This article was carried from a book report I wrote on "Living by the Book" by Dr. Howard G. Hendricks. In this article, I will cover the various aspects of how Christians can study the Bible, along with the importance of studying the Bible altogether, based on Howard Hendricks's explanations in his book.
Living by the Book by Dr. Howard Hendricks is an excellently written and detailed guide for fully committing to the study and application of God's Word. Originally written with his son, William Hendricks, in 1991, Living by the Book was revised in 2007 and republished to be more user-friendly for newer readers. Living by the Book provides a complete and comprehensive guide that reveals essential tools for Christians in their study of Scripture, covering aspects of observation, interpretation, and application, as well as the importance of all of those subjects. Dr. Hendricks presents these topics in a way that is understandable and applicable to every Christian in any place in their walk of faith.
Dr. Hendricks opens the book by reasoning why we should study the Bible, first by listing the various common excuses against studying the Word of God. He responds to these by highlighting the importance of Bible study, stating its purpose in growing us spiritually and increasing our spiritual effectiveness, also known as the effect Scripture has in our everyday lives.
He then proceeds to the book's first primary focus: Observation. He expresses various aspects, proving that observation allows us to see and analyze God's Word to better teach us in a more complete way than just reading it. Afterward, Dr. Hendricks emphasizes that we must come to Scripture with a fresh mindset, as if coming to the Word for the first time with a strong desire to understand what is presented, deeply interested in its content as with a cherished love letter.
Following this, he discusses the process of how we should read when observing Scripture. This process includes reading thoughtfully, repeatedly, patiently, selectively, prayerfully, imaginatively, meditatively, purposefully, acquisitively, and telescopically. Although the initial list may seem lengthy, each chapter delves into detail about the necessity of each item.
First, we must read Scripture thoughtfully with full attention to better grasp what it says. We must read repeatedly to increase our exposure to God's Word and build remembrance of its content while using multiple translations during our study to avoid familiarity and insensibility to the text. We also have to read Scripture selectively, looking for questions such as "Who?", "What?", "Where?", "When?", "Why?" and "Wherefore?" or the measure of how the truth that is read can be applied in the reader's life. We must read patiently, prayerfully, imaginatively, and meditatively to fully invest ourselves in the Word, allowing it to settle in our minds thoughtfully and slowly, lingering and thinking about it throughout each day with reverence.
By reading purposefully, we can draw connections and analyze the use of grammar within the text. Acquisitive reading enables us to receive, retain, and understand what we read. Finally, we must read telescopically by comparing what we read to the entirety of Scripture. Following this section, he discusses some things we should consider during our reading. These aspects include anything emphasized, repeated, related, alike, unlike, and elements that can be applied in our own lives.
After we observe what we have read, we must compile our observations to understand the text better. When compiling observations, the first step is to get a broad understanding of the material. This involves reading the text carefully, breaking it down into parts, analyzing each part using the techniques learned before, and piecing it together to create a summary.
In the following section of the book, we look at interpretation and how we can go about accurately coming to conclusions about our views of scripture. We begin by looking at the importance of interpretation. Interpretation helps us comprehend what we have read and how we can better apply it in our lives. Interpretation of scripture can vary, so we must be logical in our interpretation of Scripture, taking great care to follow the steps provided to get an accurate grasp of what God's Word is communicating to us. Our interpretation of scripture depends on how well we observe the text, another reason supporting the importance of observation from the previous section.
We must interpret scripture to overcome the boundaries that time, location, language, and communication have set before us. While God's Word is true and beyond the limits of time and human error, we still have to analyze and conclude what Scripture is communicating to us, as with anything we cognitively consume.
During the process of interpretation, we must be careful to strive for accuracy when interpreting the text, avoiding the natural tendency to confine our interpretation to our own personal or cultural views, instead taking scripture as a whole as the ultimate and absolute source of truth and understanding. Dr. Hendricks says that while scripture has only one correct meaning, it is acceptable to have differing interpretations from other believers, as long as the difference does not come from a disagreement within scripture itself but from a lack of complete comprehension of scripture.
In the chapters following, we analyze the genre, exposition, and narrative of the scripture we are reading, which helps us draw more accurate conclusions and interpretations about what we have read. Dr. Hendricks examines the different mediums of Scripture literature, explaining the common types in great analysis, helping the reader understand the reality conveyed in poems, parables, and prophetic writing.
Afterward, we look at the aspects and requirements for good interpretation, which include looking at the raw content of the text, the context of which the content is a part, comparing words within the text against a Bible concordance to reveal their exact meaning which can be lost during translation, examining the culture in which the book took place, along with the events happening at the time of its conception, finally consulting external resources such as bible dictionaries and concordances as a secondary means of further understanding.
Next, we discern the literality of the text, examining rhetorical questions and figures of speech to better separate reality from figurative language. Dr. Hendricks notes that we should generally interpret scripture as literal unless stated otherwise. We should avoid literal interpretations of Scripture if a literal meaning would yield an impossible reality or contradict God’s character, other parts of scripture, or biblical doctrine. Additionally, if the text is obviously intended to be a figure of speech, or if a specific interpretation would go against the book’s theme and narrative, it should be interpreted alternatively.
Finally, using these techniques, along with our techniques for observation, we should come to a conclusive interpretation of the text. Next, we are urged to move on to application and how the interpretation of what we read can be applied in our lives.
Opening the section on application, Dr. Hendricks argues for the absolute importance of application in the process of studying scripture, stating that skipping or substituting it would forfeit the quality of the rest of the process, along with the intent of scripture: to transform and sanctify our lives in devotion to Christ and His glory.
The application step should alter how we live our lives by actively implementing our observations and interpretations of scripture in a way that transforms our lives and our thinking. This transformation should not wholly change the essential being of who we are, as Dr. Hendricks calls “our essential personhood,” but rather reshape our actions, reactions, and thought processes in response to events and circumstances that occur in our fallen world in a way which better reflects that of Christ.
The steps mentioned for application walk us through an efficient way of applying the transforming knowledge we have received through observation and interpretation. We are first commanded to know the text and know ourselves thoroughly. We are then supposed to relate the text to our experiences before meditating on what we have read and interpreted. From there, we should allow God’s Word to apply itself actively in our lives in our relationship with God, ourselves, others, and our enemies, remembering the promises, commands, examples, and exposition of our sin within Scripture while also practicing and questioning the text and its teaching against these principles to our everyday lives.
Furthermore, Dr. Hendricks argues that the Bible is still very active and applicable to our everyday lives, even though there might be distances between time and location, as mentioned in the section regarding interpretation. We can still draw the connections between the scriptural uses when the text was written and its direct correspondence still present in our lives.
The truth within God’s Word does not require change or alteration in order to meet the culture of today’s world because its reality and holy precepts are timeless. The book concludes with three points of emphasis to begin a journey of deep biblical study.
The first is to set aside time to determine goals, priorities, and a schedule for spending time in God’s Word. We are encouraged to be disciplined in following through with these, being devoted to seeking the wisdom within Scripture for our further sanctification, and perhaps even starting a Bible study group if it helps routine this process.
This book taught me many great new techniques and practices for the efficient and quality study of scripture. The first thing I most learned from this book was the importance of applying the scripture we read into our lives. Never before have I been so eager to practice the things I read within scripture. I am delighted to see their substantial weight on my sanctification and faith.
The second thing I most learned from this book was using Bible dictionaries and concordances as a secondary means of helping correctly interpret scripture. I do not believe I had ever heard of them before reading this book, and now I recognize how valuable it is to have them on my shelf. It is impressive to look at the references of words and follow them back to their original language to understand their use within the text better.
The third thing that I most learned from this book was the right to disagree about different interpretations of scripture, as long as the difference is not from the text but from a lack of understanding. In a world where Christianity has many denominational disagreements and differences in scriptural interpretation, it is helpful to understand the divergences and their justification better.
Dr. Hendricks created an excellent resource for studying the Bible, filled with rich and solid points and great emphasis on the importance of Bible study. He thoroughly covered the aspects of observation, interpretation, and application, defending their importance intricately and in a very reader-friendly way. I immensely enjoyed reading this book, and I am thankful for the opportunity to have learned as much as I had regarding the consistent and efficient study of God’s Word.