Many of the articles in this special edition of the magazine have been focused on the importance of being different from the majority of the people around us. Many of them have looked at things that are extrinsic — or on the outside. In order to be separate from the world, we can change a number of the things that we do and a number of the things that we say. However, even if we are able to implement all of these things — even if we are able to wear modest clothing, put aside the music of the world, and stay out of politics — we will still struggle with sin because the world isn’t only outside of us, it is inside as well! The Lord himself taught that evil proceeds from the heart of man (Mark 7:21-23). The battle which we fight isn’t simply one in which we change the way that we act, but it is a battle which is fought on two fronts — our actions, and our thoughts.
This article is going to focus on changing our thoughts — and the main way to effect a change in the way that we think is to fill our minds with the things that are good. The counsel of the apostle Paul was that the only things that enter into our minds should be those things which are righteous:
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil 4:8).
These were the types of things upon which we are to set our minds. We are to seek for the things that are true, for the things that are honest, for the things that are virtuous. If we are able to fill our minds with these types of things, then it is much more likely that those same types of thoughts will come out. Again, the apostle not only wrote this to the Philippians, but he wrote a similar thing to the Colossians:
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col 3:1-2).
The calling of the Colossians was to lift their thoughts above the vain thoughts of the world and to think on heavenly things. Such is our calling as well. Just like the saints in Colossae, we are to lift up our minds to God and our thoughts are to transcend the naturally selfish and naturally anxious thoughts of the day. In doing so, we become like the Lord Jesus Christ — whose thoughts were constantly on the things of the Father. He was the perfect representative of God Himself — a man who was able to say, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9), and later, “the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:24). His every word and his every action were the words and actions of God. His mind was lifted up and was focused on the things which are above — and this is what we long to do! But how did he do it? How did the Lord Jesus keep his mind so focused and keep his thoughts on the things that are good? Surely he put aside things of the world — but what else?
The answer to this question can be found in one of the prophecies about the Lord:
“The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” (Isa 50:4).
This prophecy makes it sound as though each day, the Lord Jesus had a constant flow of God’s word into his mind — morning by morning this word was poured into his ears. This was the foundation of his focus. He spoke the words of God and he thought the words of God because the words of God were constantly being put into his mind. At one point in his ministry, he even explained that he didn’t say anything unless it was something which God had told him to speak:
“And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak” (John 12:50).
The Lord spoke the words which God had given him to speak — his mind was always full of the words of God. If we desire to think on things above and if we desire to think like the Lord Jesus, then we need to put God’s word into our mind in the same way that he did. We need to study that word and we need to seek to understand the things that we read.
In addition, we often refer to ourselves as “People of the Book”. With this in mind we should always have a study on which we are working. We should always be looking into things and learning. Having an ongoing study of a subject is for everyone, young and old, male and female. We are the worse if we think “organized study” is just for exhorters, teachers, etc. Study and reading is for everyone. And as a body, we are fortunate to have outlets to share our studies with others, like The Tidings and other magazines. Another outlet is teaching a Sunday School or CYC class. It’s important that “People of the Book” should know the book — and in doing so, we will be more like the Lord Jesus.
With that goal in mind, this article will touch on a few important aspects of Bible study. It will first look at the importance of being organized about study and setting goals. The second portion of the article will demonstrate the value of asking questions when studying.
Organized study
While organization may be difficult, it is something which can be extremely useful when trying to do Bible study. Without organization and goals, the study really has no direction — it can continue on indefinitely and we will never actually know if we’ve have accomplished what we’ve set out to accomplish. Thus, in this section of the article, it is hoped that some suggestions can be given which are useful for organizing the way in which we do Bible study.
One of the first and most useful things in study is setting goals — really try to define the purpose of the study. If you are doing a study of Elijah, try to define what it is that you are going to look learn about Elijah. Do you want to study his life? Do you want to study prophecies that relate to his second coming? Do you want to compare him with John the Baptist? Unless some of these questions are answered, when you begin your study, you may simply find yourself amassing information, and the study will become so large that it becomes overwhelming. The idea behind having a goal is to help you focus your study on exactly what you want to learn.
Let’s say, then, that you have decided that you want to study Elijah’s life. The next step is making the goal even more specific. About what part of Elijah’s life do you want to learn? Do you want to look at his adventures on Mount Carmel? Do you want to see his interactions with Ahab? There are so many different pieces of his life that – again – if you don’t narrow down what you want to learn, it will soon become overwhelming. You may find yourself collecting information from his experiences with the widow of Zarephath, then learning about Naboth’s vineyard, and then learning about the letter which he wrote to the king of Judah. Scripture is so full of information about Elijah that you can soon become lost if you don’t focus your study.
So, perhaps you decided that you specifically wanted to look at Elijah’s adventures on Mount Carmel. Now that your study is focused, you know exactly what you want to learn. Your time studying won’t be focused on the Psalms. It won’t be focused on the life of Saul. It won’t be focused on First or Second Corinthians. Instead, now you know that when you sit down to study, you’re going to want to look at 1Kgs 18 and anything related to it. You know that you want to read Christadelphian books that have a section on this piece of Scripture and you are going to want to listen to Bible classes that relate to Elijah on Mount Carmel. Once your study has a focused goal — to learn more about Elijah on Mount Carmel — then it is much easier for you to know when you have met it. However, while this goal is fairly specific, it could still use a little more work regarding when it is complete.
How will you know when you have finished the study? Will you simply be done when you’ve studied this one chapter for over a year and you’re tired of thinking about Elijah on Mount Carmel? This is why it is extremely important to make sure that the goal is specific and achievable — otherwise, you’ll have your plan, and again, you won’t ever know if it has been fulfilled. So, it’s important to develop a way in which you will know that you are finished. Some different ideas are as follows:
- Study the subject for a month and then move on to a different topic.
- Study the subject until you have gone through all the details of each verse in that chapter.
- Study the subject until you feel as though you could write a Bible class on it.
These are simply a few suggestions of ways to know when a study is over — there are certainly other options. The important idea is that the goal for the study must be measurable. You must know when you have fulfilled your goal — don’t simply say: am going to study this chapter until I understand it.’
How will you know when that has been reached? If it doesn’t have a definite end point, you may find yourself studying it for months on end until you just get frustrated because you don’t think there is anything else to learn about it. Then, even though you are more or less done with the study, your study has ended on an unpleasant note. Rather, it is better to choose a measurable end point — perhaps you will study through each verse of 1Kgs 18 until you reach the end of the chapter. Then, as you go from verse to verse, you will be able to see how far away you are from your goal and it will be clear when you have met it.
Thus, focused and measurable goals are extremely helpful when organizing study. The importance of questions
Another helpful strategy for Bible study is asking questions — whenever we read, whether we are doing the daily readings or reading for our own personal study, it is imperative that we ask questions. Questions are the tools that we can use to get deeper into the text. For instance, when reading through the story of David and Goliath, there is a verse which seems fairly inconspicuous — but when it is thought about further, it reveals an interesting question:
“And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a script; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine” (1Sam 17:40).
When David was preparing to fight against the Philistine, he took five smooth stones from the brook. This is a fairly familiar verse to a number of us — when remembering the story of David and Goliath, this picture of David going to gather up five stones comes to mind. Yet have you ever asked yourself why it was that David took five stones? Was it because he thought that perhaps he would miss four times and he wanted to make sure that his stone found its mark? This may seem to be the most obvious answer — but upon reading further, this doesn’t actually seem to fit. When speaking to Goliath, David was sure that he would win — and not only did he say that he would kill the giant, but he specified how he would kill him and who else he was planning on killing:
“This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1Sam 17:46).
When David went up to fight against the giant, he was filled with confidence in his God. He knew that God would win the battle. In fact, he was so confident that he would win, that he proclaimed to Goliath that he was going to cut off his head — even when David didn’t have a sword (v. 50)! Not only so, but he also stated that he was going to defeat the entire army of the Philistines. David was so confident in his victory that he didn’t merely plan on fighting Goliath and chopping off his head — but he said that he would single handedly destroy the whole troop of the Philistines. This doesn’t seem to be the David who would take five stones from the brook, just in case he happened to miss.
Rather, perhaps there was another reason. Later in the record it is revealed that Goliath wasn’t the only Philistine giant – in fact there were four of them, including Goliath’s brother (2Sam 21:15-22). Isn’t that intriguing? Here was David, a man who was prepared to fight against the entire army of the Philistines by himself — and he brought five stones, because there just so happened to be five giants, including two in Goliath’s family. Could that have been David’s reasoning? Was David hoping to not only destroy Goliath, but also all of the other giants?
It is through asking simple questions — such as, “Why did David choose five smooth stones?” that the stories of Scripture can really start to come alive. Questions can really jump-start Bible study — and keep in mind that they do not always need to be answered immediately. With the question above, it might not have been answered until a month or so later, when you came to 2Sam 21 in the readings. Nevertheless, if there is a question, make a quick note of it somewhere — in the margin of your Bible, in a notepad for questions, or on your computer — so that you don’t forget the questions for which you are trying to find answers.
Conclusion
There are many different helps for studying the Bible — and these are simply two which I have found to be immensely useful. Making goals has helped me to get my study organized and helped keep me from getting overwhelmed at the vastness of things to learn in Scripture. Asking questions has really provoked me to search for answers and has helped to create a picture in my mind of the way that different characters in Scripture might have thought or what might have caused them to act in the way that they did. All in all, may these two suggestions help you as you try to fill your mind with the Word of God. By constantly reading and studying Scripture, we can elevate our thinking and not only be separate from the world in our actions, but also in our thoughts. In so doing, we can follow in the steps of the Lord Jesus Christ — which, truly, is the ultimate goal.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One