How to Study the Bible Intentionally [Updated Edition]: Methods and Conditions for Effective Bible Study

by Reuben A. Torrey

This method of study is the most thorough, the most difficult, and the one that yields the best and most permanent results.

The second work to do is to master the general contents of the book. The way to do this is very simple. It consists in merely reading the book through, without stopping, and then reading it through again, and then again, maybe a dozen times in all, at a single sitting.

Write down at the top of separate sheets of paper or cards the following questions: Who wrote this book? To whom did he write? Where did he write it? When did he write it? What was the occasion of his writing? What was the purpose for which he wrote? What were the circumstances of the author when he wrote? What were the circumstances of those to whom he wrote? What glimpses does the book give into the life and character of the author? What are the main ideas of the book? What is the central truth of the book? What are the characteristics of the book?

A book that will serve as a good illustration of this introductory work is The New Testament and Its Writers, by James Alexander McClymont.

The first step is to get the exact meaning of the words used. There will be found two classes of words: (1) those whose meaning is perfectly apparent, and (2) those whose meaning is doubtful.

The only safe and sure method is to study the usage of the word in the Bible itself, and especially of that particular Bible writer of whose writings we are studying.

The second step in learning the meaning of a verse is to carefully notice the context (what goes before and what comes after).

The third step in determining the correct and precise meaning of a verse is the examination of parallel passages; that is, we can look at passages that treat the same subject – passages, for example, that give another account of the same message or event, or passages that are evidently intended as a commentary on the passage in hand.

With every verse of Scripture, we should not ask what it can be made to teach, but what it was intended to teach – and we should not rest satisfied until we have settled that.

After we have determined the meaning of a verse, the next thing to do is to analyze the verse.

There is perhaps nothing as important in Bible study as meditation. (See Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2-3.)

Bible Text Cyclopedia by James Inglis

Whenever you are studying any topic, do not be content with examining only some of the passages in the Bible that bear upon the subject, but find, as much as possible, every passage in the Bible that bears on this subject.

Topical study is frequently carried on in a very careless manner. Passages, torn from their connection and context, are strung or huddled together because of some superficial connection with one another and without much regard to their real sense and teaching, and some people call this “topical study.”

One suggestion remains to be made in regard to topical study: get further topics for topical study from your book studies.

It is especially useful to the minister for sermon building, but it is also profitable for all Christians.

Beneficial books in character studies are James Stalker’s Life of Jesus Christ, Life of St. Paul, and Imago Christi: The Example of Jesus Christ; F. B. Meyer’s Elijah and the Secret of His Power; and also other Old Testament characters, such as those in D. L. Moody’s Bible Characters.

Charles Henry Mackintosh’s notes on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are very good for someone who has had little experience in the study of types.

The thoughtful study of the whole Bible is a great corrective to this tendency. It would be good to have three methods of study in progress at the same time: first, the study of some book; second, the study of topics (perhaps topics suggested by the book studies); and third, the study of the Bible in order.

The reason why many get so little out of their Bible reading is simply because they are not willing to think.

It is simply impossible to get the most profit out of your Bible study until you surrender your will to God.

They see what the Bible teaches, but they do not do it, and they soon lose their power to see it. Truth obeyed leads to more truth. Truth disobeyed destroys the capacity for discovering truth.

Do not study the Bible for the mere gratification of intellectual curiosity, but study it to find out how to live and to please God. Whatever duty you find commanded in the Bible, do it at once. Whatever good you see in any Bible character, imitate it immediately. Whatever mistake you note in the actions of Bible men and women, scrutinize your own life to see if you are making the same mistake – and if you find that you are, correct it immediately.

“Oh, God, make me a little child. Empty me of my own notions. Teach me Your own mind. Make me ready like a little child to receive all that You have to say, no matter how contrary it is to what I have thought and believed before.”

we would do well to get down humbly before God and say, “Father, I am only a child. Teach me.”