Reading your Bible and studying it are not the same thing and here’s why…(Post #18)

You may have clicked this post thinking, “Now hold up just a second! I thought reading my Bible was the same thing as studying it!” Don’t worry, you’re not alone! I used to think the same thing. But as it turns out there’s a HUGE difference between the two. In this article I want to shine some light on this topic and equip you to better study the Word of God so that you can get the most out of your devotional time!

But before I explain the difference, and share ways to study, I want to start off by commending you for reading this article. It tells me you’re interested in rightly dividing the Word of God which is awesome! In this fast paced distraction filled culture we live in it breaks my heart to hear how many fellow brothers and sisters in Christ fail to read their Bibles. The fact that you are reading it deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated, and I hope God has been blessing you through it!

Maybe you’re a seasoned reader, or maybe you’ve been convicted lately about your lack of devotional time. Whoever you are I hope this article draws you into deeper fellowship with Christ and helps you to develop a deeper love for His Word.

So let’s get to the point of the post. The difference between reading the Bible and studying it. It really should come as no surprise that its possible to read the Bible without actually studying it. In fact I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of doing it. When we quickly read through a passage without actually processing the information we have failed to study. When we don’t take the time to look up a word or concept we don’t understand we have failed to study. When we allow for unanswered questions to fester in the back of our minds we have failed to study. Reading the Bible and studying it are not the same thing.

So how CAN we avoid the pitfalls of shallow surface scraping, and begin to mine the precious jewels from the endless treasure chest of scripture? The answer lies in asking the right questions, and making good use of our devotional time. When it comes to reading the Bible, quality reading trumps quantity reading every time. 

So what are some of the questions we can ask, and what should be the determining factor as to whether we spent quality time in Gods Word or not? We aren’t going to get into the nitty gritty technical side of biblical interpretation, rather I want to offer you a solid foundation for you to take and build on.

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT I’M NOT TRYING TO MAKE YOUR DEVOTIONAL TIME BECOME PURELY HOMEWORK. THESE QUESTIONS ARE MEANT TO HELP GET YOU THINKING. YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THEM EACH TIME YOU STUDY, CHOOSE A FEW THAT ACTUALLY ADD TO YOUR DEVOTIONAL TIME AND DRAW YOU CLOSER TO THE LORD!

QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE STUDYING YOUR BIBLE

1. Have I prayed for the Holy Spirit to give me understanding, conviction, encouragement, and a deeper love for Christ?

This question holds the #1 spot on our list for a reason. You should always pray before reading Gods Word. The Bible is God’s revelation to us, and we should approach it with reverence and prayer. In fact we should approach it realizing that the God of all creation will speak to us through it, and that the way we receive, believe, and respond, is an expression of worship.

We should pray for understanding and discernment. We should pray for conviction of sin and for God to grant us repentance. We should pray for encouragement and joy in the Lord. We should pray that Gods Word will give us a deeper love for Jesus Christ. There are many other things you could pray for before reading the Bible, and I encourage you to think of some for yourself that I didn’t mention and make it personal between you and the Lord. You would be surprised how much more you will benefit when you pray and prepare your heart before you read.

2. What are you going to read and why are you going to read it? 

This is an important question to ask before beginning your devotional time. I could restate the point of the question by saying be intentional. I’ve found that if I’m not intentional about where and why I’m reading I tend to get less out of my time in the Word.

Where– Where are you going to read from? Maybe you’re doing a one year bible reading plan so the “where” is given to you each day. Maybe you’re church or bible study group is going through a particular book and you want to study it in your devotional time. Or maybe you have no idea where to start and need someone to point you in the right direction. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, I would encourage choosing a gospel in the New Testament (I would suggest John) and after reading it skip to the book of Acts and read all the way through the New Testament to Revelation. This way you will go from reading about Christ’s life death and resurrection straight into the book of Acts which is the story of the early church and the apostle Paul’s miraculous conversion and action packed missionary trips. Be intentional about where you are reading, or else you will waste precious devotional time flipping through random chapters hoping something jumps out at you.

Why– The why is just as important. Why are you reading what you’re reading? Obviously you’re reading to gain understanding, conviction, encouragement, and a deeper love for Christ, but there are other reasons to read that will allow you to be more intentional. For instance, maybe you are wanting to learn about a specific topic like forgiveness. You could do a search on google for passages about forgiveness, or entire stories that display forgiveness. Topical studies can be extremely beneficial especially when they line up with things that are going on in your life. Do some reflection to think about what season of life you are in, and what areas you need to grow in the most, and try out a topical study that goes along with it.

3. Are there things I read that don’t make sense or sound like contradictions?

This is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself when reading the Bible. Why do I say that? Because unanswered questions start off as tiny seeds of doubt that eventually grow into giant forests of unbelief. And like a forest, it will happen gradually over time. It will start with an unanswered question here, and an apparent contradiction there, until one day you open the Bible and all you feel towards it is cold indifference. I PRAY THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN TO YOU. There are answers for your questions! The Bible is without error and true.

There have been godly men over the centuries who have given their blood, sweat, and tears spending their entire lives studying the Bible and fighting to offer well thought out answers to your questions. Take advantage of them. When something doesn’t make sense, pull out the hand held computer from your pocket and google it. I personally use biblehub.com to look up commentaries on specific verses when something doesn’t make sense to me, but there are other solid sites you can check out as well like biblestudytools.com, blueletterbible.org, and biblegateway.com. This may mean you have to spend the remaining minutes of your devotional time looking something up, but remember that quality reading is often more important than quantity reading.

4. What is the context, the meaning, and the application? 

Now it’s time to be an investigator! There is much to be said about biblical interpretation. Hermeneutics is the study of interpretive principals. Exegesis is the art and science of drawing meaning out of individual texts. In other words hermeneutics is the broad principals we take to the Bible as a whole while interpreting, and exegesis is the nitty gritty technical side of interpretation that draws meaning out of specific texts. We won’t go anymore into detail than that, but I encourage you to look more into biblical interpretation because it will help you to rightly divide Gods Word and get more out of it.

Although we aren’t going to go into scholarly detail about interpretation, I do want to offer some questions you can ask during your devotion that will transform your reading into studying.

What is the context? Words matter and context is key. When verses are hijacked out of their proper context people can be led to do terrible things, and led to believe heretical teachings. I don’t want you to do either. So let’s define what I mean by context. Simply put, the context is what’s going on in the passage. Who is writing the book or letter, who the audience is, what literary genre it is(historical narrative, poetry, apocalyptic), and what is going on in the specific passage are contextual elements. To understand the context of a specific verse, its important to read what’s surrounding it. Its usually safe to go a chapter before, and a chapter after to get a decent understanding of what’s going on however sometimes its important to go further than that. If you know the context, chances are you will be able to understand the verse with more clarity.

What is the meaning? After you know the context of what you’re reading, its important to figure out what it means. The meaning of the text is the link of the chain that connects the context with it’s application. You should ask questions like:

• What is going on in this passage?
• Who or what is involved with the narrative?
• Is there figurative language being used?
• Is it describing an event, or prescribing a command?
• How would the original audience understand what’s being said?
• Are there passages that connect with this one or quotations from other books?
• Why did the author use certain words and what are their definitions?
• Any many more!

Once you understand the meaning of the text and what the author was trying to communicate, you can then go onto the application stage.

What is the application or takeaway? James 1:22 tells us to be doers of the word, not just hearers. Not only are we to figure out context, and understand meaning, but also figure out how it applies to our lives. When we come to the Word of God, we should come with a humble heart that’s ready to be changed by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers should reflect our desire for that. However, sometimes it’s easy to miss what the takeaway should be and how we can apply it to our lives. I’ve found that the question asking approach works best for this as well. The questions you should ask include:

• Is God convicting me of a certain sin in my life?
• What does the promise of God I just read mean for me?
• What can I learn from the characters in the story?
• How can I take this passage and turn it into a prayer?
• What is the principal that is being conveyed?
• What are similar situations I face today that relate with the passage?
• What are similar passages that will shed light into this one?
• What can I learn about God from this passage?
• How do I think God wants me to react to this?
• Are my biases getting in the way of understanding the meaning?
• And many more!

I’m sure you could come up with more questions that than, but hopefully that gives you somewhere to start when trying to figure out the takeaway.

Example of context, meaning, and application from a passage

I want to briefly give an example of how one might study a verse. I’ve decided to choose Philippians 4:13 since its one of the most famous verses from the Bible. Most of us yank that verse out of its context and slap it on t shirts and bumper stickers while using it as motivation for all of our goals and aspirations. I’m not saying this is wrong necessarily, because it is only through Christ’s strength we are able to do anything, but what is the context, meaning, and application of Philippians 4:13? To find out lets look at the entire passage.

Philippians 4:10-15 says, “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.”

So what is the context of this famous verse? Paul, the author, is rejoicing that the church at Philippi was concerned for him once again. What were they concerned about? His ministry and well being, which they supported by sending a financial gift through Epaphroditus (verse 18).  Although Paul is rejoicing because of their generosity, he uses the situation to teach a spiritual lesson.

How about the meaning?  Paul appreciates and praises God for their help, but he explains that he isn’t actually in need.  He had learned how to be content in every circumstance whether good or bad, because he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. What were the “all things” he was able to do through Christ? Being content in all that he had previously mentioned. So the meaning of Philippians 4:13 is Paul was able to find true contentment and peace even during hard times through the strength that Christ provided.

And the takeaway and application? Since we have determined that “contentment amidst trials” is the meaning of the verse, I would reflect on the level of contentment in my own life. How do I react when I have financial difficulties, relationship problems, or things just simply aren’t going my way? Do I rely on my own ability, or do I draw from the endless reservoir of Christ’s strength? How do I react when Gods plan for my life looks different than what I want? Do I trust in Gods power and sovereignty or do I lack faith to believe He is working all things out for my good? You could also focus on the Philippian churches generosity and reflect on your own giving patterns. Or on the fact that Epaphroditus was a good friend who was there for Paul through the thick and the thin and played his part in helping out. I’ll say it once again, Gods Word is an endless treasure chest full of precious jewels waiting to be mined out.

5. Did I have a quality devotional time or was I focused more on the quantity of reading? 

After going over our 4 other questions, I think it’s important to end by asking this one. You should reflect on your devotional time and ask yourself the tough questions. Am I being resistant to what God is showing me in His Word? Did I spend time in prayer before I read? Was I intentional about where I was going to read and why I was reading it? Did I understand the context, meaning, and application? Is it hard for me to have a quality devotion because I’m not setting aside enough time for it? These are all questions we should ask ourselves to gauge the health of our devotional time.

Conclusion

After reading what I had to say do you feel like you’ve been studying your bible or simply reading it? If you feel guilty or like you’ve been sinfully indifferent to Gods Word, don’t lose heart! Jesus Christ came to live the perfect life you couldn’t live, and died the sinners death you should have died, all to offer salvation to those who come to Him by faith. That means Christ died for our sinful indifference and failure to love God perfectly with all our mind, soul, and strength. I don’t know about you, but that’s a huge relief seeing as that I fall short everyday.

The beauty of the gospel brings me to my final point. Worship. Our devotional time should be an expression of worship to the God who died for our sins and gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ. Studying the Bible is about getting to know its Author and spending time with Him. The more we focus on Him, the more we will be drawn into quality devotional time.

So that’s the difference between reading your Bible and studying it, and now you know why. Now go out and share what you learned and what God is showing you in His Word! I hope this article has shined some light. If you enjoyed it please like and follow for future posts, and leave a comment below! All glory to God!