READY, SET, GROW: Know What You Believe — And Know Why

Learning to Build Your Beliefs on Scripture, Not Just Scripture Verses

Big Question: If someone asked me why I believe what I believe about God, salvation, heaven, sin, baptism, prayer, or any other Christian doctrine, could I show them from Scripture—and could I do it without taking Scripture out of context?

READY: Is It Biblical—or Does It Just Sound Biblical?

Many of us learned Christian beliefs long before we learned how to study the Bible for ourselves.

Maybe a parent taught us.

Maybe we heard it from a pastor.

Maybe someone said it in Sunday School.

Maybe we've heard a phrase repeated so many times that we assume it's somewhere in the Bible.

Sometimes those things are absolutely biblical.

But here's an important question for every growing believer:

How do I know?

Scripture tells us:

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”— 2 Timothy 2:15

Notice that Scripture can be correctly handled.

That means it can also be mishandled.

Growing deeper in our faith requires moving beyond:

“I've always heard...”

to:

“Let's see what Scripture actually says.”

That's where apologetics begins—not with winning arguments, but with knowing what we believe, why we believe it and whether our beliefs are actually rooted in God's Word.

SET: Meet the Bereans

Read Acts 17:10–12.

Paul and Silas arrive in Berea and begin teaching.

Think about who Paul was. He was an apostle. He had encountered the risen Christ. God was using him to spread the gospel throughout the Roman world.

Yet notice what the Bereans did when Paul taught them:

“They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”— Acts 17:11

And Scripture calls them noble for doing it.

They didn't reject teaching.

They didn't blindly accept teaching.

They tested teaching against Scripture.

That's an important habit for every believer.

When you hear a sermon—check Scripture.

When you watch a Christian video—check Scripture.

When you read a devotional—check Scripture.

When your favorite Christian author says something—check Scripture.

And yes—even when something you've believed your entire life is challenged:

Go back to Scripture.

Our confidence shouldn't ultimately rest in who said it.

It should rest in whether what was said faithfully reflects what God has revealed.

GROW: Learn to Build a Biblical Belief

Suppose someone asks:

“Why do you believe Jesus is God?”

You might immediately quote John 1:1:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Excellent verse.

But don't stop there.

Ask:

What comes before it?

What comes after it?

Who is “the Word”?

What argument is John making throughout the chapter?

Keep reading.

John 1:14 tells us:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

Now explore the rest of John's Gospel.

Look at John 8:58.

Look at John 10:30–33.

Look at John 20:28.

Then expand your search.

Read Colossians 1:15–20.

Read Philippians 2:5–11.

Read Hebrews 1.

Something important begins happening.

You're no longer defending a doctrine with one isolated verse.

You're discovering a biblical pattern.

That's much stronger.

CONTEXT MATTERS: Don't Build Theology From a Cropped Verse

Imagine receiving this text:

“Absolutely not. That's a terrible idea.”

Sounds pretty clear.

But what if the conversation actually said:

“Do you think following Jesus means loving people less?”

“Absolutely not. That's a terrible idea.”

Suddenly those same words mean something completely different because you know the context.

We sometimes do the same thing with Scripture.

We extract one sentence from a chapter and ask:

“What does this verse mean to me?”

A better first question is:

“What did the biblical author mean?”

Before applying a verse, investigate it.

Ask:

WHO? Who wrote this? Who originally received it?

WHAT? What is actually being communicated?

WHEN? Where does this occur in biblical history?

WHERE?

What cultural, geographical or historical setting matters?

WHY?

Why was this written? What issue is being addressed?

WHAT'S AROUND IT?

Read the verses before and after it. Better yet, read the entire chapter or book when possible.

Then ask:

HOW DOES THIS FIT?

How does this passage fit with the rest of Scripture?

Only then move toward:

“How should this truth shape my life?”

A SIMPLE RULE: TEXT → CONTEXT → BIBLE → LIFE

Here's a framework worth remembering whenever you study Scripture:

TEXT: What does the passage actually say?

↓

CONTEXT: What does it mean within the paragraph, chapter, book and original situation?

↓

BIBLE: How does this fit with what the rest of Scripture teaches?

↓

LIFE: What should I believe, change, obey or do because of it?

Don't jump from TEXT directly to LIFE.

Context belongs in the middle.

GO: Learn to Explain What You Believe

Peter writes:

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”— 1 Peter 3:15

That's where we get an important idea behind apologetics.

The Greek word translated “answer” or “defense” is apologia—a reasoned defense.

Christian apologetics isn't about becoming good at arguing with people.

It's learning to say:

“Here's what I believe. Here's why I believe it. And here's where I see it in Scripture.”

But don't miss the rest of Peter's instruction:

“But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Truth without love can become arrogance.

Love without truth can become sentimentality.

Biblical apologetics requires both.

Know the truth deeply enough to explain it.

PASS IT ON: Disciple Someone to Investigate

This week, find another believer and choose one Christian belief.

For example:

Who is Jesus?

What is salvation?

What is the Trinity?

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Why do Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead?

What happens after death?

What is baptism?

What is sanctification?

Then agree on one rule:

You cannot answer with “because that's what I've always been taught.”

Open your Bibles.

Find passages.

Read the passages around them.

Compare Scripture with Scripture.

Ask questions.

Write down what you're confident about.

Write down what you're uncertain about.

And don't be afraid to say:

“I don't know yet. Let's study it.”

That sentence isn't evidence of weak faith.

It can be the beginning of deeper faith.

DEEP ROOTS | Exegesis vs. Eisegesis

Here are two words every serious student of Scripture should eventually know.

EXEGESIS

Drawing the meaning out of the biblical text.

You're asking:

“What is Scripture actually saying?”

EISEGESIS

Reading our own ideas into the biblical text.

We're essentially asking Scripture to confirm something we've already decided.

That's dangerous because we can make a verse appear to support almost anything if we remove enough context.

Our goal shouldn't be to make Scripture agree with us.

Our goal is to allow Scripture to correct us.

That requires humility.

Sometimes studying Scripture more deeply will confirm what you've believed for years.

Sometimes it will refine it.

And occasionally you may discover:

“I don't think the Bible actually says what I thought it said.”

Don't be frightened by that moment.

If your goal is truth, being corrected by God's Word is growth.

YOUR DEEP DIVE: Put a Familiar Verse on Trial

Choose one verse you've heard quoted frequently.

For example:

Philippians 4:13“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Don't search for somebody else's explanation yet.

Open Philippians.

Read Philippians 4:10–13.

Then expand outward.

What is Paul talking about?

Where is Paul when he writes Philippians?

What circumstances has he experienced?

What does he mean by being content in plenty and in need?

Now ask:

Is Philippians 4:13 primarily promising that Christ will help me accomplish anything I want—or is Paul describing Christ's strength enabling him to remain faithful and content through radically different circumstances?

Then investigate another.

Jeremiah 29:11.

Don't begin at verse 11.

Read Jeremiah 29:1–14.

Who is receiving this promise?

Where are they?

Why are they there?

How long does God tell them they will remain there?

What does God tell them to do while they wait?

Suddenly a familiar verse becomes part of a much larger story.

That's what context does.

It doesn't make Scripture less powerful.

It allows us to see more of its power.

THE BIG IDEA | Scripture Interprets Scripture

One of the most valuable habits you can develop is learning to compare Scripture with Scripture.

A difficult passage shouldn't automatically overturn something taught clearly and repeatedly elsewhere.

Look for patterns.

Follow themes.

Compare passages.

Study entire books.

Trace an idea from Genesis to Revelation.

And above all, remember that the Bible isn't merely a collection of inspirational sentences. It tells one unfolding story of God's redemption ultimately centered on Jesus Christ.

Jesus told people who knew Scripture extremely well:

“These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.”— John 5:39

So don't merely collect verses.

Learn the story.

Learn how the pieces fit together.

Learn what you believe.

Learn why you believe it.

And remain humble enough to keep learning.

A Question Worth Carrying

The next time you hear someone say:

“The Bible says...”

Don't immediately agree.

Don't immediately disagree.

Let four questions come to mind:

Where does it say that?

What does the passage actually say?

What does it mean in context?

Does the rest of Scripture support that interpretation?

Then do something increasingly rare:

Open the Bible and find out.

READY, SET, GROW

Get in the Word. Get curious. Live it out. Pass it on.