How Do We Read and Study the Bible? From Confusion to Confidence
In the first article, we explored what the Bible is: a collection of 66 books of God’s inspired Word written over approximately 1,500 years. In the second article, we looked at how we can be sure that the Bibles that we hold in our hands today faithfully preserve God’s Word. Understanding what the Bible is and how it came to us provides an important foundation. The next step is putting that foundation into practice by learning how to read and study God’s Word.
Over the years, I’ve been asked many questions about the Bible, but I’ve noticed that it’s often the questions people don’t ask that need answering the most. Many people tend to be hesitant to ask basic questions because they don’t want to “look dumb.” If that’s you, let me encourage you with something I’ve said for years: the only dumb question is the one you don’t ask.
Whether you’re new to the faith or you’ve been in church for decades, you are not alone in not knowing everything about the Bible. None of us ever reaches the point where we’ve learned it all. We are all growing in our faith, and God designed us to grow together. That’s one of the many reasons the local church is so important. Faithful pastors, mature believers, and Bible studies can help us understand God’s Word while encouraging and challenging us along the way.
This article isn’t meant to make you a Bible scholar overnight, nor is it intended to replace the teaching and fellowship found within the local church. My hope is to give you a few practical, foundational principles that will help you approach God’s Word with greater confidence. We’ll talk about why prayer matters, how context shapes our understanding, and several other ideas that can help you read your Bible more faithfully.
You don’t need a seminary degree or years of experience to begin understanding the Bible. Like anything worthwhile, learning to understand God’s Word takes time, patience, and a willingness to keep growing.
Begin with the Right Heart
Before we talk about reading or studying the Bible, let’s start with the foundation: your heart. How you come to the Bible matters just as much as what you do with it.
Start by praying. Before you read, pause and ask God to open your eyes and give you understanding. James 1:5 says that if anyone lacks wisdom, they should ask God, who gives generously. The Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible is the same Spirit who helps us understand it today.
Come with humility. The Bible is God’s Word, not ours to bend or twist to fit what we already think. Sometimes it will comfort us and other times it will challenge or correct us. That’s part of the point. We’re not coming to confirm our opinions; we’re coming to meet with God and let Him shape us.
Remember the goal. It’s not just to gain knowledge or win Bible trivia. The goal is to know God more deeply and to let His truth change how we live. When your heart is in the right place, dependent on God, humble, and hungry for Him, even the hard passages become places of growth instead of frustration.
Read in Context
Once our hearts are prepared, we can open our Bible with confidence to receive the Word of God. One of the biggest reasons people get confused or discouraged when reading the Bible is pulling verses out of their original setting. The Bible was written as connected thoughts, not as a collection of one-liners and inspirational quotes. Every verse belongs to a larger passage, a specific book, and an original audience.
When you read, slow down and ask a few simple questions:
- Who wrote this book or letter?
- Who was the original audience?
- What was happening in their world when this was written?
- What comes right before this passage? What comes right after?
- Why did the author include this?
These questions help you hear what the text actually says instead of what we might assume it says from a distance. A good study Bible will have an introduction page with the author, when it was written, background information, maybe a timeline, or something special about that book. I encourage you to read this page to gain more context.
Here’s a common example of a verse being taken out of context that many of us have heard or seen shared online: “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). Some people treat this as if Jesus said we should never evaluate anyone’s actions, never call out sin, or never offer any kind of correction. It can feel like a blanket command to stay silent.
But when we read the whole chapter, the picture changes. Jesus immediately follows this with the illustration of the speck and the log, warning us against proud, hypocritical judgment where we nitpick others while ignoring our own problems. Just a few verses later, in Matthew 7:15–20, He tells us to “beware of false prophets” and says, “You will know them by their fruits.” Recognizing false prophets requires discernment. Jesus isn’t forbidding all judgment or moral clarity; He’s forbidding proud, hypocritical judgment. In John 7:24, Jesus even calls His followers to “judge with righteous judgment.”
When we ignore context, we can turn a wise warning into something it was never meant to be. When we read the surrounding verses, we see the balanced heart of Jesus. Context protects us from misunderstanding and helps us apply God’s Word faithfully in our own lives.
The next time you come across a verse that seems confusing or surprising, resist the temptation to stop with that verse. Keep reading, because most likely, the surrounding context will answer questions you didn’t even know to ask.
Read Each Book According to Its Style
The Bible isn’t one long book written in the same style from beginning to end. It’s a library of many different kinds of literature, and we naturally read different types of writing differently in everyday life. We don’t read a love poem the same way we read a history book or a personal letter the same way we read a legal document. The Bible uses many styles too, and recognizing them helps us understand what God is saying through each one.
Here are some of the main kinds of writing you’ll find:
History and narrative – Books like Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, the Gospels, and Acts. These record the history of real people and real events.
Law – Parts of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These record God’s covenant laws given to His people.
Poetry and Wisdom – Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Job. These use imagery, emotion, and wise sayings. Proverbs give general truths for living wisely, not ironclad guarantees for every situation. Poetry often expresses deep feeling rather than literal promises.
Prophecy – Isaiah through Malachi, parts of Daniel and Revelation. These are God’s messages through prophets, calling people back to God and often ahead to Jesus and the future.
Letters (Epistles) – Romans through Jude. These are real letters written to churches and individuals. They contain teaching, encouragement, correction, and practical guidance for following Jesus.
Apocalyptic – Revelation and parts of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. These use vivid symbols and visions to encourage God’s people in difficult times and show God’s ultimate victory.
When you open a new book of the Bible, notice what kind of writing it is. Simply recognizing the type of writing you’re reading helps avoid forcing a poem to read like a command or turning a personal letter into a newspaper article. You don’t have to become an expert in biblical literature overnight. Simply recognizing that different books communicate in different ways will help you avoid many common misunderstandings. Understanding the style of a book doesn’t change God’s message; it helps us understand the way He chose to communicate it.
Let Scripture Interpret Scripture
The Bible was written over roughly 1,500 years by many different authors, yet it tells one unified story centered on Jesus. One of the best ways to understand difficult passages is to see what the rest of the Bible says about the same topic. Since the Bible tells one unified story, individual passages should be understood in light of Scripture as a whole.
I would caution against building a major belief or practice on a single verse, especially one that seems to stand alone or appears to contradict other clear teachings. The Holy Spirit who inspired the Word did not contradict Himself.
For example, if one verse seems to teach something different from other passages, don’t immediately assume you’ve found a new doctrine. Look at how Jesus and the apostles spoke about the same idea in other places. When a passage feels hard, ask, “How does this fit with what the rest of Scripture teaches?”
This doesn’t mean every question will be answered instantly. Some things aren’t made clear or are full of symbols and mystery, but that doesn’t mean we have to be afraid of it. The more you read the whole story, the more the pieces begin to fit.
Let the Text Speak for Itself
Sometimes we read too little into a passage; we skim it and miss what’s really there. Other times, we read far more into it than the text actually says. We like to bring our own ideas, traditions, desires, or even fears and then act as if God Himself said them. The Bible is powerful enough to speak for itself; our job is to listen carefully, not to make it say what we already want it to say.
For instance, some people take a verse about God’s care and turn it into a guarantee of health, wealth, and an easy life, while ignoring the many passages where faithful believers suffer. Others take a warning given to a specific church in the first century and turn it into a universal rule for all time without considering the original situation. Both extremes miss what God actually said in that place.
When you read, ask yourself, “What does the text actually say? What did it mean to the original readers? What does it clearly teach?” Don’t add layers of meaning that aren’t in the words, but at the same time, don’t be afraid of what is plainly there. As you continue to grow in faith and spend time in God’s Word, your understanding will naturally deepen.
All of that being said, you can dig deeper into the Word by learning the world behind the text. Something that has helped me is understanding that the Bible was written to real people, living in real places, during real moments in history. Understanding the world behind the text often makes confusing passages come to life.
You don’t have to become an expert in ancient Near Eastern or first-century culture, but when something feels odd or unclear, it’s often worth asking, “What would this have meant to someone living back then?” A good study Bible or reliable commentary can help fill in those gaps without overwhelming you. In fact, in the coming articles, we’ll take a deeper look at first-century Jewish culture to better understand the world in which Jesus lived and ministered.
Ask Questions as You Read
As you read through the Bible, I would caution against rushing through it like some checklist to complete. I’d suggest slowing down and getting curious. Good questions are one of the best tools for understanding.
As you read, ask things like:
- What does this teach me about who God is?
- What does this reveal about people, our needs, or our sin?
- Why did the author include this detail?
- What surprised me here? Why?
- Is there a word or idea that keeps showing up?
- How does this point to Jesus or the gospel?
Asking honest questions isn’t a sign of weak faith; it’s often how faith grows deeper. The disciples asked Jesus questions all the time. One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is this: do not try to figure out the Bible alone. While many questions can be answered through careful study, God never intended us to study His Word alone. God designed us to grow in community. Ask questions as you read, discuss them with your community of believers, and grow together.
The local church is one of God’s greatest gifts to you. Faithful pastors and teachers have spent years studying so they can help explain hard passages. Mature believers in your church or small group can share insights, ask good questions, and walk alongside you when you are challenged. My hope is that this website encourages you in your study of God’s Word, but it should never replace the wisdom, fellowship, and accountability God has provided through your local church.
Learning to read and study the Bible is a lifelong journey. Don’t feel like you need to master everything at once. Begin with a humble heart, read carefully, ask good questions, stay connected to a healthy local church, and trust that God will continue to grow your understanding as you spend time in His Word.
Every believer starts somewhere. If you’re wondering where to begin reading, you’re not alone. In the next article, we’ll look at where to start, why some books are easier to begin with than others, and how to build confidence one step at a time.
Sources and Further Reading
Desiring God. “How to Read the Bible Better” https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-to-read-the-bible-better
GotQuestions.org. “Why is it important to study the Bible in context?” https://www.gotquestions.org/context-Bible.html
GotQuestions.org. “How should the different genres of the Bible impact how we interpret it?” https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-genres.html
The Gospel Coalition. “Hang on, Why Should We Read the Bible in Context?” https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/hang-on-why-should-we-read-the-bible-in-context/