The Top 5 Reasons Bible Study Books are Bad for You

Anyone who knows me knows that I do not like or use Bible study books.
I see danger in them and I want to tell you why.

1. Using a Bible study book does not promote good Bible understanding. Using a Bible study book gives you a good understanding of what the author of that book thinks, but it does not give you a good understanding of what the Bible says. Every single Bible study book contains errors. Every single one. Avoid these errors by using the Bible, not a study book that has errors.

2. Bible study books taint the Bible. When my son was deployed to Iraq, I cherished his letters.  I would never have allowed someone else to read them then tell me their thoughts and ideas about what he had written. No way! I had to read them (devour them) for myself. It's the same with God's Word; I have to read the Word for myself and can never be satisfied with someone else's summary or thoughts about the Word. To study by reading someone else's take on the Bible taints the Scriptures with that person's ideas and thoughts. Everyone has filters....whether they admit it or not...and those filters taint the Word. I'd rather not have their take on it; I'd rather have the Scriptures alone.

3. Bible study books lead to idol worship. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people in "Bible" studies never open a Bible. They use some study book they found and never open the Scriptures. They've said the Scriptures are printed within the book, but I have only seen a few verses referenced in such books, followed by pages of commentary. The authors of these books have taken the Bible completely out of its context, put their own spin on it, then called it "Bible" study. It is not a Bible study; it's a book study. When you're studying what someone else has said about the Bible, you're not studying the Bible. These books are taking the place of the Bible in people's lives. They, and their authors, have become idols because they take the focus completely off God and put it on themselves. They do this by making application the primary focus. The primary focus of the Bible is not its application to your life; the primary focus of the Bible is Jesus. If we are thinking about ourselves and our response to His Word, we are no longer looking to Jesus, we are looking to ourselves. We then become the idols and you can see this play out all over social media.

4. Bible study books stunt spiritual growth. Because the main focus of these books is mostly application, the work of the Holy Spirit is replaced with the principles taught in these books that people think are "Biblical." The most you will get from a "Bible" study book is a list of things the author thinks you should or should not do in light of their interpretation. This is not spiritual growth; this actually stunts spiritual growth because these so-called "Biblical principles" only last until the next book is published, then a whole new set of "Biblical principles" takes shape. News flash: Biblical principles are a myth. They do not exist. If we could truly glean some "Biblical principle" from Scripture, then we could make the argument that becoming a prostitute and committing treason is a good principle. Look how that worked out for Rahab.....she's even in the line of Christ!

5. Bible study books are filled with misinterpretation and false teachings. I have not found even one Bible study book that teaches Truth without error. They all have errors because they are all made by people and people make mistakes every single day. Many authors, in their book introductions, even exalt themselves, telling people their book will change their lives and they need it (Beth Moore's books nearly all say this). Their books will not change your life. They might make you feel good or better in a given moment, but that fades with reality. The misinterpretations are hard to spot because they run very close to Scripture, but with small, dangerous changes. Be wary of any study that quotes a small portion of Scripture then builds an entire lesson around it. There's a 99% chance those verses are taken and used completely out of context, but you might never know if you're using that book instead of the Bible as your main text.

I'm not condemning all teachings from all people; I'm condemning "Bible" study books that are anything but. We can all learn something from each other. I'm not against learning from others. I am against replacing true, real Bible study with a book written by a human author that takes the place of my Bible. I've been in "Bible studies" where the participants often don't open or even bring their Bibles!

True, real Bible study is not difficult; I'm perplexed as to why anyone would choose a Bible study book, especially in a classroom (think Sunday School) setting, instead of the actual Bible.

God has promised His Word will not return void. No human author can make that claim. Their words are all void. Why do so many people settle for so much less when the Bible is so rich in doctrine, comfort, learning, teaching, truth and a host of other benefits?

Settle for More....more true understanding of the Bible.....more interaction with the Holy Spirit.....more knowledge of the Bible.....more of the Word.

Using Bible study books causes people to settle for less.

~Tricia

Does Ephesians Really Teach THAT?

I recently listened to a woman describe her latest Bible study book and share some things she was learning from it. She was referring to a Bible study book, not the actual Bible. As with the vast majority of Christians, she was learning from a human author, not the Author of the Bible.

I digress.

This woman was very excited about her new Bible study book labeled "Ephesians." She said it was a verse-by-verse study of the Book of Ephesians and was enamored by what the author brought out. That day's "study" covered the first two verses of Ephesians chapter 1:

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The author of the book then proceeded to teach her readers what she thought the passage was saying:

"God has a will for your life. God has a plan for your life. How exciting to know that God has a plan and a will for your life! Be assured that if God has a will for your life, He will fulfill it in you!

In the notes section of this study, write down five things you will do this week to fulfill God's will in your life."

Ladies and gentlemen, this is wrong. 

These two verses are not teaching that God has a will for your life. What these verses are teaching:

Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus. 

Paul identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. 

He said his apostleship was by the will of God. 

He addresses the saints at Ephesus.

He addresses the faithful in Christ Jesus. 

He extends grace to them, and peace, from God. 

He identifies God as "our father," using a possessive plural pronoun. 

He includes Jesus Christ in the grace and peace. 

He identifies Jesus Christ as Lord. 

There is no application in these verses, yet they are just as powerful as all other verses in the Bible. 

Here's how to study the Bible:

Read what it says.

Do not read anything into it.

Do not filter it through past teachings you've heard.

Read it again.

Ask God to help you understand.

Read it again.

Read it again.

Determine the context of the words by reading what came before and after the verses you're reading.
Ask yourself who's writing, who they are writing to, where they are, where their intended audience is, whether they are writing to an individual or a group, if there is more than one person writing, who the writer is in relationship to the recipient(s), etc.

Read it aloud. 

Look up confusing words in a Bible dictionary (not a regular dictionary) or lexicon to clarify their meaning.

Read it aloud again. 

Memorize it.

Read it again.

Think of it as you go through your day.

Read it again.

Take no one's word for what the Bible says.

Take no one's word for what the Bible teaches.

Read only the Bible, not a commentary or Bible study book.

Read it again.

It will nourish your soul.

You will grow.
The Holy Spirit, not a human author, is your guide.

The answer to the blog title is, No. Ephesians, in these two verses, is not teaching what the book author taught, that God has a will and plan for your life. Do not be fooled by this teaching; it is Secular Humanism. 

God has so much more for you in His Word. Do not settle for shallow teaching that only fills the human ego and does nothing for the soul. Stop shortchanging your Christian walk with books and faux "Bible" studies that water down and filter God's Word.

I'll never forget when my son was deployed to Iraq for the first time. It was 2004, the war was hot and heavy and my son was so very young - just 19. Nineteen. I wrote him a letter every single day and he would often receive them in batches so I made sure I numbered them so he'd know what order they came in. He wrote a few letters to me during this time, too, and I remember being glued to those letters, taking in every word, studying his handwriting, looking for a hidden message that would tell me he's ok. I was breathless when reading his letters. I still have every single one. I realized I would never be satisfied if someone else read his letters for me then summarized them. I would never have taken anyone else's word for anything he said. I had to see for myself! I had to read each and every letter over and over and over till I had them practically memorized.

This is a good reminder on how to approach God's Word. Take no one else's summary or thoughts, but go directly to God yourself and see what He has to say to you.

~Tricia

The Subtle, Sweet Words of a False Teacher

False teachers never come out and tell you they are false teachers. They are clever and subtle and their words are smooth and comforting to the ear. They start out slowly, staying close to the Word so as not to arouse suspicion, but also to gain their listeners' confidence. Once lured in by their initial offerings, people reach a place of comfort and stop questioning the source. They will then read and follow anything that person says, without question.

This is how cults start.
This is how deception gains a foothold in your life.
This is how a false teacher lures you in.

I remember once attending a ladies Sunday School class for a few weeks when my husband wasn't pastoring, and the ladies were studying a "Bible study book" by a popular author. I questioned something in the book and one of the ladies said, "Oh, I can't imagine her saying anything like that! I trust what she says implicitly! I read everything she writes." The statement in question was right before her eyes, yet she still denied that this beloved author could say anything like that. But, she did say it. That poor woman was in denial. She had turned from student to worshiper, and didn't even realize it. Instead of a teacher, the author had become an idol. She dismissed any question about her as though we had no right to question anything she said. I didn't stay in the class.

The Scriptures tell us to watch. There are so very many warnings against false teachers throughout Scripture that if there were literal warning signs posted, there would be so many signs you'd have to watch carefully so as not to hit them! You would have your eyes wide open because they would be so plentiful you'd risk hitting one if you got distracted for even a moment. Why do you suppose God gave us so many warnings? Let's not kid ourselves by thinking false teachers are few and far between. I highly suspect one might be on your book shelf right now.

Here are some words from a false teacher's latest book. This woman is very popular even in conservative Baptist circles. Because I don't buy or use Bible study books, I'd never read anything she's written, though, so I had to seek out her work. I sought her out because some friends had recently had a heated debate about this woman and I wanted to find out about her myself. Fortunately, Amazon gives us 20% of a book to preview. I previewed this woman's latest book and found the following statement:

"I am being as honest as I know how to be when I say that I did not write these words by simple preference. I wrote them because had I not, the rock in my yard would have cried out. What God does with what He's required is His business. I entrust this message entirely to the One Who delivered it while I sat bug-eyed."

In her next paragraph, she went on to say, "Certainly I'm not audaciously implying that this book was written under the same divine guidance as the Holy Scriptures! What I'm saying is that I wrote this message to the best of my ability under the guidance of the Holy Spirit...."

This woman, despite her argument to the contrary, is aligning herself with God, giving her words as much credibility as the very Word of God. To her, I would say, "No, Beth Moore, the rocks in your yard would not cry out if you had not written your latest book." I would also say, "Your empty denial of equating your words with God's is not luring me in." And finally, I would say, "Get behind me, Satan!"

Beth Moore is a false teacher. I did not reach that conclusion by reading all her books, studying her associations or by talking to others about her. I reached that conclusion based on her very own words. As soon as any teacher, male or female, begins to equate their words with God's, they have crossed a line. She may have crossed a line sooner, I don't know but this one crosses the line and in doing so, she's disqualified every book she's ever written as being even remotely about or from God!

Her disclaimer of "not audaciously implying that this book was written under the same divine guidance as the Holy Scriptures" is akin to someone holding a gun to your head and claiming, "I am not a murderer!" as they blow your head off. (This was my husband's example.) Beth Moore is fully aware of how she has exalted herself. She has to publicly deny this, however, because if she didn't say the words of denial, she might face accusation. So, she says the words, but in the same paragraph, she, again exalts herself to God's level.

Her books are best used for kindling, should you have any in your house.

This is why I do not buy or use Bible study books. I have been asked more than once to write some Bible study books and I refuse. The only book you need in order to study your Bible is your Bible.

You do not have to be a Bible scholar to study your Bible effectively. You do not have to have a degree from a seminary. You have all the tools you need to study your Bible and know the Word of God. Colossians 2:8-10 assures you of your completeness in Christ, "Beware lest any man spoil (plunder) you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the basic principles of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power."

I challenge you to stop buying and reading Bible study books and recommit yourself to the pure Word of God.

~Tricia