Today we are going to explore “study” as an important way to get the Bible into our hearts and lives. The verse here on the graphic for this is Acts 17:11 where those who take the time to dig into whether or not something is true and real are called noble and are praised. This includes calling it “noble” to research and study the claims made about Jesus. Those who don’t just “believe” without a good reason to are here commended.

Coming to the city of Berea, Luke writes in Acts, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” We don’t have to —and we should not expect others to—just believe in Jesus or the Bible without first studying and researching whether the claims are true. Does the Bible’s teaching match with what we know about the world, humanity, and history? This is what was being thought about in this verse.

The words of Jesus, if true, will stand up to any real scrutiny. Truth is true truth, if it is truth at all.

In a broader sense, this element, “Study” is important for us to get the teachings of Jesus into our hearts and lives because there is great depth in the Bible and only when we really know what the context is, will we be able to apply the Bible fully to our lives, thoughts, words, and actions. Study and ask: What does it say? What does it mean? and How does it apply to my life?

There are lots of tools available online to help you with understanding the words of the Bible, such as concordances, different versions, parallel versions, Bible Dictionaries, and others. One free resource with access to lots of Bible study tools is https://biblehub.com where you can find parallel versions, the original languages, concordances, and more. It is a great place to start!