The Bible is the best source of God’s teachings, guidance, and inspiration.
Christians today are truly blessed with open accessibility to copies of the Bible in their own languages. But even then, learning the Bible can be quite intimidating, as it is a massive book filled with stories, poetry, sermons, histories, prophecies, and more.
There is no one correct way to study the Bible. Many people approach Bible study in many different ways, depending on their goals. However, it is essential to remain grounded in firm principles while studying the scriptures.
In this article, Living Church of God reviews these fundamental principles and provides simple approaches to studying the Bible to help one begin their journey of understanding the Word of God.
The Seven Fundamental Principles
No matter what approach is used in Bible study, these fundamental principles will always apply:
- Every word of God is true.
- Every word of the Bible is inspired.
- The Bible must be understood as a whole.
- The context of each verse and book matters.
- There is no perfect Bible translation.
- We need God’s Spirit to understand His word properly.
- God provides teachers and ministers in His Church to define biblical doctrine and prevent confusion.
Choosing a Main Translation
As mentioned, there is no perfect Bible translation.
One approach is “word for word”, which can be effective in translating words from ancient languages. However, some ideas may be hard to discern exactly, since modern language conveys ideas through different idioms and cultural contexts.
Another approach is “thought for thought”, wherein literal accuracy is sacrificed in the hope of communicating what the translators believe is the intended thought or idea. “Paraphrase” Bibles fit into this category. However, the “thought for thought” approach is significantly more prone to the interpreters’ biases and theological errors.
The best translators aim to find a balance between these two approaches.
The Living Church of God strongly leans toward the “word for word” approach, using the New King James Version as the main English-language translation in all of its publications. The church believes the approach used in translating the New King James Version, or NKJV, is superior to that of many other translations because it provides text that balances accuracy, clarity, and readability.
Learning the Word of God: Basic Approaches to Bible Study
A healthy relationship with God’s word will involve multiple approaches that vary over time, circumstance, and need. With the fundamental principles and considerations in place, here are a few basic approaches that can help one get started with studying the Bible effectively:
- Read and Meditate: This is the most basic approach: simply read a passage and take the time to reflect and meditate on it.
- Take a Bible Study Course: The Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course, written by the late evangelist Mr. John Ogwyn, consists of 24 lessons that go through the Bible’s most important teachings.
- Try a Topical Study: This approach involves picking a topic – such as patience, forgiveness, or the Sabbath – and looking up all that the Bible has to offer about it. A digital searchable Bible or the Living Church of God’s many booklets, articles, and recorded sermons are ideal tools for this.
- Word Study: Similar to a topical study, a word study generally focuses on a specific Greek or Hebrew word and how it is used and translated in the Bible. This may involve looking up the passages in which the word is used and consulting a lexicon to determine the different meanings that the word can convey.
- Book Study: This approach involves studying one book of the Bible at a time.
- Character Study: This approach involves studying one character of the Bible at a time.
There is nothing quite like studying and developing an understanding of the Bible. Learning the Word of God is a personal journey, and it’s best to use approaches that suit one’s personal comfort and pace.