Lesson Eleven
How to Study the Bible

How to Prepare For Bible Study:
1.	A Bible student should own a good Bible. 
•	By a good Bible, we mean a well-bound Bible that can be read without eyestrain.
•	We recommend the KJV.
2.	A Bible student should own a Bible in modern language. 
•	Some popular ones that can be recommended are the Amplified Bible of the New International Version. 
3.	A Bible student should own a good Concordance. 
•	The important thing is to have one that will give him a complete summary of all Scriptures on any one subject and that will trace any particular word through the entire Bible.
4.	A Bible student should possess a good notebook. 

The Spiritual Preparation Necessary for Bible Study:
•	A Bible student should be a born again believer. 
•	It is essential to have a persona acquaintance with the Author of the Bible if we are to understand His Word. 
•	The unregenerate man cannot understand spiritual truth. 
•	“For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, b the Spirit of God” (I Corinthians 2:1 1).
•	A Bible student should be fully persuaded of the inspiration of God’s Word. 
•	We must approach the Bible on bended knee. 
•	The Bible student must never put a question mark where God puts a period.
•	A Bible student must have a love for the Bible. 
•	To be a successful student of the Bible there should be a real passion to know the Bible.
•	A Bible student should pray for discernment. 
•	The knowledge of the Bible will depend upon the revelation of God and the mind of the student being illuminated by the Holy Spirit. 
•	Therefore it is essential that the student pray for guidance and understanding.
•	A Bible student should be willing to obey. 
•	If we are to know the Word, we must do the will of God.
•	 It is impossible to full understand God’s Word if we have a spirit of rebellion.
•	A Bible student must study regularly and consistently. 
•	To make progress in Bible Study, it should never be followed in a haphazard manner. 
•	There should be regular hours set aside f the study of God’s Word.

The Benefits of Bible Study:
•	Personal Faith: As we study the Word, faith increases.
•	 The source of our faith is what God has said and promised. 
•	“So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
•	A Sanctified Holy Life: There is a cleansing power in the Word of God. 
•	Moody made this statement, “The Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep from the Bible.”
•	 How true this is!
•	Preparation for Service: It is impossible to be a successful personal worker without being able to use God’s Word. 
•	God honors His Word, not the person. 
•	It is the Word that leads a soul to Christ, not just an argument. 
•	We must know the Word if we are to be soul winner. 
•	“And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
•	Power in The Ministry: If you use the Word of God you will have power in your ministry. 
•	The Word is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness.
•	Knowledge: There is no greater source of knowledge than God’s Word.
•	 A man who is a student of the Bible is a man of understanding and great knowledge.
•	Benefits given In the Bible Itself: Bible study will keep one from sinning against God (Psalm 119:11).
•	Bible study protects against false doctrine (Acts 20:29-32). Bible study assures joy (Jeremiah 15:16).
•	Bible study gives peace (Psalm 85:8).
•	Bible study gives power over the evil one (I John 2:24). 
•	Bible study is a source of answered prayer (John 15:7). 
•	Bible study gives wisdom (Psalm 119:98, 100, 130). 
•	Bible study makes one complete (II Timothy 3:16-1 7).
•	The importance of Bible study cannot be over estimated. 

Some Rules for Bible Study:
1.	A Born Again Experience: Bible study is a discerning search for spiritual truth. 
•	Men cannot receive this spiritual truth by their own innate wisdom. 
•	Spiritual truth only comes through faith, spiritual discernment and revelation.
2.	Preparation: Heart searching should precede Bible searching. 
•	Do not rush into God’s presence and out again without taking time to free your mind of distractions to search you soul and to sense the nearness of God. 
•	Try to be alone and uninterrupted.
3.	Normal Interpretation: In Bible interpretation we should use this principle, “when the plain sense makes good sense we should seek no other sense.” 
•	A passage should be taken literally unless the context shows that it is to be understood otherwise.
4.	Contextual Consideration: A text without a context is a pretext. 
•	Each word must be evaluated in its usage in the sentence. 
•	A sentence must be considered in the light of the paragraph. 
•	A paragraph must be studied in its relation to the chapter, the chapter to the entire book. 
•	We may go one step further and consider the Bible itself in its relation to all knowledge, whether spiritual or secular.
5.	Triple Approach: A text of Scripture may have a threefold interpretation. 
•	Its primary meaning; its spiritual meaning as applied to our lives; and its symbolic or prophetical meaning. 
•	An example of this may be given in reference to the messages addressed to the seven churches in Revelation chapter one and two:
•	There is the primary interpretation in the description of the churches existing in that day and the exhortations given.
•	There is the spiritual application as we apply these messages to our own hearts.
•	There is the prophetical interpretation as we trace Church history by means of these churches, each one describing a definite period in church history.

Lesson Eleven
Self Help Test

1.	Give THREE benefits of Bible study.
2.	Give THREE rules for Bible study.

3. Explain what is meant by the triple approach to Bible interpretation.