“Very few young people know how to do this,” I said to a friend of mine as we were talking on the phone one evening. “Even some adults were never taught how to do what I am going to show you, and unfortunately there are several churches out there that don’t emphasize its importance. They may tell you to study on your own at home, but they never explain to you how to do it.” For most of my life, I didn’t do much more than write down my thoughts on a passage, then search the Bible to back up what I believed. The problem with that was, I was expecting the Word to support my thoughts, instead of letting my thoughts be conformed to the Word. That isn't the best spot to be in. When I became a new Christian, as excited as I was, I quickly became overwhelmed at the length of the Bible. I didn’t know how to study it, or how to interpret it properly. As much as I wanted to, I felt as if there was so much to read, to learn, to memorize - I didn’t know where to begin. Can you relate? At age sixteen I stared at my open Bible and assumed that God just wanted me to pray and take notes on what I read while hoping for some eye-opening revelation or confirmation that what I was reading was true. Now don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a bad idea to seek revelation and direction from Christ regarding a passage of scripture, but what if some of the very answers we’re searching for are already there - right in front of our eyes? The thing is, God has already given us all that we need to know Him and to live a life according to His will. 1 John 2:27 - “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” 2 Timothy 3:16 - “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” If you’re anything like me, you’ll sometimes skip over verses that are listed throughout blog posts because you’re already familiar with them and know what they say. . . but don’t do that this time. If you haven’t yet, go back and carefully read those two verses. God has already provided us with the means to study and grow in His Word, and to walk it out. As a good friend of mine once said, “You can both wade in the shallow water of scripture, or go scuba diving in the deep waters of it.” It's your choice how deep you will go. The amount of time and commitment you invest into God’s Word is the amount that you will get out of it. There are two different ways that you can study scripture: Inductive studying, and deductive studying. They both sound similar, but they are actually quite different. GotAnswers.org gave this definition that I liked - “Deductive Bible study, then, is simply taking a general statement and then going to Scripture to find details that support (or disprove) it. Inductive Bible study does the opposite. It starts with the details of Scripture and then builds a general or universal statement based on those details.”
Scripture was never meant to be defined by our feelings, but by God. You can take a deep breath now - the truth of God’s Word doesn’t depend on you or your own interpretations. However, we can misinterpret God’s Word and even take it out of context. That is why it is SO important that we ask the Lord to keep us on the narrow path of His truth. When we genuinely ask Him for wisdom, He won’t lead us astray. Before the summer of 2019, I had always done deductive studying. Then I was introduced to the inductive study approach by the National Bible Bee. It changed my life. I’ve grown so much in my faith, and have learned more invaluable truths over these past couple of years than I can count. I discovered the world of Greek and Hebrew words, cross-references, definitions, historical context, intense memorization, background information, and more. You’d be surprised to discover that you can go deeper into scripture than you ever thought possible. It was in the National Bible Bee that I met dozens of young people who strived to put God first in their lives, and who learned how to let scripture interpret itself and change them at a young age. The low expectation of studying God’s Word was completely defied. No matter your age, you can choose to stand up and defy it, too. Will you? I can now say that I'm beyond passionate for God’s Word, and I desire to help stir up that passion in others as well. Studying and reading scripture is like opening up a treasure chest. It's not boring to me as it used to be. There's no limit to how much one can discover and learn in God’s Word! Tackling scripture can sometimes be intimidating, but remember who is present with us in every turn of the Bible’s page. If we have any questions, we can ask the One who wrote the answers Himself. He’s promised to lead His own in spirit and in truth. God desires for us to know who He is by knowing His Word. Whether you wade in the shallow waters of scripture or make the choice to dive deep, may you grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. May your heart overflow with joy as you see God’s Word interpret itself - before your very eyes. Keep an eye out for Part 2 of this post on HOW to take the steps to study God’s Word inductively - coming up in a few weeks. How's your week been? Is there any way I can pray for you? Love you all in Christ Jesus,
Hannah Kohner
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHello, I'm Hannah and I'm so glad you're here! I'm a twenty-year-old Jesus-loving writer, National Bible Bee Alumna, and homeschool graduate. Jesus redeemed me, and now I give my life, and this blog, to serve Him. Hebrews 3:13 reminds us to encourage each other daily, lest we be hardened by sin. I hope that reading each blog entry that I post you will be encouraged and challenged to become more like Christ daily. |