Not Like Bible Studies on Amazon

Most of the top results for “bible study” on Amazon are actually devotionals or sermon series repackaged into books.

Google only fairs a little better.

Many of the resources you find on the search engine’s first page spend most of the time telling you what to think about a passage rather than challenging you to examine it yourself.

Providing devotionals, repackaged sermons, and the results of someone else’s study is valuable. Christians’ faith may be enriched by these resources.

That doesn’t mean we should mistake them for Bible studies.

Google the definition of “study,” and you will find that studying something implies the “application of mental faculties to the acquisition of knowledge: or careful, extended consideration.”

A Bible study observes the text.

You cannot study the Bible by spending the majority of your time reading someone’s words about the Bible.

No, the primary task of studying the Bible is carefully observing a particular passage or set of passages.

Careful observation is key to studying the Bible because it surfaces all sorts of issues about the text we tend to overlook when we simply read a passage.

Very often, the minor details we discover through careful and close observation radically deepen our understanding of the passage.

Think about the fictional character, Sherlock Holmes.

Years of honing his observational skills enable him to notice details most people miss. The result… Holmes cracks challenging cases based on nearly imperceptible clues.

Similarly, a good Bible study requires us to examine the smallest details of a text.

• What does this word mean?
• Why does the author use that conjunction?
• Does this apparently random detail carry tremendous significance for the passage?

We can only begin to answer these questions, and more like them, by carefully observing the text.

Such careful observation naturally demands our time, which leads us to our second point.

A Bible study takes time.

A quality Bible study cannot be accomplished in a single five-minute session.

No, a Bible study requires substantial time and disciplined focus.

If your current life phase only affords you short bursts of time, you can certainly string multiple sessions together to study the Bible well.

Still, the point remains: Bible study takes time. 

The reason quality Bible studies take time is that making quality observations requires us to pay closer attention.

I learned this lesson several times during my school years when a teacher would provide a painfully bland object and require us to make as many observations as possible.

It’s surprising how many observations one can make about a plastic cup.

As the minutes wear on, you will begin to notice the texture, the subtle imperfections, and the various design choices the manufacturer made.

Before long, your paper will be filled with information you never knew about cups until you took the time to observe them carefully. 

What was the key to these discoveries?

Time.

The same is true for the Bible.

The more time you spend with a biblical passage, the more you will discover about it.

Questions you never acknowledged before will surface.

Insights that change and challenge the way you think will become unmistakable to you.

Before long, your notebook will be filled with observations about the passage.

Thankfully, the Bible is infinitely more interesting than a cup.

So naturally, the observations you make about the details of the text will be far more significant than noticing the ergonomic design of a plastic cup.

But the requirement remains the same: quality study takes time.

A Bible uses resources strategically

Taking the necessary time and carefully observing a biblical passage are the most essential components of a Bible study, but they are insufficient. 

No matter how much time you spend with a text, and no matter how many notebooks you fill with observations, certain aspects of the Bible will remain mysterious.

Obscure ancient religious practices, bizarre cultural customs, and ambiguous vocabulary force us to seek help when we study the Bible.

The trick is to use resources strategically.

Many of the resource you will find on Amazon or Google valiantly attempt to help you by providing the answers.

The authors waded through the interpretive challenges (hopefully) and used their books to give you their educated insights. 

The problem with relying on these resources is that they often prevent you from developing the necessary skills with which you can wrestle with the Bible’s meaning.

Though acquiring the skills needed to study the Bible well is difficult, it is a gratifying endeavor.

Don’t settle for resources that provide you with the answers.

Instead, search for resources that give you the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions on your own.

In short, use resources strategically.

Conclusion

Let’s return to our question: What is a Bible study? 

The answer is as simple as we first suspected, even if others seem to forget that when they create Bible study resources.

Here is my definition:

A Bible study is a careful analysis of a passage in the Bible that takes time and the help of strategically picked non-biblical resources.

Now that we understand what a Bible study is, we need to develop the necessary skills.

The goal of mybibleschool is to help you study the Bible and engage your faith.

I am always developing resources that will encourage you to actively engage the Bible.

For example, I created an email course called 21-Days to Better Bible Study.

Over the course of three weeks, you'll build a foundation of Bible study skills that will pay dividends throughout your life.

Each email is filled with a simple lesson and a practical exercise to help you develop the skill.

You can sign up here.

That's all for this week!

I hope you enjoy studying God's word.

Thanks for reading,

Tyler Fulcher