5 "Dangers" of Bible Study

I am reminded that it is not good enough just to read the Bible devotionally, which we must do each day. Worse still we nibble at the text. We need to study it so that we get into the wealth and meaning of God's precious words. Don Carson put it this way: "Read the Bible Devotionally — and No Less Critically"

I like the following post I received from Logos Bible Software, a great study tool by the way. Have been using it for years.

Having said that, here is a warning of 5 "dangers" of Bible study from that post:

Okay, so maybe “dangers” is a bit strong—but to get the most out of your Bible study, you should be cautious about approaching it in the following ways:

1.     As an attempt to acquire mere head knowledge. Paul said that the ability to “fathom all mysteries and all knowledge” is, apart from love, nothing.

2.     As a means of getting on God’s good side. How easy it is to trust in our practice of daily Bible study or devotional time and not in the God of all grace.

3.     As something done only in isolation. Most of the Bible is written to communities of people, not individuals (e.g., Paul’s letters to the churches). That means that much of what we read has a corporate element to grasp and apply.

4.     As a means to hunt down sins in others. It’s often much easier to see sin in others than in ourselves. Jesus warns against this with the humorous imagery of a speck and a plank (Mt. 7:3–5).

5.     As a way to feel good about yourself. While God often gives us a sense of peace or joy after we spend time in his Word, our primary reason for reading the Bible ought to be to know and love him more.

A great book to help you in understanding the Bible.

This is a great book to help you understand the Bible better when you read it. Written by one of my favourite author and preacher, David Pawson, this is a really thick book covering Genesis to Revelation, costing about RM60 when I bought it. It is worth every sen! It is a compendium of eight separate volumes in the "Unlocking the Bible" series. Very very readable as most of it is a transcription of his teaching sermons. For e.g., before you embark on the Gospel of Matthew per your Bible Reading Plan for your journalling, read the chapter on Matthew in this book. It will set the context for a better understanding of the passages that you will be reading and journalling.

Unlocking the Bible opens up the word of God in a fresh and powerful way. Avoiding the small detail of verse by verse studies, it sets out the epic story of God and his people in Israel. The culture, historical background and people are introduced and the teaching applied to the modern world. Eight volumes have been brought into one compact and easy to use guide to cover both the Old and the New testaments in one massive omnibus edition. (Amazon Website)

Each chapter gives you a great overview of intention and meaning of a whole bible book. Often when we read, we take short passages, rather than reading a few chapters to understand the context of the passage, focussing on the trees and missing the forest. This chapters will give you the context to bring out the best in your reading.

I have given this as a book gift to all PJ North 1 Cell leaders in 2007. Time to take this out if you have conveniently left it into your bookshelf. :) 

I have asked Burning Bush to stock this book. Please check with Chee Beng.