Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

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John Piper’s Advice for Reading the Bible

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I don’t hesitate to assert that OIA (observe, interpret, apply) is the best method you can use to study the Bible. But in asserting this, I must make clear that it is not the terminology that matters but the substance. Many Bible teachers do excellent OIA Bible study without calling it “OIA Bible study.”

Case in point: John Piper. In this article entitled “How to Read the Bible for Yourself,” he explains his methodology for reading the Bible. And he never uses the words “observe” or “interpret.” He uses “apply” one time.

But he speaks of reading, understanding, noticing, and asking questions. He pushes for life change. And he packages his ideas in a few simple points:

  1. Read for the author’s meaning, not your own
  2. Ask questions to unlock the riches of the Bible
  3. At every page, pray and ask for God’s help

I commend Piper’s summary to you as another angle on how to study the Bible. Check it out!

 

Look at the Book: Romans 8:28

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If you’d like a real treat, watch a skillful student of Scripture in action. Desiring God continues to release a series of videos showing John Piper in the study, examining God’s word in great depth.

He’s working through Romans chapter 8 bit by bit, and spent 3 10-minute sessions on a single, crucial verse: Romans 8:28. This verse is not only one of the most famous verses in the Bible, but also one of the most commonly misunderstood. Piper unpacks the verse, phrase by phrase, explaining the meaning of each phrase in the context of the paragraph.

What to look for: Piper has a keen eye for observation of the text. In these videos, he shows how to notice repeated words, comparisons, contrasts, and connectors. He demonstrates what to do with these observations. He asks terrific questions (“Why does the verse begin with ‘we know’?” “Who are those who ‘love God’?” “What is the ‘good’ that all things work together for?”). He shows how to answer such questions from the text at hand, including the surrounding context. He pulls it all together beautifully in a way that celebrates Paul’s main ideas and honors God’s word. There are many, many things to commend. If you struggle with any of these skills, watch these videos to see how it’s done.

What to look out for: Piper does so much so well, but I think he jumps a little too quickly to many cross-references. Right when his questions get good, he bails from the text at hand and looks for help in other Pauline passages. But the church in Rome wouldn’t have had access to those other letters of Paul’s, and I wonder how they would have wrestled through these questions. And, how do we avoid making unhelpful cross-references (importing meaning from passages that use the same terminology in different ways)?

In the end, I don’t disagree with any of Piper’s conclusions. But I wish he had left a few questions unanswered, being content simply to make statements such as: “This passage doesn’t answer the question of what exactly “God’s calling” means, so we’ll just leave that question for another study in another passage.”

Despite this minor criticism, Piper’s videos have much to commend them. If you’d like to see good observation and interpretation in action, you would do well to check them out!

Bible Reading is an Art

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Everything on this blog aims to help ordinary people learn to study the Bible. That means we cover a lot of details and mechanics. God’s word is knowable, and we want to help people know what to do when they sit down and open their Bibles.

At Desiring God, however, David Mathis has a timely reminder: that we remember Bible reading is as much art as it is science.

And just like we learn to ride a bike with training wheels, it can help to have someone spell out some simple method of “inductive Bible study” with the dance steps of observation, interpretation, and application. Rudimentary, memorable approaches like this abound in Christian circles serious about the Bible. They are a gift to help us get going, and come to an otherwise dauntingly large Book with some idea of what to do next.

But the point of learning the little bits of science behind it all is to be ready to dance when the music begins to play. And the best of dancing isn’t just taught in classrooms, but caught in practice.

Good Bible reading is no mere science; it is an art. The Bible itself is a special compilation of great artistries. And the best way to learn the art of reading the Bible for yourself is this: Read it for yourself.

Mathis’s article is a wonderful reminder, and it serves as a helpful complement to what you’ll find here at Knowable Word.

Check it out!

Don’t Get Too Familiar with the Bible

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I was delighted to partner with Desiring God through a guest post entitled “Don’t Get Too Familiar with the Bible.” The article warns against the wrong kind of Bible familiarity that leads us to assume things that aren’t in the text and miss things that are. The article elaborates and illustrates what I’ve written on this blog about why familiarity is the greatest enemy of observation.

Where is Jesus in the story of David and Abigail? Name the woman who ate the forbidden fruit. How old was Jesus when he died? Remember the time when Jesus walked through a wall?

Check it out!

Answering Kids’ Questions About the Bible

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Desiring God posted an article from Jon Bloom called “Be Ready to Answer Your Kids’ Questions About the Bible.”

Christianity stands or falls on the reliability, inspiration, and authority of the Bible. Children pick up on that early. We tell them that they should trust the Bible. At some point they will (and should) ask why (if they feel it’s okay to ask).

He goes on to answer the following questions in language suitable to a 9-year-old.

  1. How do we know the Bible is reliable?
  2. Who decided what should be in the Bible?
  3. How do we know the Bible has no errors in it?
  4. Who can understand the Bible?
  5. Why do we need the Bible to know God?
  6. Does the Bible tell us everything we need to know?

Are you ready to answer these questions? Check it out!

Bible Study is Hard Work

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Desiring GodAt Desiring God, Jen Wilkin asserts that Bible study is hard work. She asserts that it doesn’t come easily or naturally to anyone. She accuses us of giving up or seeking a shortcut when progress is slow.

Being a student of any subject requires effort — the process of gaining understanding is not easy and can often be frustrating. Depending on the subject, learning may be enjoyable, but it will not be effortless. Learning requires work.

This is as true of learning the Bible as it is of learning algebra. We think that learning the Bible should be as natural as breathing in and out; if knowing God’s word is so good for us, surely he would not make it difficult for us to do so. But learning the Bible requires discipline, and discipline is something we don’t naturally embrace. Because learning the Bible is a discipline, patience will play a much-needed role in our progress.

What do you think?

Check it out!

Everyday Application

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Bible application is exhausting. Must we do it every time we study the Bible? Must we constantly add one more thing to our to-do list?

Desiring GodAt Desiring God, David Mathis says it depends on what we mean by Application. If we mean that we must come up with something new to do each day, then no. We’ll never be able to keep up. But if we mean that we must be changed in our thinking or desires, then yes.

Rather than dictating specific actions, he wants to see us formed into the kind of persons who are able to “discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10).

In Scripture, we see the Lord. As we see, we will become amazed. In our amazement, we reflect and meditate until the word is written on our hearts. Then, over time, we’ll see gradual and specific change in our lives.

Mathis is on to something, though I’ve used slightly different language for it. I suggest the 3 spheres for application as a helpful model: Head, Heart, Hands. Yes, change should occasionally hit our hands and produce new behaviors or action steps. But we must not neglect the other two spheres, where we address our thinking and character. Head and Heart application rarely produces doable behaviors, but it makes us into the kind of people who are more attuned to the Lord and his commands. Such people will then see behaviors change over time.

But can we confidently say there’s something for us to apply in every passage? Absolutely!

Yes, take every word as spoken to yourself, with this essential anchor in place: Seek to understand first how God’s words fell on the original hearers, and how it relates to Jesus’s person and work, and then bring them home to yourself. Expect application to your life as God speaks to us today through the Spirit-illumined understanding of what the inspired human author said to his original readers in the biblical text.

Mathis shows us how to follow this plan to bring the Bible home to our hearts. I recommend the article to you.

Check it out!

John Piper’s Desired Legacy

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Desiring GodI couldn’t be more thrilled with the new direction of John Piper and Desiring God ministries. From Piper’s blog post last week called “The Legacy I Want to Leave“:

For most of my pastoral life, I heralded the wonders of what I saw in the Bible.

I tried to do this in such a way that people could see that the wonders really did come from the Bible, and not from me. But I seldom focused on how I saw the spectacular truths of Scripture. My preaching and writing aimed mainly to bring people to a banquet, not take them into the kitchen.

When I think of the coming generations, I am not content to only leave them a deposit of books and sermons that celebrate the glories of God and the wonders of Christian Hedonism…

Underneath all the arguments is the Book. The Bible. If future generations only learn what we saw, and not how to see it for themselves, they will be second-handers. And second-handers cannot last. They grow bored and boring. Powerful, truth-preserving, God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, soul-ravishing, mission-advancing ministry is sustained by the power to see for yourself the glories of God’s word.

So I have a new and focused passion to help people really see the riches of God’s word for themselves.

Please check out the rest of the post and Piper’s short video explaining his vision. And let’s pray that God would use this influential man of God for incredible good for Jesus’ sake. Let’s pray that his legacy would truly be more than a deposit of books and sermons, but a generation of Christians who know how to look at the Book and mine its riches for themselves.

And while you pray, please pray for me. I imagine Piper will write a book about how to study the Bible. I’m sure it will sell better than my recently released book on the topic. Please pray that I would resist any petty jealousy and delight in the Lord’s word going forth.

Check it out!

Regular Bible Study May Keep You from God

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At the Desiring God blog, Marshall Segal recently wrote of “The Danger in Our Daily Devotions“:

If we carve out time to be with God in his book, we’ll be rewarded. But the rewards of our meditation — seeing more of God himself — can be surprisingly dangerous. Knowledge can corrupt and distract if we don’t know what to do with it. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor 8:1). Paul is clear that we can have “all knowledge” (1 Cor 13:2), but not love. And knowledge without love leaves us with “nothing” (1 Cor 13:2).

So how do we accumulate knowledge about God without ending up far from him? How do we keep our daily devotions from being (spiritually) dangerous?

How to Stay Christian in SeminaryHe then reviews a short book by David Mathis and Jonathan Parnell entitled How to Stay Christian in Seminary. Mathis and Parnell offer the following suggestions:

  1. Stay amazed at grace
  2. Stay dependent on God
  3. Stay focused on Jesus

Though the book’s title appears to focus on seminary students, I agree with Segal that these points are “undeniably relevant to anyone studying their Bible, whether for a focused, four-year degree or just in a regular rhythm of personal devotions.”

As you learn to study the Bible, does your study puff you up and so keep you from the Lord? Or does it help you to know God better?

Check it out!

HT: Ryan Higginbottom

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Eugene Peterson & Desiring God

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Here’s a short video with Eugene Peterson, where he discusses the difference between “studying” the Bible to master it and “reading” it so it can master you.

Although we wouldn’t use the same terminology (as though “studying” the Bible is unhelpful), we agree with the sentiment.  Check it out!

Also, Desiring God has a good post about how good Bible study is about meaning (interpretation) and application.

Check it out!