Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn, and on today's episode, it's part two of our four-part spiritual disciplines series. Last episode was on prayer, and this episode is on how to study and retain the Bible. Now, first off, this episode is for every level of spiritual discipline. If you're not doing great with your Bible reading and your study plan and going deeper, this is going to help you a lot. If you're feeling pretty good about your weekly rhythms in God's Word, this episode's going to sharpen you and probably give you an encouraging tip or two. And if you think you are just nailing it, well, great. This episode is an episode you can share with someone who is struggling to find a good rhythm in their daily study and their retention of God's Word. That's what we're talking about, how to study and retain the Bible. Now, first off, and this is something we all need to remember, we need to pray before studying God's Word. Without prayer, your time in God's Word is like a race car without an engine under the hood. It's pretty cool looking on the outside, but there's no power on the inside. Prayer is our power source for studying God's Word. If you think you can do it without prayer, chances are your pride is leading the way, or you have gotten into the habit of a religious routine or ritual. But I would be wary of such an approach because you need to commune with God. When we read the word, God is speaking to us. Prayer is such an important element of that process. You know, we're capable of being puffed up with knowledge and checking boxes on a daily routine without experiencing the life-altering power of the Spirit through the Word of God, and the power of prayer is what protects us from that. It happens to many people. You know, the other day I was listening to Dr. Steve Lawson teach in classes at the Master's Seminary, and he said this provocative statement. It seems provocative, but it's spot on. He said, There will be many Calvinists in hell. And everyone sort of just looked at him with wide eyes, and then he said, And there will be many Arminians in hell. You know, the old debate between Calvinism and Arminianism. Well, his point was both were zealous for their doctrinal positions, both have knowledge, they've been puffed up with knowledge, but neither knew Christ, neither communed with God. Many people will claim some theological title. They had retained some information, but they had never experienced genuine transformation. Friend, do not get in the habit of simply going through the motions of reading God's Word and going through an annual reading plan and checking off boxes without prayer. Prayer before the word has a powerful effect on your time in the Word. So what sort of things should you pray for? Let me give you a quick list and then we'll jump into some practicals on how to study the Bible. First, thank God for his word. Acknowledge the gift that it is, and get yourself in a posture of gratitude before a holy God who graciously speaks to you through the words you are about to read. This is going to help your mindset as you approach the text and keep remembering God is speaking right now through his word. Wow, what a privilege, what a gift. Thank him for it. Second, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes and your spiritual ears to see and hear what the scriptures are saying. You need the help of the God of the Word. The Holy Spirit will help you with that. He's actually the helper. That's what the Greek word paraclete means. So ask him to be your helper. Next, ask the Holy Spirit to help you apply the Word of God according to the will of God. So to obey, basically, to put it into practice. You need help. You and I can't do that on our own. Ask the Spirit of God who is in you as a believer to help you apply the Word. And finally, ask the Spirit of God to make much of Christ in your heart as you read the Word. The Holy Spirit exists to glorify Jesus. So ask him to do that through your study. Okay, that's the foundational principle. Next, basic. Know before you go. Know before you go. What do I mean by that? Well, know what you want to do and where you want to go before you jump in. Don't just flip open your Bible and sort of go, well, let's read that today. Sure. You need a plan. You need a purpose. This is going to help you study and retain the Bible. Are you doing a proverb a day? Are you reading the whole chapter? A half a chapter? Are you meditating on one verse? You know, think about it. What's your plan? Are you going to read a gospel? Where are you starting? Which book? What letter? Why are you there? Are you doing a reading plan? How much are you going to read in one sitting? Are you in an epistle? Romans to Jude? That would be the epistles. Are you taking it slow? If it's say the book of Romans, are you going to take one verse, one statement, one situation with the Apostle Paul? Are you going to take a complete thought? Maybe a whole section, maybe a chapter? It can be a lot. For example, if you were to read Romans 12, you have in Romans 12 a chunk on spiritual gifts, and then he transitions to what to do. Maybe you want to spend a couple days there. Maybe that's a slower study, verse by verse. Knowing before you are going into something is very helpful. One of the best tools for slicing up passages into an easy to follow outline is by using what most study Bibles have on the first or second page of each book of the Bible. A great example of this is the MacArthur Study Bible. Take the Gospel of John, for example. It's been outlined on the opening pages of that Gospel. It breaks up the Gospel of John into seven sections. Each has a subsection with subpoints. And you could see which verses correspond with what. He takes complete thoughts, stories, teachings, parables, all of it, breaks it down into an outline, and an outline will help you know before you go. It helps you meditate on specific situations or teachings from Jesus and gives you an easy way to digest smaller portions of scripture rather than just speed reading to check a box. And so look for outlines, and this will help you know before you go. Next, write down thoughts and observations as you read verse by verse. And I would even recommend do this verse by verse. This is where reading and retaining the Bible comes in. You aren't reading just to read, you're reading to learn and grow. You're communing with God. So write down what you see, what questions you have, what hits your heart, even cross-references that come to mind where a specific passage causes you to think about another passage and you cross-reference. That means you go to a different part of the Bible or a different passage and you cross-reference or cross-examine, like a lawyer who both the prosecution and the defense will question a witness and they'll cross-examine other witnesses. Write down key words. Write down their definitions. You might already be thinking, whoa, this might take a little time. Yeah, it's not a speed reading exercise to just check off your daily reading plan. It's communion with God. We don't date our husband or our wife or spend time with friends. Just sort of, hey, here's three questions. Hey, here's this. Hey, great. Order food. Good to see you. All right. You're doing well. Okay, see you later. Um, thanks. Check the box. No, we we sit and we marinate, meditate, we we share our hearts, we go back and forth. There's this long process, even if it's a shorter dinner or a shorter coffee, in which we go deeper with that individual and we we get there by noticing details, by asking questions, by observing, by actively listening and responding with more questions. It's very important to know when you're reading and studying the Bible and you're making these observations, a few more things. What's the genre of the book? Are you reading poetry? That would be like Song of Solomon or the Psalms or Proverbs. These are poetic literature. Are you in an epistle? Is it Paul talking? Is it Peter? Is it John? Is Jesus addressing someone in the gospels? Is this a prophet? Understand the genre. Understand the context. If you're reading the book of Revelation, you're reading an apocalyptic book, if you're reading the book of Acts, you're reading historical narrative. So know what you're reading. Who's talking? Who is the author and who is the audience? Who's talking and who are they talking to? What's the context of that audience? Are they Jewish? Are they Gentile? Is it everyone? Is it the church? Is the author addressing now unbelievers, calling them to repentance, or addressing some aspect of their life and worldliness, or is he addressing believers? All of these things matter. It's going to help you study and help you retain the Bible. And then add in devotional thoughts along the way. This is very important. Don't just be a running commentary of basic information. As you're reflecting on a passage, write down what comes to mind and how it might apply to your life. Here's an example for you from my own study. When I read about Paul being beaten and shipwrecked, attacked, imprisoned, he's struggling with hunger. He's being slandered by false brothers in 2 Corinthians 11, verses 25 to 28. Let's say we were studying the book of 2 Corinthians. We get to chapter 11, we're moving through. We get to verses 25 to 28. And there's all of these things listed in which Paul is explaining his suffering for the gospel. And, you know, I think, wow, this is just like Jesus when he said to his disciples in John 15, 20, you know, the servant is not greater than his master. I might write down, you know, what did you think this was going to be? Or do we think this Christian life is going to be easy? question mark. You know, those are things I'm going to observe. It's not just information. Here's the author, here's the audience, here's what they're doing, here's where they are. End of story. No, I'm thinking about these truths and how they hit my heart, and I'm writing that down as well. I think of, you know, but the reality that if they persecuted Jesus, they're also going to persecute us. That's what he said to his disciples. I would write that cross-reference down, and I may drop some bullet points like the Savior means more to me than any freedom from suffering this world could ever offer. Or Christ is worth every sacrifice, he is worth every slanderous word, he's worth every ounce of suffering. I might write a prayer, a request of the Lord, Lord, help me remember that when I feel entitled to a life of ease and comfort while following after you, that I have missed your truth about suffering and about being a servant. I might write down this thought. If I'm not experiencing any level of discomfort from following Christ, I might not be following very closely. Am I maintaining a safe distance from Jesus? Those are just a few examples of how I write down observations, but then move it into deeper questions as I examine my own heart. Proverbs says that it is a wise man who draws out the heart and seeks to understand. Jeremiah 17, 9 says that the heart above all else is deceitful. Who can know really the depths of its wickedness? None of us, but we do well then to assess our hearts and to ask questions to do that. Do you see that this is not about being clever? This is not about being smart. It's not about making people go, ooh, and ah, with your secret knowledge or how you see things they don't. It's about your heart. It's about what God is saying to you through his word. I've been in Bible studies when I was younger in the Lord, where you know you go around talking about a passage and it's about who can come up with the most clever and impressive takeaway. Instead of letting the word be plainly understood, cross-referencing with supporting passages, asking some deeper questions and then applying it to your immediate life. So write down verse by verse what you're seeing, what you're thinking, and how you might live in light of what you're reading. Now, let's talk about uh some deeper kind of systems. Consider using a system until you get more experience. If you're sort of freewheeling with your observations and you think I'm just don't feel as streamlined, this abbreviation can help. Use the abbreviation SPEC. That's S-P-E-C and then double K, SPEC. SPEC with two K's. We give away this little acronym on a bookmark for new guests at our church every week in the gift bag when they come to our church and we give them a welcome gift. The first S stands for SINS to avoid. And this is a Bible study acronym. Sins to avoid. In other words, are there sins to avoid here? As you're reading a passage, use spec. Are there sins to avoid? Sin is something that always hurts people. It always destroys lives. It's important that we identify in a passage things that God wants us to avoid. Maybe we confess things to him in that process. We are observing something about sin in the text, and it makes us think about our own sin. So are there sins to avoid here? Is there something God wants you to avoid? And then the P in spec is are there promises to believe? Is there a promise to believe here? God always keeps his promises, always. And he gives us a great deal of these promises in Scripture, and so you might write down the promise of God that encourages you that day. You meditate on that, you think about it, how it applies to you, you thank the Lord for it. So are there sins to avoid? That's S. Is there a promise to believe? And then E would be examples of character. Are there examples in this text that show you the kind of character you ought to have or you want to have? The Bible is filled with examples of real people who demonstrate wise choices, wise attitudes, and wise actions. And so there's an example there. Author of Hebrews says that we're to remember the example of our leaders. So identifying these characteristics in the text help us learn from them and do them too. I mentioned earlier the passage in which Jesus says that the servant will be very much just like his master, not greater than his master. And you could go on a tangent or a rabbit trail on the example of Christ and his serving ministry, the way he washed the disciples' feet. And he doesn't just do it to do it, he does it as an example to them, says, Go and you you do this too. And so none of us are above serving. You could be observing that. At the same time, you're understanding his road to the cross, you're understanding the weight of the world on his shoulders as he takes on the sins of all believers, and he is redeeming us. And all of that applies to you if you're a believer, yes, but his example of service could also be something that you do a study on. So are there sins to avoid? Is there a promise to believe in this passage? Are there examples of character that you want to emulate and think more about? And then the C is are there commands to obey? God has made us, He knows what is best for us, He gives us commands to protect us and to provide a way of living for us that brings Him glory. His commands are not burdensome, and we need to know what His commands are so we can obey them. So write that down in your study. Is there a command to obey? Sometimes you'll be reading, and your daily reading is just a command all in itself. You're not gonna necessarily get a gospel explanation or a big why. It's just a text that says, do this, and you ought to meditate on that and think about the implications of it and why you do it and how the gospel ties into that. Are there commands to obey? And then the first K in spec is is there knowledge about me? So is this teaching me something about myself right now or my heart or the nature of humanity? Now that's gonna center on sin. It also can center on redemption. If I were reading Ephesians 2, there's knowledge about me in that passage. And you were dead in your trespasses and sin. Oh yes, Lord, I was dead, I was lost. Uh dead men can't raise themselves to life. We're just a a corpse spiritually. We are the walking dead, just going around in our life, wandering aimlessly, but spiritually dead inside. This is knowledge about myself. It's knowledge about the human condition. That's the first K. Don't read yourself into every passage, be careful with that. But understand there is an aspect of humanity and wisdom, but also just hard-line truth that the Bible gives us about our nature. It's important to study that, to understand it. There's also very valuable wisdom and knowledge about the good things about you, if you will. I know we're often careful about this in more reformed circles because we don't want to have a man-centered gospel and view the Bible through a man-centered lens, but let's be careful now not to swing the extreme to this idea that you know there there's nothing about me in the Bible. No, there are statements in which we see God and his value for those made in his image. If you were reading in the book of Genesis, very early on in Genesis 1 and 2, you would come to a conclusion that God values man, he loves man, man is precious to God. Well, that's knowledge about you would understand what the what the image of God is. I am made in the image of God, the Imago Dei. There's knowledge to understand about yourself as a human. And then last and last for a reason, because it is not least, it's the thing you must remember, you must take away, is the the second K knowledge about God. So we've got sins to avoid, promises to believe, examples of character, commands to obey, knowledge about me, and then knowledge about God. There are lots of ideas out in the world today about what God is like. Many Christians even have opinions. Well, I think God this, and I don't no, I don't think God would that. Listen, you get your view of God from the scriptures. Your view of God will affect everything in your life. How you see God, how you know God affects how you live for God. And the Bible is the best source. It is, in a sense, God's autobiography. This is how you get to know Him. And I think about this in preaching and in my own ministry in my own life is I want people to know God. I want you to know God. I don't want you to be a clever Bible study guru and have your tips and tricks, and even you could have your pretty little journal. Maybe you're one of those people that does the doodlings in your journal, or you're really good at fonts or writing, and you're you're on the other side. You sit down at your journal, and it's not, hey, what do I do? What should I write? It's you're off creating some picture and making the letters look fancy, and you've missed the whole point of your study as well. Whatever the case, I want you to know God. I want you to meditate on God. I want you to leave every time you spend time in the Word thinking, what an amazing God, what a faithful God. I want you to understand his attributes. And so look at the text. Are there things about God that are there and you need to mind them? You need to meditate on them. SPEC is a great practical acronym if you need a place to start. A couple more. Spend time in meditation about what you read and what you study. In a world where the idea of meditation brings to mind new agey mysticism, sort of sitting around playing weird music, you know, or with their legs all pretzeled doing yoga in Sedona, Arizona. Recognize that God is the originator of genuine meditation. Psalm 119 15 says, I will meditate on your precepts and I will be able to. Regard your ways. Meditate. It's the Hebrew word that means to muse. It's the idea of turning something over and over and over again in your mind. If you want to retain God's word, you need to turn it over and over again in your mind. Think about it. Pray on it. Imagine this, that, or the other. What ought I do, Lord? What would you have me do in this situation? What should I do about this? Think about God's word. View every situation through the lens of Scripture. Talk about your passage of study with a friend or family. Write it down on an index card. Put it on your dashboard or take a screenshot. Set an alarm five times in your day to spend five minutes meditating on your passage from morning study or the evening before and pray about it. That's going to be 25 more minutes of turning God's word over and over in your mind. Pretty soon you're going to be in a situation and scripture is going to pour out of you because you've been meditating on God's precepts. What you are filled up with is what pours out of your life. So saturate yourself with God's Word. JC Ryle says this let us resolve to meditate more on the Bible. It is good to take two or three texts with us when we go out into the world and to turn them over and over in our minds whenever we have a little leisure. It keeps out many vain thoughts. It tightens the nail of daily reading. I love that. It preserves our souls from stagnating and breeding corrupt things. It sanctifies and quickens our memories, and it prevents them from becoming like those ponds where frogs live but the fish die. Oh, that's good. One book I would recommend on meditation is God's Battle Plan for the Mind by David W. Saxton. It is on the Puritan practice of biblical meditation. I'm working through it right now, and it's the kind of book you need to read because the treasure of Puritan wisdom is rarely taken advantage of today. Meditation is a good thing. Do it biblically and that book will help. Finally, teach others what you have been learning. Teach others what you have been learning. This episode is about how to study and retain the Bible. Well, one of the best ways to retain biblical study is to teach it to someone else and then talk about it. The idea here, if you don't use it, you'll lose it. And that's fitting. When it comes to Bible study, you know, I don't mean you should just go teach the Bible if you don't know what you're doing, or you're a novice, or you're a maturing Christian who's not sure what's going on at all, you're just barely maturing and learning. But if you are growing along, you've been spending time in God's Word, it's probably time to get involved with leading or assisting a small group Bible study or teaching preschoolers or elementary kids at your church, helping teenagers, or if you have a family, starting there is a hundred percent the right place to start. You can't just sit around and read your annual Bible reading plan and assume that you're going to retain. You can post your accomplishment on Facebook next December 31st. You could tell everyone about how you made it through your reading plan, and you could still be totally ignorant of how to study and retain the Word of God. So use what you're reading. And that might mean that you abandon the annual reading plan and you focus on studying a book of the Bible more deeply and slowly and carefully. That is not a bad thing. You're reading to retain the Bible, you're reading to grow and learn. Reading a book of the Bible is great. Reading a book on how to study the Bible can be very, very helpful for this. Now, I can't capture everything in one episode, and I need to wrap this up. But one of the best books that you could read is How to Eat Your Bible by my friend Nate Pikkowitz. It's one of the clearest and most practical and easy to read books on how to study and read the Bible. So go buy that book, get a journal, get a pen, crack open the word, and remember before your first stroke of ink or before your eyes scan the page, hit your knees and ask the Spirit of God to bring the Word of God to life. I hope this episode has given you some helpful steps to take as you seek to hear from God through his word. And I hope that your spiritual disciplines are coming from a place of genuine affection. Don't forget that. Love God. That's where all this comes from. Love Him. And in that prayer and in that study of His Word, you're pouring out your love and affection to Him and upon Him for His glory. Thanks for listening. Thanks for your ongoing support. For the Gospel has a plethora of free resources and is reaching people with sound doctrine all over the world because of friends like you. So be sure to share this episode with someone who needs it. And if you haven't already, drop a written review on Apple and help us get in front of more people who are looking for a good podcast. They might see your review, and the Lord may use your testimony as a way to bless them. I'd love to see how this podcast is blessing your spiritual life. For free resources, if you haven't taken advantage of them already, go to for thegospel.org and follow us on every social media platform. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. For now, keep on living for the gospel.