Many Christians read the Bible as if it needs special rules. It doesn't. There is really only one rule for studying Scripture: read and study the Bible as you would any other book.

Many of us were taught to read the Bible as a rulebook, a roadmap to life, or a verse a day to keep the devil away. Then we come across a confusing story or a violent passage, and we don't know what to do with it. The problem is not the Bible. The problem is how we were taught to read it.

In How Do I Study the Bible?, J. D. Myers gives you a simple, practical way to study Scripture for yourself. You will learn:

• Three foundational truths about Scripture: inspiration, inerrancy, and authority
• Five contexts to consider: historical-cultural, literary, grammatical, theological, and Christological
• Five steps for studying any passage, from seeking the Spirit's guidance and getting the big picture to reading commentaries and teaching the text
• Five behaviors of good Bible study: studying humbly, prayerfully, diligently, communally, and obediently
• Ten things to stop saying about Bible study, from "I read the Bible literally" to "The Bible is a roadmap to life"

The book also explains the one goal of Bible study. It is not biblical literacy, and it is not winning at Bible trivia. The goal is love. We study the Bible so that we can look, act, and love more like Jesus. A closing appendix, "The Bible Mirror," shows how to read the violent passages of Scripture in the light of Jesus.

Discussion questions throughout the book make it work just as well for a small group or Sunday school class as it does for personal study.

How Do I Study the Bible? is Book 5 in the Christian Questions series, which gives clear, down-to-earth answers to the questions Christians ask most. The other books in the series are What is Prayer?, What Are the Spiritual Gifts?, What is Faith?, and What is Hell?

Scroll up and get your copy to start studying the Bible for yourself.