YOUR BIBLE STUDY.
“How shall the young secure their hearts,
And guard their lives from sin?
Thy Word the choiciest rules imparts
To Keep the conscience clean.”
-Isaac Watts
Above all, you should fill your mind with the Word of God. You will not be narrow-minded if you open your mind to the vast scope of truth to be found in the Bible. This is one of the most important aspects of your Christian life, for the time and purpose that you give to faithful study of the Word of God will determine in a large measure your progress in the Christian life. Without it you cannot grow (1 Pet. 2:2). It is the one thing perfectly suited to the needs of your spiritual life. Nor will listening to sermons substitute for you own personal reading and study. The Lord intended for you personally to go to His Word and find out firsthand His will for you.
You may not be a scholar, but if you come to the Word of God with an earnest desire to know God’s will and ask the Lord to help you understand, you are sure to find nourishment for your soul and spiritual strength to overcome sin. No matter how busy you are you must set aside time each day for Bible reading. One cannot afford to let other duties crowd this out. Only by prayerful, systematic reading can you make the progress you desire. By reading three chapters of the Old Testament in the morning and one chapter of the New Testament at night you can read the whole Bible through in one year. But if you wish to receive the greatest benefit, reading alone will not suffice. R. C. Trent as well said,
“Holy Scripture is not the Book for the slothful. It is field, rather upon the surface of which, if sometimes we gather manna easily and without labor, given so it were, freely to our hands, yet of which also many portions are to be cultivated with pains and toil, ere they will yield food for the use of man. This bread of life is to be eaten in the wholesome sweat of our brows.”
Those who rightly divide the word of truth are called “workmen” (2 Tim. 2:15). Luke tells us that the Bereans “searched the Scriptures” (Acts 17:11); but the treasures to be found in the Word of God are worth working and searching for. The psalmist says: “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.” (Ps. 119:162) Jesus told His disciples: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:11) The study of the Word of God is the best cure for depression of spirit, despondence, and despair.”
To get the most from your Bible study, you will need some help. First, you need to know the main divisions of the Word so that you can rightly divide it. This is plainly given to us in Hebrews 1:1-2. God first spoke “unto our fathers in the prophets.” That portion of the Bible is called the Old Testament. All of the thirty-nine books came by the ministrations of the prophets. In the New Testament God has spoken “unto us in His Son” through Christ’s own words and the words of the apostles. This does not mean that the Old Testament is out of date and of no value to us. Paul tells us that “all scripture…is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). He also tells us: “For whatsoever things were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Although in the New Testament we find the way of salvation, the manner of our worship, the great doctrines of the Gospel, and many great and precious promises, yet the Old Testament is to be studies too, for we cannot understand the New without the Old.
The books contained in the “Divine Library” can be classified as follow:
- The Old Testament (39 books)
- Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
- Historical Books: Joshua to Esther.
- Poetical and Wisdom-Books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations.
- Prophetic Books:
- Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
- Minor Prophets: Hosea to Malachi.
- The New Testament (27 books)
- History: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Acts.
- Epistles: Romans to Jude.
- Prophecy: Revelation