Delights and Disciplines of Bible Study

A Guidebook for Studying God's Word

Warren W. Wiersbe

• Publisher: David C Cook
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN:
  9780830772117
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Bestselling author, pastor, and radio host Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe shares his delight in God’s Word in this comprehensive, highly accessible guide to biblical interpretation and application. In Delights and Disciplines of Bible Study, Dr. Wiersbe offers insight into the history, meaning, and context of the entire Bible, from Genesis through the Gospels through the last words of the apostles. Dr. Wiersbe patiently answers questions any believer would want answers to in order to apply the Bible’s truths to daily life.

As you develop skills in studying the Bible, you will experience joy as a result of richer spiritual devotion. As Dr. Wiersbe encourages, reading the Bible should never be a burden. Instead, it is an adventurous journey into the heart of God.

Chapter 1

Why Study the Bible?

Since there are so many good books to read these days, both classical and contemporary, why should we take the time to read and study an ancient book like the Bible? A bestseller for years, it has been translated into many languages and is available in a variety of editions, but it is still an ancient book about ancient peoples that was written in three ancient languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Many people respect the Bible but don’t read it, and many who do read it don’t always understand it. Further, those who do understand it don’t always obey it as they should.

Why should we study the Bible? We know that God commands us to study His Word (2 Tim. 2:15), and we know we must obey that command, but there are other reasons. I’ve listed several of them below, but note this is not an exhaustive list and that these are not noted in order of importance.

We Should Study the Bible Because of What the Bible Is

Let’s look at some of the word pictures that describe the Bible in the Bible. The Bible is compared to gold and honey. “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Ps. 19:9–10; see also Ps. 119:103). The Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah, “Is not My word like fire … and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29).

The Bible is like a lamp: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105; and see also v. 130 and 2 Pet. 1:19). The Bible is like food for the inner person. It is milk (1 Cor. 3:1–3; Heb. 5:11–13; 1 Pet. 2:2), solid food (Heb. 5:11–14), bread (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3), and honey (Ps. 19:9–10).

God’s Word is also a mirror (James 1:23–25). This is a very important metaphor that I will say more about later. In His parable of the sower, Jesus compared the Word to seed (Matt. 13:1–9, 18–33). Paul wrote about the cleansing power of the “water by the word” (Eph. 5:25–26), a metaphor Jesus also used in the upper room (John 13:10; 15:3). Keep in mind that water for washing represents the Word of God, while water for drinking represents the Spirit of God (John 7:37–38). The Word of God is also a sword (Eph. 6:17 and Heb. 4:12). In fact, when the people heard Peter preach at Pentecost, they were “cut to the heart” by the Word of God (Acts 2:37).

I will introduce other metaphors and similes in chapter 8, but this selection should at least whet your appetite. The Bible is rich in metaphors and similes that convey precious truths that we need to know. Understanding biblical imagery is one of the keys to accurate interpretation.

We Should Study the Bible Because of What the Bible Does

I was leisurely browsing through the stacks in our seminary library one afternoon and picked up a magazine that looked interesting. I turned the pages and was suddenly arrested by this:

2 Timothy 3:16–17

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable

for doctrine—that’s what is right;

for reproof—that’s what is not right;

for correction—that’s how to get right;

for instruction in righteousness—that’s how to stay right;

that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished

unto all good works (KJV).

The word perfect means “complete” or “adequately prepared,” and “throughly,” of course, means “thoroughly.” Ponder those verses until they become a part of your inner person. This is what true Bible study is all about. Life is transformed when God’s Word is in control.

In those few words in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Paul told young Timothy how to treat the inspired Word of God. I don’t know of any other summary that states so clearly the goals of Bible study. If studying the Scriptures teaches me sound doctrine, convicts me of what is wrong in my life, and shows me how to correct my errors and not repeat them, then I want to be a good student of the inspired Word of God. Our personal goal is spiritual maturity, being adequately equipped by the Lord to serve Him as the Holy Spirit enables us to know and to do the will of God. We want to glorify Him and minister to others as the Lord directs. Many self-help books line the shelves today, but none of them can claim to be inspired by the God of the universe as is the Bible, nor can they claim to be inerrant, living, and powerful (Heb. 4:12).

The Bible is actually a library of books, each written at a different time about different matters, but all of them focus on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the nation of Israel that gave us the Bible and the Savior of the world. As we read in the Gospels, “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22), meaning it came through them. Knowing their story and how God worked among them is essential. The Bible not only gives us history, biography, and prophecy but also poetry, wisdom, promises, warnings, and practical counsel. Perhaps the best way to introduce you to the wonders of God’s Word is to list some of the metaphors used to describe the Bible found in the Bible. In case you have forgotten, let me remind you that a metaphor is a figure of speech that uses one thing to define or illustrate another thing. For example, “That office is a circus” or “Their marriage is a merry-go-round” are metaphors. A simile, one type of metaphor to watch for, uses the words like or as. “Our vacation was like a civil war” or “That guy is as slippery as an eel” would be classified as similes.

We Should Study the Bible Because the Bible Exalts Jesus Christ

The major theme of the Bible is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the world. We must never forget that the way we treat the Bible is the way we treat Jesus Christ. Jesus is the incarnate Word of God (John 1:1–14) and the Bible is the inspired written Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16–17), and you cannot separate the two. Let me show how they go together.

The Bible is the holy Word of God, “which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Rom. 1:2). Jesus is the holy Son of God, “that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Now, get your Bible and look up the references that follow:

• • Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12), and the Scriptures are a light to guide us in this world (Ps. 119:105, 130, 133; 2 Pet. 1:19).
• • Jesus is Life (John 11:25; 14:6), and the Word of God is life (Heb. 4:12; Phil. 2:16).
• • Jesus is the eternal Son of God (John 1:1–2), and the Bible is the eternal Word of God (Ps. 119:89, 152, 160).
• • Jesus is righteous (2 Tim. 4:8; 1 John 2:1) and the Bible is righteous (Ps. 119:7, 106, 160; Rom. 7:12).
• • Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), and the Bible is truth (Ps. 119:43; Eph. 1:13).
• • Loving and obeying Jesus (John 15:9–10) involves loving and obeying the Word of God (Ps. 119:47–48, 97, 127, 150).
• • Delighting ourselves in the Word of God is also to delight ourselves in the Son of God as the Word was with God and was God (John 1:1; Ps. 1:2; 112:1; 1 John 1:4).

I could expand this list, but I’m sure you get the point: the way we treat the Bible is the way we treat Jesus Christ. If we ignore the Bible, we are ignoring Jesus. If we read and understand God’s Word but don’t obey it, we are disobeying Jesus. On the other hand, to love God’s Word, learn it, and live it means to love our Lord, know Him better, and introduce Him to others more readily. Just as Jesus counseled His disciples, so the Bible counsels us as we are guided by the Holy Spirit (John 16:12–15; Ps. 119:24, 169; 2 Tim. 3:14–17).

We Should Study the Bible Because Knowing the Bible Strengthens Our Spiritual Life

Prayer and the Word of God must always go together. The prophet Samuel prayed for the people and taught them the Scriptures (1 Sam. 12:23–24). The apostles said, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4); and Jesus promised, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). King David wrote in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” The Word of God teaches us how to pray and what to pray for; otherwise, we risk praying in vain. We read the Bible, meditate on its truths, and obey its commands not because we want to debate people about religion or show off what we think we know but because we love Jesus and want to be more and more like Him.

How important is your Bible in your life? It should be more important than food (Job 23:12; Jer. 15:16; Matt. 4:1–4). Do you value the riches of God’s Word more than material riches? They were more valuable to the person who wrote Psalm 119 (see vv. 72, 127). Is spending time in the Word of God more important to you than “sleeping in” or taking a nap? The psalmist put the Scriptures ahead of sleep (119:55, 62, 148, and 63:6). Peter, James, and John went to sleep on the Mount of Transfiguration and also in Gethsemane where Jesus was praying (Luke 9:28–36; Matt. 26:36–46). Our Lord asks us as He asked them, “Could you not watch with Me one hour?” (v. 40).

If we sincerely desire to become more effective Bible students and therefore more effective servants of the Lord, we must have the right priorities; and one of the first priorities is to set aside uninterrupted time for studying the Word of God. It isn’t enough just to read the Word of God, meditate on it, and pray, as important as those disciplines are. We must learn to compare Scripture with Scripture and trust God’s Spirit to teach us the deeper truths that are there. We must delight in God’s Word and say with the psalmist, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). The heart of every problem is the problem in the heart.

We Should Study the Bible Because the Enemy Knows the Bible

When Jesus faced Satan’s temptations, He overcame him by using the Scriptures (Matt. 4:1–11). But Satan also quoted the Scripture! Read Psalm 91:11–12 and Matthew 4:5–6. Satan quoted the verses, but Jesus deflected each of the Evil One’s quotes with another verse. The Bible does not contradict itself, but the truths found in the Bible must be kept in balance. Jesus said to Satan, “It is written again …” (Matt. 4:7). One of my seminary professors used to remind the class that “a text out of context is a pretext,” and he was right. It’s so important that we see the whole picture and not just a snapshot here and there.

Satan is identified with darkness (Luke 22:53), but the Bible with light (Ps. 119:105). Satan is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), but the Bible is truth and life (Ps. 119:43; Phil. 2:14–16). Obeying Satan leads to bondage, but obeying God’s Word leads to freedom (John 8:30–36). The believer’s duty and privilege is to walk in the light and have fellowship with God (1 John 1:5–7) in order to stay in the light and avoid Satan’s attempts to steer us into darkness. There is no darkness in heaven (Rev. 21:23), and there is no light in hell, for hell is outer darkness.

We Should Study the Bible Because Knowing the Bible Even Helps Our General Education

This is not the most important benefit of Bible study, but it is still worth knowing. Familiarity with the Bible is like taking a college course on the art, music, literature, and laws of Western civilization. For example, the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville opens with “Call me Ishmael.” The reader who has never read Genesis 16 and 17 is not likely to know the significance of this sentence, but the alert Bible student will grasp its meaning immediately. One summer, I read Moby-Dick again and marked the biblical quotations and allusions in it, and I was amazed at how many there were. What is true of literature is also true of music. Not to know our Lord’s pains in Gethsemane is to miss much of the riches of the St. Matthew Passion by J. S. Bach. Biblical allusions and quotations saturate classical Christian worship music. I wonder how many worshippers are confused by the second verse of “Come Thou Fount,” which begins “Here I raise my Ebenezer”? It’s based on 1 Samuel 7:12, where the prophet Samuel set up a monument and called it “Ebenezer—stone of help.” If you are fortunate to worship at a church that sings the great hymns of the faith, your knowledge of Scripture will make your worship much more meaningful.

What I’m saying is simply this: a rich Bible knowledge not only enriches us spiritually (if we obey what it commands) but also enables us to appreciate and understand the classical productions of the Western world. I recall strolling through an art gallery in London and thanking God for blessing me with training in the Bible. Some of those paintings would have been puzzles to me were it not for what I had learned in confirmation class, seminary, and my own personal studies.

The secret to fulfilling any responsibility in life is simply turning work into joy because of our love for our Master. At least eight times in Psalm 119, the psalmist announces his delights in God’s Word (vv. 16, 24, 35, 47, 70, 77, 92, 174). To this list, you can add Psalms 1:2; 19:8; and 112:1. When we delight in the Word of God and rejoice at what the Spirit teaches us, our relationship with the Bible means blessings and not burdens. An increasing working knowledge of Scripture changes our lives and enables us to serve others to the glory of God. Not to study the Bible ourselves means going without spiritual food and having to be spoon fed by others. Shame on us! It also means we accumulate the defilement of the world and desperately need a good shower or bath! Not to study God’s Word means a static relationship with the Lord, and that grieves the Spirit of God who longs to instruct us and mature us in the Christian life. This book emphasizes studying the Bible, not just reading it devotionally, as important...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Why Study the Bible?
• Chapter 2: Are You Ready for Serious Bible Study?
• Chapter 3: The Tools Available
• Chapter 4: The Pentateuch: Genesis to Deuteronomy
• Chapter 5: Conquest, Confusion, and Compassion: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth
• Chapter 6: Man’s King and God’s King: First and Second Samuel
• Chapter 7: Solomon and Other Kings: Kings and Chronicles
• Chapter 8: The Triumphant Trio: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther
• Chapter 9: Five Unique Books: Job to Song of Solomon
• Chapter 10: The Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations
• Chapter 11: The Prophets: Ezekiel and Daniel
• Chapter 12: The Prophets: Hosea to Obadiah
• Chapter 13: The Prophets: Jonah to Habakkuk
• Chapter 14: The Prophets: Zephaniah to Malachi
• Chapter 15: The Good News: The Four Gospels
• Chapter 16: The Acts of the Apostles: Acts
• Chapter 17: Letters to the Believers: Romans to Colossians
• Chapter 18: Letters to the Believers: First Thessalonians to Philemon
• Chapter 19: Letters Especially to Jewish Believers: Hebrews and James
• Chapter 20: The Last Words of the Apostles: First Peter to Revelation
• Chapter 21: Gathering Up the Fragments that Remain
• Notes