Bible Study

Quality discipleship involves getting the Word of God into someone’s life.

We know what Romans 12:2 says –

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Don’t be conformed to this world – be changed, be transformed.

But how? You Can receive the Word of God in your life by renewing your mind with it.

Here are three reasons why the Word of God is key to discipleship:

1. God’s Word produces life transformation.

• People don’t change unless the Word of God changes their thinking and perspective on life. The Word transforms lives.

2. God’s Word builds convictions for a lifetime.

• We don’t want students who have been disciplined to do it just because they’re involved with student ministries while they’re in school.
• We want them to see that these things come from the Scriptures and to have the Word of God build a deep, internalized conviction to live out biblical discipleship for the rest of their lives.

3. God’s Word is the truth.

Every one of us has lies in our belief system, which can only be replaced with the Truth of God’s Word.

How do we get the word of God in their life? The good news is you impart God’s perspective on life more often than you think.

• You impart God’s perspective when hanging out late at night over pizza. You’re sitting around just talking about life, and biblical truth emerges.
• You start talking about God’s perspective on dating relationships, God’s perspective on money, and what makes you happy.

As you involve your disciples in the larger body, they’ll get the Word of God in their lives when they sit in Church meetings and hear a good talk.

The responsibility isn’t just one person. As they become involved with the larger body, the Word of God comes into their lives.

Nothing is more exciting than seeing someone come to faith in Christ.

• Seeing God open closed hearts and illuminate dark minds is a rewarding part of belonging to His spiritual family.
• However, as important as new believers coming to faith in Christ is the growth that must follow that new birth (John 3:3; 2 Peter 3:18).
• Newborn babies are not left alone and are expected to thrive.
• They are welcomed by families who feed them, train them, and help them grow.
• So it is in God’s family.
• When new believers join us, it is our responsibility to feed them, train them, and help them grow.

The Bible places a premium on spiritual growth:

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2)

If babies do not get pure milk in the first year of life, they will not develop into healthy adults.

• Likewise, new believers need the basics before they can advance in their understanding of deeper spiritual truths.
• In this age of increasing biblical illiteracy, a new believer is likely unfamiliar with many concepts more mature Christians take for granted.

Reading or listening to the book of Genesis is helpful for new believers.

• With that foundation, there is more to build on.
• Many of the events and truths that occur later in the Bible have their roots in Genesis,

So, learning about:

• The beginning of the world (Genesis 1—2)
• The first sin (Genesis 3)
• God’s selection of Abraham as the father of the Jewish nation (Genesis 12)

These are critically important in understanding how God later worked in human history.

Skipping to the New Testament, a new believer may benefit from reading the book of Luke and then Acts.

This combination gives new believers an overview of Jesus’s life and the church’s beginnings.

• Luke wrote both books, so there is a beautiful continuity between them.
• A baby must have milk to grow, so new believers must have the Word of God.
• It is harmful to feed infants carbonated soft drinks instead of milk, and it is just as dangerous to feed baby Christians inspirational tweets and self-help books instead of God’s Word.
• There is no substitute for the Word of God if new believers are to develop into strong, healthy Christians.

Other books, videos, and podcasts may be helpful ways for new believers to supplement the reading of God’s Word and receive biblical teaching throughout the week.

The first Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42)

The early church multiplied because every new member was committed to growing and learning.

• They immersed themselves in teaching and preaching,
• fellowship with other believers,
• As well as prayer.

It has always been challenging for Christians to immerse themselves in truth with the proliferation of good material online, but there is a tremendous amount of false teaching as well, so we must be very cautious.

A godly couple, Priscilla and her husband Aquila, helped Apollos get his doctrine straight (Acts 18:25–26).

• Apollos was full of talent and zeal but needed more accuracy, having only a partial message.
• Seeing his potential as a powerhouse for the gospel, this wise couple took him aside and explained things more thoroughly without squelching his enthusiasm.
• Baby Christians are often ready to conquer the world for Christ but may lack the tools necessary to endure.
• Mature Christians can help them pace themselves as they learn faithfulness in little things (Luke 16:10).
• New Christians must learn obedience before responsibility, integrity before position, and a servant’s heart before leadership.
• The best way to help new believers grow is to model growth ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:1).

One of the first things we should always emphasize with a new Christian is the importance of personal Bible reading — every Christian should meditate on God’s word daily (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1–2).

I’ve found that many of these new believers face several challenges in their Bible reading.

• First, they don’t know exactly where to start or what to do.
• Second, they feel tension between going deep and reading broadly to cover lots of territory.

The acronym CRAWL gives us a plan for Bible study with disciples. It presents 5 important concepts that new believers need to know.

1. Contextualize

It’s best to know the context, or genre, of what you’re reading before you dive in. You don’t need a seminary education to understand and apply God’s word. However, we approach paradoxes in Proverbs differently than Job’s speeches. We read Jesus’s parables differently than the book of Revelation.

Bible reading shouldn’t become so focused on in-depth academic study that you don’t have time to warm your heart with the heat of God’s goodness radiating from Scripture. But a general idea of the text will serve you as you approach it. Matthew Henry’s or the IVP commentaries are short and insightful.

2. Read

After a brief bit of context, dive into the word.

• Nothing is better than this.
• I find that it’s best to focus on two or three chapters, depending on which book you are reading and how much time you have.
• Sometimes, one verse or phrase is more than enough to consume your heart and mind.
• Don’t be afraid of reading slowly.

Simply reading the Bible slowly and thinking about all its clauses and connections can truly change your life.

3. Ask

As you read, ask questions of the text.

• Don’t breeze past challenging sentences.
• Slow down.
• Pause. Wonder.
• Ask what it meant to the original audience.
• Why did the human author choose that word?
• Why did the Holy Spirit ordain that phrase to be repeated?

Recolonize that the Holy Spirit will draw near to you through the word as you draw near to him (James 4:8).

• Ask him to convict you and enlighten you.

4. Write

Writing is the best way to slow down and interact with the text.

Jumbled thoughts often become clear through the end of a pen.

One may begin to write as they ask the questions above but move even further into meditation.

Take each verse and prayerfully meditate on the meaning.

• When reading something beautiful, I stop and savor it.
• When reading something convicting, I stop and repent.
• Writing a verse in our own words can help to internalize the concepts.

Chew on biblical truth until we feel its power transform our thoughts and focus.

5. Learn and Listen

As we read slowly, we should be gleaning new knowledge.

• Not just academic knowledge but knowledge of God that may start with academic study.
• Truth enters our minds as a doorway to our hearts, stirring our attention and transforming our will for God’s purpose.

Often, life-changing insights come on relatively normal days of prayer and Bible study, where the Holy Spirit convicts us and reveals a need.

The Spirit doesn’t give these insights every day, but we should be alert when he does — all the more reason to take our time CRAWLing through the Bible.