HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

SESSION ONE (MOTIVATION)

CLASS ONE

1. Why Study the Bible?

For a Christian, nothing should seem more natural than reading the Bible. Peter, one of Jesus’s first
disciples, compared it to a baby’s natural craving for milk: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure
spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is
good” (1 Pet. 2:2–3).

As a new born depends on milk to survive, we should equally depend on the words of Scripture for our
spiritual survival and growth. The words of the Bible have impacted millions of lives over thousands of
years, and God wants it to change our lives as well. If you don’t already love the Bible, pray that you
would.

No matter what your experience with the Bible has been, it’s helpful for all of us to step back and think
about what the Bible actually is.

When we talk about the Bible, we sometimes use profound language without considering what we’re
really saying. Perhaps the strongest thing we can say about the Bible is that it is the “Word of God.” But
have you ever thought about what that means?

That concept should blow our minds. When we talk about the Bible, we’re actually talking about
something that the All- Powerful, All-Knowing, transcendent God decided to write to us! What could be
more important?

Think of how you would respond to hearing a voice from heaven speaking directly to you. We should
approach the Bible with the same reverence.

If we really believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then it should be much more than a book that we
are familiar with. It ought to shape every aspect of our existence. It should guide the decisions we make
in life. If God is the designer and creator of this world, if He made us and placed us on this earth, and if
He has taken the time to tell us who He is, who we are, and how this world operates, then what could be
more important to us than the Bible?

But even after we decide that the Bible is important, we still need to learn to approach it in the right way
and with the right motives. Many Christians misuse the Bible because they never ask themselves why
they are studying it in the first place.

The purpose of this session is to help you think through the nature of the Bible, why it is important to
study, and how it should transform our lives.
Another important part as we study the Bible and immerse in the word is disciple making. (Matt. 28:20)
speaks of making disciples as teaching people to obey everything Jesus commanded. This means that we
need to know Jesus’s teaching and commands. It may seem that the first disciples had an advantage on
us here. How can we teach people to follow Jesus if we haven’t observed His ministry and listened to His
teaching? But we are not at a disadvantage at all because God has recorded His words and the
testimony of Jesus’s followers in a book called the Bible.

Studying the Right Book for the Wrong Reasons

Assignment

Before you go any further, ask yourself why you study the Bible. Don’t be overly optimistic with this; try
to assess your heart. When you pick up the Bible and begin to read it, what is motivating you? Are you
driven by guilt? Do you have a desire to know God more fully? Are you looking for arguments against
other perspectives? Are you looking for material for a Bible study or sermon?

1. Take a few minutes to examine your motives and write down a few thoughts below?
The fact of the matter is that most Christians study the Bible for the wrong reasons. Here we will explore
Four motivations for studying the Bible that we need to move beyond: guilt, status, and teaching
material.

Guilt

Many people are motivated by guilt. We all know that we should be reading our Bibles—it’s just one of
those things that Christians are told they are supposed to do. It is often added to a list with things like
church attendance, tithing, and not swearing. Nobody wants to admit that they read the Bible out of
guilt, but guilt is a powerful motivator.

Very often this guilt is connected with legalism. We create our own standard (“I must read x chapters
per day”) and then hold ourselves to it, never stopping to consider that God has not placed this standard
on us, we have placed it on ourselves. It doesn’t take long before we begin holding other people to that
standard as well. And thus a culture of guilt is formed, a culture where “good Christians” read their
Bibles because they’re afraid not to, and “bad Christians” feel guilty about not meeting their Bible-
reading quota.

Status

There is a certain status or air of respect reserved for those who know their Bibles well. And rightly so.
We should all aspire to know God’s Word inside and out. It should be on the tip of our tongues and
deeply ingrained on our hearts and minds.

But take a minute to ask yourself why you want to know the Bible well. God is pleased when we treasure
His Word, but do you really think He is pleased with your desire to appear intelligent? Does your desire
to be the “go-to guy” who is never stumped really bring Him glory? What about your desire to be
recognized as the best or the most spiritual person in the room?

It’s not about studying the Bible too much (as if that were possible); it’s about your motivation. Too
often Christians are motivated by status when we should be motivated by a desire to know God, to be
changed by His Word, and to love and serve the people around us.

Chances are, you know someone who knows the Bible inside and out. Maybe you’ve noticed how that
person gets treated, and you want what he or she has. Competition is a great motivator, but it’s the
wrong reason to study the Bible. God cares more about your character than your productivity, and let’s
face it, studying the Bible in order to be better than someone else is ridiculous.

Selfish motives

Some of us approach reading or studying the Bible with selfish motives of just receiving answers from
God or just Scriptures that work for you in a certain situation or makes feel good and use the word of
God to fit Him in our selfish motives becoming comfortable in our sin or lies and hence misinterpretating
and misapplying of Scripture. As Christians we need the whole counsel of God's word first to know God
and then to be transformed to be more like Jesus inorder to change the we live. Acts20:26-28;
2Tim3:16-17; Col3:16-17. We are sanctified, cleansed and purified by the washing of the word. This is
how we truly prepare in readiness as the bride of Christ. John17:17; Eph5:26-27; Rev19:7-8

Teaching Material

Sometimes our motivations get skewed when we have to study the Bible in order to lead a Bible study,
preach a sermon, or just have some sort of scriptural gem to share with someone. This tends to be a
much more subtle misuse of the Bible. It’s not wrong to use the Bible in preparation for teaching other
people. In fact, it’s necessary. The problem arises when we begin to approach the Bible only as a source
for teaching material. If you are in a role where you preach or teach to others, do you find yourself
simply scanning the Bible for nuggets to share? Or do you soak in the Scriptures because of what they
have to say to you, listening to what God wants to teach you, allowing the Bible to transform you in
unexpected ways?

Assignment

2.Take a minute to think about your past experience with studying the Bible. Which of the wrong
motivations listed above are you guilty of? Can you think of any others?

Why Did God Give Us the Bible?