Bible Study

I preached a sermon recently that was about the importance of studying the Bible. There was something I said in it that I cant get out of my head.

God didnt intend any of us to ever do any part of the Christian life by ourselves.

I typed that sentence on my computer in my living room as Tessa was on the couch reading. After I typed it I paused and read it about 5 times thinking to myself, Is that really true?

I couldnt decide how I felt about it. It seemed correct and I couldnt think of anything that would make me disagree with my own statement. So I did what all good thinkers do, I asked my wife.

She thought about it for a few seconds and said she thought it was pretty true. There were only 2 things we thought should be done alone. One was prayer. There are occasions when it is cool to pray in public, but Jesus modeled to us that there is a time to pray alone (go into a room, close the door, pray). The other thing we came up with is personal Bible study. You know what I mean, that thing were all supposed to do in the morning (or at night) by ourselves.

Honestly, I have always had trouble with the personal Bible study time. Can I say that? Is anyone offended? Am I a bad minister now? A bad Christian?

I have always struggled with the personal Bible study time. Not that I think it is a bad idea (I think it is a very great idea), Ive just never been very good at it. Ive never been good about reading having a regular personal devotional time where I read the Bible to see what it is saying to me. For some reason, Ive always felt like the Bible doesnt read that way. It wasnt written for individuals to read. It was written for the church to read. It was written not for one person, but for all. When the Epistle writers were talking to someone in their letters they were talking to you (plural) not you (singular). Does that make sense? For you southerners they were writing to yall they were writing to groups of people. When they wrote the Bible, they intended groups of people (possibly whole towns) to hear the Bible read aloud. People didnt have their own personal Bible back then. Usually, one town had a Bible for everyone to share. Personal Bible study didnt exist back then because virtually no one owned their own Bible.

Thats why I think Bible study is best done in groups.

Theres a great thing said in Blue Like Jazz, a good book by Donald Miller. Miller is talking about how his friend Penny came to Christ while studying in France with a friend named Nadine. Penny said, We would eat chocolates and smoke cigarettes and read the Bible, which is the only way to do it, if you ask me. Don, the Bible is so good with chocolate. I always thought that Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isnt. It is a chocolate thing. (pg 47).

Now, I dont want anyone to get hung up on the word cigarettes in that quote. I dont want to discuss the health hazards of cigarettes and whether or not a person can smoke cigarettes and be a Christian.

I also dont want to focus on the chocolate thing, nor do I want to discuss the health hazards of chocolate and whether or not a person can eat chocolate and be a Christian.

I want to focus on the fact that these two girls would eat chocolate and smoke as they read the Bible together. It is the together I want to look at.

Jesus said this cool thing once while talking about dealing with forgiveness For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. (Matthew 18:20). I know Jesus wasnt talking about Bible study in this passage, per se. But I think this is a good point that we can see from the mouth of Jesus about how together is better than alone.

Is the Bible meant to be studied alone? Am I supposed to go to a quiet corner by myself and put my face into a Bible and figure out what it is saying?

I dont want anyone to think Im saying that the Bible cant be studied alone. I think there is great value in having a time where you read the Bible, study the Bible, and carve out some time to devote to diving into Gods word. I don't want anyone to use this as an excuse to not read the Bible on your own - "Matt says that I don't need to have personal Bible study time!" That's not what I am saying!! Personal Bible study is a great value to the Christian life. I just dont think it is the best.

I think a much better idea is to go and be with other people and discover the Bible together.

Rob Bell talks in Velvet Elvis about how community is huge when trying to understand and interpret the Bible. He says that maybe the best way to study the Bible is together, with others, as a group of people who are wrestling with scripture and engaging the Bible as students who are hungry to know God so that they can follow Him.

Perhaps this is why the Bible can be confusing to some the first time they read it. I dont think any of the writers of the Bible ever intended people to read their letters aloneIf it didnt make sense, you could stop the person who was reading and say, Help me understand this. (pg 53)

It seems to me that rarely does the Bible tell us to do stuff by ourselves. Jesus went and alone he prayed by himself, and he tells us to pray by ourselves sometimesbut past thatI can think of nothing else we are to do alone.

I love the idea of D-groups because it is a small group of people who are studying the Bible together trying to figure out what it means. I love the idea of husbands and wives studying the Bible together. I love the idea of two friends eating chocolate while studying the Bible. Christianity is a together thing. We do it together. We have 1 God who at the same time is 3. He is community in and of himself. And if we truly want to be more and more Godly every day then we cant try and do it alone. God intends us to be in community with other people.

Community, community, community. So how about forming a Bible study group or joining a D-Group. What a great place to start being community Christians! Come to church.

Come to Refuge! Come to Oasis! Join a D.Group!

If youre in a different Youth Group or a different church get in a Bible study. Find a bunch of people that you can get with to discover the Bible together. Find someone wiser than you to help you along!

Dive in and wade around for while in Gods Word! But dont do it alone!!