Call Us: 423 661-4734 | Email: requests@comeandreason.com      
8 Steps for Successful Bible Study

8 Steps for Successful Bible Study

I try to study the Bible but find it difficult to understand and confusing. Can you give any suggestions on how to study the Bible?  


Great question and here are 8 simple principles to understanding the Bible:

  1. We must start with a humble heart/mind recognizing our dependence upon God to reveal Himself to us and enlighten our ability to understand. We by our own imaginations, ingenuity, or abilities cannot “discover” God. But thankfully we don’t have to. God has revealed Himself to us and therefore it is our privilege to “find” Him when we search for Him with our entire heart (Jer 29:13).
    • The error here is having an arrogant heart believing we can with our own innate abilities “figure” out God and His purposes or study Him in a lab like a science project. We cannot, but we can learn and understand what He has revealed.
  2. We must exercise our reasoning ability (Isa 1:18, Romans 14:5, Heb 5:14) and evaluate the evidence God has provided.
    • The error here is in diminishing reason and suggesting we just take Scripture as it reads and not ask questions or think it through. Those who suggest we take it just as it reads do so because they hold to positions that are not reasonable and will fall apart if the student of the Word were to engage His God given reasoning abilities and think about the meaning of the text.
  3. We must determine what the scripture says, then after determining what it says we must ask, “what does it mean?” and “how does it apply to my life?”
    • The error here is closely linked to the “not reasoning” error and is such statements as “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” But the student can only be benefited by understanding the meaning of the Word of God, not by mere hearing it.
    • “Merely to hear or to read the word is not enough. He who desires to be profited by the Scriptures must meditate upon the truth that has been presented to him. By earnest attention and prayerful thought he must learn the meaning of the words of truth, and drink deep of the spirit of the holy oracles.” — Christ’s Object Lessons, pg. 59
  4. We must allow Scripture to define its own terminology.
    • The error here is in using human dictionaries to define Biblical terminology. This error is at the root of much of the false theology taught, including much of the penal models of atonement.

      Example – Revelation 14 in which the smoke of torment ascends “forever.” If scripture is used to define the meaning of “forever” rather than accepting the common dictionary definition we conclude that forever means as long as the person is alive. If however, we interpret the meaning of “forever” with human dictionaries we conclude this means for eternity of never ending time and conclude the wicked are tormented eternally.

      Whenever we fail to allow the Scripture to define its own terms we are vulnerable to error.

      Unfortunately, penal models don’t allow scripture to define words such as “wrath” “justice” “judgment” “vengeance” “anger” “death” and the like and instead insert human definitions to these terms. Our model seeks to define these terms based on God’s Word:

      Wrath – Romans 1:18-32 – “letting go” “abandoning” confirmed when Christ drank the cup of “wrath” and was “abandoned” by His Father at the Cross (Matt 27:46, Romans 4:25).

      Vengeance – The Penal Substitution Model (PSM) claims Romans 12:19 “vengeance is mine says the Lord” as evidence God leaves His methods of love and uses power to inflict harm. This idea uses human dictionary definitions for vengeance – but if we use Scripture to define vengeance we find something different:

      Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. 25 I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. Isaiah 1:24,25

      What is the vengeance of God? Turning enemies into friends – His vengeance is not on sinners but on sinfulness. He attacks and destroys sin! This is His vengeance which purges and cleanses the sinner! The greatest vengeance God can have on Satan is healing and restoring all those who trust Him!

      Justice – Bible definition is to do right in helping others, show compassion and mercy – no concept of punitive infliction of punishment, that is a human definition, which definition does PSM use? Here is the Biblical evidence:

      “Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice (tsadaq) to the afflicted and needy” (Psalm 82:3 NKJV).

      Wash yourselves clean. Stop all this evil that I see you doing. Yes, stop doing evil and learn to do right. See that justice mishpat) is done — help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows. (Isaiah 1:16,17 GNB)

      This is what the LORD says to the dynasty of David: ‘Give justice (mishpat) each morning to the people you judge! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors.’ (Jeremiah 21:12 NLT)

      ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Enough, O princes of Israel! Remove violence and plundering, execute justice (mispat) and righteousness (tsadaq), and stop dispossessing my people,’ says the Lord GOD. ‘You shall have honest scales….’ (Ezekiel 45:9,10 NKJV)

      The LORD is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you. The LORD is a God of justice (mishpat). (Isaiah 30:18 GW)

      “This is what the LORD of Armies says: Administer real justice (mishpat), be compassionate and kind to each other.” (Zechariah 7:9 GW)

      Death – We use the human definition and call cessation of biological life death – but Jesus, God in human form, called this “sleep” and Paul the apostle called this “sleep.” When God said, “in the day you eat you will surely die,” He was not speaking of “sleep.” He was speaking of eternal non-existence, when body and soul are destroyed (MT 10:28). If we allow the Bible to define its terms then we realize no one has yet “died” but all “sleep” waiting in the grave for their resurrection (either first or second).

      What does this mean? It means God has never killed anyone – put to sleep, yes, but killed no! Penal models utilize OT texts and God’s acts there as evidence of God “killing” and projects this as evidence He will, in justice, kill the wicked in the end. But such an idea exists only if we don’t allow Scripture to define itself:

      The wages of sin is death.  Romans 6:23
      Sin when full grown brings forth death.  James 1:15
      The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. Gal 6:8
      Sickness, suffering, and death are work of an antagonistic power. Satan is the destroyer; God is the restorer. — Ministry of Healing, pg. 113
      God destroys no one. The sinner destroys himself by his own impenitence. — Faith I Live By, pg. 58

      Read the Scriptures carefully, and you will find that Christ spent the largest part of His ministry in restoring the suffering and afflicted to health. Thus He threw back upon Satan the reproach of the evil which the enemy of all good had originated. Satan is the destroyer; Christ is the Restorer. — Medical Ministry, pg. 240
       

  5. We must identify God’s testable laws and require all interpretations to harmonize with these. These include the law of love, liberty, and worship as described in other blogs and my lectures and books.
    • The error occurs when we misconstrue God’s laws as imposed and when we hold to doctrines which violate God’s testable laws. Such as teaching God threatens or coerces with inflictions of pain and suffering and eternal punishment, rather than the Biblical position that sin brings its own punishment of death and God is working to save.
  6. We must harmonize the declarations of Scripture with the stories of Scripture
    • a. An error occurs when the declarations of scripture are not harmonized with the stories. Like using God’s thundering and threatening of rebellious Israel as evidence that God inflicts pain and suffering rather than harmonizing those words with the history of what God did, which was let them go, at their persistence, and the Babylonians destroyed them, not God.
  7. We must harmonize scripture and science
    • a. The error here occurs when Christians claim faith doesn’t require evidence and when scientists claim the Bible is a book of myths or allegories. God is the author of nature and His principles are revealed in nature. However, nature is infected with an antagonistic principle and cannot be rightly understood without the aid of God’s word. Science and scripture rightly understood always harmonize.
  8. We must require Jesus, God in human form, to be the lens through which God, His nature, character and all His actions are understood.
    • a. An here error occurs when we see the Old and New Testaments as separate or try to fit Jesus into the Old Testament symbolic system rather than seeing the Old Testament through the lens of what Jesus revealed and taught.

Try applying these simple principles and see if what was once mysterious doesn’t become clear and understandable.

Email me the blog whenever a new one is published.

Donate online, securely via PayPal using your credit or debit card (no PayPal account needed, unless you want to set up a monthly, recurring payment).


cancel recurring payment

 

Want to use zelle instead?
See how on our
Support and Donations page.

Upcoming Events

calendar

Testimonial Post Slider

Testimony 36

Thank you and may God continue to bless you as you share with others the intricacies of how we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I must share that you have opened a whole new world to me, and I have found tremendous healing through what you have shared in two of your books, “Could It Be This Simple?” and “The God Shaped Brain.” I praise God for what you shared, what I have learned, and how I have grown and healed! My prayer is that My Precious Jesus will be seen by others in the way I live, act, talk, etc. and they may be encouraged to know He is truly a GREAT God of LOVE, desiring that no one should perish! God Bless you in your continued endeavors to present Him as He really is!

Joleen H. GA, USA

 

Testimony 40

I was brought up in a different faith and have been petrified my whole life of God. I believed that I would burn in hell for eternity. When I was 12 I started pursuing the things of this world, but for the next 45 years the Spirit was always calling me, as I knew there was a God through nature. I could see the vast sea of stars in the universe and knew there was something bigger out there. Five years ago, through a Revelation seminar, I was blessed to learn about God’s character and government.

Then I found Come and Reason Ministries and have come under some extreme pressure when I speak about the ministry. One time a member sent me an internet article titled “Whats wrong with Tim Jennings?” I asked her what she thought of it and she said “I don’t know, I didn’t read it.”

I have always wanted to find out for myself the truth about God, so I stayed with the Design Law construct and have been liberated to understand the big picture. Once we consider Design Law, all other Bible stories and prophecies seem to fit perfectly. It is truly beautiful to see people grasping how God operates this Universe of Love and the liberation it has provided in their lives. It blows my mind to see how consistent Design law is with what our founders believed. I hear statements like “This makes so much sense.”

Tom W., Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA

 

Testimony 18

The Healing the Mind DVD set tarted me on a journey that has changed my relationship with our loving God more significantly than any other study, and brought me to your book and Bible study podcasts, which I now listen to daily, thanks to the availability of archived content on your site and on iTunes.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 33

I was invited over a friend’s house to see the “God and Your Brain” seminar today. I became [a christian] 36 years ago at the age of 19, but have struggled with the concept of God taking His ‘pound of flesh’ out on His Son to be appeased. Wow. Your seminar has been an incredible revelation and breath of reason and fresh air! I have your book, “The God Shaped Brain,” and it is SO eye opening. Finally, after 36 years enlightenment has come! Praise the Good Lord! What can I say, but that the Real Gospel is truly “Good News!” Thank you for your efforts in giving the Gospel a clear sound!

Paul C.,  Springfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 11

I would love to have a copy of “Healing the Mind” DVDs to have in my therapy office. I enjoy having clients check out materials to enhance their therapy experience. I have sat under Dr. Jennings’ teaching at an American Association of Christian Counselors convention and respect his work greatly.

K.B., LA, USA

 

Testimony 48

I just want to tell you how blessed I have been reading “The Remedy!” It has become a daily part of my devotional relationship with God. In it I have found a God of love and a God that loves me! The bible has come alive for me! It is the first time that I can say that I have felt hope fill my heart as I have read God’s word. This is good news I can share! Thank you, Dr Jennings! Thank you for your heart for others. I can’t put into words how this has set me free! It has strengthened my trust and love for God.

Jason H.

 

Testimony 29

Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

Melissa H., IN, USA

 

Testimony 55

I was born [into the church], then I left it for many years. 10 years ago, I came back, but I could not take the hypocrisy and the lack of answers to the missing pieces. I struggled, but I did not abandon my commitment to know the truth. God is leading me to the simple understanding of his relevance and I am relearning what the church taught me as a youth… that he loves me, that he has led me to a knowledge of him such as I have never known. He is using Dr. Jennings to connect the dots that are now so apparent and hiding in plain sight!

Dean P., Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 4

I’m a youth leader in South Africa. We as a youth group are currently using a lot of the material on the Come and Reason site. Since we’ve started using the material, our youth group has grown.

R. V. N., South Africa

 

Testimony 62

I would like to express my thanks to the C&R team for creating a platform from which people can learn to trust in God and grow. My life is a witness to the effectiveness of this ministry. Without believing the truth about God as you have shown, I don’t know what my life would be like. I had given up on God helping me with certain sins – it was all useless. Given that the scripture is clear and God is so good, how could I have betrayed him so many times? I was a yo-yo christian; spinning up and down. My faith and enthusiasm was driven by discoveries/threats that prophecy is about to be fulfilled. But when I watched your “Healing the Mind” seminar, it was like a light finally went on. I could see God had no plan to hurt me, the danger came from sin, and that He is working to protect me and strengthen me. Thank you for allowing God to use you. The message God gave C&R saved my life!

Antony N. – Hobart, Australia

 

Testimony 43

Two years ago I stumbled upon your book, “Could It Be This Simple,” and then found “The God-Shaped Brain” videos on YouTube, your bible study class, and the ‘Come And Reason’ mobile app. I shared your book with a friend and after nine months of showing love, patience, and kindness this person has been changed by the love of God, too. The same love that healed me, I now express to other women in tangible ways, such as to a Baptist woman with high anxiety and childhood trauma. She was extremely happy and relieved when I shared about the so-called “judgment of God” and burning in hell. She had no desire to serve a God that was so harsh. I have repeated the phrase dozens of times to her. “What we believe has power over us, but we have power over what we believe…”

This message that you are sharing has changed my life. I will continue to serve other women and bring this message of God’s healing love to their lives by sharing your books, YouTube videos, and The Remedy Bible app. Keep up the good work. Don’t be discouraged. God is doing a mighty work in and through this ministry!

Jill L., Midwest, USA

 

Testimony 52

Your unique way in spreading the truth is what we all need today. Most of us don’t recognize the contamination coming from all the lies and selfishness in the world. Because of our fear of death, we forgot how to live. Lies left and right. I was losing hope and faith, because of so many ideas that are always contradicting each other – so many questions answered by other, more complicated, questions – until I found your channel on YouTube.

You did not just give me answers, you also taught me how to answer new questions that arise in my mind. Now I see things differently. I see God’s mercy, grace, and Love everywhere, in spite of all the chaos that we all have done as humans. I don’t fear death anymore. Accepting the Truth and Love about God is truly a genuine Freedom from all the confusions, sufferings, selfishness, pain, and death.

I just wanted to say, thank you, sooooo much for revealing the real Remedy for our infected life. I have a new hope and now see the world in a different perspective!

Wheinny P., University Place, WA, USA

 

Testimony 58

I have been watching your videos in The Power of Love seminar and I must say these have liberated me and have improved my relationship with the Lord. I am no longer terrified of him as I was before following your teachings.

Thando N., South Africa

 

Testimony 44

We were given a gift of the DVD set, “God and Your Brain,” and we just finished watching it. The truths in this are so powerful and truly an answer to a prayer. We’re seeing hope where once we thought God wasn’t answering our prayers to be free of certain mindsets. He answered with these DVDs and we are hungry for more. Thank you!

Daniel T., Easley, SC, USA

 

Testimony 3

My husband is a pastor and I listen to your lesson almost every week. Thank you for helping me in my study life and to help me love the “real” God more.

C. F., NC, USA