"I'm not a preacher. I haven't been to Bible college or seminary. How can I read and study the Bible profitably?" You can, because you don't need to do it on your own.

From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part two of a series. Read part one.

Editor's note: Thousands of people around the world have benefited from our Bible Reading Kit, which is available for downloading in English, Russian and Spanish. One of the resources in the kit is called More Precious Than Gold: How to Read and Study the Bible Profitably. As an encouragement to our readers, we are presenting this resource in the five articles of this series. 

The Believer's Duty & Privilege

We noted in the first installment of this series that Scripture makes it clear that every believer has a God-given duty to read and study the Word of God for himself. God's Word is indeed more precious than gold. The Bible is the Christian's great treasure, and the Christian's spiritual food.

We also noted that it is not only a supremely good thing to read and study God's Word. It is also a supremely dangerous thing to neglect it. The Christian who neglects the Bible will not grow spiritually, and will be more easily deceived. Reading the Scriptures is your defense against being misled, and a safeguard for the church.

How To Approach the Bible

However, you may be saying, "But I'm not a preacher. I haven't been to Bible college or seminary. How can I read and study the Bible profitably?" You can, because you don't need to do it on your own. If you are trusting in Christ alone for salvation, God the Holy Spirit - the Author of all Scripture - lives within you. God will guide you, if you ask Him, rely on Him, and submit to Him.

As you study the Bible in reliance on the Holy Spirit, you need to always remember the nature of the Book. 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us that the holy men of God who wrote the sixty-six books of the Bible were "moved" - literally, in the original language, driven - by God to write the very words of Scripture. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God" - literally, "is God-breathed". In other words, God spoke the very words that were written. God the Holy Spirit is the Author of every book and every word of the Bible.

The Book written by God - the only supernatural Book - bears the attributes of God. Since God is infallible, His Word is infallible. Since God cannot lie, His Word is inerrant. Since God is not double-minded, His Word contains no paradoxes or contradictions. And because the Bible alone is God's Word, you cannot treat it as just another religious book. The Bible is not the thinking of man, but revelation from God. You will not find its message anywhere else.

Since that is true, the proper interpretation of Scripture requires illumination by the Author. That will be the focus of our next article.

Next: Get Under the Bible's Authority

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