A few simple rules are generally accepted among Bible students as being very helpful and, indeed, essential to the greatest profit in the reading of the divine Word of God.
Begin at the Beginning
Every Christian should begin to read the Bible according to a plan, and this plan should include a reading commencing at the first book in the Bible. ‘The last portion points to the beginning, and the beginning, with all that my be limited and provisional, contains the germ of the end.; – Dr Smith in ‘The Integrity of the Scripture’.
Read Right Through
The famous Dr Stalker recommended reading ‘a whole book of the Bible straight through at a sitting,’ and, he added, ‘Thus to master book after book is to fill the mind with the great thoughts of God.’ Dr Gray of the Moody Bible Institute said he did this, reading every book in the Bible ‘again and again,’ and he found the task ‘no more tedious than was Jacob’s when he served Laban for his daughter Rachel.’
This method ignores chapter divisions which are apt to be so many interruptions and distractions. There is no key to a quick understanding of the Bible. The Book is its own key. Read the Book!
Even though you do not understand everything, read it all through, preferably long stretches at a time. Thus you will get a broad understanding, the details of which will be supplied on later and more minute study. It is surprising how you will get to love the story of the Book by reading whole stretches at a time.
Read Prayerfully
‘The Bible is a supernatural book, it can be studied or mastered only by supernatural aid.’
‘It is the Spirit’s Bible! Copyright every word!
Only His thoughts are uttered, only His voice is heard.’
The apostle Paul emphasizes the need of a prayerful approach to the Scriptures in these words: ‘We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.’ 1 Corinthians 2:12.
‘The Word of God is not enough without the Spirit of God,’ says Dr J M Gray. ‘Let the reader punctuate the reading of it and every part of it with prayer to its divine Author, and he will come to know ‘how to master the English Bible.”
The Use of Helps
Every Christian should study the Bible because he loves it, and he should be careful not to develop a habit of depending on commentaries, concordances, and other helps. These all have their place in our deeper study of the Word, but we should not be tied to them. Aim to make the Scriptures your own. Only in this way can you become possessed of light, power, and love.
Every Seventh-Day Adventist who carefully studies the Scriptures both on the broad lines advocated above and in a deeper and more minute way, will find valuable material in Mrs E G White’s works.
The Results of Reading
It must be expected that people who have not been habitual readers of God’s Word will find many strange results from their reading.
Firstly, of course, there will be many new things to learn, and the Holy Spirit will open our understanding.
Secondly, we shall feel ourselves often reproved and condemned, and we shall need to seek for divine grace to make the manner of our lives conform to the divine standard. Grace sufficient for our every need is promised in the Word , and God will bring great victories to the humble, seeking soul.
‘Read, then; but first thyself prepare
To read with zeal and mark with care;
And when thou read’st what here is writ,
Let thy best practice second it;
So twice each precept read shall be –
First in the book, and next in thee.’