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You Don’t Have to Read the Bible Every Day

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Ryan Riggins (2017), public domain

“How’s your spiritual life?”

When most Christians are asked that question, their minds turn toward spiritual disciplines. They reflect on the previous week or month and how regularly they prayed, read the Bible, and so on. These activities have become the measure for many of vibrant Christian faith.

Still, many of us know people who are rigid about these disciplines but lack love and grace in their relationships with others. These regular practices don’t automatically produce the fruit of the Spirit.

The Gospel in Bible Reading

And yet, throughout the years, those who follow Jesus have been greatly helped by spiritual disciplines. The goal of these habits should be to stir up our affections for God, to help us regularly confess and repent of our sins, to rehearse our dependence on God’s grace, and to propel us toward loving our neighbors.

There’s a lot to unpack in that previous sentence! That takes time and instruction, and often when people come into the church they only hear a poor distillation: “Read your Bible and pray every day.”

When it comes to our motivations, humans are drawn more naturally to law than to grace, because we can measure ourselves against a regulation. Well, I only read the Bible four times this week, so my spiritual life must be mediocre.

Some discipleship endeavors reinforce this posture. If we check our boxes each week, we’re growing; if we fall under a certain threshold, we’re stagnant or in spiritual danger.

The gospel of Jesus can make box-checkers uncomfortable. For those who confess Christ, repent of their sins, and trust him alone, the good news should be repeated as often as possible. We are children of the Most High God. He loves us so completely that nothing we ever do can increase or decrease that love.

For the purposes of this particular website, let’s state in terms of Scripture. God does not love us any more when we read the Bible, and he does not love us any less when we don’t.

The Word is a Blessing

Please understand, I am not trying to convince you to read the Bible less often! But I want our motivations to be founded on the very Scriptures we study. As I wrote at the beginning of this year, the Bible points us to God’s word much more often with enticement than with scare tactics.

Christian, do you know how good the word of the Lord is?

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7–11)

A Christian disconnected from or uninterested in the Bible is a contradiction. But we are not disobeying God if we do not read the Bible every day. (Our weeks are more similar to each other than our days are, and there are a variety of ways to take in the Bible.)

We Don’t Have To, We Get To

Over the last several years, my family has developed a simple, delightful practice when we go away for vacation. We take long walks together after dinner. We set out as a family to enjoy each other, the weather, and the scenery. It’s now a favorite activity for each one of us.

Do we have to take a walk every evening? Nope. If it’s raining, or very late, or if someone isn’t feeling well, we might skip it, shorten it, or move the time around. But as late afternoon arrives and we start making dinner, we usually talk about where we’ll walk that night.

The walk requires time, energy, and effort, but we love it. Even when we follow the same route on multiple days, we arrive back at the apartment refreshed and happy.

Believers, we don’t have to read the Bible every day. But God has generously provided his word to nourish and bless us. Do you want to be nourished? Do you want to be blessed?

You Are Smart Enough to Study the Bible

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There are dozens of reasons for our collective lack of Bible study, but here’s one we need to address: I’m not smart enough.

Few people use those words, but this captures the general sentiment. Many people feel inadequate or intimidated by the task of studying the Bible, so they never attempt it.

How does this happen?

Célio Silveira (2011), public domain

Célio Silveira (2011), public domain

The Quicksand of Comparison

We live in a culture of experts. And in the church we propogate more of the same.

We cite brilliant philosophers and commentators in our sermons. We watch polished teachers on video in Sunday school. Over and over we see examples of those with great training, ability, and insight. They make the Bible come alive.

We compare ourselves to all-stars and find ourselves lacking. How can we compete? If I can learn from experts, why should I study the Bible myself? I’ll never learn as much on my own.

This argument is easy to believe but important to reject. Gifted scholars and communicators are blessings to the church, but they do not replace the need for individual time with the Bible.

Bible study is never about bare facts or ideas. We study the Bible to know Jesus and have eternal life, to love God and obey him. We aren’t cramming for a test; rather, we need God’s truth to sink deep into our souls. Instead of borrowing the work of others, we need to digest and rejoice over the Bible ourselves.

Here’s the bottom line. You don’t need to be smart to study the Bible. As Peter wrote, Bible study “should be simple enough to engage young children yet profound enough to occupy erudite scholars.”

You don’t need seminary training. You don’t need a full bookcase or years of experience or an understanding of Greek and Hebrew. You don’t need a high IQ or a big vocabulary. You don’t even need a high school diploma.

I don’t dismiss any of the education, intellect, or training God gives. But only a few things are necessary to study the Bible. You need a Bible, a pen, paper, a heart that seeks God, and the Holy Spirit. Gather the first three, ask God for the last two, and you’re ready to go.

We must remind each other that there is no intellectual barrier to the Bible. When Christians come up short in their comparison to others and withdraw from Bible study, they miss a vital connection to Jesus.

What We Miss When We Neglect Bible Study

Do you believe we need the Bible? That it is not merely an add-on, but that it is more essential than bread (Matt. 4:4)?

We forget, and in the Bible God reminds us of the truth.

We sin, and in the Bible God corrects us and teaches us about forgiveness.

We despair, and in the Bible God gives us hope.

The Scriptures are not a burden or a weight, but a privilege and a blessing. We get to study the Bible! The Bible is truth from our loving God who wants us to know him and be transformed. And we miss out on these blessings—in fact, we miss God himself—when we neglect Bible study.

How to Begin

Whether you’ve been away from the Bible for years or you’ve never picked it up—you can start studying the Bible.

Pray. Ask God humbly and confidently to teach you by his Spirit. Only he can give you the understanding you need for life.

Next, pick up a Bible and read. We have a series of blog posts written to help you learn how to study the Bible. You might also check out our printable resources.

Finally, contact a friend from church. Ask them to pray. Arrange to meet every week or two to discuss what God is teaching you.

Buckle up. God will teach you and change you in ways you never imagined!

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When a Name Goes Missing in the Bible

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Pierre Bamin (2021), public domain

Observation is the first step in any good Bible study practice. And in most passages, there is a lot to observe!

Under the umbrella of observation, we naturally think about noticing what is present in the text. But sometimes, we also need to notice what is absent. The key to interpreting a section of Genesis 21 turns on just such an observation.

Ishmael is Sent Away

When Isaac was weaned, his parents threw a huge party to celebrate this milestone (Genesis 21:8). During the party, Ishmael laughed at Isaac, and this angered Sarah so much that she told Abraham to get rid of Ishmael and his mother, Hagar (Genesis 21:10). God agreed with Sarah, so Abraham sent them away (Genesis 21:12–14).

When their meager food and water ran out, Hagar prepared for her son’s death and cried out to the Lord (Genesis 21:15–16). God heard Ishmael’s cries and opened Hagar’s eyes to a nearby well (Genesis 21:17–19). God was with Ishmael as he grew up (Genesis 21:20).

This story is straightforward, right?

Something is Missing

As we continue to remind our readers, context matters. Why does this story immediately follow the glorious account of the long-awaited birth of Isaac (Genesis 21:1–7)? How does the story’s placement in the text aid our interpretation?

I didn’t understand this connection until I landed on an observation. In these fourteen verses (Genesis 21:8–21), something important is missing.

Ishmael’s name doesn’t appear at all.

In fact, Moses (the author) seems to go out of his way to avoid writing Ishmael’s name. Moses refers to “the boy” (6 times), “the child” (3 times), “the son of Hagar” (or a close variant, 4 times), and “his son” (once). This whole section of Scripture is centered on Ishmael, and Moses steadfastly refuses to include his name. Why is this the case?

Making Way for Isaac

From earlier in Genesis, we know that Abraham was a man who liked to protect himself and hedge his bets. He repeatedly tried to pass Sarah off as his sister (Genesis 12:10–20, 20:1–18). He fathered Ishmael with Sarah’s servant because he couldn’t see how God would otherwise keep his promise (Genesis 16:1–4).

Once Isaac was born, he was to become the focus of the story. Had Ishmael stayed around, there would not only (likely) be sustained conflict between him and Isaac, but it would have given Abraham a way to doubt and wonder. If anything were to happen to Isaac, I still have Ishmael right here.

Moses uses the names in the text to help us understand. The names for Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar all show up in this passage, so Moses is not opposed to names in general. But he won’t call Ishmael by his name. Moses wants his readers to see that Ishmael is moving off stage. Ishmael is no longer a main character. The covenant spotlight is now on Isaac.

Learning to Notice

Someone new to Bible study might be thinking, It’s hard enough to observe everything that’s there in the text, and now I’m supposed to notice all of the things that aren’t there?! Yes and no.

It would be impossible to notice everything missing from a passage of Scripture. That’s ambiguous and aimless. But we should notice anomalies—things that are unusual or out of place. Anything that sticks out as abnormal.

Moses used names, repeatedly, for all of the characters in this story except one. That should make us sit up and take notice. In observation we gather the fuel we need for the fire of interpretation, and observing odd insertions or omissions is no exception.

Note: After writing this article I remembered that Peter mentioned this observation in one of our foundational articles on observation. I heartily recommend that article, but I came to this thought independently this week as my church is working through Genesis in Sunday school.

Credit Where Credit is Due

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My tenth commandment for commentary usage is:

You shall give credit to commentators where appropriate and not try to appear smarter than you are.

I suspect this may be easiest-to-swallow, least controversial of my ten commandments for commentary usage. Plagiarism is widely condemned in print, and it’s becoming increasingly unacceptable in spoken communication, such as preaching or small group leading, as well.

Photo by cottonbro

My greatest challenge is that, the longer I teach, the more difficult it is to remember where I got various ideas from. Especially when I read commentaries in order to dig back into the text—I chew on the best ideas of the commentators and reflect on them in light of the Scripture text itself, to the point where it becomes difficult to nail down exactly which idea came from the commentator, and which was a product of my own reflection.

So I’ve begun keeping better notes to track the sources of the most helpful ideas I come across.

But the point is simple: As long as you are not quoting a commentator as the final word, shutting down conversation (see commandment 9), make sure to give credit where credit is due. “I read this really helpful point in John Stott’s commentary, where he said… What do you all think about that? Does it fit with your observation of the text?”

Your Test: Can You Do What the Commentator Did?

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My ninth commandment for commentary usage is:

You shall not quote a commentator as the final word on an interpretive matter, but must demonstrate your conclusions from the scriptural text itself.

Perhaps you’ve seen it happen. Perhaps you’ve even done it yourself. I know I have. The discussion gets going, and people are bouncing ideas off one another. But suddenly the record scratches and the room goes silent, because someone dropped a name or invoked an expert. All rise! The final and authoritative word has been spoken from heights to which mere mortals could never attain.

Photo by Hert Niks

What I’m Not Saying

Before I get any further into the meaning or intention of this commandment, let me clarify what I am not saying.

First, I am not saying that you should never quote a commentator. By all means, please make use of the commentaries and resources available to you. And by all means, give credit where credit is due!

Second, I am not saying that you should never quote a commentator in a discussion or Bible study group. I am saying only that you ought not to do so on interpretive matters. And what I mean by “interpretive matters” is conclusions about the meaning or main point of the text. In this sense, commentaries are one of the 5 false authorities to watch out for in a small group discussion.

This commandment follows the previous one on purpose. If you heed that commandment, you will have taken care to draw a distinction between factual information in the commentary (cultural or historical background, direct observation of the text, etc.) and reasoned interpretations in the commentary (arguments made, with premises and conclusions, to draw principles or instructions from the text). That distinction can now serve you well. If your study group is in need of some factual information that might otherwise be inaccessible, go ahead and quote the commentator!

For example, in a Bible study discussing Genesis 21: “The commentary at the bottom of my study Bible says that the name ‘Isaac’ and the term ‘laughing’ are repetitions of the same Hebrew word. Could that repetition signal some sort of wordplay we ought to be aware of?”

Third, I am also not saying that we must never quote commentaries on interpretive matters. I am saying only that we must not do so as the final word on the matter. I would have no concern whatsoever with someone saying, “I read such and such in a commentary, but what do the rest of you think? Is such a conclusion supported by the text?”

What I’m After

The intention behind this commandment is found in the final clause, that we must be able to demonstrate our interpretive conclusions from the scriptural text itself. It might be helpful to quote a commentary to show that you’re not the only one in history who has identified a particular conclusion from a particular passage. As long as you can still articulate that conclusion from the passage itself.

If you read something in a commentary and trust the author’s conclusions despite what the text says, you have most likely violated commandment number 5. And if you submissively believe the commentator’s conclusions and simply can’t speak to the matter from the text, you have likely violated commandments 2 and 3. And if you proclaim a commentator’s conclusions as definitive truth on an interpretive matter, you probably have violated commandments 6 and 7.

The best use of a commentary is to help you understand the text. If, however, you come away understanding the commentary but not the text, the mission got off course somewhere.

In the first century, the Jewish scribes loved to hold debates, pitting one ancient commentator against another. At times, they even sought to rope Jesus into taking one side or the other (Mark 10:2). He wouldn’t play those games, and, as a result, the populace observed in him an authority they couldn’t find among their typical teachers (Matt 7:28-29). Of course, there was something unique about Jesus’ authority as the Son of God proclaiming the word of God.

However, Jesus delights to share his authority with his disciples (Luke 9:1-2). The authority of God’s word is present whenever God’s people seek the Lord in those very words (Acts 17:11) and proclaim them with intelligible simplicity (Acts 17:2-3). Can you do this from the Scriptures? Or do you tend to get stuck in merely explaining the various interpretive schools and camps you have read about?

Because I once read a commentary that suggested it might be a bad idea to do that.

Confess Your Sins to God When Applying the Bible

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Samuel Martins (2018), public domain

Applying the Bible involves putting off and putting on. We put off the old self, which belongs to our former manner of life, and we put on the new self, “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24). Put differently: applying the Bible involves repentance.

Sam Storms offers a helpful definition of repentance.

True Christian repentance involves a heartfelt conviction of sin, a contrition over the offense to God, a turning away from the sinful way of life, and a turning towards a God-honoring way of life.

The “putting off” and “putting on” essential to repentance has a moral component. This is not like exchanging a baseball cap for a fedora. This “contrition” before God is also known as confession.

Examples of Confession

After hearing the word of God, the Holy Spirit brings conviction, showing us the ways we have sinned. We have numerous examples of God’s people confessing their sins in the Bible.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah (Psalm 32:3–5)

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment. (Psalm 51:3–4)

O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. (Ezra 9:6–7)

The Scriptures also assume we will regularly confess our sins to God.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8–9)

God’s Kindness

It is good for us to think about the different spheres and directions for our Bible application. But confessing sin is often a necessary step in the process. It is not just that we need a different strategy for loving our neighbor or a new approach to handling gossip. Frequently, we must confess that what we have been doing (or not doing) is offensive to God and deserving of his anger.

Here are some principles related to confession.

  1. Be honest and specific — Let’s not only talk about our “struggles” or “destructive patterns.” Let’s name our sins the way the Bible names them and bring them to God with that vocabulary. God knows all and trying to hide anything from him is downright silly.
  2. Consider the heart — Bad fruit (observable sin) in our lives is the outworking of rebellion in our hearts. (See Luke 6:43–45.) So while we do need to confess our gossiping (for example), we must also think about the impulses and desires that make us crave those conversations. It’s difficult to trace polluted streams back to their source; conversations with trusted friends can be invaluable in this regard.
  3. Confess your sins to others — All of our sin is against God; some of our sin is also against other people. Part of repenting of these sins is confessing them and seeking forgiveness and reconciliation.
  4. Pray for conviction — This may sound scary, but part of the essential function of God’s word is to expose us (Hebrews 4:12–13). It is not God’s displeasure but his kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God brings us conviction as a loving father disciplines his children (Hebrews 12:7–11).
  5. Remember this is the way of grace — While it might not feel good to see more of our sin and discover it goes deeper than we thought, this ultimately helps us exult in God’s grace. When we understand more of our offenses against God, we are reminded that our salvation is due to God’s grace. So, while painful, confession gives us more opportunities to glorify God for his grace.

A Key Step in Application

Not every application requires confession along the way. A church might make a change to their ministry to widows as an application of James 1:27, seeking greater effectiveness or wider opportunities. There might not necessarily be sin in their previous approach.

However, most application probably requires some sort of confession. And because God is so gracious, when his children come to him admitting their transgressions, he forgives. He reminds us of the work of Jesus for us. And that gives us real power to change.

Facts vs. Implications in Commentaries

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My eighth commandment for commentary usage is:

You shall distinguish, in the commentaries, between evidence-based observations of the text (such as Hebrew or Greek syntax or wordplay, historical context, or comparative ancient near eastern literature) and reasoned interpretations of the text. You shall remain aware that the first category is more likely to contain factual data that must be accounted for, and the second category is more likely to contain opinions to be weighed and considered alongside alternatives.

My purpose here is simply to discern between differing types of information, which ought to provoke different responses as we make use of commentaries. Thereby, a commentary is something like a pie a la mode, where the pie and the ice cream dwell in symbiotic union to make a dessert worthy of one’s salivary attention. A single act of consumption yields a combination of treasures and delights.

Photo by Laura Seaman on Unsplash

The Objectivity of Observation

When a commentary observes the text, the author is stating things that are objectively verifiable. Observation could perhaps be considered the science of Bible study.

For example:

  • The tenses of verbs.
  • Repetitions and word play.
  • Comparisons and contrasts.
  • Grammar and syntax.
  • Pronouns and antecedents.
  • The historical setting and background of the author and audience (when knowable).
  • Cultural context of the characters or events described in the text.

Such things are nearly always binary: True or false, correct or incorrect. If a verb occurs in the past tense (or “aorist,” if the commentator references the Greek New Testament), it is not a present or future tense. Whether a word is repeated ought not be up for debate but can be objectively perceived and verified. And commentaries can be especially helpful for pointing out such things as tenses, repetitions, and syntax that are less clear in English translation.

Commentaries are also especially helpful for pointing out historical and cultural artifacts that most people today might not be aware of when they read a text. Why are the Pharisees so bothered by Jesus healing people on the sabbath (and what is a “sabbath,” anyway?)? Why does Jesus climb onto a boat to preach? What is a mina? Why is it that, whenever people head south to Jerusalem, the text says they are going up to the city?

In addition, commentaries may draw attention to quotations or allusions to prior texts (such as New Testament texts referring to Old Testament texts, though it also happens within the Old Testament itself as well) that are easy to miss without being steeped in the breadth of Scripture yourself. So when a commentator is observing something, rejoice and be glad for the assistance provided to your visual impairment.

The Debatability of Interpretation

By contrasting observation’s “objectivity” with interpretation’s “debatability,” I am not suggesting that interpretation is merely subjective or relative. No, I’m only distinguishing between the truth of facts and the truth of facts’ implications. For example, you cannot credibly dispute the claim that my name is Peter. But you can credibly dispute whether I am a trustworthy person. The first thing is akin to Bible observation; the second is akin to Bible interpretation.

When commentaries move beyond what the text says and enter the realm of what the text means, they are moving from the facts to the facts’ implications. We ought to recognize the difference, because facts that are truly facts ought to be received as facts. And interpretations ought not to be received as facts. Interpretations could be wrong. Or they could be improved. Or they might be slightly off-center and require adjustment.

And remember that my fourth commandment was to never read only one commentary. By reading two or more, you will glimpse the manifold interpretive debates among scholars regarding the best way to interpret a text. Let each commentator make their best argument, and let those debates drive you back into the text to make up your own mind.

Conclusion

At this blog we want to help you learn to study the Bible. That means learning how to observe, interpret, and apply. As you learn this method, you will also learn to discern how others, such as commentators, use the method. This enables you to distinguish between the commentators’ observations, which—when accurate—ought to be received as facts, and the commentators’ interpretations, which are better when weighed and considered alongside alternatives.

In short, reading commentaries is another way to learn how to think. How to improve your own observation, interpretation, and application. Don’t miss out on that benefit by reading commentaries uncritically. It would be like skipping dessert when the pie is offered a la mode.

Toward Balanced Bible Application

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Victor Freitas (2018), public domain

I didn’t spend much time around weight rooms or gym culture before college. Once there, I quickly noticed which equipment got the most use.

The young men at my gym were hoping for bigger arms, shoulders, and chests. The benches and barbells for these exercises were in high demand. But few guys were working toward strong legs. I could jump on most of the leg-focused machines without waiting.

For many of these men, the result was an imbalanced physique. They focused on what they found most important without much concern for overall strength, fitness, flexibility, or endurance.

Strange as the comparison may seem, sometimes we unconsciously do this same thing when it comes to application in Bible study.

Two Directions for Application

In our guide to learning to study the Bible, my co-blogger Peter explains how application can be directed two ways. In reflecting on Matt 22:35-40, he writes this:

These two commands show two “directions” in which we can apply any passage of the Bible: inward and outward. We can work on becoming more Christ-like people who love God more desperately (inward application), and we can work on becoming more selfless people of influence who love others as Christ has loved us (outward application).

(Peter has also written about the three spheres of application. This application worksheet may help to keep everything straight.)

I’m not sure it’s necessary to measure down to the milligram, but the majority of my recent application has been decidedly inward. I realized this when preparing my latest small group Bible study. It is far too natural for me to think about myself, and I have been neglecting large areas of my life—marriage, parenting, friends, neighbors, coworkers—where God may be calling me to repent.

Not all passages lend themselves to every sort of application. However, seeing this deficiency, I wanted to challenge myself to right the ship.

Example: Ezra 8 setup

My small group is currently studying Ezra, and our upcoming text is chapter 8. Here’s some background.

Ezra begins with God’s people in exile. The nation of Judah has been taken away to Babylon (and its surrounding areas), while Israel was taken away earlier by the nation of Assyria. God moves within Cyrus, king of Persia (which now controls Babylon), to send Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Cyrus sends them back with his blessing, supplies, and money.

The people rebuild the altar and resume worshipping God. Through some serious disruptions, they also rebuild the temple. God’s hand is evident as he grants his people favor with those in power.

After a number of years, Ezra (a scribe and priest) is commissioned by the new king, Artaxerxes, to return to Jerusalem. This is the re-establishment of God’s word at the center of temple worship. Finally, in Ezra 8, we have a list of those who return with Ezra, Ezra’s efforts to include Levites in his caravan, God’s protection of those who were traveling, and a precise accounting of the silver and gold that was being delivered to the temple. The chapter ends with the people worshipping God in the temple.

Here is my attempt at a main point for this chapter: God provides all that is necessary to worship him, because that is the main occupation of his people.

Example: Ezra 8 application

Here are some initial applications I wrote down which flow from this chapter and its main point. I prepared these both for myself and as exploratory questions for my small group.

  1. I should be filled with wonder, awe, and thanks for all God has done in history and all he has done for me.
  2. I need to confess that at times I’ve found worship dull and uninteresting; at times I’ve avoided God.
  3. How can I talk to my family/friends/neighbors about worship (what is most valuable and worthy)? I should pray for the chance to talk to [neighbor’s name redacted].
  4. Do I believe/remember how central worship is to God’s purposes in the world? How would this affect me if I did?
  5. How can I remember and daily confess my dependence on the Lord (verses 21–23)? Would historic documents like the Heidelberg Catechism be helpful?

Only one of these applications (#3) is an outward application; all the rest are inward. That doesn’t make them bad applications, but I’m feeling an imbalance.

In challenging myself to generate three more outward applications, here’s what I came up with.

  1. God provides everything we need for worship; how can I emphasize this with my children when we talk about personal or corporate worship?
  2. How can I encourage those who serve in different capacities in my church’s worship service?
  3. Are there ways I can help a family with young children during my church’s worship service?

An Inventory

I suspect most people are prone to emphasize some application categories over others. But this might go unnoticed without some examination.

If we glance back at recent Bible study notes, we might be able to identify patterns and work to balance out our application muscles.

Not All Commentaries are Created Equal

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My seventh commandment for commentary usage is:

You shall not hold all commentaries equal, but shall give greatest weight to those that stimulate greatest interest in the biblical text and its argument.

It comes with a corollary:

You shall resist speculations made by commentators and shall demand the same text-driven arguments from them that you would demand of your friends or that they would demand of you.

The purpose of these commandments is to highlight the discipline required to make wise use of commentaries for Bible study. Let me explain the primary commandment itself, and then I will explain why it leads to the corollary commandment.

Clarifying the Uses of Commentaries

By definition of the word “average,” approximately half of all published commentaries will be below average for a given purpose. And the same commentary may provide above-average help for one purpose and below-average help for another. So in order to make wise use of commentaries, we must first be clear on what we want the commentaries to do. Then we can judge how competently the commentary does that job.

Some commentaries are written primarily for academics, with the main goals being to address the many historic disputes surrounding a book of the Bible. These commentaries may observe and interpret the text insofar as it enables them to evaluate the many options given over the course of history in response to particular questions. Some commentaries do this well, without losing sight of the forest. But sometimes the end product is more about the debates and options than it is about the argument of the text.

Image by jplenio from Pixabay

Other commentaries are written primarily for ordinary churchgoers, with a heavy focus on practical application. Such “devotional” commentaries will vary in quality: Some may lead the reader to interpret the text as though it were written directly to him or her, while others do a better job interpreting the text through the eyes of the original audience first.

Regardless of whether you benefit more from a technical or devotional commentary, the question I ask of any commentary is: Does it help me to understand the biblical author’s overall argument? If I can work through 10, 20, or 50 pages of comments without getting a clear grasp on where we’ve come from and where we’re going, I have found myself a commentary I am unlikely to finish.

So remember the third commandment, which is about your responsibility to study the Scripture and not merely adopt whatever interpretations you happen to read in a commentary. So if you read a commentary for the purpose of helping you to study the Bible, success ought to be measured by how well that commentary stimulates you to look back at the text and not necessarily by how clear or cogent its conclusions are. Are these things really so (Acts 17:11)?

Speculating on the Role of Speculation

Now we come to the corollary commandment quoted above. Commentators sometimes wander into the realm of speculation, since that’s why publishers pay them the big bucks. People buy a commentary because they want answers, so commentators may face pressure to provide answers even when the text on which they comment does not. Who wrote the book of Kings? Who was the audience of Mark? Who, precisely, were the spirits in prison to whom Jesus preached in 1 Peter 3:19? What is the identity of “the restrainer” holding back the man of lawlessness (2 Thess 2:6-7)? Why does Death ride a pale (or green) horse (Rev 6:8)? What was Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:7)?

I am not saying that such questions have no answers. And I am not saying that commentators ought not to seek to answer such questions. But sometimes such questions, and many more, can take up so much time and space that we utterly fail to follow the text’s argument. For example, go ahead and try to identify the man of lawlessness or the thing restraining him, if you can do so from the text. But by all means, do not allow this inquiry to distract you from the text’s chief argument that you ought not to be alarmed by such things.

If your close friend claimed to know the identity of the restrainer on purely imaginative and speculative grounds, you would likely not buy it. Why would such imagination or speculation be any more persuasive simply because the one hawking it has a PhD or teaches at a seminary? Be a demanding consumer of commentaries. Demand text-driven arguments rooted in careful observation and interpretation. If you don’t get them, it may be time to take your business elsewhere. And if you would like some recommendations, I maintain a list of commentaries that model OIA Bible study here.

The Absurdity of Using God’s Word Out of Context

By

Wolfgang Hasselmann (2020), public domain

The Bible contains many surprises: reversals of fortune, shocking victories, demoralizing deaths, and (spoiler!) resurrection. But plenty of claims and commands in the Bible remain elusive. Despite reading the Bible for years, some Christians have missed important truths.

I’m here to change that.

Three Bible Surprises

Now readers may not like what they are about to read. They may find it shocking or even offensive. But I’m only reporting what the Bible says.

Windows are evil. Most readers can probably look out a window where they are sitting right now, but perhaps they should reconsider. Here is how this truth emerges in God’s word.

  • “Windows” — 1 Kings 7:5
  • “are” — Ecclesiastes 12:3
  • “evil” — Proverbs 2:14

(Should this principle be used to advocate against certain computer operating systems? I’ll leave that for personal application.)

Everyone should own four camels. Readers may be tempted to dismiss this as antiquated advice that modern Christians no longer need to follow; remember, this is found in Scripture!

  • “Everyone” — Genesis 16:12
  • “should” — Psalm 25:12
  • “own” — John 10:12
  • “four” — Isaiah 11:12
  • “camels” — Judges 6:5

Dance all night on your neighbor’s roof. Here we have another clear command from the Bible. Will following this command cause persecution? Perhaps! But God’s people have frequently suffered for the truth.

  • “Dance” — Psalm 150:4
  • “all” — Genesis 2:20
  • “night” — Joshua 1:8
  • “on” — Genesis 1:11
  • “your” — Genesis 3:5
  • “neighbor’s” — Exodus 20:17
  • “roof” — Deuteronomy 22:8

Quoting Verses

I’ve never seen anyone use the Bible in the way I did in the previous section (though some “word studies” aren’t far off). It’s ridiculous to pick words from all over the Bible, string them together in an order of my choosing, and then claim the resulting statement is from God.

The sobering truth is that when we pluck phrases or words from their Scriptural context and string them together, we’re not doing much better. We have an entire series of articles on this website as evidence. When we use a verse outside of its original context, we risk missing some of the meaning or getting the point wrong entirely.

The common answers to these questions are likely missing the nuance, depth, or intention of the original author. It’s as true for the Bible as it is for a legal document or even your text messages: context matters.

Avoiding Laughable Mistakes

How can we use the Bible faithfully? How can we learn the truths of Scripture while avoiding these contextual mistakes?

We must learn how to read and study the Bible. Sometimes, we need to relearn how to read and study the Bible. The Bible is not a one-cup coffee maker that we visit for a daily shot of spiritual caffeine; it is a book to which we must give careful attention.

Learning to study the Bible is a process, one done best in the company of other Christians with similar ambitions. We have lots of articles and resources to help!

Bible Study is for Everyone

In our Christian circles, sometimes we absorb the truth that serious Bible study is for professional Christians—pastors, preachers, seminary professors, or counselors. But studying the Bible is for everyone!

God’s word is not beyond your grasp. Reach out your hands and take hold of it, for the Bible contains the best, most important, most hopeful news you’ll ever read.