Know God

How do you read the Bible for your own benefit, but also with an aim to bless and encourage others?

The first thing I try to do is to remember that Bible study isn’t an academic exercise. It shouldn’t be something I do because I need to read my Bible every day or I’ll go to Hell when I die. It also isn’t something I do because that’s what Christians do. And I don’t read because it is the current Christian fad in my circles.

I do think there is a place for disciplined Bible study when a person needs to create a habit of daily Bible study because he wouldn’t read at all otherwise. But that’s a basic training sort of thing, not something mature Christians should need to do for themselves.

That’s what Bible study shouldn’t be, so I’m avoiding that. But what should it be? Bible study should be the time I meet with God to hang out and talk. I know that sounds pretty informal, maybe even trite, but the Bible says God calls us friends (Jn 15:14) and I think that’s the attitude and relationship we should develop as we live in front of Christ. He is our Lord, but he is also our best friend. He is our savior, redeemer, and our relationship is very personal. So, I read my Bible to meet with God.

Some things I’m looking for when I read: who is the one I am worshipping? (Notice that reading is worship) I want to know about God. In this sense, my Bible reading is for information. I want to know all about him. I want to know about his nature, his character, the kinds of things he likes and doesn’t like. But I don’t just want to know about God, I want to actually know him. I want to know him because he wants to be known (Jer 31:33-34) and because I want to learn to think like he thinks and act like he acts. JI Packer has a wonderful book called, Knowing God. It’s a book everyone ought to read. Another book along these lines is Pursuit of God, by AW Tozer. Both these books talk about knowing God. That’s my main goal in Bible study: knowing God.

The second thing I’m looking for in Bible study is, who am I in relation to God and his world? My personal inclination is to kick myself around about my failings and sins. But what I read about God in the Bible is that while he knows I’m a goof, he loves me anyway and in fact sent Jesus to take care of my sinfulness. I try to trust that information as true and to live accordingly. So, I confess my sins (those he reveals to me), accept his forgiveness, and continue on in my study of him with joy.

How I want this to look and feel practically is as if I’ve never sinned at all. If I believe that he has forgiven me and cleansed me from all righteousness, then I am clean and holy. If this is true, I need to think, feel, and act like it is true. I need to step up to the plate and hit the ball out of the park. I need to be who God created me to be and to do it with fervor and joy. Believing this, putting my faith in this, and trusting that this is true is one of my goals in Bible study.

Finally, and this gets back to the last part of the original question, I believe that God has us here as a group, a church. We aren’t alone. This means that as I work hard to become who God has created me to be, that will naturally and almost automatically (I think magically) spill out onto the folks God brings into my path. As I love God, I’ll love my neighbors. As I read I will notice passages of scripture that apply to me. In the same way, as I read, I will come across passages of Scripture that will help those around me. Sometimes this help comes as I serve people. Sometimes it will come as I give them counsel to live their lives in front of God and with their neighbors. So, I believe that as I study God, become like God and share his word, others will be blessed, edified, and encouraged.

I hope this helps.