Debbie Swindell

Doctrine & Disciplines of the Bible

A Christian woman can choose from more Bible studies, devotionals, and Christian books than she could ever finish. Many are useful. Yet no author can take the place of an open Bible. That conviction led me to write Doctrine & Disciplines of the Bible. I wanted to encourage women to know what Scripture is, read it carefully, study it with understanding, and live by what it teaches.

This final week is an opportunity to remember what we have learned and put it into practice. Each day includes a passage to read in your ESV Bible, a reflection, and questions to help you respond. You do not need to finish the week with every question about Scripture answered. I hope you will finish it ready to open your Bible again.

Day One: Remember Who Has Spoken

Read: 2 Timothy 3:14–17 and Psalm 19:7–11.

We began this series with doctrine because the way we regard the Bible shapes the way we use it. If Scripture is God’s Word, we have good reason to trust it and listen when it corrects us. We have reason to return to it when other voices compete for our attention.

We considered inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility, then Scripture’s authority and sufficiency. These terms helped us express what we believe about God’s Word, but they were never meant to remain definitions on a page. Paul says the sacred writings make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. He also says that Scripture teaches, reproves, corrects, and trains us in righteousness so that we may be equipped for good works.

Notice that Paul does not describe the Bible as a book we defend but seldom read. Its truth is meant to reach our understanding and our conduct. When Scripture shows us that we have been wrong, correction is one of the ways God cares for us. When it teaches us something we did not know, we have an opportunity to grow. When it directs us to Christ, we are reminded where our hope rests.

Kevin DeYoung writes that God’s Word can be trusted “to speak what is true, command what is right, and provide us with what is good.” Consider how each part of that statement affects the way you approach your Bible. You can listen to its teaching with confidence. You can receive its commands as right. You can trust that its correction serves a good purpose, even when receiving it is difficult.

Reflect and respond

1. What does 2 Timothy 3:14–17 say about Scripture’s origin, purpose, and usefulness?
2. Which teaching from Part One of this series has most affected the way you regard the Bible? Why?
3. Read Psalm 19:7–11 again. What words describe the Lord’s instruction? How does the psalmist value it?
4. When Scripture corrects you, are you more inclined to listen, explain yourself, or move on quickly? What would it look like to receive that correction?
5. Complete this sentence in your own words: Because God has spoken in Scripture, I want to…

Pray: Thank God for giving His Word. Ask Him to make you willing to receive its teaching and correction.

Day Two: Remember Whom Scripture Makes Known

Read: John 5:39–40; Luke 24:44–47; and 2 Timothy 3:15.

We can learn a great deal about the Bible and still miss the Savior to whom it bears witness. Jesus told people who searched the Scriptures that those very Scriptures spoke about Him. After His resurrection, He helped His disciples understand how the writings they knew pointed to His suffering, resurrection, and the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name.

This does not mean that we force Jesus’ name into every verse or pass over what a passage meant to its first hearers. It means that we read each passage as part of the Bible’s account of God’s saving work, which reaches its fulfillment in Christ. We study the text before us and keep the larger story in view.

Paul told Timothy that the sacred writings were able to make him wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. No method of study can save us. No amount of knowledge can make us righteous before God. Scripture makes known the Christ in whom sinners find forgiveness and new life.

David Mathis writes, “The great end of our habits of grace is knowing and enjoying him.” Bible reading is a good discipline, but it is not a measure of our worth. We come to the Word because we need to know the Lord who has spoken and the Savior He has given.

Reflect and respond

1. According to John 5:39–40, what danger can accompany searching the Scriptures?
2. What did Jesus help His disciples understand in Luke 24:44–47?
3. How does 2 Timothy 3:15 connect Scripture with salvation through faith in Christ?
4. Has your Bible study recently led you to greater trust in Jesus, or have you been more occupied with completing a task? Be honest with the Lord about your answer.
5. Choose one passage you know well. What does it teach in its own setting, and how does it fit within God’s saving work in Christ?

Pray: Ask the Lord to keep your study from ending with information alone. Pray that His Word would deepen your faith in Christ.

Day Three: Practice Reading with Care

Read: Acts 17:10–12 and 2 Timothy 2:14–19.

Part Two of this series turned to the work of reading and studying. We considered the posture of our hearts, the importance of context, and the patient movement from observation to interpretation to application. We also considered Paul’s instruction to handle the word of truth rightly.

A woman need not hold a formal teaching role to care about accuracy. We handle Scripture when we read it for ourselves, use it to encourage a friend, teach a child, or speak with someone we are discipling. We serve others well when we take time to understand a passage before repeating it.

The Bereans listened to Paul and examined the Scriptures to see whether what they heard was so. Their example invites us to keep our Bibles open, even when we are learning from a trusted teacher. Paul’s words to Timothy remind us that careless talk can harm hearers. It matters whether we represent God’s Word faithfully.

Here is a simple way to continue studying. First, observe: What does the passage say? Notice the writer, the first readers, repeated words, and what comes before and after. Next, interpret: What did the writer mean to communicate? Ask how the ideas fit together and how the passage belongs within its book. Finally, apply: What should you believe, confess, trust, or do in response? Application grows from the passage’s meaning.

A study guide can help direct your attention. A sound teacher can help explain something you have missed. Neither should become the only way you encounter God’s Word. Read the passage itself. Bring your questions to it. If you are unsure, keep studying and ask for help.

Reflect and respond

1. How did the Bereans respond to the teaching they heard in Acts 17:10–12?
2. What does the surrounding context of 2 Timothy 2:15 teach about the effects of our words on others?
3. Which step do you tend to hurry past: observation, interpretation, or application?
4. Is there a verse you have often heard or shared without reading its context? Read the whole chapter. Does anything in it sharpen or change your understanding?
5. What question could you ask when a book, speaker, or study guide explains a passage in a way that sounds appealing?

Put it into practice: Choose one paragraph from a New Testament letter. Read the entire chapter. Write down five observations about the paragraph, summarize its main point in one or two sentences, and then record one faithful response.

Pray: Ask God for patience to study carefully and humility to correct a mistaken understanding.

Day Four: Receive the Word and Live by It

Read: James 1:19–25 and Colossians 3:12–17.

Bible study is not complete when we can explain a passage. James warns against hearing the Word without doing it. We can mark a page, write thoughtful notes, and discuss a lesson while resisting the very truth we have understood. God’s Word may call us to turn from sin, speak truthfully, forgive someone, or seek reconciliation. We need a heart willing to respond.

Colossians 3 describes the conduct of people who belong to Christ. Read the passage as a whole. Notice how compassion, patience, forgiveness, love, gratitude, and the word of Christ belong together. Paul does not picture a woman studying in isolation from the people around her. God’s Word shapes how His people live together.

Our circumstances will affect how much time we can give to reading on a particular day. Illness, caregiving, work, or weariness may leave less time than we hoped. Do not mistake a shorter reading for a wasted one. Come to the Word with the attention you can give. Ask the Lord for understanding and return to it again. There may also be seasons when you have more time to linger over a book of the Bible. Receive those opportunities as well.

We need the church as we continue. Hear the Word preached. Study with other believers. Ask questions. Encourage another woman with truth you have understood in its context. Be willing to hear her insight and correction, too. God has not called us to grow apart from His people.

Reflect and respond

1. What contrast does James 1:19–25 draw between hearing the Word and doing it?
2. In Colossians 3:12–17, how should belonging to Christ affect the way believers treat one another?
3. What does it mean for the word of Christ to dwell richly among His people?
4. What teaching from this series calls for a response in one of your relationships?
5. Who helps you study, understand, and obey Scripture? How could you encourage another woman to open the Bible for herself?
6. If your current season limits your time or energy, what realistic way can you continue attending to God’s Word?

Pray: Ask God to make His Word evident in the way you speak to and care for others.

Day Five: Open Your Bible Again

Read: Psalm 119:97–105; 1 Corinthians 3:5–7; and Philippians 1:9–11.

What comes after this series? Open your Bible again.

Choose a book and begin reading it in order. You may start with a Gospel to attend closely to the life and work of Jesus, or choose a New Testament letter and follow its argument from beginning to end. Read a passage in its setting. Notice what it says about God before asking how it addresses your circumstances. Write down questions you cannot yet answer and keep learning.

The psalmist loved God’s instruction and meditated on it. That kind of attention grows over time. We need not measure a day’s reading by the number of verses covered or pages filled with notes. Nor should we expect every reading to produce a new insight. Sometimes God’s Word reminds us of a truth we already know but have neglected to obey.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 3 that God gives the growth. That does not make our reading and study unnecessary. It gives us reason to work without placing our hope in our performance. We attend to the Word, pray for understanding, and trust the Lord to use it in our lives over time.

In Philippians 1, Paul prayed that believers’ love would abound with knowledge and discernment. That is a fitting prayer as we close. We want more than familiarity with biblical words. We want to know Christ, discern what is excellent, and live in a way that brings glory to God.

Reflect and respond

1. What does the writer of Psalm 119:97–105 do with God’s Word? What does he say it gives him?
2. According to 1 Corinthians 3:5–7, who gives the growth? How does that truth affect the way you think about your effort in Bible study?
3. What does Paul pray for in Philippians 1:9–11? Which part of his prayer do you especially need?
4. What has changed in the way you view or read Scripture since beginning this series?
5. What book of the Bible will you read next? When will you begin? Who could read or discuss it with you?
6. Write a brief prayer about how you want to continue listening to God’s Word after this study ends.

A prayer as we close

Lord, thank You for speaking through Your Word. Keep me from being satisfied with knowing about the Bible while neglecting to read it. Give me patience to study carefully, humility to receive correction, and faith to trust what You have said. Help me see Jesus Christ in the Scriptures and follow Him in the life You have given me. Grow my love with knowledge and discernment, and use Your Word to make me faithful. Amen.

My prayer is that these weeks have strengthened your confidence in Scripture and deepened your desire to know the Lord. Sound doctrine should lead us to worship and obedience. Careful study should make us more attentive to the God who has spoken and more faithful with the truth we share.

There will always be another book to read and another study to begin. Choose helpful resources with care, but keep returning to the Scriptures themselves. Bring your questions. Read what comes before and after the verse. Receive correction when it comes. Take comfort in God’s promises as they are given. Learn alongside His people. Above all, keep looking to Jesus Christ, to whom the Scriptures bear witness.

The table is still set. God’s Word remains before us, and there is more to learn of the Savior it reveals. Won’t you stay awhile?