“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”
– 1 Timothy 4:13
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word; With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments; Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
– Psalm 119:9-11
Reading the Bible
Every Christian should read the Bible because it is “God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). It shows us many things that God has done for us and the way He has led men in the past.
Nowadays, many believers don’t have time to read the Bible, they just prefer to download a message and listen over and over. As good as that is, IT MUST NOT REPLACE THE READING of the Bible.
In all the letters of Paul to Timothy, he encouraged Timothy to READ the Scriptures. He didn’t say, just read my letter/epistles and you will be fine. This is because the Scriptures (Genesis to Malachi) are the backdrop for the epistles – Paul’s letters and that of the other apostles Peter, John and James.
Jesus had the custom of reading the scriptures – what we now call the Old Testament, our Bible (Luke 4:16b). It is a noble thing to read the Bible for yourself before and after hearing a message (Acts 17:11).
Don’t replace your reading with just listening to a sermon and don’t just plug in a Bible app. You need to sit down with the Bible to read it. While you are reading the Bible: (1) Discover the facts, (2) memorize and recite the words, (3) analyze, categorize, and make comparisons, and (4) receive God’s enlightening. Let us practicalize the four suggestions.
How to discover the facts from a reading
Breaking down your minutes
Again, let us assume for now that a person has one hour a day to study the Bible. He can allocate his time in the following way:
- First Twenty Minutes—Studying by Subjects: One can read all the related passages and find the verses that deal with the subject chosen.
- The Second Twenty Minutes—Word Study: For example, we may study the word ‘blood’. First, we should jot down all the chapters and verses that mention the blood. Then we should analyze the meaning of each occurrence.
Words don’t always mean the same thing all over in the Bible. What has the blood done for us before God? What type of persons does the blood deal with? What and how much has the blood accomplished for us?
In the Scriptures and Epistles, we can find many verses which speak of the blood.
III. The Third Ten Minutes—Gathering Information: One can choose specific topics and spend the next ten minutes solely gathering information concerning them.
- The Fourth Ten Minutes—Paraphrasing
The final ten minutes can be used to paraphrase the Bible. This exercise is very useful. Paraphrasing the Bible gives fresh insight into a passage. By paraphrasing the Bible with simple words, we express a passage in a way that others can understand at a glance. It doesn’t mean changing the text of the Bible or its meaning, it is you absorbing the meaning and expressing it in words that convene the meaning. For example, you may be doing a chapter-by-chapter study of the book of Romans. If a teenager comes and says, “I have read Paul’s word in Romans, but I cannot understand it,” you will have to think of some ways to explain this book to him/her using your own words.
Again, DON’T REPLACE YOUR STUDY OF THE BIBLE with just listening to messages. You must balance both.