What is the Best Way to Study the Bible?

Question

There are so many denominations of Christianity and interpretations of the Old and New Testament; what is the best way to study the Bible? What was "the Faith" in early Christian history? What evidence do we have of how they understood the holy scriptures? Judaism also has their interpretation; how do we know they are not correct?

Answer 1

Studying the Bible effectively involves approaching it with both historical context and spiritual depth. Because the Bible is a collection of books written over 1,500 years by dozens of authors across three continents, no single method will unlock all its meaning.

Here is a comprehensive approach, followed by an explanation of early Christianity and its connection to Judaism.

The Best Way to Study the Bible

The best way to study the Bible uses a combined approach known as the Historical-Grammatical Method and the Theological/Spiritual Application.

1. The Historical-Grammatical Method (What it Meant Then)

This method focuses on the original meaning of the text to the original audience.

1. A. Context is King: Understand the historical context (who, when, why it was written) and the cultural context (customs, geography, politics).
2. Example: To understand the book of Amos, you need to know he was a shepherd from the Southern Kingdom (Judah) preaching a message of judgment against the wealthy Northern Kingdom (Israel) during a time of prosperity. Without this context, his condemnation of luxurious living seems misplaced.
3. B. Linguistic Analysis (Grammar): Study the text based on the literal, plain meaning of the words as understood in their original language (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). Use cross-references and a Concordance to see how the same word is used elsewhere in Scripture.
4. C. Literary Genre: Identify the genre of the passage. You wouldn't read Prophecy (like Revelation) the same way you read Narrative (like Genesis) or Poetry (like Psalms). The genre dictates the rules of interpretation.

2. The Theological/Spiritual Application (What it Means Now)

Once you've established the original meaning, you then move to modern application.

1. A. Christological Focus: A central principle for Christians is that all Scripture ultimately points to Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15–20). Always ask: How does this text relate to God's plan of redemption through Jesus?
2. B. Canon Focus: Understand that Scripture interprets Scripture. If a difficult passage seems to contradict a clear teaching (e.g., God is love), you must interpret the difficult passage in light of the clearer one.
3. C. Prayer and Reflection: The purpose of study is transformation. End with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to apply the discovered truth to your life.

"The Faith" in Early Christian History

"The Faith" in early Christian history, often simply referred to as Early Christianity or the Apostolic Tradition, was centered on the core conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah (Christ).

Core Beliefs of the Early Faith

The earliest expression of their belief, often cited in the New Testament (e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:3–5), was a simple creed:

1. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
2. He was buried.
3. He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
4. He appeared to witnesses.

This "Faith" was not initially a new denomination, but a Jewish sect that believed the promises of the Old Testament had been fulfilled.

Evidence of Their Understanding

Early Christians primarily interpreted the Holy Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament) through a fulfillment lens:

1. Typology: They saw figures, events, and institutions of the Old Testament as types (prefigurements) of Christ and the New Covenant.
2. Example: The Passover Lamb was a type of Jesus, the "Lamb of God" (John 1:29).
3. Apostolic Teaching: Their interpretation was guided by the teaching of the Apostles (the eyewitnesses) who explained how Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (e.g., Peter's sermon in Acts 2).
4. Oral Tradition: Before the New Testament was finalized, the Church relied on the oral tradition (the Gospel story and teachings) passed down by the Apostles, which was later written down (e.g., the Gospels).

Christian vs. Jewish Interpretation

The difference in scriptural interpretation between Christians and Jews is not about which group is "correct" in general, but about the identity of the Messiah. Both traditions revere the Old Testament.

Interpretation Focus	Judaism (Rabbinic)	Christianity (Apostolic)
Messiah	A future figure who will usher in a political/spiritual age of peace, rebuild the Temple, and gather the exiles.	Jesus of Nazareth who already came, died, and rose to establish a spiritual kingdom (the New Covenant).
Scriptural Lens	Focuses on Halakha (Jewish Law) and the continuous relationship of the covenant, often through historical and midrashic commentary.	Focuses on Christological Fulfillment; the entire Tanakh (Old Testament) is read as a prophecy and preparation for Jesus.
Old Testament Fulfillment	The Law (Torah) is eternal and binding.	The Law is fulfilled and superseded by the New Covenant established in Christ's sacrifice (Hebrews 8:13).

The question of which interpretation is "correct" hinges entirely on whether one accepts the resurrection of Jesus as the factual fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

1. Christian Evidence: For Christians, the primary evidence is the resurrection accounts, the conversion of the Apostles (who were willing to die for their conviction), and the rapid establishment of the Church as proof that God confirmed the Apostles' interpretation of the Scriptures.
2. Jewish Interpretation: For Judaism, the absence of the predicted Messianic Age (global peace, restoration of Israel) is proof that Jesus could not have been the Messiah, regardless of the claims of his followers.

The difference, therefore, is rooted in historical event interpretation, not just textual semantics.

Answer 2

The best thing you can do is make a firm commitment to nurture your relationship with God. There are many who know the words of the Bible but have no idea what love, faith, hope, mercy, joy, grace, peace, even life itself is at all. If God is truly your Father, then meet with Him every day. That means opening your day with His words. We eat breakfast to feed our stomachs, even before that we should feeding our souls with His words.

Indeed there are many theologically sound things we can do to understand what God is saying in the Bible, those are all good things. But unless that commitment is there those words will not genuinely fill your soul.

My devotional time consists of sitting in a quiet place and putting aside any distracting thoughts, and briefly just asking God to share with me His things today. I open Scripture and read an entire chapter. I then spend time in prayer, and conclude with a biblically sound devotional reading from others who read Scripture prayerfully too. As my day progresses I may at some point share what I've learned with others when appropriate, and I do continue in prayer with God throughout.

A critical part of that is doing it every single day, without fail. Have I been perfect in this? No, there have been a few days I've neglected Him in this, but that's on me, not Him. He's always ministering to me, but if I am not in His word regularly, richly, meaningfully, then I short-circuit that. This should help address your concerns about other religion's interpretations of things. Being well-versed in what those words say every day, day-after-day, will better equip you to see whether something is true and gracious or it is ungodly yet appearing perfectly fine.

One more thing. While this is one part of a good Bible reading regiment, spending time with others in healthy worship assemblies and in Bible studies is also very good, and you may even get into a much more in-depth study with expanded home groups or higher education academic settings.

Answer 3

Video Summary of Points of How to Best Understand the OT and NT Bible:

1. Start by reading the Old Testament Bible.
2. In concert with that, what will help significantly in reading the details, is to get an overview of the OT. This should not, or must not, be a replacement for reading the details, but a supplement, much in the same way that when we read a book, a Table of Contents gives us a heads up what we are about to read. Also, introduction for the chapter does further. So learning the OT timeline (aerial view of the OT) and understanding the order of events found by reading all of the OT narratives (e.g. Genesis, Exodus, Lev, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings...etc) and being able to summarize them from beginning to end in simple terms. Being able to walk someone through an overview of the OT narratives, chronologically, is a powerful starting point for proper exegesis.
3. Learning after that, the Messianic prophecies (prophecies of the Christ (Messiah))
4. Then the early Christian writings called the Ante Nicene Fathers (published mid 1800s CE) that span the time from late 1st century CE to early 4th century.
5. Learning Biblical languages (Koine Greek for NT and Biblical Hebrew for OT (Modern Hebrew can help in that effort))

A good understanding can be obtained simply by 1 to 3 above, but further study with 4 and 5 will have a powerful effect to make sure we understand the Bible the way the Apostles preached the message... #4 especially since the first few volumes of the Ante Nicene Fathers are those men who knew the apostles or the next generation and who spoke the same language (Koine Greek). Moreover, they were able to engage with them and ask questions to ensure they understood the message that Jesus taught his apostles and explanation of the Messianic prophecies like we read in Luke 24:⁴⁴ Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” ⁴⁵ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures..