When it comes to studying the Bible, it can be hard to know where to start. This chapter will address why we should study God's Word and how to do it.
So to start, let's look at some Scripture about Bible studying:
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." -2 Timothy 2:15
"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." -Psalm 119:11
"But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect," -1 Peter 3:15
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." -2 Timothy 3:16-17
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." -Joshua 1:8
"Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men." -Acts 17:11-12
We should study the Bible because a) you have to know who God is in order to become more like Him, b) we need to rightly handle God's Word, c) we need to be able to give an answer for the hope that is in us, d) knowing Scripture keeps us from sinning against God, and e) it gives us so much wisdom for living! A Christian should be no fool--wisdom calls for us to seek her (Proverbs 1) and live differently from the world. Studying the Bible is one of the most important spiritual disciplines!
Now, I'm going to transition to how we can study the Bible. Here are the rules and guidelines or hermeneutics, which is defined as the study of the principles of interpretation (as of the Bible). Hermeneutics are so, so important when studying the Bible. The meaning of God's Word isn't different for everyone--you can't change Scripture's meaning based on what you're going through or what you want it to mean. This is important if you want to know who God actually is and what He's actually saying to you.
The first rule (of eight) in Hermeneutics is 1.) the rule of definition.
What does the word mean? Any study of Scripture must begin with a study of words. Define your terms and then keep to the terms defined. The interpreter should conscientiously abide by the plain meaning of the words. This quite often may require using a Hebrew/English or Greek/English lexicon in order to make sure that the sense of the English translation is understood. A couple of good examples of this are the Greek words "allos" and "heteros". Both are usually translated as "another" in English – yet "allos" literally means "another of the same type" and "heteros" means "another of a different type."
2.) The rule of usage.
It must be remembered that the Old Testament was written originally by, to and for Jews. The words and idioms must have been intelligible to them – just as the words of Christ when talking to them must have been. The majority of the New Testament likewise was written in a milieu of Greco-Roman (and to a lesser extent Jewish) culture and it is important to not impose our modern usage into our interpretation. It is not worth much to interpret a great many phrases and histories if one's interpretations are shaded by pre-conceived notions and cultural biases, thereby rendering an inaccurate and ineffectual lesson.
