Bible study aids are numerous. There is one, however, that is above
all the rest. It stands alone as the
foundation for all understanding of the Scripture. All Bible study
aids must be grounded in the knowing of Jesus.
Successful Bible study aids must answer the question of how do you seek
God. For the Bible says, "Canst thou by searching find out God?
Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" (Job 11:7).
With the answer to that question being no, Bible study aids that fail to
address the unique Christian approach to learning are ineffective.
Bible study aids must also deal with the core issue of the process of study
itself. To come to a clear understanding of
the unique approach to Christian
learning, you must accurately ascertain one of the most misunderstood
verses in the Bible: "Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth." Most Bible study aids fail
because of a misunderstanding of this verse.
Since most Christians understand
this verse as a command or an admonition by Paul to Timothy to study the
Word of God, they think the act of study itself is the core of all Bible
study aids. What Paul is saying, however, is not putting the emphasis
on study as is commonly understood. He is telling Timothy the rightly handling
of the word of truth will produce a workman who is approved by God. He
will not be ashamed of himself or of his work for he will have rightly
handled the Word of God. The success or failure of all Bible study
aids rest in how the seeker handles Jesus, the living Word.
Paul also seems to indicate that Bible study aids that are centered in man’s effort to seek God by his own
study, his own skills, or his own acts of wisdom may actually hinder the
process of finding God. He wrote, "For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of
Christ should be made of none effect (1 Corinthians 1:17). His own preaching was
". . . not with enticing words of man's wisdom . . . that . . .
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God"
(1 Corinthians 2:4,5). Failing to know which of the Bible study aids
are legitimate or not is essential to understanding the secrets of the Word
of God.
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