Walter McConnell
Though Christians all recognize that the Bible is God’s word for us, if we are honest, we must admit that we don’t always find it as clear or easy to understand as we would like it to be. How many times have we come away from our quiet time wondering, “Now, what was that all about?” And how often have friends from church asked us what a certain passage or verse from the Bible means and we found it difficult to give a proper answer? How do we respond when someone preaches a sermon based on Scripture that we feel was taken way out of context and used to promote an idea that really wasn’t there? Do we ignore it, complain openly, or what? The fact that things like this happen far more frequently than we would like reminds us of our need to get to know our Bibles better and to provide our church members and leaders with better tools for reading and understanding the Bible themselves.
Answers for many of the questions that we and our church friends have can be found in a good Bible dictionary or a one-volume Bible commentary. If it at all possible, every missionary should have one of each in his or her home language. Having a similar resource in one’s ministry language would be a bonus as it may provide clues on how to express difficult concepts in that language. But beyond these basic tools, if we are to develop a big-picture view of the story of the Bible and gain skills in understanding the different literary styles found there we will need to read other books as well. The books introduced below will help you build a better foundation for understanding the Bible and may give you something that you can pass on to others. Some of these books could be used as a text or a source for ideas for teaching a home Bible study that introduces these ideas to people in the church where you worship. Some of them might be useful in preparing courses for a theological seminary. If you search online, you will discover teaching materials and courses are already available for some of these books that will benefit you or serve as good examples of how you could teach similar ideas in your own setting.
As you read about the books below, may I challenge you to try to determine what stage you are in your personal study of Scripture and choose a book that you believe will best help you progress in your knowledge of God and his word and equip you to teach others also. If none of these books appeals to you, consider what other book you might read that will not only increase your knowledge of the Bible, but bring you into closer relationship with the God who spoke the world into existence and still speaks through his written word to anyone who is willing to listen.
God’s Word for Today’s World
John Stott
(Carlisle: Langham Preaching Resources, 2015).
A simple starting point in getting to know the Bible would be John Stott’s God’s Word for Today’s World. In five short chapters, Stott introduces important ideas regarding: (1) God and the Bible; (2) Christ and the Bible; (3) The Holy Spirit and the Bible; (4) The Church and the Bible; and (5) The Christian and the Bible. Each topic strengthens our understanding of how the Trinitarian God revealed and inspired the Bible, what he intended the Bible to do for those who read it, and how we should respond to it as a church and individuals. Through this book we learn of our need to worship God and him alone, of his gift to us of salvation through Jesus Christ, and of our duty to obey his will as revealed in the Bible. Whether used as a text for all participants in a small group or simply as a source for ideas for someone who is preparing such a study, this book would is an excellent guide for those who want to get to know God’s written word.
God’s Word for Today’s World has been (or is being) translated into the following languages: Amharic, Arabic, Bosnia & Herzegovina/Serbia/Croatia, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Kannada, Kiswahili, Marathi, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, and Vietnamese. For more information and links to discussion guides and videos, see https://langham.org/news-and-updates/new-global-preaching-clubs-resource-celebrates-john-stott/.
Understanding the Bible
John Stott
Expanded edition (Grand Rapids: Baker and London: Three’s Company, 2001)
While God’s Word for Today’s World provides a general introduction to the Bible as God’s word, Understanding the Bible takes us a few steps farther as it explains why the Bible was written, who wrote it, and leads us on a journey through the theological, geographical, religious, and historical world of the text so that we can grasp their impact on its storyline. Overviewing the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation, Stott shows how the story directs us to Jesus, who was both a man of his world and the one who unites all in himself as the Messiah. He then reminds us of what it means for the Bible to be authoritative and lays out principles that help readers interpret it rightly and use it ethically. No one should fear that this is a heavy textbook written for academics. Though seekers and new believers will undoubtedly discover concepts that are unfamiliar as they are distinctly Christian, the book was mainly written to provide students and lay leaders with firm foundations for their faith. If you or others you know need to strengthen your foundations, pick this up.
Other editions:
Chinese: 见证基督: 探求《圣经》的本来面目 / Jian zheng Jidu: tan qiu sheng jing de ben lai mian mu (Inner Mongolia People’s Publishing House, 2003); Finnish: Miten ymmärtäisin Raamattua (Helsinki: Suomen evankelisluterilainen, 1980); French: Comprendre la Bible, Nouvelle éd. révisée (Charols: Éditions Grâce & vérité, 2015); German: Die Bibel verstehen (Wuppertal: Verlag Bibellesebund, 1975); Hungarian: Bibliaismereti alapok ([Stuttgart]: Evangéliumi Kiadó, 1988); Indonesian: Memahami isi Alkitab (Jakarta: Persekutuan Pembaca Alkitab, 1984); Japanese: 聖書理解のためのガイドブック / Seisho rikai no tame no gaidobukku (Tokyo, 1974); Korean: 성경연구 입문: 존 스토트 서거 특별판 / Seonggyeong yeongu immun (Seoul: Scripture Union, 1994); Portuguese: Entenda a Bíblia (São Paulo: Mundo Cristão, 2005); Spanish: Cómo comprender la Biblia, 2nd ed (Buenos Aires: Ediciones Certeza Unida, 2005).
How to Read the Bible for All its Worth
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart
4th ed (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014)
This book does such a good job explaining how to read and interpret the Bible according to the literary genre of each part that, although I read it after completing my seminary training, I wished I had read it before and continually encourage others to read it too. The fact that it is now in its fourth edition and continues to be used as a standard text for interpreting biblical genres testifies to its value.
Fee and Stuart begin by instructing us of our need to interpret the Bible accurately if we are to believe and obey it as the words of the living God. Since they are aware that few readers can use the original languages, they explain why we need to use a good translation (or, as they think would be better, several good translations) and introduce readers to issues involved in the translation process that led to some versions being extremely literal and others being “free” and give guidance on which they think are best.
They then take us through the Bible section by section and genre by genre showing how the basic principles of interpretation are worked out in practice so that we can rightly understand what God wants us to know and do what he wants us to do. Though written for Bible college and seminary classrooms, it is written in clear English (with no footnotes) that most readers will find engaging. Many readers will find that this book revolutionizes their reading of God’s word. This is definitely a book worth re-reading and recommending to others who desire to develop their skills in Bible reading.
Other editions:
Finnish: Kirjojen kirja: avaimia Raamatun tulkintaan (Kauniainen: Perussanoma, 1996); French: Un nouveau regard sur la Bible (Deerfield, FL: Editions Vida, 1990); German: Effektives Bibelstudium, 3. überarb. Aufl. (Asslar: ICI – Deutsches Büro, 1996) https://archive.org/details/effektivesbibels0000feeg ; Hungarian: Kétélű kard: a Biblia olvasása és értelmezése (Budapest: Harmat, 1996); Japanese: 聖書を正しく読むために〈総論: 聖書解釈学入門 / Seisho o tadashiku yomu tame ni soron: Seisho kaishakugaku nyumon (Inochinokotobasha, 2014); Korean: 성경을 어떻게 읽을 것인가 : 성경 해석 지침서 / Sŏnggyŏng ŭl ŏttŏk’e ilgŭl kŏsin’ga: sŏnggyŏng haesŏk chich’imsŏ (Seoul: Scripture Union, 1988); Polish: Jak czytać Biblię? (JR Sztorc, 1982); Portuguese: Entendes o que lês? Um guia para entender a Bíblia com auxílio da exegese e da hermenêutica, 3a ed. (Sao Paulo: Vida Nova, 2011); Spanish: La Lectura Eficaz de La Biblia (Miami, FL: Vida, 2007); Vietnamese: NguyêN Tắc Đọc Và HiểU Kinh TháNh (Garden Grove, CA: Viện Thần Hoc Việt Nam, 2002).
Come and See: The Journey of Knowing God through Scripture
Jonathan Pennington
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2023)
Pennington likens reading Scripture to a road trip that enlightens those who take part about their destination and the way to get there. Though not all readers will readily relate to the road trip analogy, they will quickly understand that the author is calling us to Come and See what God has revealed in Scripture using three different reading approaches: an informational reading, a theological reading, and a transformational reading.
When reading for information, we focus on such things as the history behind a text and the literary genre in which it was written to inform our minds about what God wants us to know. Within informational reading, there are “three avenues” to travel: reading behind the text (learning about the language, history, and culture of biblical times), in the text (focusing on the Bible as literature), and in front of the text (understanding how previous generations of believers have understood and applied it).
A theological reading of the Bible recognizes that as our Trinitarian God is main subject of Scripture, we read it to get to know him. This approach also anchors our interpretation in the church’s historical understanding of the text so that we don’t spin off into our own orbit.
The goal of reading the Bible for transformation is to see God’s word change us ever more into his image as people who know and live for him. Reading for personal transformation protects us from only approaching the Bible intellectually.
Come and See is filled with examples based on biblical passages that show the value in the various reading methods and how they benefit us. It also warns us about some mistakes that we can easily fall into if we are not careful. If you need a road map to lead you through the landscape of Scripture, you may find this book extremely helpful.
The Message of the Word of God: The Glory of God Made Known
The Bible Speaks Today
Tim Meadowcroft
(Downers Grove: IVP, 2011)
Meadowcroft’s The Message of the Word of God will appeal to readers who resist thinking about God’s word from the perspective of systematic theology, but want to engage what Scripture says about itself in an expositional, almost sermonic, fashion. As the author explains, “the word of God” encompasses more than just the Bible, including nature, the written word, and the living “Word of God”—Jesus Christ (he purposely uses capital W for this). The book is made up of the studies of twenty biblical passages that develop four main propositions: (1) God speaks; (2) God speaks in the written word; (3) God speaks in Christ; and (4) God speaks today. As the subtitle makes plain, when God speaks, his glory is made known. Beyond this, God’s speaking brings together a people—whether Israel or the church—who are given the task of delivering God’s word to others. And when God’s word is made known, those who hear it should respond with commitment and obedience. While some readers might question the exegesis of a few passages or ask why only these twenty texts were included in the discussion, all will be challenged to think more deeply about what the Bible itself says about God and his word and to obey it to his glory.
Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration and Interpretation
Christian Foundations
Donald G. Bloesch
(Downers Grove: IVP, 1994)
Bloesch’s Holy Scripture is part of his series on Christian Foundations, his systematic theology of the church. The book will therefore be of greatest interest to anyone who wants to read about Scripture from the standpoint of systematic theology though others will surely benefit. Setting his examination of Scripture in the context of errors made from both the left and the right, the author aims to develop a theology of word and Spirit in which the written word becomes the living word as the Holy Spirit illumines our minds to its truths. The concepts of revelation and inspiration that feature prominently in other systematic approaches to Scripture are developed here with a nod to their historical development, how they are variously understood in recent discussions, and how we can improve our thinking about them. Bloesch similarly considers the relation of Scripture to the church and the nature of hermeneutics, with both historical and current options explained. The book concludes with an examination of Rudolf Bultmann’s distinctive influence over biblical studies in the later twentieth century, a discussion of the relationship between the Bible and myth, and reflections on truth from the perspectives of the Bible and philosophy. This introduction should make it clear that Holy Scripture is not for the beginner as it requires a broad knowledge of both systematic and historical theology, and the ability to follow Bloesch’s personal take on the age-old question of how faith and intellect work together: a faith that is seeking to understand and an intellect that desires to be directed by faith. This said, those who read deeply will be challenged to rethink some issues they felt they were sure of, some they remained uncertain of, and others they hadn’t known existed in order to develop a new understanding of how God speaks through his written word as the Holy Spirit gives us the faith to believe it and live it out. While we may not agree with Bloesch on every point, if we seek the Spirit’s guidance as we work through the concepts developed, we will grow greatly in our understanding of Scripture and the God who gave it to us.
