I think what you just wrote is incredibly perceptive and probably deserves its own post in this series. There is nothing like being able to study the Scriptures ourselves in such a way that frees us from parroting the ideas of others.

Thank you for this series. There is at least one problem that I have found associated with “doctrinal books”, especially when it comes to seminary students (since that is currently one of my environments). Many times, people study these doctrinal books, and accept what is said (or don’t accept) based on the author without spending the time to study Scripture and think about the concepts themselves. This is just as dangerous and just as unhelpful in our understanding and obedience to God as not reading the doctrinal books in the first place. In fact, in many “sermons” I have found that people tend to quote their favorite author(s) more than Scripture. This is not good doctrinal study… this is lazy doctrinal study.

-Alan

As far as when I read the Bible, I ask many of the same questions that Brian asks (go figure). One thing I’ve been trying to do is mix in “reading” with my “study.” That is, use some time to study the minutiae of a text and use some time just to read large portions of scripture to get a feel for the themes and contours of the canon.

What does this text tell me about God?
What does this text tell me about humanity?
What does this text tell me about the gospel?
What is going on in the larger biblical story? (canonical context)
What is the main idea that this text is communicating?

I think in light of being able to answer basic questions like that, we then move and say, “in light of these truths, how should I then live?”

Thanks for your comment. I think your Packer quote is definitely applicable and I’m really excited to hear you’re working through much of this as well. I think we’re always fighting to keep in mind that the study of Scripture is not an ordinary endeavor – whether we’re doing a “quiet time” or doing an academic assignment. It’s a challenge!

I thought that’s really powerful – it does seem like much of this is a sufficiency of Scripture issue. Perhaps if we understood the magnitude of what we’ve been given through Scripture we’d do things differently!

“How can we turn knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to praise and prayer to God.”