It is likely that as a professing Christian you believe the Bible is true, and you’ve heard that you should study it, memorize it, know it, and love it. But how? In this article, Costi Hinn provides some practical tools for studying the Bible, walking through basic principles for interpretation and process for biblical study.

Biblical illiteracy is rampant in the church today, but even amongst Christians who consider themselves biblically literate, wouldn’t we say that more time could be spent communing with God in the Scriptures? Whether you struggle to make the time, or you have been going through the mechanics of Bible reading without a vibrant relationship with the Author of the Bible, it’s healthy to look under the hood of our spiritual life from time to time and ask: why don’t I study the Bible? In this article, Costi Hinn provides 5 reasons to consider, along with some practical solutions to grow in your study of the Scriptures.

Over the past year, I preached through 1 John to our “Next-Gen” ministry. After 19 sermons of verse-by-verse exposition, I can’t speak for every person who sat through the series but I can speak for myself: my heart and mind were transformed by the Word. Preaching never gets old. Not because I get to monologue for 35-45 minutes uninterrupted, but because of what studying God’s Word does to my soul.

It became clear after the pandemic that God’s people were really struggling. Counseling appointments and posts on social media showed a consumption with angry, hopeless media and a general sense that normal life was slipping away. Many Christians were in need of a personal revival in their commitment to God.

When studying the book of Isaiah, the first five chapters can give you whiplash as they go back and forth from the present (relative to the prophet) and the future. Judah is sinful in one verse then seems to be sacred in the next. That is the sense you get from reading these chapters. Isaiah keeps switching between judgment and salvation.

If you want to climb a mountain, you would not simply start walking down up a trail. No, before you scale Mount Everest, it might be a good idea to sit down and get a bird’s eye view of the mountain, see where it is steep and where it requires more attention. You may also try to look at pictures of the peak, so you know what to expect.

Bible study is hard work. Reading and understanding a 2000-year-old document is hard enough as it is. But motivating our minds to study the Bible is half the battle. It may just be the hardest part of Bible study. Despite this, if you overcome all the distractions and lack of motivation, would you open it to the Old Testament? To the Prophets? To Isaiah?