Knowable Word - Bible study help

How to Know if You’re a Christian

May 20, 2015 By Peter Krol

Last week, Kevin DeYoung wrote a fabulous post explaining 3 evidences of true faith given to us in the book of 1 John.

Whenever counseling Christians looking for assurance of salvation, I take them to 1 John. This brief epistle is full of help for determining whether we are in the faith or not. In particular, there are three signs in 1 John given to us so we can answer the question “Do I have confidence or condemnation?”

DeYoung’s article models some important principles of good Bible study:

DeYoung shows why it’s important to understand the main point of not only passages but also books. Many people quote verses from 1 John but miss the thrust of John’s argument (“that you may know that you have eternal life” – 1 John 5:13). We ignore this main idea to our peril. We won’t know what to do with John’s extreme statements, such as “you have no need that anyone should teach you” (1 John 2:27) and “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning” (1 John 3:9).
DeYoung models the value of a good book overview.
DeYoung masterfully shows how the hard work of getting the main point right enables you to make practical, specific, and penetrating application for people today.

I unpacked these same three tests from 1 John when I wrote about evaluating the success of your Bible study. DeYoung writes more briefly and with more personal application to those struggling with assurance.

Check it out!

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3 Benefits of Small Group Bible Study

May 18, 2015 By Ryan Higginbottom

Billy MetCalf Photography (2012), Creative Commons License

Give a skilled trumpeter his horn and a solo, and he can pin back your ears or prick your heart. He can draw out emotions you’d locked away or inspire grand thoughts of beauty and grace. There is power and clarity in his notes. Now put that same trumpeter in a jazz band and listen again. As the instruments swell and fall in concert, you’ll hear a richness and depth that a soloist cannot produce on his own. It isn’t that the music is better; both can be profound and beautiful.

Without hours alone in the practice room, the trumpeter misses out on technique, skill, and precision. Without a band, he won’t learn to listen, react, follow, or lead. He needs both settings.

So it is with Bible study. The majority of your Bible study will likely take place in private. This is the necessary foundation for a life of loving God and living faithfully in the world.

But if you study the Bible only by yourself, you’ll miss the concert. Work on your breathing, perfect those scales, and come join the band.

Bless and Be Blessed

Here at Knowable Word, we want to help people learn to study the Bible. In a good small group Bible study, you will mature and you’ll have the chance to help others grow. It’s the best sort of two-for-one.

If you’re not already in a small group Bible study, consider joining one. I can think of at least three reasons.

Small group Bible studies help you study the Bible. We all need as much time with the Bible as possible, and a small group gives you extra exposure every week or so. Within your group you can (hopefully) find good examples of Bible study; this will accelerate your development and strengthen your OIA muscles. A good leader will ask questions that lead your group through the observation–interpretation–application process and help you to advance in each area.
Small group Bible studies remind you that you need other people. God has made us as relational, social beings who thrive in community. Because of our sin, relationships can be difficult, but without other people we shrivel up and dry out. We need contact with others from different ages and life situations to appreciate God’s faithful and diverse working throughout the church. I love listening to older saints recount God’s consistent companionship, encouragement, and correction over the years.
Small group Bible studies remind you that you need other people to study the Bible. I’ve written before that we need community to apply the Bible. But this isn’t just true for application. Fellow Christians also help us observe the important aspects of a Bible passage and interpret correctly. We need others to help us see what is true in the Bible—to sharpen, clarify, and correct what we think.

In the same way that you need others, others also need you. Armed with solid Bible study principles, you can serve as an example or mentor for others in your small group.

Finally, Bible study within a small group has a dynamic you cannot reproduce on your own. As you participate in discussion and share ideas, you take advantage of interaction, one of the distinctives of the setting.

Note: This is the first in a short-ish series of posts on attending small group Bible studies. If you have any related questions, feel free to toss them into the comments on this post. (We’ve already published extensively about leading Bible studies.)

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The Most Popular Bible Verses of 2014

May 13, 2015 By Peter Krol

I know I’m a little late for a year-end round up, but I just came across this fascinating article about the most popular Bible verses of 2014. YouVersion, one of the most popular Bible apps for mobile devices, compiled data from over 164 million users to see which Bible verses were shared most frequently.

They discovered that the most popular verse – measured by the number of bookmarks, highlights, and shares it got – was Romans 12:2. This is good; people want to be transformed by renewing their minds according to God’s will.

Philippians 4:6, 4:7, and 4:8 all made the top 10. I wonder how many of the 164 million users have recognized the train of thought running through Philippians 4:2-9. Later this month, I may have an article on another website on that very topic. Stay tuned.

I find it interesting that the most popular verses of 2014 are almost completely different from the prior year’s list. Either we simply have clearer data with a larger sample size, or people are reading and profiting from different parts of Scripture over time. You decide.

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A Simple Question We Rarely Ask

May 6, 2015 By Peter Krol

Donald Whitney reminds us to ask this most basic question as often as possible: “What does the Bible say?”

Nothing will simplify our lives more than finding the will of God on a matter and doing it. And the best way to discover the will of God is to search the Word of God.

This habit will change everything.

Whitney’s short post is worth considering in full. Check it out!

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Boost Your Bible Study by Memorizing

May 4, 2015 By Ryan Higginbottom

Quick—what’s $8\times 12$ ? What’s the capital of Honduras? Did you answer without pulling out your phone?

You’ve probably memorized heaps of facts, numbers, and words in your life. Have you spent time memorizing the Bible? It’s an invaluable type of Bible intake, but it can be confusing to those who are new to the Christian faith or unfamiliar with the practice. Why should we memorize when we (in the West) have such easy access to the Bible? Can’t we just look up the passage in our favorite book or app?

Why to Memorize

Russ Allison Loar (2009), Creative Commons License

We memorize Bible passages to help us resist temptation (Ps 119:11; Matt 4:1–11). Bible memorization is one way to let the word of Christ dwell richly within us (Col 3:16). As we commit passages to memory, we equip ourselves to share the Word of God with those who are discouraged, suffering, or outside the faith. Jon Bloom at Desiring God says that memorizing large chunks of Scripture will be one of the best investments of your life.

Bible memorization can also be an aid in Bible study. You need not memorize every passage you plan to study. But when you memorize a chapter or book of the Bible, you head into the mine equipped with extra tools to bring out piles of gold.

Memorizing and Observation

When we begin to study a passage of Scripture, our greatest need is exposure to the text. We need to read it repeatedly both to get a good book overview and to jump-start observation. Nothing beats memorizing when it comes to repeated readings! Most memory systems build their structure on the foundation of regular repetition.

As you internalize the passage, you will naturally observe important features of the text. You’ll see the repeated words and the titles/names of characters. You’ll notice the author’s transitions between sections. You will have a better sense of the mood of the text and you will be able to pick up on the comparisons and contrasts the author employs.

Memorizing will also help you identify structure. Several years ago, I spent some time trying to memorize the book of 1 Peter. I had studied the book before, but it wasn’t until I tried to commit it to memory that I noticed the repeated theme of submission and suffering for the sake of love. I noticed the phrase “in the same way” in 1 Pet 3:1 and 1 Pet 3:7. This meant that the submission and love discussed in chapter 3 was introduced earlier. In chapter 2 I saw the command to submit to God-ordained authority (1 Pet 2:13–14), the call for servants to submit to their masters (1 Pet 2:18), and the example of Jesus submitting and suffering for his people (1 Pet 2:21–25). (This theme also shows up later in the book: see 1 Pet 3:14–18; 4:1–3, 12–19; 5:1, 5, 6, 10.) Perhaps I should have picked up on all of this earlier, but it wasn’t clear to me until I started my memory work.

Memorizing and Correlation

Finally, you will see the benefits of memorization when connecting passages of Scripture. (We call this process correlation.) By memorizing a portion of the Bible, you add it to the quick-access part of your brain. So when you are studying a different passage, your memorized verses stand at the ready to help and fill out meaning. If you’ve already done the hard work of understanding the (memorized) passage in its context, you are ready to connect the ideas between passages.

I commend the practice of Bible memorization to you. Through it, you just may gain insight on a book or passage that you wouldn’t get otherwise.

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Giveaway: Celebrating Knowable Word’s 500th Post

May 1, 2015 By Peter Krol

Knowable Word just had its 500th post, and I’m feeling a bit like the Egyptians giving all their stuff away to the fleeing Hebrew slaves. Except I don’t want you to leave. And I promise not to make you find your own straw. And I’m not hardening my heart against God’s promises to his people. And… Well, okay, it’s not a great analogy. I was just trying to come up with a biblical example of exuberant generosity.

Eric Angelo (2007), Creative Commons

The point is this: To celebrate the 500th post, I would like to give away a free Bible to someone who can use it. You can have your choice of an ESV Reader’s Bible or any one of the markup Bibles Ryan recommended.

In addition, four runners-up will each receive a free e-book of Knowable Word.

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is show us you’ll know how to use your new Bible. To that end, you’ll have to make observations of the text of Job chapter 14. I’m counting on the fact that you’ve never been in a Bible study on Job 14 and that you’ll come to the text without too much familiarity. Perhaps I’m just a sucker, though, and I presume too much, like the Jedi in that prequel episode everyone loves to hate.

Giveaway Rules

Use the form below (or click this link) to enter your observations.
You’ll get one entry in the drawing each time you submit the form, so please limit yourself to one observation per form. You may submit as many entries as you like.
The observations you submit must be on Job chapter 14, but you may use any English translation.
We reserve the right to reject any entry that doesn’t contain a legitimate observation of the passage.
Entries must be submitted by 12 noon (eastern daylight time) on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
Winners will be selected at random from eligible entries. One grand prize winner will choose either an ESV Reader’s Bible or one of our recommended markup Bibles. Four more winners will receive a free Knowable Word e-book (choice of kindle, epub, or pdf format).
To win the grand prize, you must have an eligible mailing address.
If the grand prize winner lives outside the United States, I’ll do my best to get you either the requested Bible or an Amazon gift card to buy your own Bible. If it’s not possible or reasonable to do either, I’ll give you a Knowable Word e-book instead and select another grand prize winner.
The winner agrees to make good use of the new Bible. If I catch you choking one of your debtors, I just might take it back (Matt 18:28).

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How is God Like Dessert?

April 29, 2015 By Peter Krol

Last week, Desiring God published a revised version of an article I wrote as part of the “Big Bible Words” series on this site. In the article, I explain the concept of glory in plain language.

Glory is value, beauty, importance, weight, or rank. It’s possible to praise something without truly glorifying it, such as the public official who smiles with his wife for the cameras but reserves fondest and truest affection for his nameless mistress. And it’s possible to glorify the wrong things — things unworthy of supreme value. But it’s not possible to fake glory. We can’t truly assign value to things we don’t value.

This revised article has more explanation and application than the article here on KW. You may want to check it out!

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Bible Stories are More Than Stories

April 24, 2015 By Peter Krol

Let’s not overreact.

When the Bible’s glorious message of grace penetrates the hearts of Christ-loving people born or bred in legalistic communities, the temptation to overreact looms large. Such folks draw attention away from rule-keeping and toward faith and mercy. They notice the largely narrative makeup of Scripture, and they revel in this greatest of all stories. They delight in the overarching narrative of God’s plan to rescue his people through the person and work of Jesus Christ. They bask in God’s redemption, and they get the shakes around too many precepts, moralisms, or “Be good like Bible character X” sermons.

Emily Raw (2008), Creative Commons

And they should do all these things. But please, let’s not overreact.

I’m guilty; I’ve done it. I’ve encouraged others to do it. And it’s dangerous, because something about this particular overreaction feels right.

For example, Sally Lloyd-Jones, who did the world a tremendous service by writing The Jesus Storybook Bible, overstates her case in an article entitled “Teach Children the Bible is Not About Them“:

When we drill a Bible story down into a moral lesson, we make it all about us. But the Bible isn’t mainly about us, and what we are supposed to be doing — it’s about God, and what he has done!

When we tie up the story in a nice neat, little package, and answer all the questions, we leave no room for mystery. Or discovery. We leave no room for the child. No room for God.

When we say, “Now what that story is all about is…”, or “The point of that story is…” we are in fact totally missing the point. The power of the story isn’t in summing it up, or drilling it down, or reducing it into an abstract idea.

Because the power of the story isn’t in the lesson.

The power of the story is the story.

It’s funny, because just a few paragraphs later, Ms. Lloyd-Jones states that she wrote The Jesus Storybook Bible in part so children would know “that — in spite of everything, no matter what, whatever it cost him — God won’t ever stop loving his children… with a wonderful, Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.” I’m not sure how that’s any different from saying, “The point of that story is…” Lloyd-Jones has a great story to tell, and she teaches an essential lesson from that story.

The simple truth is this: Bible stories have a point. Biblical authors had pastoral reasons for including some stories and excluding others from their narratives. They had educational reasons for including certain details and excluding others. (For a case study, see my analysis of the four feeding of the 5,000 accounts.) When it comes to interpreting the point of a story, we could be right or wrong, but we can’t say there is no point. We’re misreading the Bible unless we remember that “all Scripture is … profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Even when we keep Jesus at the center, where he belongs, these stories still have lessons, principles, and role models for modern readers young and old.

Everything written was meant to teach us, that we might be encouraged to have hope (Rom 15:4). Biblical narratives offer both examples and warnings to us (1 Cor 10:6, 11). Of course, these stories are about what God has done. But that doesn’t mean they’re not also about what God wants for us, through us, in us, or around us.

We can and should look for the author’s main point in each story, and we can do so without falling into the errors of legalism or self-righteous moralism.

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If you’re looking to buy an amazing storybook Bible for children and you click the Amazon link above, you’ll support this blog at no extra cost to yourself. This is not a legalistic disclaimer; just free grace coming from you to us so we can keep blogging about Bible study.

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Bruised Reeds and our Inclination to Presume

April 22, 2015 By Peter Krol

Sometimes we don’t observe well because we’re too familiar with a passage. Then we presume the meaning of a text and stifle ongoing curiosity. In the end, things stay the same, and inertia prevents vibrant application.

Sure, we can see the problem in others. Jehovah’s Witnesses miss the point of John 1:1. Theological liberals miss the mark on John 14:6. Many presume upon Romans 1:26-27 and mistakenly consider it irrelevant to the contemporary same-sex marriage movement.

But can we see the problem in ourselves? We, who claim to love God’s knowable word and who work to study it and submit to it? The deadening progression from familiarity to presumption to inertia is subtle enough that we usually can’t see it, even when we’re aware of the danger.

That’s why I decided to tackle one of evangelicalism’s most hallowed mottos: “Jesus didn’t break a bruised reed.”

The metaphor seems self-evident. “Bruised reeds are people who are broken and needy, people worn out and tired and exhausted with life’s circumstances, people neglected by the world, but accepted by Jesus.” We casually toss the phrase out like a trump-suit ace impervious to counter-play. No need to explain; just assert: “Jesus never broke a bruised reed.”

But have you considered why the reed doesn’t get broken? Look at the text carefully, and you might find you’ve become a little too familiar with this biblical phrase and perhaps have missed a profound point. In fact, hastily assuming the “what” may have obscured your insight into the “why.”

My point is not that we shouldn’t have compassion on needy people (of course we should). My point is that this biblical phrase means something other than what we’ve come to presume.

Check out the full article at Desiring God.

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Bible Study Isn’t Just for Yourself

April 15, 2015 By Peter Krol

Jonathan Parnell’s beautiful piece reminds us that we don’t read the Bible for ourselves alone. We read and study for our children, for the watching world, and for future generations.

The goal of Christian maturity is not merely that I might get along better in life, but that I might, being glad in the glory of Jesus, love more like Jesus did. The aim behind Bible-reading, after all, is not some kind of black-hole holiness — that theoretical moralism that envisions character in isolation from others — but rather, that we might learn how to roll up our sleeves for the people God has placed in our lives. In other words, we don’t just read the Bible to read, we read it to walk.

Check it out!

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