Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible
Sadly, much reading and teaching of the gospels breaks the text down into tiny chunks, covering only a single scene or saying at a time. Jeannine Brown argues that this is not the best way to read them.
something important is lost when that’s as far as we look. Each Gospel writer has shaped their story of Jesus in ways that emphasize specific themes and messages about Jesus, and there is great value in studying a Gospel in its entirety to see and hear these messages clearly.
Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler
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He estado escribiendo un blog por unos meses, hablando de principios diferentes de estudios bíblicos. “Está atento a esto, presta atención a eso, considera estas cosas, etc.” Hoy, quiero poner las cartas sobre la mesa por revelar una verdad sorprendente: Yo uso un método para estudiar la Biblia.
¿Un método? Sí, un método. ¿Cómo respondes a esa palabra?
¿Te pone nervioso o te alivia? ¿Te sientes como un pájaro restringido en una jaula o te da esperanza?
Sin importar tu reacción a la idea de un método, estoy escribiendo para proponer que todos tienen un método para estudiar la Biblia.
Unos métodos son informales y sin intención. Por ejemplo:
Sin embargo, otros métodos son bastante intencionales y formales. Por ejemplo:
Mi argumento es esto: todos los que leen la Biblia tienen un método para estudiar la Biblia. ¿Cuál es tu método usual? ¿Estás consciente de la manera en que estudias la Biblia?
Mi argumento secundario es esto: no cada método es un buen método. En otras palabras, muchos métodos no resultan en interpretación correcta. Si la Biblia es la Palabra de Dios para nosotros, como creemos, no deberíamos asegurarnos que lo entendemos?
En publicaciones futuras, explicaré mi método en una manera más explícita.
Wisdom comes in the ears, through the heart, and out the fingertips (Prov. 4:20-27). This week, we explore the first step in the chain.
My son, be attentive to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings (Prov. 4:20).
Verse 20 describes the first part of the formula. Wisdom enters through our ears. Solomon explained in 2:1-4 that our listening must involve both passively receiving and actively seeking. Here, he alludes to both components: “be attentive” involves reception, and “incline your ear” implies pursuit. We’ve been over this ground before, but we need to hear it many times for it to become second nature.
This first part of the formula involves reading the Bible, hearing it preached in church, and seeking godly fellowship, among other things. The key idea is that wisdom comes from outside of us. You can’t find wisdom by looking within.
This idea is the opposite of Disney’s “follow your heart” ideology.
It conflicts with Obi-Wan Kenobi’s advice to “search your feelings.” It is altogether different from a self-esteem approach to education. You will never get unstuck if you start with a foundation of “you do you.” Wisdom is with God, not inherently inside ourselves. Therefore, wisdom must come to us from outside of us. We must move toward the Lord so we can hear what he has to say.
This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.
I appreciate Glenna Marshall’s advice: “When Life is Hard, Keep Reading Your Bible.” She urges us not to stew in our sadness, turning inward, analyzing the feelings, attempting to fix them. Instead, she calls us to look beyond ourselves, to God’s word.
Fascinatingly, God’s word might not even have the exact answer to “fix” life’s current hardness.
We often feel the need to dissect our sadness, to turn it inside out in an effort to understand it. We believe that if we can just understand it, we could fix it. But life isn’t always so easily fixed. Brokenness is rarely quickly mended. Suffering is often long and draining. It’s not wrong to seek to understand our sorrows, but sometimes what we need is to turn our gaze outward. We need to look to something solid and unchanging. Someone solid and unchanging
Marshall demonstrates the value of seeking the Lord through his word, which puts all the hard things into perspective, even if they’re not fixed.
She talks about finding companionship and guidance. One thing I would add is that the Scriptures also give us the vocabulary to lament the hard times. The Lord has entered into our suffering, and he gives us words to help us process it with him.
So along with Glenna, I urge you: Don’t approach the hard times as times to pull yourself away from God and his word. Run toward him to find resources to help you through.
Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler
¿Por qué deberíamos estudiar la Biblia? ¿No podríamos escuchar la voz de Dios dentro de nosotros? Aunque deberíamos usar la Biblia, ¿por qué no deberíamos leerla, con la expectación de que el significado será evidente? No es cierto que todas estas cosas del “estudio bíblico” nos estorbe, nos frene, y apague el Espíritu?
Déjame darte unas razones por qué es importante que aprendamos cómo estudiar la Biblia:
Jesús él mismo lo dijo en Juan 17:3. Él quiere lo que es mejor para nosotros, y lo mejor es conocerle. Él oró por esto la noche antes de que se muriera.
Jesús lo dijo en Lucas 24:44-47. Felipe se dio cuenta de este hecho muy pronto (Juan 1:45). Pedro lo declaró mucho más tarde (1 Pedro 1:10-11).
Romanos 15:4, Juan 20:30-31, 1 Pedro 1:11-12, Apocalipsis 1:1. Es un libro antiguo, pero se escribió teniendo en cuenta nosotros! No se escribió a nosotros, pero se escribió para nosotros.
Pablo explicó el propósito principal de la Biblia en Hechos 17:3. Algunos tesalonicenses rechazaron este mensaje (Hechos 17:6-7), pero los bereanos lo buscaron con entusiasmo en el texto de la Biblia (Hechos 17:10-11).
Algunas partes de la Biblia son difíciles de entender, y personas que son ignorantes e inestables las tergiversarán (2 Pedro 3:16). Si queremos entender la Biblia y conocer a Jesús, es esencial que se nos enseñe bien y se nos dé un fundamento estable. Es verdad que muchas partes de la Biblia son abundantemente claras (Juan 14:6, Hechos 4:11-12), pero esas también se tergiversan comúnmente.
Todo sobre nosotros se ha infectado por nuestro pecado y rebelión, incluyendo nuestro pensamiento. Ninguna cantidad de trabajo duro ni método infalible garantizará que interpretamos la Biblia correctamente. Universidades incontables tienen cursos que se enseñan por profesionales educados que pierden de vista lo más importante (ver #1-3 arriba).
Sin embargo cuando confiamos en Jesús que se revela en la Biblia, recibimos el Espíritu de Dios que nos ayuda a conocer a Jesús mejor (1 Corintios 2:6-16). Los que creen en Él tienen acceso a la misma mente de Cristo porque tienen su Espíritu.
En este blog, queremos ayudarte a conocer a Jesús mejor. Hacemos esto por ayudarte a aprender cómo estudiar la Biblia. Continuemos trabajando para dominar los métodos, pero sobre todo, continuemos centrándonos en Jesús al mismo tiempo.
Picture it. There’s a pause at your small group Bible study, and one of your friends asks a question. In that moment, all the heads in your group will likely turn in one of two directions.
Do the group members look up, at the leader? Or do they look down, at the Bible?
No Bible study leader can have the answer to every question. After all, leaders are finite and there are a myriad of potential questions, both relevant and—ahem—less relevant.
But even though leaders can’t logistically have all the answers, I don’t think that should even be a goal. As an ambition, that’s harmful for at least two reasons.
When a leader plants the seed that they will have all the answers for their group, it bears bad fruit.
It can make the leader fearful of questions that emerge in their group or resentful of those who ask. After all, the leader might think, questioners are causing more work and giving another opportunity for the leader to fail.
This mentality can also lead to a misplaced trust. If a leader is good at anticipating questions and answering them in the moment, they might start to depend on their preparation, intellect, or persuasiveness instead of on the Lord.
Finally, when a group expects their leader to have all the answers, it can lead to pride. A capable leader who rises to this challenge may enjoy the attention they receive as their reputation grows.
There is clear spiritual danger for a small group leader when they are expected to answer every question. But this setup is unhealthy for the group as well.
A group structured in this way may start to trust in their leader instead of their Lord. Their confidence and assurance in the faith may rise and fall with the ability and mood of their small group leader. We must avoid this error and anchor our assurance to the rock-solid work of Jesus.
Members of this sort of group may also flounder when faced with studying the Bible on their own. Because they are not challenged to answer questions from Scripture, they may become content with the cotton candy of light, spiritual aphorisms instead of rich, filling meals from God’s Word.
This type of group may also experience stunted growth. Vibrant, healthy small groups often grow and split, as an apprentice from within the group (ideally) emerges. But if a leader is expected to have all the answers, this puts unreasonable weight on potential apprentices. That expectation also eliminates opportunities for group members to learn and grow into that role.
To train, lead, and empower small group members, leaders should guard against the urge to be a know-it-all or Bible guru.
There is one easy step to ensure a small group is focused on the Bible and not on its leader. This short response to any question will point people in the right direction.
“Good question. What does the text say?”
This is the simplest way I’ve found to point my friends back to the Bible. When I hear a question, I turn either to the questioner or to the whole group and invite them to look back at the text.
Sometimes the text at hand doesn’t answer the question, but other passages do. (A leader needs to decide whether or not that answer is worth chasing down.) Sometimes the question isn’t addressed in Scripture at all. But as much as possible, I want to point my group members away from my answers and into God’s Word.
Within small groups, there’s a particular danger in being a pastor or anyone else with a seminary degree. I’ve seen how people defer to these leaders. They are often expected to give answers even when they’re not the leader of the group.
To them I offer the same advice I’m giving to small group leaders (as well as my sympathies). You shouldn’t have all the answers. As much as possible, resist being the crutch for your friends. They won’t learn to ride their bike until you let go and urge them to pedal.
Finally, we should note that in the face of legitimate, difficult questions, it’s okay for small group leaders to admit they don’t know the answer. It’s also okay for leaders to a refer to resources that have helped them understand the Bible.
But even the best commentaries should not be appealed to as authorities themselves; commentaries should make the case for their interpretation from the text. And if a leader is not persuaded from the text by a commentary, “I don’t know” may be the best and most honest answer to give.
Note: this was originally posted in 2019.
Don’t forget we’ve got a Bible reading challenge underway. There’s still time to finish reading the entire Bible within 90 days, and you could enter to win a premium book binding (generously provided by the good people at Pro Libris Rebinding), or an additional prize package.
Reading must be completed within 90 days, and by March 31. See this post for the complete rules. Once you’ve completed your reading, you may enter the drawing with this form.
Entries that do not meet the guidelines (for example, reading period longer than 90 days, reading period is outside the allowable dates, or form is submitted before you finished reading) will not be counted in the drawing.
I am very grateful for Jen Wilkin’s recent article at Christianity Today about “The Great Omission” in our churches’ discipleship efforts.
…we have forgotten that discipleship requires learning. We have reduced its definition to attendance, service, giving, relationship-building, and mostly peer-led, feelings-level discussions. But at its most fundamental level, discipleship is a process of learning—of renewing our minds to no longer conform to the world.
We tend to view the Great Commission as a call to make converts, when in fact it is a call to make disciples—learners. It explicitly requires teaching those converts to be learners who obey all that has been commanded. According to Jesus, we are to replicate by passing along the good deposit that was passed along to us.
Conversion happens in an instant. Discipleship, on the other hand, is the work of a lifetime.
We have raised a generation of people who don’t know the Bible. And this biblical illiteracy has dramatic theological consequences, such as 28% of evangelicals believing that ““Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God,” and 47% of them believing that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”
Wilkin issues a much-needed challenge to our normal ways of conducting Christian growth, along with a wise 5-point plan well worth considering.
Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler.
La frase “estudio bíblico” puede tener un significado diferente para gente diferente. Algunos usan el término para describir una discusión en grupo que quizás hable de la Biblia o algún otro libro inspirador. Estudios bíblicos incluyen cuadernos de trabajo que te ayudan a conectar con las ideas de los textos bíblicos. Otra gente considera que “estudio bíblico” se refiere a estudios académicos y teológicos sobre la Biblia.
En Knowable Word, yo uso el término “estudio bíblico” para describir a la persona promedio con la Biblia abierta en la mano. Tienes la Palabra de Dios, un deseo de conocerle, y te sobra el tiempo. ¿Ahora qué? ¿Qué haces con este texto antiguo para ayudarte a conocer a Dios mejor? Esto es el estudio bíblico.
¿Querrías aprenderlo conmigo? ¿Querrías desatar el poder de Dios para la salvación en nuestra generación? ¿Querrías entrenar a otros así que pueden ser administradores efectivos de la Palabra?
Mi misión es ayudarte a hacer exactamente eso.
El propósito de esta publicación es darte un esquema para el proceso. Cada enlace debajo te lleva a una publicación que explica un paso del método del estudio bíblico OIA (Observación, Interpretación, Aplicación). Para aprender más sobre dirigir grupos pequeños de OIA, ve la serie de cómo dirigir un estudio bíblico.
Por qué estudiamos la Biblia
Todos tienen un método de estudiar la Biblia
Resumen del método del estudio bíblico OIA
Por qué OIA es el mejor método de estudio bíblico
6 razones por qué no estudiamos la Biblia
El peor enemigo de la observación es la familiaridad
5 cosas para observar
4 más consejos para la observación
¿Por qué deberíamos interpretar?
El peor enemigo de la interpretación es la observación
Otro enemigo de la interpretación es el relativismo
3 pasos para interpretar la Biblia
La diferencia entre el propósito principal y un resumen
La importancia del contexto (Parte 1 y Parte 2)
Cómo ver a Jesús en cualquier pasaje bíblico
4 errores al usar comentarios
La transición desde la interpretación hasta la aplicación
El peor enemigo de la aplicación es conocimiento
10 razones por qué deberías aplicar la Biblia a tu vida
Aplicación: el arte de producir cambio
Cómo aplicar la Biblia: resumen
Recuerda Jesús en tu aplicación
Sé específico en tu aplicación
Mi ejemplo de la aplicación de Lucas 2
Correlación: entender toda la Biblia
3 consejos por la correlación saludable (Parte 1 y Parte 2)
Ya estás aprobado para estudiar la Biblia
It’s like the Day of Pentecost, but on a far smaller scale (Acts 2:8)!
I’d like to introduce you, virtually, to Sarah Oiler. She’s a fine young woman who loves Jesus and the Holy Scripture.
Sarah has taken on a project of translating articles from the Knowable Word archive into Spanish. We’ve previously had the honor of a few others translating our posts in other internet spaces. But we’ll be publishing Sarah’s work right here.
So every Tuesday, we’ll publish one of her translated posts, until either Jesus comes back or our neighbors run out of jugs (2 Kings 4:6)—whichever comes first.
If you speak Spanish or have connections with a Spanish-speaking community, we pray these posts will be a blessing to you. Do feel free to share them around! If you don’t speak Spanish, thank you for bearing with the additional parcels showing up in your email or feed reader each week.
This won’t affect the rest of our normal posting schedule:
“Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (Ps 119:49-50).
