Weekend Resource: Do you know how to use Bible Study Methods?
Confession from a recovering methods addict
I have long been fascinated with methods. They seem to promise results if you follow steps 1 through 3.
Problem is, they are powerless in and of themselves. Methods can not produce or sustain the hunger required to follow the methods diligently. Methods can not unlock the scriptures in a heart-changing way. Methods can help us gain a sort of knowledge, but not a relationship with Christ. In short, methods alone lack the ability to deliver on their promises. Standing alone, they are a futile means to reaching God.
Am I alone, or have you suffered from the futile methods-addiction as well?
Our hope is not in Bible Study methods.
Our only hope is in the Father, who by His Holy Spirit, teaches us and conforms our hearts by the truth to become more like Jesus Christ. Bible study methods that are divorced from such a hope in the Trinity will fail. Bible study methods are but a means of grace, but never the focus or power of our Christian life.
In light of that, here are 3 ways to use methods:
1. Bible Study Methods ought to be used to aid
Methods can be used to add structure to quiet times. Examples of the methods of other men may inspire us to dedicate ourselves to feeding on God’s Word more consistently. But remember, methods are to be an aid. Don’t use them to make yourself feel guilty for your lack of structure. Don’t force yourself to use a method that does not actually help or fit the learning style God has given you.
2. Bible Study Methods ought to be used by the hungry
Methods can only help if we are already feeling famished in the soul, desiring intimacy with God in His Word. Do not be mistaken, the methods can not produce hunger or desire in our heart. That is God’s work. God will do that work in your heart through prayer and His Word, but He doesn’t require a method for the Holy Spirit to work while you are in the Word.
3. Bible Study Methods ought not to distract us from the Holy Spirit’s work
Don’t get so tangled in the method that you can no longer hear the Holy Spirit say, “Read a little further today,” or “Stop, you need to meditate on that point.”
Don’t get so tangled in the method that you think the method is what teaches you, or that you are teaching yourself. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, teaching us spiritual truths that natural man can not comprehend (1 Cor 2:9-16).
Weekend Resource: AW Pink’s Study methods
In context of all of the above, here are AW Pink’s study methods. Don’t have enough time to follow them yourself? Don’t be discouraged. Instead, let them be a testimony to blessings and faithfulness of God. See the theologian, but also see that his knowledge was not self-concocted, but granted to him by the Holy Spirit from years of faithful study. Bottom line: God will be faithful to reward those who come to Him in His Word. AW Pink is an testimony to that. Focus on the sureness of God’s faithfulness to reward those who seek Him, praying that truth sink will into your heart and draw you to invest time in His Word.
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Thanks for your openness, Daniel, and your advice.
It is a shame how often Bible study or activities of the church rely on structure at the expense of following the Spirit’s lead, and whether methods are our particular weakness or not, I think there is always the danger of prayer time, Bible reading, or any other supposedly spiritual endeavor becoming a ritual of the mind and body, not an act of our spirits hungering for the Divine Spirit.
This line is a wonderful one to remember: “Our only hope is in the Father, who by His Holy Spirit, teaches us and conforms our hearts by the truth to become more like Jesus Christ.”
He is truly a wonderful Teacher and Counsellor!
Ruth, there truly is a danger in making a relationship routine. The danger stems from losing intimacy.
Appreciate you stopping by!
[...] buffet of Bible reading and memory plans, plus some “how-to” heavy artillery. Remember, our hope is not in the methods. But they are tools nonetheless. There’s value in having a plan to follow when reading the [...]