Fallen and Flawed

Introducing a Christ-Centered Approach to Bible Study

**Guest article by Jonathan Woodward at Sorting Beans.**

I would like to begin by thanking Demian for inviting me to be a guest writer on his website.

I am truly grateful for his generosity.

Letting someone write for you—on YOUR website—is like a preacher allowing someone to fill in on his pulpit ministry . . . potentially dangerous!

Now, on to the new series.

This will be a 5-part blog post series that will discuss an effective approach to Bible study.

Of course, there are many, many ways people study the Bible, and I am quite sure that other Bible study methods are effective.

I introduce this method, however, because it has personally helped me greatly.

It helps me in how I can remember what I read, find Christ in it, find the application, and put it into practice.

Before We Start, There’s Something I Want You to Know

The first thing to understand in this method—though it is the last point we will discuss—is that it is Christocentric.

All that means is that this method I have created is Christ-centered. In other words, this is not a method that will help you find three successful ways to have a financial breakthrough…

Or find secret promises of God just by speaking them into existence.

This is CHRIST-centered, not YOU-centered.

What this means is that you will find more in Scripture of how you are unable, and then where Christ is able. Don’t worry, this is a good thing!

So Why Create a ANOTHER Study Method?

Well, for starters, that’s just the kind of personality I am. I enjoy creating things for people to better understand truth and connect with God. I love seeing people grow in Christ.

Also, I have created this out of personal experience.

Too many times I have found myself simply glossing over the pages of Scripture.

Then, I tried to just read as much of it as possible. My purpose was to just “get through” the Bible, as if that was going to give me brownie points with God.

But I learned that “getting through” Scripture—while it is not a bad thing—ought not to be the goal of reading it.

As Hank Hanegraaff said, “The goal is not to get through Scripture, but for Scripture to get through you” (paraphrase).

Here soon I will adopt this as my own saying because I quote it so much!

Eventually Something Changed in How I Read Scripture

When I read, I did so with a new perspective. I began to really think about what I was reading.

Reading Scripture began to become an act of worship, and still is to this day.

Sometimes I have better worship moments than others, but studying the Scriptures has become one of my favored forms of worship.

When we read the Bible, we ought to not only get something meaningful out of it, but we ought to respond to it…and when Christ is centered in the text, then our response becomes worship.

This is what happened to me, and I will share more about this way of reading in the last point of this teaching series.

What This Approach Will Do for You

And I pray it will do just that. If this approach to Bible study will help you worship God through Scripture, and help you understand the text, then I have accomplished my goal.

There will be a link to my website at the end of this series for a free downloadable PDF of the entire set of posts.

This is just to say thanks for going through this series with me, thanks to Demian for allowing me to be a guest writer on his website, and for you to become a better handler of the Word of God.

Related posts:

1. A Christ-Centered Approach to Bible Study–Part 5
2. A Christ-Centered Approach to Bible Study-Part 2
3. A Christ-Centered Approach to Bible Study–Part 3

Tags: Belief, Bible, Christ, Faith

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