It is my experience that most Christians are never taught how to do Bible study. Therefore, Bible study intimidates or confuses them. They don’t know how to do it or even where to start. In this article I am going to teach you how to do Bible study for beginners. This is a simple method that is suitable for young and old. In fact, it is all the Bible study method needed for most Christians.
This Bible study can be done with nothing more than a Bible and a notebook or journal. Then I will add to it one app designed to help you dig deeper into the Bible. This Bible study for beginners is a method anyone from third grade and older can do with ease.
Why Should Christians Study Their Bible?
There are four valid reasons for us to study our Bible.
4 Reasons to Study Your Bible:
- We are commanded to
- Bible study builds faith
- To have answers for life’s problems
- So we can teach our children and grandchildren
Reason One: God commands us to study our Bible
Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 Classic Amplified Bible)
This is not a command to Timothy only. It is in our Bible because it is a command to everyone in the Body of Christ. Notice the word used here is study and not read. There is a difference between the two that I will define later in this article.
Reason Two: Bible study builds faith
Bible study builds our faith. We are told in Romans 10:17, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (NKJV)
It is by hearing the Word of God that we get faith. This is why I incorporate reading the Bible out loud in my Bible Study.
Reason Three: To have answers for life’s problems
I am convinced God has put the answer to everything we need to know about our physical life and spiritual life in His Word. Why? Because He told us so in His Word.
As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
It is through the knowledge of Him we are provided with His great and precious promises. The knowledge of God, His character and attributes, are found in our Bible. This makes Bible study important for us.
Reason Four: So we can teach our children and grandchildren
Teaching our children and grandchildren is important to God. It was for this very reason God chose Abraham.
For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him. (Genesis 18:19 CSB)
God knew Abraham was a man that will teach his children the ways of God. In fact, God needed him to teach his children so that God could fulfill what He promised to Abraham.
Nothing comes from God without faith. We obtain every promise of God through faith. God even saved us through faith. (see Ephesians 2:8) We need to teach our children and grandchildren how to appropriate the blessing and promises of God for themselves.
How can we teach our children if we don’t know what the Word says?
What is the Difference Between Reading the Bible and Bible Study?
Wanting to know the difference between Bible reading and Bible study is valid. Is there a difference between the two?
Yes, there is a difference. Reading the Bible is simply that- reading the Bible. There are times you just want to be in God’s presence and reading the Bible is an excellent way to do this.
Or maybe you just want to enjoy God’s Word. You sit down and start reading for no more reason than enjoyment. For me, this is the time I want a good leather-bound Bible in my hand. The tactile feel is just as important to me as the Word of God when I am reading for the joy of it.
Bible study is when you get to know a verse or passage of Scripture well. The purpose of Bible study is to take what you read, examine it using personal observation and possibly Bible study tools. Then you apply what you learn to transform your life into being more like Jesus.
Without Bible study, your personal transformation will be slow or even nonexistent.
Stop Making the Church the Only Avenue for Learning the Word
There is nothing wrong with learning from your pastor and other ministers. Unless they are your sole source of Bible teaching. God did not design us to only learn the Bible from others.
God put His Holy Spirit inside of us for a multitude of reasons. One of them is because the Holy Spirit is to be our teacher.
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. (John 14:26 CSB)
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain in him. (1 John 2:27 CSB)
Rely on the Holy Spirit to do His job. God is always faithful and will always do what He says He will do.
A Beginner’s Plan for Daily Bible Reading
As a Christian, it is vital for us to feed our spirit the Word of God daily. This plan is simple and designed for a new Christian or for the Christian that is starting out for the first time to daily read their Bible.
Start by reading the Gospel of John. After that, go back to Matthew and read the whole New Testament, including the Gospel of John. After this, you will have laid a foundation that will allow you to understand anywhere you go in the Bible.
Bible Study for Beginners
Before we begin, I want you to know one thing: The Bible doesn’t contain the Word of God; it IS the Word of God. From the first verse in Genesis to the last verse in Revelation, the Bible IS God’s Word.
Therefore, you can count on it to be true and reliable. When the Word goes into a person’s spirit, it also becomes alive and powerful. This is the foundation we will build from.
For this Bible study method, you only need two things: a Bible and a way of taking notes. You can take notes manually using a notebook or journal or digitally using your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
The choice is entirely up to you. Later, I will tell you of different helps you can add to assist you in your Bible study.
8 Steps in the Bible Study for Beginners
- Pick the verse or passage
- Pray
- Read the verse or passage several times
- Meditate on the verse or passage
- Write down your thoughts concerning the verse or passage
- Write down your plan to apply what you learn to your life
- Do the plan you wrote down
- Share what you learned
This is all the steps to Bible study for beginners. Now we will go over each step one at a time. Keep in mind this takes practice and will not all come at once. The more often you do it, the easier it becomes. Also, the more revelation you will receive.
Pick the Verse or Passage
You can choose from your daily reading or a verse that interests you. Another good option is to choose a verse which contains a promise of God that answers a need in your life. It doesn’t matter how you choose the verse.
You can work on a verse or passage for a day, a few days, or even a week. The object is not how much you do, but how much you understand when you are done.
Pray
Every Christian endeavor must start with prayer, and this is no exception.
How to pray:
- Thank God for the Holy Spirit being your teacher and guide.
- Ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance and revelation as you study.
- Thank God for the revelation you will receive.
No complicated prayer. Just a simple, straightforward prayer. After you pray, stay aware of the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of you. It will take practice, but you will learn to recognize His voice.
You may also enjoy my articles:
Powerful Prayers to Transform You Into Having a Bold Life View
Pray Without Ceasing: The Meaning for You & How You Do It
Read
Read the verse or passage several times out loud. Reading out loud does two things. One, it forces you to pay attention to what you are reading. Our brain stops whatever it is doing and listen to the words coming out of our mouth.
The second reason is scriptural. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17 NKJV) One of the major purposes of Bible study is to build our faith.
If you can, and everyone with a smartphone can, read it in several translations, especially the Amplified Classic and The Message Bible.
Meditate
Meditate on the verse or passage. Meditation involves many things, and they are all fun. One of the ways to meditate is to paraphrase the verse into your own words. Write down your personal translation of the verse.
To meditate on Scripture is to mull it over and to dwell on it mentally. Think through each word in the verse or passage. You can also mutter or say it to yourself over and over. This is a surprisingly effective technique.
Just take your time when meditating on scripture. In the past, I used to write down the verse or passage on a 3×5 index card and carry it around in my pocket. Now I have it on my phone to look at whenever I want.
Write down your thoughts
Write down your thoughts and what you learned from the verse or passage. It may only be a sentence or two, or it may be several paragraphs. How much you learned is not important. What is important is that you learned something.
As you continue your Bible study over the years, these notes become extremely important. They will begin to mesh with other verses you study. They will also reveal how much more you learned the second or third time you studied that verse or passage over the years.
In writing your thoughts, if God spoke to you about anything while you are studying, write it down too.
Write down your plan
The primary purpose of Bible study is personal transformation.
We are told by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 CSB)
As you study the verse or passage, discover what God is telling you. Is there a command to obey? Maybe a sin that needs to be corrected? Or is there a message you need to share with another?
Whatever it is, write it down and then write a plan to accomplish what you have learned.
Do
This is the decisive step. Here is where many Christians fail. You need to do what the Word says. We don’t study the Word to fit it into our lifestyle. We fit our lifestyle into what the Word says.
Whatever the Word says, we do. Faith without works is dead.
But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22 CSB)
To hear the Word, read the Word, but not do the Word is deceiving ourselves.
Learn more about doing the Word in my article:
Obey Scripture to Release God’s Success in Your Life
The last step is to share what you have learned. You learn anything better when you teach it. The first place to teach it is to your family, especially if you have children at home. God places great emphasis on teaching our children.
Therefore, don’t depend on the church to teach your children. Teach them yourself and let the church just be additional teaching.
You could also teach what you learned in a Bible study or to an accountability partner. Just teach what you learn to someone else.
Advanced Bible Study Aids
Here are some additional materials you may want for your Bible study:
- A study Bible. There are many. My favorite is the Thompson Chain Reference Bible by Zondervan. I believe it is the best study Bible on the market. The reason I like it so much is that there is no commentary. It only has scripture references that allow you to follow the topic throughout the Bible. This way you allow scripture to interpret scripture instead of what a particular group or denomination believes.
- A Bible dictionary. This will give you general information about the Bible, people in the Bible, places, and customs. It is an excellent source of background information.
- If you like to do Hebrew and Greek word studies, then W.E. Vine’s Expository dictionary is an invaluable source of information.
- Otherwise download the Blue Letter Bible app for your smartphone. It will include all my recommendations except for the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. It will also include many more useful resources. You can find plenty of Youtube videos that will teach you how to use the app.
This is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy something, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. This is how I maintain my website.
Are you interested in the Thompson Chain Reference Bible? I do believe it is the best study Bible on the market today. This is the only study Bible I am aware of that has no commentary containing other people’s views or denominational views. It allows you to search a topic using Bible references only so you can make your own conclusion about what the Bible says.
You can see the Thompson Chain Reference Bible here on Christianbook.com
You can see the Thompson Chain Reference Bible here on Amazon
My favorite Bible dictionary is the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. I recommend this over the Concise Holman Bible Dictionary so that you can have the most amount of information available. Being illustrated helps you to understand and makes it fun to share with your children.
You can see the Holman Bible Dictionary here on Christianbook.com
You can see the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary here on Amazon
The Example
Let me give you an example of what I do with this Bible study.
John 3:16
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (CSB)
This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. (The Message Bible)
For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. (Amplified Classic)
Now I will break it down into parts so I can more easily understand what the verse is saying. I use my main Bible translation to do this. In my case, that is the Christian Standard Bible.
For – this is a function word that gives meaning or purpose.
God so loved the world – this is the reason or purpose for what God has done. It says world. That means everyone on this planet; good and bad alike. The Amplified says greatly loved and prized the world. Therefore, this isn’t a normal love. This is a great love for the world. If He loved all the world, then He loves me in the same way.
He gave – this is the result of His great love. God gave. This is agape love. A charitable giving love.
His one and only son – God gave up the only son he has for the world. Therefore, He gave His only son for me. Why would He do this? Abraham willingly gave his one and only son, too. Is there a connection here? (Then I take a note to study this further at another time.)
So that everyone – hmmm. Everyone? Good and bad? Mother Teresa and Hitler? Gandhi and Ted Bundy? That would be everyone. Therefore, anyone and everyone can do this.
Who believes – ahhh. I see now. The key is to believe. The Amplified Bible shows this isn’t a mere head knowledge, mental type of belief. It is a belief that causes you to put your complete trust in, to cling to (like a man clings to a piece of wood after a shipwreck), and to totally rely upon. That is a powerful believe.
In Him – of course, this is Jesus, the Son.
Will not perish – will not come to destruction. The Amplified also says will not be lost. Lost from what? It must be lost from the eternal love of God. Is that what hell is? Being separated from God’s love and grace forever?
But have eternal life – that is a forever life. But I know people live forever, just in different places depending on their belief (true Bible belief). Eternal life must be vs. eternal death.
My Plan:
Because God loved me so much, I must respond to His love in the same way. I will put my complete trust, confidence, and reliance upon God. I can do this because of the agape love He showed me. This is the way I can love God.
Then I must also love others in the same way God loves me. That will require Him to teach me and give me the ability to do so.
Therefore, I will: Love God and love others. This includes sharing with others how God has already loved them.
Now you have an example of how I use this Bible study method personally. Of course, you can get as deep as you want using commentaries and various word study tools. This is an easy Bible study for beginners. For many people, it is all the Bible study they need or want.
Feel free to take what I do and adapt it to however you want to do Bible study. The important thing is that you do some type of Bible study. When you do, you will be amazed at the gradual transformation of who you are.
The Challenge
I challenge you to make time today to start your personal Bible study. All you need is fifteen minutes a day. You can even take all week with one verse or passage. How long it takes doesn’t matter, just make it a daily practice along with reading a chapter a day.
Additional Articles:
This is an affiliate link. If you click on the graphic and buy something, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That is how I maintain my website.
Christianbook Distributors
This is my favorite source for everything Christian. I have ordered from them with great satisfaction for over 20 years. If you need it, they have it.
- Bibles: Every translation imaginable
Books
Commentaries
Concordances
VBC Supplies
Bulletins
Communion Supplies
Pastor Resources
Bible Studies
- Gifts
Music
Movies
Journals
Children’s Books and Bibles
Toys
Stuffed Animals
Software
Clothing
