God gave us his Word for more than just gaining knowledge. Delighting in fresh insights and deeper understanding of Scripture is good and right, but our study of the Bible should transform us, not just inform us.
God’s Word is powerful. It teaches, convicts, corrects, and trains us in righteousness.1 It also sanctifies us, setting us apart, equipping us to be more like Jesus, and changing us into who God intended us to be.2
Yet we sometimes read the Bible and remain unchanged. Why is that? How can we experience the incredible transformation described in Scripture?
The Key To Transformative Bible Study
When Jesus told the parable of the wise man and the foolish man, he likened both men to someone who hears the Word of God. What made the wise man different from the foolish man? The wise man obeyed God’s Word, but the foolish man just heard the Word and didn’t do anything about it.3
Likewise, James exhorts believers to act in response to God’s Word:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:22–25).
If we merely read or hear God’s Word—even delight in it—but don’t respond, we won’t be changed by it. The Bible demands a response, and that response leads to transformation.
Spirit-Empowered Transformation
Our tendency at this point is to fortify our commitment to obedience, determined to do better, to be better.
For example, we read a passage like this:
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19–21).
We read this list as law—”Don’t do this!”—and determine to obey it. But the antidote to unrighteous behavior Paul describes in this passage is not a to-do list. Instead, he names the fruit of the Spirit, evidence of a transformed life and a person who is set apart or sanctified.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22–23).
A desire to obey God’s Word is right—indeed, we must obey, as we saw in James—but we can’t transform ourselves by sheer willpower. We’ll never manufacture true transformation in our own strength. Here’s the good news—the Holy Spirit is the one who ultimately changes us from the inside out. He empowers our obedience, opens our eyes to God’s truth, and makes us more like Christ.
Beginning our Bible study with prayer reminds us that we need the Spirit’s help—to correctly interpret God’s Word and to apply it to our lives appropriately. Download a Bible bookmark with five Scripture-inspired prayers for your study of God’s Word.
3 Ways Transformation Happens
Biblical transformation affects our minds (what we believe), our hearts (what we love), and our actions (what we do). A right response to Scripture engages all three.
Renewing Our Minds
Transformation begins in our minds. Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This means saturating our thoughts with God’s truth—reading, studying, and meditating on his Word. As we align our thinking with Scripture, we begin to see the world, ourselves, and God rightly.
Training Our Desires
What captures our attention shapes our hearts. We become what we behold. Second Corinthians 3:18 says that as we behold Christ, we are transformed into his image. When we fix our eyes on Jesus—”beholding” who he is and what he’s done—our desires change. We no longer crave the things of the world but long for him and become more like him. Our transformation is a result of knowing Jesus Christ.
Walking in Obedience
As we saw in James 1:22, obedience to God’s Word is key to transforming into Christlikeness. The apostle Peter taught that, as children of God, our behavior (or conduct) should change.4 We should no longer live as we did before we knew Christ. Instead, we live as sanctified or set-apart people, as God’s image-bearers. As we renew our minds and align our desires with God’s, our actions follow.
How to Respond to God’s Word
So, the ultimate goal of our Bible study is transformation—to be conformed into righteous followers of Christ who glorify him. Our interpretation of God’s Word reveals the truth to us, and our application of God’s Word changes us to reflect this truth. Our application of the Bible causes us to live transformed, making the truth of God’s character visible in us. This happens by his Spirit and as we respond to his Word.
After we study the Bible and come to understand God’s intended message for us, we must apply it. We must ask, “Now what?” We must respond.
To determine what our response should look like, we can ask, “How should this passage change my life?”
We can break this question down into three questions to align our minds, hearts, and actions:
- How should this passage change what I believe or how I think? Does this passage reveal that my thinking is wrong about something? Do I need to change my mind?
- How should this passage change what I desire? Do I have goals or aspirations contrary to God’s will according to his Word? Are my affections and interests in alignment with Scripture? Do I desire to glorify God more because I’ve seen his glory and goodness?
- How should this passage change what I do? Is there an action I need to take? Is there something I need to stop doing?
Let’s not walk away unchanged from our study of the Bible. God has revealed himself to us on these pages. He’s given us his Spirit to help us understand his Word and to empower us to live by it. So, let’s respond to this gracious and good gift.
True transformation happens when we apply God’s Word, by his Spirit, for his glory and for the good of his people.
