Spiritual Disciplines for the Soul: Study
William Gaultiere, Ph.D., © 2005
When Jesus was just twelve years old he engaged in deep discussion about the Scriptures with a group of religious leaders in the temple at Jerusalem. He answered their difficult questions and amazed them with his insights (Luke 2:46-47). Luke summarized Jesus’ early years saying, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52, NIV). How did Jesus get so wise? How did he know so much about the Scriptures? He wasn’t born brilliant; he studied. He studied many things carpentry, farming, nature, people, but he especially studied the Scriptures.
In Celebration of Discipline Richard Foster explains the importance of study:
"The purpose of the Spiritual Disciplines is the total transformation of the person. It aims at replacing old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits. Nowhere is this purpose more clearly seen that in the Discipline of study… Study is a specific kind of experience in which through careful observation of objective structures we cause thought processes to move in a certain way" (p. 54-55).
Ezra was commended as someone who “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:10, NIV). Paul conducted extensive studying of Scripture and urged his young disciple Timothy to do the same: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). Bible scholars call this kind of study “exegesis.” To exegete a passage is to understand what God was saying in the context of the passage, book, and whole Bible and to also consider the writer, audience, language, culture, and purpose of the letter or book. Anyone can study Scripture with the help of study Bibles, commentaries, and other reference tools. The key is to read the text in its context.
If we don’t take time to study God’s Word then our Bible reading can actually go foul. As Dallas Willard warns us:
"So often we read the Scripture trying to find ways to reaffirm what we already think we know. But the Bible is a wild book – when you think you have it nailed you haven’t. What we have to do is come before it and let it nail us" (Mental Health and Holiness, keynote address given at the 2003 AACC Conference).
To study Scripture rightly we must submit ourselves to it, opening up our minds to listen to God and learn from him whatever he wants to teach us. If we do this earnestly and patiently then we will always learn new things about God, our relationship with him, and how we can best serve him.
But we need to be careful when we study the Bible since, “Much study wearies the body” (Ecclesiastes 12:12b, NIV). The Pharisees studied the Scriptures rigorously, but for most of them it didn’t lead them to life. They acquired intellectual knowledge and they developed intricate theologies, but they didn’t encounter Jesus personally (John 5:39-40). They studied the Word, but they didn’t let it enter their hearts.
The way to guard against study leaving us tired or detached is to counterbalance it with meditation that understands what God is saying to me personally, right now. Foster describes how the two go together, “Meditation is devotional; study is analytical. Meditation will relish a word; study will explicate it” (Celebration of Discipline, p. 56). When we study God’s Word it conforms our minds to its wise order and when we meditate on the Word it forms our hearts to its wonderful flow. By studying and meditating Jesus’ promise to us is realized: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NLT).
Each week in our Christ’s Ambassadors group we’ll study a new spiritual growth topic in the light of the Word of God. We’ll also learn from studying the lives of great saints, classic devotional books, nature, and assessing our own selves via surveys.
