What to Look For When Studying the Bible
I have a few early recollections from my life as a new believer in Christ after my salvation at age 15. One was (and still is) a passion to know God and Jesus more and more each day. From day one, my heart has been set on that one desire. I want to know Him.
A second early and ongoing recollection is a popular method to know Him while reading and studying the Bible: Look for SPECs in the Bible. That is,
S – Sins to avoid
P – Promises to claim
E – Examples to follow
C – Commands to obey
Does anyone see anything missing from that list? I ask because a few years ago a Christian leader sent out this SPEC list and asked if anyone in the email group would add anything to that. I responded, “I’d just add … What does the passage teach about God?”
His response; “Oh. Correct. The Bible isn’t just all about us, after all. It’s about God.”
Don’t get me wrong. The Bible is full of awesome SPECs. But don’t stop there. It’s just that knowing God more is possible from studying the Bible with a different lens. Why did it take decades for me to realize that? SPECs are great milk. And we are to desire the sincere milk of the word. So, nothing wrong with that. But the meat is what the Bible teaches us about God and what His plan is and where He is heading (which is playing out around us).
Here’s a launching pad in the quest to know God more: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. (2 Pet 3:18)
Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was this: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: (Eph. 1:17)
I will say that in these last days, believers are starving to know God better. And many don’t realize that they don’t know Him very well because of anemic Bible study and teaching. We know when we’ve been fed meat… from Bible studies and sermons that point to God and Jesus Christ and their awesomeness. That kind of preaching and teaching is soul-fulfilling, but is largely missing in this day. Why? Because we’ve been conditioned to focus on us (sins we should avoid, promises we should claim, examples we should follow, commands we should obey).
How do you know if you’re living on milk and not meat? If your choice Bible study and teachings cherry pick through the Bible (SPECs), and you’re still not satisfied with your spiritual life. Then you assume you need an infusion of the right verses. You beat yourself up for not finding or fully grasping those sins to avoid, promises to claim, examples to follow or commands to obey.
Grace, people. Grow in your knowledge of God. Look for Him and His ways and His marvelous, sovereign path in the Bible. See how He outlined Christ’s first and second coming all through the Old Testament. Study a book of the Bible looking for Him and what the Bible teaches about Him. Experience shows, if you know Him better, you’ll automatically love Him more and obey Him more willingly—in gratitude for His awesomeness in revealing Himself to you in His word. You get the same spiritual results from being filled with His Word (Col 3:16) as being filled with His Spirit (Eph. 5:18-19). You want more of Him? Get more of Him in His word. Look for Him there. He will reveal Himself to you if you seek Him.
R&J Shee