8 Tips to Improve Your Bible Study

By Brennan Wilson

Every believer experiences the steep learning curve involved with first-time Bible study. When we first dig in, the Bible seems like an endless maze of unsolvable puzzles. I’ll admit that I experienced this. I’ve found myself confused on many occasions. To this day, God’s Word challenges me every time I open it; only now I’m no longer discouraged by this experience.

The Bible’s difficulty should come as no surprise. While God used normal language to make His message understandable, the Bible is filled with intricacies and seemingly obscure passages. This should be expected.

We can hardly relate to the context in which the Bible was written. Our points of reference do little to inform us about the text’s meaning; and even worse, they often send us off course. Rather than viewing this negatively, we should consider ourselves blessed because our struggle is evidence of something truly glorious: the unchanging nature of the Bible’s message. If the Bible’s message could change, we wouldn’t need to study.

Thankfully, God’s message is fixed in time, and while His message was set in an ancient context, we will always have a path to its meaning. Arriving at that meaning, however, takes work. Fortunately, there are some tips we can use to help us work smarter. So here they are—eight tips to improve your Bible study.