Help!! How Do I Read My Bible!??

I believe that there is a common problem among most Christians today, and that problem is this: we don't know how to read our Bibles. We know that we should, and we might even want to, but we just simply don't know how. Although I would argue that the most common thing keeping us from cracking open the scriptures for ourselves is our own laziness, I think that the second most common reason is our ignorance. If someone would teach us a simple process that we could follow in our daily "quiet time" with Jesus, maybe it would motivate us just enough to do it every day. Well, lo and behold, I have that very thing for you today.

But before I start, I want to make this very clear: the Bible is much, much more than a book to be studied. If we approach the Bible with a mere 4-step hermeneutical process and nothing more, we have failed. Although processes like these can be helpful for studying scripture, if they do not lead us to beholding and obeying the God of scripture, they are useless. In other words, the following process is a tool, not an end-all that gets you to godliness. If you think that applying a routine process to your Bible reading makes you a Christian, you're wrong--it just makes you a Pharisee. However, tools like this can be extremely helpful as long as we keep these things in mind.

Thus, I present to you the following four-step method for "interpreting and applying scripture." The method has been put together thanks to many sources that I have studied in college (see Bibliography). Furthermore, let me make clear that this isn't the only correct process on how to read scripture. There are many other good ones out there (though to be honest, all of the good ones are pretty similar). However, I believe this one is a good one. I've used it every day for the past three months straight, and as a personal testimony, let me tell you that my devotions truly have never been as fruitful. The method is as follows:

1. Meaning: What is the text saying? 2. Principle: What is the text really saying? 3. Christology: What is this text saying about Jesus? 4. Application: What is the text saying against me?

Step #1: Meaning: What is the text saying?

Good Bible interpretation starts with, you guessed it, reading the Bible. Yet in order to do this, we must choose a text to read. Personally, I suggest any Bible reading plan that causes you to read at least one chapter every day. Why a plan? Because it keeps you on track, and it doesn't allow you to slack off. Why at least one chapter a day? Because you can't know the Bible unless you read it (that is, the whole thing), and you aren't reading it unless you read a substantial part of it each day. Although there are times and places for slowing down in scripture, I find it most fruitful to read at least a full chapter each day so you get the "metanarrative" of the Bible.

Once you've chosen your text for the day, the battle begins. Start by reading and observing your text, noting what you actually see, not just what someone else may have told you to see (Doriani, 15). Take mental notes (or underline!) of details in the text that particularly stand out to you (Doriani, 18). As you read, attempt to determine the genre that you are reading. Put simply, there are two main types of genres: narrative and discourse (Doriani, 61). Narratives are stories; discourses are not. Lastly, note textual details. If you're reading a narrative, what are the characters, events, and sayings (Vickers)? If you're reading discourse, what are the connecting words and phrases (Doriani, 81)?

Next, consider any questions you have of the text. A question can be "any term, phrase, concept, custom, or teaching that eludes your understanding" (Doriani, 95). Find questions by reading slowly and asking, "Do I understand what this means?" (Doriani, 95). Once you have a question or two, consult a study Bible. This would, of course, require you to purchase a study Bible. My personal favorite and an all-round good choice is The ESV Study Bible. You will find that the study Bible will answer many of the basic questions that you have.

Take your time in this step of the process; it will save you time later. This is the most important step of the process because interpretation comes before application (Richards, 71). In other words, we cannot apply the Bible to our lives unless we know what it says. Thus, after reading our text, we must ask ourselves: what is the text saying? Now, don't go crazy here, this first step isn't as complicated as it seems. Put simply, this step is describing what is happening in the text. For example, let's consider 1 Kings 21. If you have time, go and read the chapter, and attempt to answer the question what is the text saying? Did you do it? Good. Here's my answer:

"In 1 Kings 21, King Ahab desires Naboth's vineyard, so his wife Jezebel murders Naboth so that Ahab can acquire the vineyard. However, Elijah shows up and condemns him. Ahab repents of his sin."

See? Not too bad, eh? Essentially, all you are doing here is summarizing the text. Once you've done that, you're a quarter of the way there!

Step #2: Principle: What is the text really saying?

Remember how I said that the Bible is much more than a book to be studied? Well, this second step takes us into that reality by asking, what is the text really saying? In other words, this step in the process seeks to determine the big idea or principle behind the text. Since we believe that the Bible is a theological text that shows us truths about God, we must continue down this process. To merely read the Bible for good literature is to miss the point. In scripture, God wants us to discover Him, not just some fanciful stories about Him.

Thus, we ask ourselves, what is the text really saying? Behind its narrative or its discourse, what is this text trying to tell us about God, man, and how those two relate to one another? If there is one thing that you take away from this post, let it be the following statement: the most important question you can ask yourself when reading scripture is this: what does this text say about God? If you ask yourself this question and answer it faithfully, you have done a good thing.

Another helpful subpoint in this step is that we ought to attempt to find the main idea of our text. The main idea is "the one thing in the text that all of the other things are talking about" (J. Alex Motyer). However, let me be clear: the main point of the text isn't the only point of the text. If you read through 1 Kings 21 and end up determining that your application for the day is that you're going to listen to God's instruction like Elijah did, that is a successful devotional time. However, Elijah's obedience is far from the main point of 1 Kings 21. Determining the main point of a passage takes time, effort, and practice. However, we ought to give it a shot since once we find the main principle of the passage, we have found its greatest application.

When seeking to find the main point of a narrative, consider the climax and the resolution of the drama. The crisis is the moment of greatest tension, where the original audience would have been holding their breath (Doriani 68), and the solution is where that conflict is resolved. Once you have found your climax and resolution, you have found your main point.

When seeking to find the main point of a discourse, consider repetition of words or phrases, locations of certain statements (the main idea is often found at the first or last sentence of a section), and grammatical formulas ("therefore" or "in order that") (Doriani, 162).

Once you have considered what your text is telling you about God and attempted to discover the main idea of the text (which is always about God, by the way), you have found the principle of the text.

Remember 1 Kings 21? In this text, the climax is when Elijah comes to Ahab, confronting him about his coveteousness of Naboth's vineyard. The resolution is found when Ahab speaks the word of the Lord, calling Ahab out on his crap. Thus, we can conclude that the main point of the story is something like "coveteousness reaps God's judgment."

Step #3: Christology: What is this text saying about Jesus?

In John 5:39, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and says, "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me." Similarly, in Luke 24:44, Jesus says that "everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms [that is, the entire Old Testament] must be fulfilled." Many, many, many other texts of scripture could be given, but in short, let us realize this great fact: Jesus is the center of biblical interpretation.

Perhaps you have heard this idea before. In simpler terms, it may be said that "all scripture points to Jesus." This is so phenomenally true, yet something we often miss when we read our Bibles. In my opinion, this is the one thing that is missed by most Bible reading methods. If we are willing to say that scripture points to Jesus, why not implement that into our daily devotional lives?

Furthermore, notice the placement of this step. It is after interpretation yet before application. Why? Because Jesus is the fulfillment of scripture--you're not. So often in our daily Bible studies, we read our text and apply it to our lives without any consideration of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. When we do so, we often are not led to obedience, but mere Pharisaical moralism. Let us realize that the application of the text we read should never be a mere, "do ___." Rather, it should be, "The Bible tells me to do ___, but I can't do ___, but Jesus can, and he did on my behalf. Thus, I ought to do ___ realizing that God in Christ is the one empowering me to do ___."

Let me clarify. I am not advocating for a devotional time that does not lead us to an applicational response, quite the opposite. However, I am advocating for a response that is in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ. it is not the law that leads us to repentance, but God's kindness (Rom. 2:4), that is, in Jesus Christ.

Thus, when we read scripture, we must take our principle that we found in step 2 and ask, "what does this text say about Jesus, and how does he fulfill it?" Once again, this takes time, effort, and practice. But remember the point of it all, that is, to see how Jesus has done what you could not have done on your own. Thus, when we come to 1 Kings 21, we could say that the application is "don't covet since coveteousness reaps the judgment of God." However, you and I both know that we'll continue to covet, and thus this application leaves us without hope. However, if we consider the text in light of Christ, who in the Garden of Gethsemane was content with what the Father had allotted to him rather than coveteous of what he could have had, we realize that the One who coveted not was the One who was nailed on a tree because of our coveteousness. Thus, our application would better be stated as, "since Christ has taken the punishment that my coveteousness deserves, I ought to honor him by coveting no longer."

In summary, we don't obey God in order that he might save us, we obey him because he has saved us. Seeking to find Jesus amidst the text that we read guards us against moralism, which is the very antithesis of the Gospel.

Step #4: Application: What is the text saying against me?

After, and only after, we have found how Jesus has fulfilled the text on our behalf, we can not safely apply scripture to our own lives, realizing that it is only by God's kindness that we are led to repentance (Rom. 2:4). This last step is perhaps the easiest, as we take our Christ-fulfilled principle and list its implications.

An implication is "any modern-day application of the authorial principle in changing times and cultures" (Plummer, 131), "submeanings of the text that legitimately fall within the paradigm or principle willed by the author" (Robert H. Stein), or in normal-person language, how the text applies to you! Although we could find how the text applies to us by asking, what is the text is saying to me?, that question has a rather relativistic ora that I prefer not to deal with. Rather, let us ask, what is this passage saying against me? (Doriani, 27). In other words, what are my false preconceptions, ignorant beliefs, or sinful tendencies that this text is convicting me about? How does this text go against the grain of how I have been living my life? In our example of 1 Kings 21, we consider how judgment bears the wrath of God, and how surely we have coveted in the past, and how we ought not to any longer (that is, of course, in light of Jesus' person and work). See? Easy peasy. Bible study is much easier than you thought.

However, let's note one final thing: in order to truly apply scripture, we must list specific applications. It's easy to apply the idea of no coveting to our lives, but what would it look like if we took a step further? Rather than listing mere generalities in your application, consider: what is at least one way where I can specifically apply what I've read in my life today? Rather than seeking to "not covet," seek to not covet your boss's paycheck, your friend's car, your neighbor's spouse, etc.

In order to interpret and apply scripture, we first ask it's meaning, that is, what does it say? Secondly, we ask its principle, that is, what is it really saying? Next, lest we travel down the path of moralism, we consider, what does this text say about Jesus? Lastly, we conclude, what is this text saying against me?

So, have you been unequipped to study your Bible in the past? Well, now you have no excuse. Choose a text, grab a pen and paper, start reading, and ask yourself:

1. Meaning: What is the text saying?

2. Principle: What is the text really saying?

3. Christology: What is this text saying about Jesus?

4. Application: What is the text saying against me?

Simplified Bibliography

Doriani, Getting the Message

Richards and Bredfeldt, Creative Bible Teaching

Plummer, 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible

Dr. Vickers, SBTS Professor of New Testament

For Extra Credit: If you seek to dive into these principles more, the following project of mine (where I grabbed much of this information from) may be helpful: How to Interpret and Apply Scripture