How to Study the Bible - Week 7 Session 2

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. (1 Corinthians 1)

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Deuteronomy)

How faithful proclamation grows out of a life rooted in the Word—and how to share what you've found.

What We Proclaim and Preach

We proclaim the kingdom of God, the gospel, Christ crucified, the word, and Jesus. We do so for conviction, for conversion, for comfort, for edification, for transformation, for exhortation—all these things we've talked about. It's worth noting that Paul, in 1 Corinthians 1, calls this method the foolishness of preaching: "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."

It's fascinating that one of the greatest preachers in the New Testament and in all of Christian history said this is a foolish method. In that same chapter, the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, and this message is foolishness to those who are perishing. It has been that way for 2,000 years, and it is still seen as foolishness in our day for all kinds of reasons. To the intellectuals of the Greco-Roman world—and to the intellectuals of our day—it can seem fallacious and absurd. But it also seems too basic: we're going to preach Jesus, the word, the kingdom of God. That seems simplistic; surely there must be something more.

Churches That Abandon the Text

We should recognize that many churches do not do this. That's not to say there aren't many that do—there are a lot of great churches and great preachers in our area, and a lot of great preachers available online who are proclaiming the kingdom of God, the gospel, Christ crucified, the word, Jesus. But just as Paul warned Timothy, some heap up for themselves teachers who will tickle their ears.

Some churches give a message that, when it comes down to it, is just motivational moralism—be better, do better. Others, and this is appropriate to say on this night, preach a highly political message. They're declaring something and making disciples after something, but it's not disciples after Jesus. We can descend into a politicized "our kingdom come, our will be done on earth as it is on earth" mindset, and we have to be careful with that.

There are those who preach a sooth-saying message just to make people feel good—a "your best life now" kind of thing. Sadly, one of the greatest exports of American Christianity in the last 75 years has been the prosperity gospel, which is absolutely false and horrendously bad. I've had the privilege of traveling to many nations, including some whose poverty makes our poverty look wealthy—Mozambique, Swaziland, the Philippines—and the prosperity gospel has taken root in those places. It is one of the most atrocious exports of American Christianity in the last 75 years. Add to that all kinds of pop-psychology self-help, and now a whole bunch of woke nonsense.

This Is Not a Biblical Church

None of that is the kingdom of God, the gospel, Christ crucified, the word, or Jesus. It is not for conviction, for conversion, for any of these things we've talked about. I realize that's a huge statement, but in light of what differentiates a biblical church, such a gathering is not a New Testament church—it might have a 501(c)(3) incorporation, but it is not a New Testament church. I would suggest Jesus could write a letter to some of those churches like He did in Revelation.

We want to be careful that we don't find ourselves in that kind of church, because you can backslide into it. The church at Ephesus left their first love; the church at Laodicea became lukewarm. We can easily fall into those patterns. So we have to be on guard—search the Scriptures, be diligent to study to show ourselves approved, workmen and workwomen who rightly divide the word of truth.

Expositional Bible Teaching

My aim is to preach the kingdom of God, the gospel, the word, Christ crucified, and Jesus—to go through the Scriptures, taking the text to understand what it says, what it means, and how we ought to apply it and live it out. That is the inductive Bible study process I've described. Our desire here at Cross Connection Church is to be engaged in expositional Bible teaching, which simply exposes what the text says, what it means, and the application that comes right out of the text.

That's what I strive to do, what the other pastors here do, and what co-laborers I'm closely linked with—friends like David Guzik and others—endeavor to do: simply go through the Scriptures and share what they say, what they mean, and how we are to believe and live them out. So when it comes to how we proclaim and preach, it all begins with the same methods I employ every day, whether I'm studying devotionally, preparing to speak in the Philippines, teaching here on a Sunday, lecturing at the Bible college, leading a small Bible study, or interacting one-on-one. I am studying to show myself approved all the time, ready in season and out of season—to convince, rebuke, exhort, patiently teach, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, and to present every man perfect before Christ.

It All Starts With Devotional Bible Study

Our calling and commission from Christ is to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, to make disciples of anyone we interact with. How do we do that? It all starts with devotional Bible study. You have to make it a habit in your life. Start small—a sentence, a verse, a paragraph—and go through it slowly. I'm still moving slowly through 2 Thessalonians. This morning I read one paragraph from chapter 2 and wrote six or eight pages of my own prayers and thoughts in a small journal, spending the first hour of my day just thinking devotionally: what does it say, what does it mean, what is God trying to say to me at this moment?

We become incredibly dry in our faith if we don't do this regularly. We need the living water of the Spirit and the Word to saturate our lives, until we desire His words more than our daily food, recognizing as we'll see in Deuteronomy that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." So the proclaiming, heralding, teaching, and preaching all start there—spending time with God in His Word through prayer and careful reading, asking the Spirit to open our eyes to behold wonders from His word.

When a pastor or teacher drifts toward moralism, sooth-saying, or politicking, generally they left their devotional time long before that. Virtually every time I've counseled someone in a major crisis of faith or who has fallen into serious sin, I ask how much time they spend in the Word. "A little bit," which usually means none. So we always start there at the basics. One of the great dangers for pastors—and I've experienced this many times—is coming very dry because you get busy or tired and don't spend devotional time in the Word. That path always leads to dryness, and then it's not the fruit of the Spirit but the works of the flesh that become evident: complaining, murmuring, short-temperedness, divisiveness, gossip. If you see those things in yourself, it's an indication that you need to repent and return to the simple things of devotional Bible study.

Pressing On Toward His Purpose

It is a simple, continual process: go through the Scriptures, find the truths to believe and do, examine yourself in light of them, and pray and plan to obey with the Spirit's help. I told the story back in week two about the old man telling his grandson to put water in a basket—the water runs through, but the basket gets cleaner. God wants to wash us by the washing of the water by the Word, to sanctify and cleanse us to make us more like Him. It is a long process, and you will never attain perfection. Paul says in Philippians 3, "Not as though I have attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me."

Jesus saved you for a purpose: to be conformed to the image of His Son, unto glorification. We want to lay hold of the very thing He saved us unto.

Studying the Bible With Purpose

From devotional study, this moves into studying the Bible with purpose. When I prepare to teach in the Philippines, I study with purpose. I was given information beforehand about struggles in the Philippine church—the same old problems we hear in every church: backbiting and division. The book of Philippians is all about unity within the church, so over those three days we talked much about God's call to be unified in Christ Jesus. I looked at the Scriptures through the lens of that audience and their issues.

That's what Paul did writing to the Corinthians. He knew the issues they faced, and the entire book answers their questions with doctrinal, biblical theology—meat sacrificed to idols, a man shacking up with his stepmom; it's a fascinating book. As Ray Stedman said years ago, it could be called First Californians, because it fits California so well.

So we move from devotional reading into purposeful study—maybe to answer a question in your own heart about who God is or what salvation is, or a question from a family member, co-worker, or friend, or to prepare a small group Bible study. You're looking at the Scriptures with a focus, using inductive Bible study: observation, interpretation, application. What does it say? What does it mean? What is the direct application from the text? Highlight, underline, circle, use different colors, write notes, use a mind map—whatever method helps you put down what the text says, what it means, and what it means for us.

Proclamation Is Sharing What You Know

When you get to proclamation and preaching, all you're doing is telling what you know. All I know is, I once was blind and now I see. It might be as simple as that. Someone texted in: "If I'm afraid and embarrassed by my lack of skill to speak, and I don't proclaim the gospel to others, does that mean I'm bound for destruction?" No—for hell, no, as Paul says. I was reminded of the widow with her two mites. Jesus said she gave more than all the rest because she gave out of her lack. So you pray for opportunity: "God, give me the words to share."

There was a well-known Old Testament leader who said, "I can't speak," and God said, "I will be with your tongue. Who made your tongue?" His name was Moses—and we've got this big book called Deuteronomy he wrote, so he did okay. When we proclaim and preach, we are simply sharing what we have discovered in the Scriptures as we've mined them and dug out their treasures.

People ask whether I sense the Spirit of God moving most when I preach. Honestly, I sense God working by His Spirit more in my private study than in my public proclamation. As I look at a passage, He suddenly links it to another passage, or brings to mind something I don't remember reading. Without a doubt I sense the inspiration and direction of the Spirit more in my private study. Don't get me wrong—I love to preach. In high school I never thought I'd enjoy public speaking; I took speech and debate in 10th grade after sensing God might want me to teach the Bible, and I learned one thing: I was not a public speaker. God has a sense of humor. But I sense the leading of the Spirit more in private study than in public proclamation, and that's key.

Where Commentaries Come In

To proclaim and preach is only to share what you've discovered—through devotional time, purposeful study, inductive study, breaking down the text with tools like Bible arcing or the scripture marking on Blue Letter Bible's website. Where do commentaries come in? Sometimes you come to a passage, put down what you think it means, and then read someone like David Guzik, Charles Spurgeon, or Richard Melick, and realize, "I was right on—the same God who inspired the Word and spoke to Spurgeon revealed this to me." It's an awesome thing.

Sometimes you read a commentary and think, "I was way off." But then you read five more and realize either you were way off or they're all way off, because they all said something different. There are passages with many differing opinions. Ultimately we break the text down into its most fundamental parts and see how they relate, so we understand what it says, what it means, and what it means for us. This is not a postmodern literature endeavor where everybody gets their own idea about what it says—I have a real hard time with that.

Meditate on the Word Day and Night

Begin with devotional Bible study and develop a devotional life with the Lord. Make it a regular part of your daily life—morning, midday, or night, whatever fits you. David meditated in the Word day and night; may it fill your heart and soul. We do a lot of meditating on the news and social media, turning it over in our minds all day long—the elections, the elections, the elections—and that's what fills our hearts with stress, anxiety, frustration, and anger.

Fill your heart instead with the living Word of God. As Paul said in Philippians 4, "Whatever things are lovely, true, noble, of good report—think on these things, and the God whose peace surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." There's also a command there: "Be anxious for nothing." Some of you are anxious to look at the news tomorrow morning. Be anxious for nothing—that's hard. But Jesus says, "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Confidence in the Word

To share the Word, we need to trust the veracity, authority, sufficiency, and reliability of Scripture. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. The sufficiency of Scripture means it is enough for everything God needs us to know to know Him and walk in His ways.

Does the Bible tell you every detail about which tech products or car to buy, or every aspect of science and medicine? No. God has given us brains and rationality to discover truth—and all truth is ultimately God's truth. When we discover something amazing about the biomechanics of the human body, we're discovering something that points back to His glory. But the Bible reveals what God wanted and needed you to know so you might know Him and walk in Him. If we're going to live according to the Scriptures and proclaim them, we need confidence in their truth, authority, sufficiency, and reliability. And whenever we share something in the name of Christ, we always begin with the text: what does the Bible say, what does it mean, and the application drawn right out of it.

Let the Text Speak

The whole goal is to let the text speak. As John Stott, one of the great preachers of the 20th century, said, "It is our conviction that all true Christian preaching is expository preaching"—simply exposing what the text says, what it means, and what it means for us. We always go back to the standard: what does the Bible say?

One of the greatest compliments I ever received came in a biblical counseling class about 20 years ago. After lecture we'd break into small groups, and I was with five or six guys for 20 weeks doing a lot of Bible memory and hard work through a big book called Biblical Self-Confrontation. About ten weeks in, one of the guys said, "I really appreciate that every single time Miles shares something, he shares it straight from the Bible. He always gives a Scripture." I didn't even notice I was doing it, but that little statement has stuck with me for 20 years—just go back to what the Bible says. Like John Wesley, founder of Methodism, who was called a "Bible bigot," we should aim to be people of the Word. We won't all be Wesley, but we should aim to spend time with our Lord in devotion.

The Example of Nehemiah 8

If you make this part of your life, God will lead you to share what you've found—with your spouse, your kids, a family member, co-worker, friend, neighbor, or even a stranger. This expositional teaching, preaching, heralding, and sharing of what the Bible says, means, and means for us is not so much a style as our standard of proclamation.

One of the most beautiful biblical examples is in Nehemiah 8, which we went through last summer. The people gathered together with the Word of God; Ezra the scribe and the Levites stood on a raised platform before all who could hear with understanding. Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, and they stood up. He blessed the Lord, and all the people answered, "Amen, amen," lifting their hands, bowing their heads, and worshiping the Lord. Then the Levites helped the people understand the law: "So they read distinctly from the book, the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading."

That's what we're doing. When I get up here on a Sunday, speak at the Bible college, or wherever I go, I want to read distinctly from the Scriptures, give the sense of it—what does it say, what does it mean, what does it mean for us, and how do we believe and live it out. That's what you'll do too as you make devotional Bible study part of your life, whether one-on-one, with a group, or with multitudes.

It's That Simple

There are endless methodologies—books on homiletics, three-point sermons, one-point sermons, topical, book, and character studies, volumes upon volumes. Of the making of books there is no end. But at the end of the day, all you're doing is sharing what you know from the Scriptures with one person or a dozen or a thousand. God wants you to share and proclaim—that's what He wants you to do.

So it's my hope that, as a result of all this, you will develop a practice of devotional Bible study, and that it will flow into other areas. Next week, our last week, we'll talk more about how you can work that out practically.

Closing Prayer

God, we thank You that You have given us the revelation, Your mysteries revealed in the Scriptures inspired by You, that we might know You—Your nature, Your will—and how we are to walk before You. God, help us to live these things out. I pray that You would give my brothers and sisters here a deep desire for Your Word, to dig into the Scriptures, and that You would begin to open doors for them, even just to interact briefly with a co-worker, friend, or family member. God, You have a calling for each of us to proclaim; You have commissioned us to herald, proclaim, tell, and teach all these things. Lord, help us to do that for Your glory and for Your name's sake. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, Amen.