My Bible Study Tools and Tips

 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

This tells us that Christians are supposed to study the Word of God. There are many ways to study the Bible, and I wanted to share some of the tools and tips I have found useful in my Bible study over the years.

First of all, it is important to have a good Bible that is accurate and that you can understand. When I say accurate, I mean one that is faithful to the meaning of the original Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). Some of the Bible translations that I have found helpful are:

• NKJV: New King James Version

• NLT: New Living Translation

• NASB: New American Standard Bible

• ESV: English Standard Version

• AMP: Amplified Bible or AMPC: Amplified Bible Classic Edition

• NIV: New International Version

Have a good study Bible- more than one if you can. My favorite is the Life in the Spirit Study Bible, formerly called the Full Life Study Bible. Another good one is the Spirit Filled Life Bible. A popular study Bible is the Life Application Bible. You can also purchase a topical Bible that allows you to study Scripture based on topics.

A Strong’s Concordance that contains a Hebrew and Greek dictionary is probably the number one study reference to have. You can find nearly any word in the Bible and learn its meaning from the original Hebrew or Greek words. I also recommend owning a Bible dcitionary. The Vine’s Bible Dictionary is a good one.

Bible commentaries take you through the Bible verse by verse, with comments and explanations added by the commentary author to provide additional information and understanding. , The Matthew Henry Bible Commentary is a one volume commentary that is a good tool at a reasonable price.

To take your Bible study deeper, you can invest in the Hebrew/Greek Key Study Bibles by Spiros Zodiates, ThD. There is also his Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old Testament, as well as the Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament.

A good Bible Handbook can be handy (pun intended). I recommend Hayford’s Bible Handbook. Haley’s Handbook is also good.

The last resource I recommend is a book that tells the manners and customs of the Bible. This allows you to gain a better understanding of the culture and lifestyle of the times and places in which the Bible was written.

Now, I want to give you a few pointers for your study.

When you study, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and teach you. He guides us into all truth. Confess Ephesians 1:16-23 for divine revelation. Listen to God to speak and show you new things from His Word.

It is important to understand that the overall theme of the Bible is redemption. We should view what we read and study through the lens of God’s redemptive plan.

Study what you read in context. Don’t pull Scripture out of context and use it to make a doctrine. We get into error when we base our doctrine on one or two verses that have been pulled out of context. We must consider the verses around a verse to see how it was used and what the writer’s original intent was.

On any particular subject, take all verses on the subject into consideration to get a balanced, accurate, and true understanding. Once again, don’t base your beliefs on one or two isolated verses or passages.

It is important to know the original Greek or Hebrew meaning of what you are reading to get the true meaning. This is where those study aids I mentioned previously will be useful.

You can do character studies, looking at a particular person in the Bible in detail. You can also go into in-depth study of a book of the Bible or a chapter or passage. You can exegete, or break it down as you go through each verse. But, remember the original Scriptures were written without chapter and verse, so a topic can carry beyond the end of a particular chapter.

When we read the Word, we read out; we don’t read in. We read to get things out of the Word, but we don’t read things into the Word. When we make assumptions or read the Word based on a preconceived notion, we can twist the Scripture to fit what we want it to fit, which can lead us in the wrong direction.

I’ve noted just some of the tools and tips for good Bible study. As you take the time to study the Bible, God will lead you and satisfy your hunger and thirst for the truth of His Word.