What's the difference between Bible Reading plans and Bible studies? This post explains the difference. Plus this site has tons of Bible study tips and resources to help you grow in your Christian faith!

Bible Reading Plans Vs. Bible Study

Are you confused about the difference between Bible reading plans and Bible studies? Perhaps this post will help. 

What's the difference between Bible Reading plans and Bible studies? This post explains the difference. Plus this site has tons of Bible study tips and resources to help you grow in your Christian faith!

 

There is a difference between Bible reading and Bible study.

For many, it’s woven together seamlessly into their daily devotional time with the Lord, but for others of us, it has taken some time to get to know the difference.

There are two ways we can approach the Bible.

Actually, there are two ways we should approach the Bible.

We should approach the Bible to gain a broader understanding of the entire narrative of scripture, and we do this through faster reading of God’s Word.

We should also approach the Bible to know God intimately, and we do this through deep, meditative study of His Word.

Related: Are You Missing the Point of Your Quiet Time?

Both approaches to scripture are necessary for us to have a healthy, vibrant relationship with the Word of God.

Let’s look at each approach a little bit closer. 

What's the difference between Bible Reading plans and Bible studies? This post explains the difference. Plus this site has tons of Bible study tips and resources to help you grow in your Christian faith!

Bible Reading

Often at the start of a new year, you will hear Christians talk about the “Bible reading plan they’re using this year.”

Bible reading is just as the name suggests – reading. You’re reading to gain familiarity with the text.

Yearly Bible reading plans are the most common, and they can provide you with a road map for completing the Bible in a year.

Related: Bible Reading Plans – Yearly, Topical, Scripture Writing, and for Kids

Commiting to a Bible reading plan is one way you can grow in familiarity with God’s Word because it takes a faster approach to scripture. It allows you to systematically read through the Bible in order to get familiar with the overall narrative of scripture.

A word of caution about Bible reading plans.

Reading through the entire Bible annually is a noble goal, but we cannot make it a yoke. We can’t push through the reading of God’s word for the sake of checking a box and “not getting behind.”

This leads me to the next approach to scripture …

Go deeper in your Bible study with these Bible Reading Plans. Topical Bible Reading Plans, Yearly Bible Reading Plans, Scripture Writing Plans, Bible reading plans for kids, and more! #biblereading #biblereadingplans #biblestudy

Bible Study

Again, just as the name suggests, Bible study takes place through the deep, meditative study of God’s word.

This is when we will encounter God most intimately because mediating on God’s word shapes our souls.

Because we should also approach the Bible to know God intimately, we must be willing to slow down in various portions of God’s word as the Holy Spirit leads.

We have to make space for what John Piper refers to in his book, Future Grace, “unrushed reflection.”

This means:

  • We come to the Bible with questions.
  • We look up words we don’t understand.
  • We look up cross references.
  • We meditate on a portion of scripture, letting it sink in more deeply.

There are all sorts of methods for studying your Bible, but not all methods are created equal.

If you’re new to Bible study, I suggest starting with Jen Wilkin’s book, Women of the Word. It’s hands down the best book I’ve read on getting into the word for yourself.

Related: Book Review of Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin

Now you might be asking …

What's the difference between Bible Reading plans and Bible studies? This post explains the difference. Plus this site has tons of Bible study tips and resources to help you grow in your Christian faith!

How do I balance the two approaches to scripture?

In the end, both Bible reading and Bible study have their place in our lives as Christians.

We need to be gaining familiarity with the Bible, but we also have to be sensitive to our need to slow down, dig in deep, and allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds through deep, meditative study of the Word of God.

But there is no one right way to balance the two approaches to scripture.

In his book, Habits of Grace, David Mathis refers to reading the Bible for breadth and depth not as a science but as an art, and like any work of art, it’s going to vary from person to person how you wield your mediums.

I liked how he says, “Bible reading is like watching the film in real time. Study is like going through a clip frame by frame” (page 46).

It’s natural for us to be bent toward one approach to scripture over the other.

Some of us need to be reminded to pick up the pace, read more widely in the scriptures, in order to gain a broader perspective.

While others of us need to slow down and dig in a little deeper from time to time.

What's the difference between Bible Reading plans and Bible studies? This post explains the difference. Plus this site has tons of Bible study tips and resources to help you grow in your Christian faith!

At the end of the day, we need to be partaking of the Word of God regularly.

We need to be approaching the scriptures to gain both a better understanding of the broader context as well as meditating deeply on various portions of scripture.

We become what we behold, and may what we are beholding be Jesus Christ.

What about you? Which approach do you bend toward? Which one do you need to spend more time doing? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

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9 Comments

  1. I’m bent toward study, but sometimes when I feel discouraged I just want to read Job or Psalms. What bible study tools do you use for word studies, topical studies, or thematic studies?

    1. I’m pretty simple with my tools. I use a regular dictionary and mostly my ESV Study Bible. It really depends on the theme or study I’m doing. Logos has been a good tool and Bible Gateway is a good free tool. But mostly, my Bible and a dictionary first. 🙂

  2. I bend toward reading. I feel there is lots of study opportunities provided by my congregation but I should be studying more in depth in my own.

  3. You are so right when you say reading plans can easily become a job rather than a means to know God. Each day I read looking for a particular verse or concept that speaks to me hoping to avoidthis. I also think of is important to start with prayer asking that God’s Spirit be with me as I read to guide and direct me to what He wants me to hear, and praying that my heart be open to hearing.
    I have started a chronological study this year which I hope will pull things together more clearly for me.
    When I am reading in depth, I really like BibleHub for commentary and for locating any verses that you remember just a few words of.

  4. Thanks so much for posting this information. I have always struggled with Bible study and I want to find a method that will work for me. I am looking forward to the book club next week and I will be checking out the book you recommended on Women of the Word. So happy you are posting again. I really need this inspiration right now.

  5. I am doing both. I have never read through the Bible so I am reading it front to back but I also am looking up scriptures weekly of things I am working on in my life to study/journal/meditate on. It has been life changing!

  6. Are there plans for reading the bible in a year that it flows more than just the front-to-back method? where the old testament and new testament go back and forth like reading a story like the books in the Star Wars universe where some old and new ones fit between the 9 movies.
    That would make for a smoother read in a year for me, I tried the front-to-back and got lost in the this guy is the father of that guy who fathered this guy, etc.

  7. Thank you for the post.
    I feel stirred in my heart to start a Bible study group. I was looking for materials that could help me with my introduction and I stumbled upon this post.
    I bend toward studying the Bible. I learnt not to rush . I tend linger longer on a portion or a sentence until I get everything from it. I also use different versions of the Bible. It’s amazing how much you can get from the scripture when the holy spirit gives you understanding.

  8. I sometimes wonder if I am studying too much or the wrong way. In Sept 2018, I started reading the Bible. I read it cover to cover in about six months. Thenmy husband and I decided to return to church. I had not been in over 25 yrs and he had only ever been sparatically as a child. Upon returning to church I started reading every devotional I could get me hands on. I was participating in online Bible studies as well as reviewing notes from sermons that week at church. This year I decided to read the Bible again this time in chronological order and start a scripture journal. I am doing, or well trying some days, to do all these things. Is it too much?? Can you study God’s word too much???