I love to study and research all sorts of things. But my favorite topic is the Bible.
Why?
Because it contains the actual words of God! These words are letters to us.
And what amazes me the most, is that He didn’t have to speak to us. Ever.
But He did and He does. It’s only because He wants us to know Him. To have a relationship with Him. And so, He spoke His words to His servants, and He has preserved those words to this day.
And if those words were important enough for the God of the universe to have them written, then I need to know what they say.
I need to know the truth.
I do not want to be misled and just as importantly, I do not want to mislead others.
Therefore, I keep studying.
When I was younger, I was a Jehovah’s Witness. As such, I was discouraged from reading anything “religious” that was not created and produced by the Jehovah’s Witness organization.
I had countless numbers of books and articles at my fingertips for researching Bible topics, but nothing from outside sources. No Bible scholars. No variety of teachers.
Their reasoning for this restriction was to protect us from being led astray by false teaching.
When I eventually left the organization, I felt so lost. At first, I would only read the Bible and nothing else. And even then, I agonized over which Bible translation to use. I just did not trust human interpretations anymore.
Happily, God did not leave me in this condition forever.
After he led me to a new Church, I joined a women’s Bible study group, even though I was still hesitant to study anything other than the Bible.
Not coincidentally, the first study was on the book of James, written by Bible teacher, Beth Moore. This was just what I needed. First of all, James was exactly the place for me to start disentangling past teachings with God’s truth.
Secondly, Beth’s love for Christ and her passion for Scripture, lit a fire in my bones. She became one of my mentors and I have since completed several of her Bible studies.
She taught the opposite of what I had learned about studying. She said that the best way to not be misled, (besides prayer and Bible reading of course), is to have MANY teachers.
She also said that you should be weary of anyone who claims to have a new or original interpretation of the foundational truths of Scripture. (I know the Holy Spirit still speaks today, but if no other Bible teacher or denomination agrees with a specific teaching, then extreme caution must be used.)
Now when I encounter a new Bible Teacher, I ask myself the following:
- How much do they love Jesus?
- Do I sense the Holy Spirit leading them?
- Is their teaching Biblically sound?
- Do other teachers/scholars that I trust support their Theology?
- Do they try to fill in any gray areas with “man-made” details?
If you would like to study the Bible but do not know where to start, here is a list of some of my favorite teachers/books:
- CS Lewis
- John Mark Commer- He writes books on how to live like Jesus.
- Beth Moore- Any of her Bible Studies.
- Tara Leigh Cobble- “The Bible Recap” in the Bible app-to read the Bible in one year.
- Rick Warren- His book, “The purpose driven life” and his podcast.
My favorite Bible resources for questions and research are:
- NIV and HCSB Study Bibles- These have helpful comments on each page.
- Commentaries- Every scripture is talked about by a group of Bible scholars. I like to compare at least three when I have a question, to check for different viewpoints. My two favorites are the Old and New Testament “Bible Knowledge Commentary” by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, and the “Expositor’s Bible Commentary,” by Frank E. Gaebelein, as well as the revised edition.
- Online Lexicon-This is great for looking up scriptures to see their original Greek or Hebrew words (as a former JW, I find this so helpful).
- “Systemic Theology” by Wayne Grudem- This book answers many basic Theology questions and gives different viewpoints when appropriate.
- Got Questions.org- Every obscure question that I throw at Google has returned a Scripturally sound answer from this website.
- Christian Leaders Institute (CLI)- offers free college classes for Bible learning.
I am so grateful that God opened my eyes to the teachings of the entire Body of Christ. And I love “meeting” people who were called to teach with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I thank God for letting us be coworkers with Him and one another.
What are your favorite Bible study tools or teachers?
I would love to hear from you!