the historical and cultural backgrounds of the Bible -- Bible study tools such as Bible Encyclopedias and Bible dictionaries can place the huge sources of biblical scholarship at our fingertips.
Get a Larger Perspective
As you study the Scriptures, attempt to relate the message and significance of a particular passage of the Bible into the total message of that entire biblical book. By way of instance, suppose you are studying Exodus Chapter 20, the accounts of the giving of the 10 Commandments. You need to ask yourself questions such as -- who wrote the book of Exodus? Who was the book of Exodus composed to? What is the purpose of the book of Exodus? Getting answers to those questions is essential to obtaining a proper comprehension of what the Bible is all about.
Use Good Tools
Again, none of us is born with this information already packaged inside of our mind -- we'll at some stage need to look up and research this backdrop utilizing different types of biblical reference tools -- that means that part of your job as a serious Bible student is to develop, over time, a tiny private or household biblical reference library. It is not that you're hoping to develop into a "bookworm" -- you should see these materials as tools, just as any contractor or contractor or a electrician has their set of resources which they need to find the job done.
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