Learning your Bible is essential if you want to increase your spiritual foundation. A better way to think about it is that you are learning the Words of God that give you eternal life. The Bible is the truth of how God thinks and doesn’t think. When studying the Bible, you learn how God thinks through the perceptions of all its characters. Some are evil, and others righteous, but all of them are teachers for those of us who read and study the Bible. Their examples allow us to pattern our lives after the good and turn from the evil. We should take their stories seriously if we are going to live for God.
The best example we have in the Bible is Jesus. He is the perfection of God manifested, and we get to experience His words and actions through the life He lived while on earth. Though we have just a tiny portion written down about His time on earth, it’s clear that a little goes a long way in being spiritual when following the Jesus of the Bible. His effect on Christianity has been good and bad. Good, because His example is life-changing when you follow His teachings closely and obey them. Bad because many people have taken His teachings and perverted them to make them fit their own agenda. Both cases prove that the Bible is true because God said all this would happen on earth. Like the Bible, everyone on earth is a teacher to those who are the sons of God.
A simple way to read the Bible.
The focus of this teaching is about one way that I have approached the Bible. Many people read the Bible from cover to cover every year with the guidance of a reading plan. I have never done that. I have never felt it beneficial to follow a schedule like that. (That doesn’t mean I don’t understand the overview of the Bible. You can read my version of the Bible overview in the classroom, which I wrote in my own words as I learned it.) Everyone learns differently, and I’m confident in how I learn best. Today I want to share one part of that learning that may help you.
I’ve learned from Jesus to focus on His sayings. His sayings are His words and teachings. While His teachings can be in a large general sense, Jesus was always precise and detailed about what He said and taught His people. His sayings are the things that teach you how to think and act like Him. When you keep His sayings and apply them to your life, you have peace, joy, hope, and contentment. When I keep them, my spiritual life excels, and I have conversations with Him about the kingdom of God rather than my desires. His sayings have taught me how to live in oneness with Him.
Your spiritual house will never fall when you keep His sayings and do them. (Remember, your spiritual house is where God lives and abides with you, so it must be strong and remain standing.) He tells us these things in Matthew 7:24–27.
Matthew 7:24–27 (ESV) “Everyone then who hears these words (sayings) of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words (sayings) of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Note: the KJV Bible uses the term “sayings,” while the ESV Bible uses the term “words.” Both mean the same thing, but I love how the KJV expresses it with “the sayings of Jesus.”
One way I’ve learned the teachings of Jesus is to focus on His sayings. To explain better, I will answer the question of what exactly are the sayings of Jesus beyond general teachings. To find the answer, I want you to read Matthew 7:1-27 to help bring this teaching into context. If you have read the chapter, you probably noticed that it’s filled with the sayings of Jesus.
We can see that Jesus taught some of His sayings and then taught us that if we keep His sayings (words), we will be like a wise man who builds his house on a rock, and no storm of words can destroy our house because it’s on a strong foundation.
To help clarify the sayings of Jesus in this chapter, I have listed the main sayings below.
“Judge not, that you be not judged. Matthew 7:1-6
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7-11
“Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12
“Enter by the narrow gate.” Matthew 7:13-14
“You will recognize false prophets by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-20
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21-23
“Everyone who hears these words (sayings) of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
As I list these sayings, I only emphasize the main thought He is teaching. But each one has more details about it as you read through them. The key is to get an understanding of what Jesus is saying. To do that, don’t just give yourself to the saying itself but the understanding of the saying. You don’t want to apply them according to what you think they mean. As you seek each one out, you gain a better awareness of how Jesus lives in these sayings and how they work for Him. They are His sayings; therefore, you need His interpretation of them. Gaining His understanding of them will help you grow in them and perfect your life as He is perfect.
When we observe these sayings of Jesus, we can see that they are life changers. They set in order so many things in our thoughts. They are so powerful that Jesus Himself lived by them after He received them from His Father in heaven.
The Bible is the best way to get familiar with the sayings of Jesus. Everything we need is in the words that He speaks. After He was resurrected, everyone who preached a true gospel got their teachings from what He said. A Christian is a believer and follower of Jesus and His sayings. His sayings teach us how to think and live our life to please God, so the more we understand, the better our life becomes.
Other examples of His sayings.
We also find other patterns in the gospel where Jesus dropped a lot of sayings on the people. Like in Matthew 5:1–12, we see the famous words most call the beatitudes.
Matthew 5:1 Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Blessed are you when others revile you, persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
While these sayings have been made famous and publicized as wall art to hang in your home, how many of you have taken these sayings and applied them to your heart and mind? The magnitude of just one of these sayings is a life changer, much less 10 of them. Look at number 6 in this list, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Would it bless you to see God? I know it blesses God to see you through a pure heart. This one saying teaches us the answer to seeing God for ourselves.
Also, number 4 on this list intrigues me. Notice that the hunger and thirst you have is after righteousness and not just the knowledge of the saying. We are not here to learn the sayings of Jesus so we can imitate His words in our own righteousness. We are here to receive His sayings so we can be satisfied with His likeness and righteousness. These sayings keep us in line with not only the sayings of Jesus but the heart and intent in which He walked in them. Taking on His saying fills us with the nature of God, and we become His reflection on the earth.
You can read writing number 34, “How Jesus Taught the Law” if you want more examples. It’s slightly different than this teaching, but they go together very well.
One more thing.
Remember that the sayings of Jesus are not a gimmick. His words are eternal life and teach you the mind of the Spirit. If you continue to walk in them, they will transform your life into His image and likeness, making you a good example for God to use to teach others.
I recommend you give your time and attention to your Bible daily. You may learn differently than me, and that’s ok. I desire not to have you do it exactly like me but to do it the way that prospers you the most in the Spirit. If you need guidance on learning, I suggest you read writing number 2, “How to Learn.” This will help as you give your attention to the greatest book in your possession; the Bible.
One last thing.
After saying all this, I want to be clear that there is no formula for learning the Bible. One person learns one way, and another learns differently. The answer is not found in just reading your Bible. Trust God as He guides you. If you love God and seek Him often, you will find Him.