How To Study The Bible Like A Pro
How many of you would like to learn How To Study The Bible Like A Pro?
For us to Grow as Believers, we need to do more than just read the Bible. We need to study it.
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
Today I want to share with you a method that wasn’t developed by me but it can be helpful for you to learn to study the Bible.
It is called the 7 Arrows Method Of Bible Reading and it was developed by Matt and Sarah Rogers.
This method will be a great starting point in helping you to learn how to study the Bible like a Pro.
Have you ever been in this position where you hear someone preaching and they simply read 2 verses yet they have a lot to say about these 2 verses?
You wonder where they got all this information from and you wish you could be like them. You want to be able to glean a lot from what you read in the Bible.
This will involve having to move from simply reading the Bible to Studying The Bible.
There are many people in churches today who have been around for years but have never actually studied the Bible. They go to Bible Studies to hear what others have to say about the passage.
They think it is beyond their ability to know what the Bible is saying.
My aim for you after reading this is that you will have a good starting point in knowing how to do a Basic Bible Study.
Arrow 1 – What Does This Passage Say?
The first thing you want to do is to read the Scripture a few times and then begin to summarise it in your own words.
If you recently watched a movie that you liked and you had to describe it to someone who asked you about it, you won’t go into every single detail but you would say the most important parts of the Movie and why you were interested in it.
You may say something like “The speech that the guy gave as he was about to die was very touching”.
In the same way, you should be able to put the main point of a passage into your own words.
E.g. You may say that “Jesus said that those who love him will obey him” Or you may say “If we do not believe in Jesus we will not have eternal life.”
Arrow 2 – What Did This Passage Mean To Its Original Audience?
We always need to remember that the Bible was first written not to us but to its first hearers and we need to get an idea of what it meant to them at first before we try to apply it to our own lives.
You do not need to be a Bible Expert to know how to study it like a Pro.
One helpful way that can help you to figure this out is with a Study Bible.
If you have a Study Bible it will have an introduction at the beginning of each book and in this Introduction, it will tell you what was the Purpose of the Author writing these things to the audience at the time.
Arrow 3 – What Does This Passage Tell Us About God?
The entire Bible is not about us but it is about God and we should ask ourselves what does it say about Him.
Some of us only want to hear how our problems can be solved by God but the Bible is much more than just solving our issues.
It is God’s Love Letter to us.
We may read the Bible and see at times that he is Loving towards us, then at other times, it describes him as being angry and passing Judgement.
These are ways of seeing his attributes when we read Scripture and it helps us to understand him more and how we can relate to him.
Arrow 4 – What Does This Passage Tell Us About Man?
After these 3 questions, we need to ask ourselves what does it tell us about ourselves. What is the passage saying to you personally?
This should be simple to answer because you know yourself better than anyone else.
You will see other people struggling with the same things you struggle with and you can learn how they overcame it.
Arrow 5 – What Does This Passage Demand Of Me?
The last 3 arrows are action-oriented. They tell you things that you need to do as a result of reading this Scripture passage.
The whole purpose of reading Scripture is so that you can be transformed and not just informed. You need to put these things into practice into your own life.
When you read some verses it will say things that you need to do such as Do not lie, Do not Steal, Love Your Neighbour, Be slow to speak, slow to become angry etc.
These are not just verses to memorise but to apply it in your life to be a better Christian.
Sometimes the passage may demand that you change the way you think about certain things. That’s another form of application.
Arrow 6 – How Does This Passage Change The Way I Relate To People?
This arrows deals with how you relate to the people in your life. It’s all about applying the Bible to your relationships.
It involves your relationship with God and with people. Both are very important relationships you have in your life that demands you apply God’s Word to them.
God wants you to make an impact on people’s lives in the same way he made an impact on people.
As you read a portion of scripture it may ask you to love like that person loved, or forgive in the same way God forgave you.
Arrows 5 and 6 deals with relating to God and relating to others.
Arrow 7 – What Does This Passage Prompt Me To Pray To God?
This last arrow deals with us talking to God about what we just read. Prayer is a part of Bible Study.
When God speaks to you about something you should respond to him.
In the same way, when you get a Facebook message, you will read and respond to the person is the same way you should respond to God in prayer after he spoke to you through his Word.
Prayer that is Bible-based is a prayer where you ask God to help you in the areas you recently just read about.
E.g Ask God to help you forgive your girlfriend who betrayed you or ask God to help you to be more loving towards your neighbours that irritate you.
Learn to use these 7 Arrows next time you read a portion of Scripture.
It will help you to develop and Grow in your Knowledge of The Word of God.
Hope this article was helpful in helping you to learn how to study the Bible like a pro!
Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this article.
