Reading the Bible and studying it are both good, and they’re a little different. Reading takes in a passage. Studying slows down long enough to understand it well and to see how to live it.
You don’t need a seminary degree to study the Bible. You need a Bible, a notebook, some time, and three simple questions. Here’s how to do it, with an example to follow.
(If you’re just getting started with the Bible, begin with How to Read the Bible (opens in a new tab).)
Why Study the Bible?
The believers in the city of Berea are remembered for exactly this:
“And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.”
Acts 17:11 NLT
They listened eagerly, and then they checked for themselves. That’s the heart of Bible study: taking God’s Word seriously enough to dig in.
Paul also encouraged Timothy to handle God’s Word with care:
“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15 NLT
Before You Begin
Pray. Ask God to help you understand. On the night before the cross, Jesus promised His disciples, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13 NLT). The same Spirit helps believers understand God’s Word today.
Choose a passage. Start small: a paragraph or a short chapter. A short letter such as Philippians or James, or one of the Gospels, is a good place to begin.
Gather simple tools. A Bible in a translation you understand, a notebook, and, if you’d like, a second translation to compare. A study Bible can help with background, but let it serve your study rather than replace it.
Step 1: What Does It Say?
Read the passage slowly, more than once. Read it aloud. Then write down what you notice:
- Who is speaking, and to whom?
- What is happening? What’s the main point?
- Repeated words or ideas. Repetition often signals what matters most.
- Commands, promises and warnings.
- Words like “therefore”, “but” and “so that”, which show how ideas connect.
Resist jumping straight to what it means for you. Just look carefully at what’s there.
Step 2: What Did It Mean Then?
Before asking what a passage means for us, ask what it meant to the people who first received it.
- Read the verses around it. A verse is part of a paragraph, a chapter and a whole book.
- Learn the setting. Who wrote it, to whom, and why? A study Bible’s introduction to each book helps here.
- Let Scripture explain Scripture. Clearer passages help with harder ones, and cross-references in your Bible point the way.
Context protects us from taking a verse in a direction its writer never meant. For example, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV) is often quoted as a verse about positive thinking. Read in its setting, it describes a stingy host whose kind words don’t match his heart. The setting changes the meaning.
Step 3: How Do I Live It?
This is where study does its real work. Ask:
- What does this passage show me about God?
- What does it show me about myself?
- Is there something to believe, to change, to thank Him for, or to do?
- What’s one specific step I’ll take today?
Ezra is a good model. Scripture says he “had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel” (Ezra 7:10 NLT). Study, then obey, then share. Most of us know more of the Bible than we live, and that distance between knowing truth and living it consistently in real life is what we call The Gap (opens in a new tab). Good Bible study narrows it.
An Example: Philippians 4:6–7
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6–7 NLT
What does it say? A command (don’t worry; pray), three actions (pray, tell God what you need, thank Him), and a promise (God’s peace will guard your heart and mind).
What did it mean then? Paul wrote this letter while in prison, to a church he loved that faced its own pressures. He wasn’t writing from comfort. He was sharing what he was living.
How do I live it? When a worry comes up today, turn it into a prayer: name the need, and thank God for one thing He has already done. Then notice His peace.
Bible Study Tips for Beginners
- Go small and slow. One paragraph studied well beats five chapters skimmed.
- Keep a notebook. Over time it becomes a record of what God has taught you.
- Be consistent. A regular time helps. In my book, Renewing Your Mind: Living Life Intentionally, I describe mine: “Personally, I choose to read and study the Bible first thing in the morning and meditate on it during the day.”
- Study with others. A small group or a friend will see things you miss.
- Expect to keep learning. As I wrote near the end of the book: “I learned so much simply by studying Scripture and meditating on it. And that didn’t stop when the manuscript was finally finished years later.”
From Study to a Renewed Mind
Study helps you understand God’s Word. Renewal happens as that Word reshapes how you think and live, over and over, in the moments of ordinary life. At Renewing Your Mind Discipleship Ministry, we teach a simple way to take what you study into everyday life, in four parts. We call it The Process.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
KJV: public domain.
