A Christ-Centered Approach to Bible Study-Part 1
**Guest article by Jonathan Woodward at Sorting Beans.**
Last week we launched a 5-part series on how to study the Bible.
The acronym we’re going to use as a study aid is T. H. I. N. C.
So, what’s the first step in studying the Bible?
Trust.
The “T” in T. H. I. N. C.
For us to be able to get from the Bible what is intended for us, we must first trust the ultimate author—God—behind it as well as trusting the very words written by men under the divine inspiration of God.
This is almost as important as the last point, but we must begin here.
I am not saying that if you are not a believer and you want to read the Bible that you cannot do it without trusting.
Rather, I am saying that in order for the believer to really get God’s message to them, he must trust IN the message he is reading.
I must make a charge, though, to the non-believer: if you decide to read the Bible for the sake of exercising your critical eye, you will not be able to understand its intended message (lest you end up as Lee Strobel!).
But I will not make an appeal for the reliability of Scripture; I’ll leave Demian to that task!
All Scripture Reading Starts Here
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what you are about to read and Trust in His guidance (John 16:13).
Without the Spirit illuminating the meaning of Scripture for us, we have not the ability to fully understand God’s word (1 John 5:20).
Just as much as we need the Spirit to help us understand, we need Him to empower us with the word of God as we read.
We lack the ability to empower ourselves with the potential that the word of God can have on our lives.
The Spirit of God is necessary for understanding and empowerment. Without the empowerment of the Word of God, we experience no life transformation, and without transformation we remain unchanged.
The Bible ought to change us in some way, both progressively and evidentially.
Trusting Means Believing
How many times have you read over some passage of Scripture and left it thinking on of these thoughts:
“I wonder if that is true?”
“I wonder if that really happened?”
“I wonder if that can REALLY mean anything for me?”
“That worked back then, but it won’t work today”?
This list of doubts can go on and on. Reading Scripture, though, ought to eliminate our doubts.
And if we do have doubts, God can handle them. Take a moment to tell God your doubts, asking Him to help you through them.
There is one door we enter Scripture, and one door we exit: Jesus is the place we start at when reading Scripture, and Jesus is the place we leave our Scripture reading.
What this means is that when we come to the Bible, we are not simply approaching words on paper, we are approaching Jesus our Lord and Savior, and He can handle our doubts.
Lay them down, surrender them, ask Him to help you with them.
A father of a boy child once asked Jesus to heal his son. Before he asked Jesus, he apparently asked the disciples first, and apparently the disciples had some issues with healing the lad.
He brought his son to Jesus and basically said, “. . . if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:22b).
Jesus replied, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23).
The father responded with passion, “I believe; help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24).
The point here is that even though the man believed, he was humble in his approach to Jesus and asked for help in areas he is still lacking faith.
All of us have this dilemma. We all have a faith cavity where we lack belief in some way and in some aspect of our relationship with God. The point is to not despair, but trust with the the faith you do have.
You have to start somewhere, and if your faith is no larger than the size of a mustard seed, God can do amazing things in your sight (Matt. 17:20)!
Get Your Bias Out of the Way
Maybe you’re a Calvinist—to which I’ll say, you’re probably a geek. Get your intellectualism out of the way. Let God be your guide, not your extremely limited intellectualism capabilities. You’re not abandoning your brain, your just letting the Holy Spirit lead it. Don’t loose your availability to sense His presence amidst you.
Maybe you’re a Arminian—you are most likely inclined to have more of an emotional approach to Scripture.
It can be very much, “What’s God want to tell ME?”
Understand, it’s not all about you, and remember this: the wonderful love of God that gets you all mushy inside is the same love that drives His righteous judgment.
Let God speak to you and guide you.
Maybe you’re a Prosperity Faith person—well, you just need to repent.
In the end, approach your Bible study with faith, with trust, just like a child holding the hand of his or her parent. The child trusts where the parent will take it.
In the same manner, trust where God will take you. By this only can you be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
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9 Comments to A Christ-Centered Approach to Bible Study-Part 1
Well said. Thanks.
For us believers it is good to be reminded that we need to work through our doubts and questions instead of letting them simmer and steam unresolved. Thanks.
For non-believers it good to be reminded that most forms of communication require a degree of trust, otherwise what they are hearing will often be dismissed out of hand. If a person approaches the Bible with complete distrust or animosity the message will be lost on them. This goes for all literature.
-Steve
Steve,
It’s good you point this out, because it’s the same rule we apply to the way we live. I read some of the book of Mormon without animosity just to try to understand it. As I read, it just sounded ridiculous so I stopped reading it. Plus, I’ve researched about it and, well, it’s just fiction.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments!
[...] one was T for “Trust”—that’s where we begin—and part two was H for “Halting”—when Scripture causes us [...]
[...] Approach to Bible Study.The acronym we have been using as a study aid is T. H. I. N. C.Part 1 was “Trust.” That’s where we begin.What’s next?Halting—The “H” in [...]
[...] is a Christ-centered approach where we use the acronym T. H. I. N. C. as a study aid.Part one was T for “Trust”—that’s where we begin—and part two was H for “Halting”—when Scripture causes us [...]
[...] you’re missing the whole point of this Bible Study.So far I have covered the following topics:T=Trust H=Halting I=Immediate Context N=NavigationGo HERE to read more. :: Subscribe via RSS :: /**/This [...]
People take all sorts of things out of context.Not just the bible.The bible must not be taken literally.it has false info,it has true info,it has myths,it has legends,it has all the great attirubutes of being real and being a fantasy.God may star in the bible,the God as they saw him,the God of abraham.That doesnt mean God isnt in all the holy books under the names people give him.The bible I do not believe is a God endorsed Book,its just stories from ancient people trying to reach God and defining him the best way they knew how.
In love and christ
Garnett
I’m not sure what you are trying to say. It sounds like you don’t believe in the Bible but you believe in Jesus and God (?). This is confusing to me.
Im sorry I have since repented of my sin.I am sorry for the things I said about the word of God.
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December 19, 2009