The purpose of Daily His Disciple is to encourage women to know and live out the word, and equip them to invest it. Part of equipping women to be godly women is teaching them how to study the Bible. This is a passion of mine because I love God’s word, and I know the power it holds. Studying the Bible is an essential element in the life of the disciple of Christ!
I’ve written on How to Study the Bible, and Bible Study Tips, but now I’m sharing 3 questions to ask when studying the Bible.
2Timothy 2:15 KJV~ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Question #1 to ask when studying the Bible:
“What did the text literally mean to the people it was written to?” First, we need to establish the historical context so we don’t put our modern spin on it.
Read the scriptures with the original audience in mind to properly interpret and apply the Bible. Some great resources for that are Study Bibles and Halley’s Bible Handbook.
For example:
The book of Titus is a pastoral epistle, written by the Apostle Paul around 65 a.d. to one of his Gentile converts, Titus. Paul had left him in Crete to set up a church. Using my Blue Letter Bible app, I discovered that Crete was an island in the Mediterranean sea. It was a wicked place, whose inhabitants were known for being liars. I also found that the name Crete means “fleshly, or carnal”, which is quite telling.
Crete’s Mt. Ida was famous in Greek legend as the birthplace of Zeus. The island contained a hundred cities, with daring sailors, and mercenary soldiers skilled in archery.
Now that we know a little bit about Crete, we see the reasoning behind the instructions in Titus. This church was located in the midst of pagan ways and false religion. So the apostle Paul instructs Titus on selecting leadership and gives the character and conduct guidelines for the people within the church. Paul also exhorts them all to maintain good works as they eagerly await the Lord’s return.
The theme of the book of Titus is to establish sound doctrine and sanctify disciples who are set apart from the wickedness of their world.
It’s sound doctrine that counters false teaching, corrects wrong thinking, and promotes right living. It’s sound doctrine that saves the sinner and sanctifies the saint. And it's sound doctrine that establishes and grows a local New… Click To Tweet
Question #2 to ask when studying the Bible
“What do I learn about God in this passage?”
We must make a study of our God: what he loves, what he hates, how he speaks and acts. We cannot imitate a God whose features and habits we have never learned. We must make a study of him if we want to become like him. We must seek his face. ~ Jen Wilkin, Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds
God gave us his word so we can know him intimately and love him intensely. But if we only read it to see how it applies to our lives or to get some comfort or peace, we’re missing out. However, we will have a deeper relationship with God when we are intentional to look for Him in the scriptures.
Write down his attributes and actions, instead of just the principles and promises for you.
For example:
Titus 2:3-5 KJV~ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Using our second question for studying the Bible, we can learn so much about God from these verses in Titus chapter 2.
- God cares about the needs of women.
- He knows the areas we struggle with the most.
- He has a divine design for women.
- God knows we need relationships with other women.
- He is holy.
- He has a holy standard for his daughters .
- God cares about our husbands and children.
- He is serious about his word.
In three short verses, we have a better understanding of our loving God! Imagine how well we would know Him if we were always intentional about investigating the scriptures instead of merely reading them.
Question #3 to ask when studying the Bible:
“What does this text mean to me personally and how does God want me to apply it to my life?”
So often we open our Bible asking this question and none other. We read the scriptures to learn more about who we are, or to get our “nugget” for the day. For years I read the Bible this way, until I read a book called Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin. This book revolutionized my Bible study.
If you’re interested in studying the bible, but don’t know where to start, read Women of the Word. You’ll be inspired to increase your biblical literacy and knowledge of God.
When you’re studying the bible, first, get the historical context. Then see the character of God in the text. lastly, ask God how He wants those truths to change you.
God desires our transformation, not just for us to have information, and He is always teaching us something. We have to be humble, teachable, and faithful to put the time in studying the Bible to learn from Him.
For example:
Personal application we can glean from Titus chapter 2 is that since we live in a wicked world, we must have godly behavior and biblical discipleship so God’s word isn’t blasphemed. We need to be sober, walk in love, with discretion, purity, and obedience, for the glory of God.
This means we need to repent of any sin, remove roadblocks to victory over sin, and renew our minds with the word.
Application of the truths God reveals is vital to our spiritual maturity and stability!
If you have any Bible study questions, please reach out, I’d be glad to help. You can email me at dailyhisdisciple@gmail.com.
More on studying the Bible:
What Every Disciple Needs to Know About Sound Doctrine
How to Study the Bible in 7 Simple Steps
Bible Study for Busy Women~ 20 Minute Word Study
10 Simple Steps to do a Bible Word Study
3 Study Tips to Sweeten Bitter Scriptures
FREE Resource Library
I have created a resource library with tools for spiritual growth here at Daily His Disciple. It includes a 17-page guide to How to Study the Bible, with step-by-step instructions, study sheets, and much more! There are also bookmarks and scripture lists for topical study and memorization (including 14 Scriptures for a Sober Mind).
Simply enter your email address and hit subscribe to get the link to the resource library and the password.
In addition to the resources, you will get my blog posts in your email. I only post weekly or bi-weekly so I won’t flood your inbox.
If you are already subscribed to Daily His Disciple, just email me and I will send you the link and password!
Pray With Confidence
Studying the Bible requires diligent prayer. If you would like to grow in your prayer life, then check out Pray with Confidence. It’s a website for helping women overcome prayer obstacles, and I am one of the regular contributors. Here are some articles I have written to help your spiritual growth:
5 Things to Thank God for When You Don’t Feel Thankful
3 Short Prayers for Spiritual Stability
2 Things to Remember to Find Peace in Chaos
19 Bible Verses that Reveal the Will of God
Love this!! I am learning to become more of His Disciple!! Thank you so much for this post!
Praise the Lord! Thanks for reading! 🙂