How to Understand the Bible: A Complete List of Articles

The How to Understand the Bible series has wrapped up! If you’ve been following along since the beginning, you’ve taken a tour of the entire Bible, and given thought to the major themes and questions raised by each section of Scripture. If you missed out on some or all of the series, this is a great time to take a new look at it now that it’s complete.

To that end, here’s a full list of the essays that make up How to Understand the Bible. Together, these essays form an excellent high-level overview of the Bible, written especially for those who are unfamiliar with Scripture. It’s also a good fit for those who are familiar with many of the details of Scripture, but who have never stepped back to consider the shape and direction of the Bible as a whole.

You can jump in at any point that interests you, but (particularly if you’re new to the Bible) it’s recommended that you start with the first few entries in the “Basics” section, since they go over some foundational questions about how to best read and understand the Bible.

How to Understand the Bible—complete list of articles

The Basics of Understanding the Bible

• How Can We Understand the Bible Better?
• How Will Our Lives Be Better if we Understand the Bible Better?
• What is the Big Picture of the Bible?
• What About Bible Translations?
• What Help Can We Get So We Understand the Bible Better?
• What’s the Most Natural Way to Read the Bible?
• How Can We Hear God’s Voice in Scripture?
• How Should We Apply Scripture to Life?
• How Can We Refine Our Understanding of Biblical Theology?
• How Can We Know If Someone is Giving False Teaching?
• What Are Some Good Disciplines for Reading Scripture?
• A Word About Faith

How to Understand the Old Testament

• How Should We Understand the Stories of the Old Testament?
• What is the Big Picture of the Book of Beginnings?
• How Should We Understand the Law?
• What Is Important About the Land of the Bible?
• How Should We Interpret What the Prophets Had to Say?
• How Should We Read the Psalms?
• What Should We Take from the Books of Wisdom?
• What is Important About the Era of the Kings?
• What Do We Learn From the Exile and Return?

How to Understand the New Testament

• What Should We Understand About the World of the New Testament?
• What Are the Gospels?
• How Should We Understand the Teachings of Jesus?
• What Was Jesus Teaching in the Parables?
• How Should We Understand the Acts of the Apostles?
• How Should We Read the Epistles of the New Testament?
• Who Was Paul, and How Should We Understand His Epistles?
• What is Unique About the Books of James and Hebrews?
• How Should We Understand the Book of Revelation?

Whether you’re a complete newbie to the Bible or have been reading it for decades, we hope these essays will help you understand God’s Word a little bit better. We’re grateful to Mel Lawrenz of The Brook Institute for sharing these insights with us. Look for more material from Mel here on Bible Gateway in the months to come.