What To Do When You Realize You Don’t Know Your Bible
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Quick, the pastor just asked everyone to turn to the book of Amos chapter 2!
As you frantically flip through your Bible pages do you wish you knew your Bible better?
By the time you have found one passage, you are frustrated to discover they have already read it aloud and moved on to the next passage.
Discouraged, you slump back and don’t even try again.
If you are like most Christians, you will have encountered a moment that made you wish you knew your Bible better than you already do.
When You Know You Don’t Know Your Bible
Growing up, I proudly thought I knew my Bible well. Honestly, I just knew Bible trivia well. But as I grew older, God started to reveal to me that I didn’t know my Bible as well as thought I did.
Our church’s pastor during my high school years did much to demonstrate what Biblical knowledge and wisdom looked like as he diligently taught from God’s Word. Then I went away to a Christian summer camp and got to met some seriously grounded Bible teachers who had Bibles that were falling apart from the hours spent in them. Finally, I was invited to join in conversations with other Christians who had a far better grasp of their Bibles than I did.
Suddenly, my Bible trivia knowledge seemed weak. Gradually, I found myself longing to know my Bible. And this time I wanted to actually know my Bible, not just know stuff about it.
Whether you grew up in church like I did and have a good working Sunday School knowledge of your Bible or you never opened a Bible at all, at some point we each hit a place where God demonstrates to us how little we really know His Word.
What To Do Once You Know You Don’t Know Your Bible
Personally, pride makes it hard to even admit that I don’t know something, even something insignificant. My pride takes a serious blow when I realize that I don’t know God’s Word nearly as well as I want to.
However, if we are willing to push past our pride, God will help us learn from the Bible in a whole new and wonderfully personal way!
Below are some practical steps to grow in your true knowledge of the Bible.
Know What You Do Know
Okay, I know that sounds weird but take a day or two and write out an outline of what you do know about the Bible. If it only takes you five minutes because you don’t know anything, that is okay. If it takes you a week, that is okay too!
Either way, it is good to catch a glimpse of what you do know. Realize that you have already started this journey of knowing your Bible. Also, see if there is a pattern for what you remember from your times of Bible study.
Maybe you will begin to notice how you tend to stay only in the Gospels. Perhaps you find yourself just jumping around verse to verse with no cohesive overall idea of the context behind the verses your read. Whatever patterns you find can help you see where you might need to head from this point.
Learn what you are learning so you can get an idea where to go from there! 🙂
Get the Bird’s Eye View
Next, take a week or so and focus on learning your Bible. Learn how it is set up. Memorize the order of the books of the Bible! Flip through and discover what tools your Bible offers you. Some common resources in Bibles that you can check your Bible for include the index, the concordance, the maps, and the cross reference sections.
If you don’t have a Bible yet or don’t find the Bible you currently are using filled with study tools, I recommend you check out the ESV Study Bible
Perhaps you are wondering why it is important to take time out to gain such a familiarity with your own Bible?
Well, we would never ask our kids to learn to read before they had learned the basic alphabet. So why are we trying to learn the deep, beautiful story of the Bible before we have tackled the most basic aspects of learning the layout of our own Bible?
Learning the layout of my own Bible really was just a next logical step once I started thinking about it more!
Start From The Beginning, But Not Genesis…
Okay, I love Bible reading programs. I really do. My only problem is that most of them take you straight through the Bible which means you are going to hit some pretty tedious books of the Bible right off the bat. (Leviticus, I am looking at you!)
Instead, I would recommend that you pray and pick an easier to study book of the Bible to begin with. And if you are going to start with a reading program, can I recommend that you please start with one that focuses on the New Testament before you make the commitment to wade through the Old Testament?
Pray and ask God to show you where He would like you to be studying. Recently, God placed on my heart to study the book of Jude. I had seriously never given Jude more than a glancing read. However, now God is using that short little book to speak volumes to me about who He is and what He wants from me at this point in life.
God just might have a surprising book of the Bible waiting for you to study and discover on a whole new level too!
Learn How To Learn Well
Okay, now that you have a book of the Bible pinpointed for study, you will want to find some resources to help you learn how to study that well.
Of course, I recommend first and foremost, that you just read the passage that God is calling you to study in depth. Read it over several times on different days. Encounter the passage and let it simmer in your mind as you go through your day.
Next, I highly recommend that you at the very least grab some highlighters and mark up your Bible passage to help you emphasize the areas of importance.
Finally, I would suggest that you grab a notebook and jot down what you are learning and the date. Share what God is revealing about Himself through this passage. Describe how this passage seems to be relevant to your life or how you could apply it to your life.
If you want some great books that will train you how to study your Bible like a pro, I strongly suggest that you check out His Word Alone
Target Some Main Points
Realize you won’t learn everything from your first time studying a book of the Bible. Instead, pray and seek out a few main points to draw from the portion of the text you are reading.
Often, when I am actually studying a section, I will find a point really being highlighted and made large to me. Then the next time I read the same text, I will be totally shocked by what I missed because a whole different point will be prominent to me.
Usually, this happens when I go through different seasons and shifts in life. God uses the same passage of Scripture to convict and teach me in different ways as I move through life.
Find A Group
Okay, if you are anything like me, you will start out strong studying your Bible but as time wears on, you falter in that commitment. Suddenly, you realize whole days or even weeks have passed since you read your Bible.
If you are studying your Bible without any outside encouragement, it will be easy to drift away from a good habit. (Believe me, I know!!) Because of this, I recommend that you prayerfully seek out a friend or group of friends from your church. Ask them to help hold you accountable. Perhaps even start a formal Bible study group so you can consistently study God’s Word together.
Just find that one person who will be in your corner encouraging you as you journey on in your quest to learn from God’s Word!
Keep On Studying
Honestly, the more a Christian learns from their Bible, the more they will realize they have more to learn! While you might get better at your Bible trivia game, you will always find that God has more to reveal to you in the Bible. Studying the Bible is a life long endeavor.
If you are feeling discouraged that you don’t know as much as the pastor in your church, rest assured that he also is longing to know his Bible better too!
Don’t let someone else’s greater amount of knowledge discourage you from keeping on in your study of the Bible.
Another Resource To Consider
Seamless
While this course is pricey, it is a wonderful introduction to the entire story of the Bible. Far and away this has been the favorite of the Bible study group I am a part of. Mainly, we loved learning from this series because it tied the Bible together and made it possible for us to see the big picture of God’s love for us.
Your Turn
When was a time that left you feeling inadequate in your knowledge of the Bible?
How have your Bible study habits looked in the past? Is there some goals you would like to reach as you study the Bible in the future?
What helps you stay motivated to study God’s Word on a regular basis?
Please take a few minutes to share this with your friends so you can be encouraged to study and learn God’s Word together!
Thanks for stopping by!
