How to Study the Bible

and Enjoy it

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit,
of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and
intentions of the heart
Hebrews 4:12

Grapevine May 2007

www.icf-
www.icf-frankfurt.com
When did you last receive a letter, a real, handwritten letter? In Bible times the postal service
was not quite like today. You would only send a letter if you could afford to pay the postman.
That’s why in Bible times only important people would send letters that contained important
messages.

God chose to make up more than half of the New Testament of letters (Paul to the Ephesians,
Galatians, etc.). In fact the Bible is God’s letter to us. It is personal, important and practical.
So, if God wrote a personal letter addressed to you, do you want to know what it says?

Reading is the first step in studying the Bible. To give yourself a good overall knowledge of
the Bible, you should try to read the Bible through cover to cover once each year. This
involves reading 3.5 chapters per day. Reading guides and calendars exist to help you with
your readings.

“To study the Bible sounds so scientific, can’t I just read it?” Our aim is not to gather
information to impress others with fancy Bible stuff but to get to know God and to be
transformed into the image of His Son Jesus Christ. One way we can do that is by gathering
the data and then connecting the information so that we can apply it to our life. That is called
creative learning. To sit in His presence (101) and chat with THE WORD (John 1) is of course
always the best.

Why study the Bible?

The Bible was written so that anyone who wants to know who God is and how they are to live
in a way that pleases Him can read it and find out. God wants to bring us into intimacy with
Himself. In order to have that relationship, God has to talk to us. He wants to explain to us
who He is and how we can be brought into a close, wonderful relationship with Him. The Bible
tells us everything we need to know about life. That is why you need to read and study the
Bible for yourself.

Bible study is fascinating. You may doubt that if your past approach has been to start with
Genesis and read straight through. Chances are you made it to Leviticus and gave up. Let's
face it. The Bible is not always easy reading. It requires attention and effort, and it may even
require a little help. But once you discover that you can do it, you will love it!

So, reasons to study the Bible are:

• To read the greatest story ever told, the story of Jesus Christ.
• To find moral and spiritual guidance for your life.
• To learn God's way of forgiveness and eternal life.
• To build lasting moral values for your children.
• To read the stories of courageous women and men of faith.
• To discover God's everlasting love.
• To build a storehouse of knowledge of Christian faith.
• To gain lasting principles of ethical conduct.
• To discover God's principles of marriage and family life.
• To build hope for the future.
• To gain strength to face life’s difficulties with faith and trust in God.
• To meet God personally through Jesus Christ.
• To develop habits of daily worship.
• To become an example/a teacher of Christian faith.
• To grow intellectually, spiritually, and morally.
• To be able to encourage and help others grow in faith.
• To be cleansed by the washing of water with the Word (Ephesians 5:26)

What about the Holy Spirit and Bible Study?

Without the Holy Spirit, Bible study can become mechanical and dry. Never underestimate the
value of praying over the Bible. However, praying over the Bible is not the only study you

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should do. Some tools help us because we don't have the understanding and knowledge of
the Bible that we should have (and that might be gained through years of reading). These
tools do not seek to cut the Holy Spirit out! Pray before you study, pray while you study and
pray after you study.

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will
teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

The Bible

Since we would like to dig in the Bible, let’s look at what the Bible is and a few verses that
highlight our intention.

The Bible is not one book, but 66 books written by 40 authors over thousands of years, an
integrated whole. The books of the Bible seem unrelated in many ways, and yet a pattern is
deliberately interwoven, sometimes hidden, sometimes obvious.

God Himself is the author of the Bible

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God…”

People were inspired to write

Galatians 1: 11-12 “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached
by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I
received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

We are exhorted to study the Bible

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show yourself approved to God….” (KJV)
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be
ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

“Rightly handling” = according to who or what?

2 Peter 1:20-21 “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's
own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke
from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Benefit of studying the Bible

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be
competent, equipped for every good work.”
Example doctrine Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this
is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Example reproof Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
Example correction Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Example of rightly dividing the word of God, Eve in the Garden of Eden:

God had already made man giving him power over all the earth (Genesis 1:28) and putting
only one restriction to him. This restriction is given in Genesis 2:16-17

Genesis 2:16-17
"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the
garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that
you eat of it you shall surely die.”

This is what God said, it is the word of God. Let's go to chapter 3.

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Genesis 3:1
" Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had
made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the
garden’?”

In this verse, the serpent, which is another name for the devil, tempts the woman. As we can
see, he didn't reveal his true face from the beginning. Instead, he started with a question: "Did
God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Did he know what God said?
Certainly yes. However, he tries to put doubts in the mind of the woman about it. This strategy
hasn't changed at all. Indeed, how many people challenge God's people about what God
said, exactly as the devil did? And they will always succeed as long as the people of God are
not really sure what the Bible really says. That's why it is needed to know and to rightly divide
accurately what the Word of God says. Unfortunately, the woman didn't do that. See her
answer in verses 2 and 3:

Genesis 3:2-3
"And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but
God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither
shall you touch it, lest you die.”

At first glance, what the woman said seems pretty accurate. However a simple comparison
with God’s statement can easily prove that it is not. Indeed, Eve said: "We may eat the fruit of
the trees of the garden", God said: "Of every tree of the garden you may surely/freely eat".
Evidently, she omitted the word "surely". Now you may say "Oh that's nothing. It doesn't
matter". But if it doesn't matter, then why did God say it at all? Everything that God says
matters. Every word of the Bible is there because God wanted it so and therefore it is equally
the word of God. Returning to Eve, her omission was just the beginning. Verse 3: "But of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said "You shall not eat it, nor
shall you touch it, lest ye die." Is this really something that "God has said"? No because He
never said "nor shall you touch it". Moreover, He didn't simply say "lest (probably, sometime)
you die" but He stated emphatically that "in the day (in that very day) that you eat of it you
shall surely die." Thus, since God is right in everything He says, something had to die that
day. But see what the woman did: first she omitted a word, then she added a phrase, and
finally she took away the emphasis from what God said. Therefore, what she said was a
distortion of the word of God. Now, when the devil saw that she was wrong in what she knew
from the word of God, he showed his true colours: "Then the serpent said to the woman, You
shall not surely die". God said: "you shall surely die", the devil said: "You shall not surely die".
Interestingly it takes just the addition of a small word, the word "not", to arrive at such a
contradiction. This strategy still works because too many Christians don’t read their Bibles.

Also compare Matthew 4:1-11, the famous “it is written”-passage where Jesus Christ has an
encounter with the devil himself. Jesus Christ is the Winner in this battle of words because
He knows what is written and is aware of the context. He has the sword of the Spirit and
knows how to use it (-> armour of God in Ephesians 6).

Pitfalls

One can read a verse like Psalm 10:4 “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” and conclude that there is no God. But reading the
whole passage in its context we understand that it is the wicked that say that. Plus this
“conclusion” would contradict the rest of the Bible. That’s why we need to have an overall
knowledge of the Bible to avoid such pitfalls. Safeguard – read your Bible and pray!

To accurately understand God’s Word is to understand the individual word in the verse. Then
that word must fit in the verse. The verse must be understood in light of its immediate
context. The immediate context must flow with the remote context, which is all other relevant
scriptures. The resulting meaning must be understood in light of to whom the verse is written.
The only two things we must consider that are not literal are customs and figures of speech.

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Be gracious towards yourself and know that we all know only in part

1 Corinthians 13:9 “For we know in part and we prophesy in part”

Here a checklist:

• Word
• Verse
• Immediate context
• Remote context
• To whom it is written
• Customs
• Figures of speech

How do I handle Bible contradictions?

A lot of the contradictions are not contradictions at all. They seem to be contradiction because
we don't understand enough of our Bible, or because we don't know enough about ancient
cultures. Here are a few principles to help you understand so-called contradictions:

The Authors Were Not Idiots - we have to give the ancient writers (and the Holy Spirit) a bit of
credit. If the writer writes something, and a couple of verses later seems to contradict himself,
it's probably not because he forgot what he had written 2 minutes ago.

Specific Exceptions to General Rules - just because a general rule is given doesn't mean
specific exceptions do not exist. For example, Romans 3:23 tells us that "all have sinned". 1
Peter 2:22, speaking of the Lord Jesus, tells us, "He committed no sin". Is there a
contradiction? Of course not! This is a rather obvious example, but it does illustrate a point.

Calendars Differ - differences in dates can be reconciled in a number of ways. First, some
places in the Bible use the Jewish dating system, and some use the dating systems of the
nations around them. Second, a king's reign counted his first year as being from when he
took the throne to the start of the new year. For example, if I became queen today, on May
10th, my first year on the throne would run from May 10th to Dec 31st. On January 1st would
begin my second year of reigning. We should also be aware that some of the reigns of Jewish
kings overlapped.

Repeated Presentation - often, similar events would occur. For example, there were 2
feedings of the multitudes recorded in the Gospels. Each time, the disciples seemed very
surprised. If one of the Gospels had not presented both feedings in it, people would line up to
say this is a contradiction in the Bible!

Names - some people have several names (and so do most people today). Sometimes, what
seems to be a name is actually a title. Also, different people in history can have the same
name.

Fragmentary Presentation - sometimes, parallel accounts will each give part of the story.
Also, some parts of the Gospels are not written in chronological order.

There will, of course, be passages encountered that are "problems". These are generally
well-known and well-documented. The easiest way to deal with them is "head on". Your
commentaries will usually outline the alternative views and their implications. You don't have
to take sides on controversial material. Put the passage into perspective with the rest of
Scripture as a whole. Be suspicious about any view that isn't confirmed "by two or three

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witnesses" -- other passages which amplify or confirm the view. Always, seek "the whole
counsel of God." Passages shouldn’t contradict the rest of the Bible.

Figures of Speech

We use figures of speech all the time, but we don’t announce them as such. If I’d say that it is
an open secret that Hans is a couch potato, you would immediately understand that
everybody knows that Hans is lazy. It wouldn’t even occur to you that Hans is actually a
potato, right? Here we already see two figures of speech:

Open secret = oxymoron, couch-potato = metaphor

In order to increase the power of a word, or the force of an expression, words and sentences
are used in new forms, or figures. A figure denotes some form which a word or sentence
takes that is different from its ordinary and natural form. There are more than 200 different
figures of speech in the Bible that can be identified by name, such as

Metaphor – a declaration that one thing is or represents another (example Psalm 23:1 “The
Lord is my shepherd”, Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth”)

Parable – a story with a hidden meaning (examples: the sower and the seed, the prodigal
son, the good Samaritan, the pearl of great price, counting the cost, the good shepherd, new
wine in old wineskins, etc.)

Oxymoron – wise-folly, a wise saying that seems foolish (example 1 Timothy 5:6 “but she who
is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives”, 2 Corinthians 12:10b “For when I am weak,
then I am strong”)

In his book “Figures of Speech Used in the Bible” E. W. Bullinger writes on 1104 pages about
this subject (see link below for the free online version of this book).

Metaphor, Parable, Oxymoron, even Fable and Allegory – words, that you have probably
heard before. So this is not really a scary subject anymore and we can take a closer look at
parables.

Why Parables?

It is sobering to read Jesus' response to His disciples' question, "Why do you speak to them
in parables?" (Matthew 13:11). It is one thing to acknowledge that the things concerning the
kingdom of God are "mysteries". It is another thing altogether to face the fact that these
mysteries are revealed to one man and concealed from another. True, Jesus goes on to
explain that "For this people's heart has grown dull . . . " making it clear that they were not
receptive and His parables did not reach them. Even His disciples had to have explanations
of them from time to time, and they were the ones to whom the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven were revealed.

It is also sobering to realize that many prophets and righteous men had desired to know
things that Christ was revealing and had never been privileged to know them (Matthew
13:17). It should be especially sobering to anyone who has supposed that she is somehow
more righteous than others because she somehow understands the plan of God. The truth is
that there are times in which God chooses to reveal different truths to different people, and
sometimes it is the sinner who will respond to the revelation of God while the "righteous" feel
they do not need it.

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Study Helps

It’s good to have a few study helps at hand. You can find more than you could ever need on
the internet, here are a few links that provide tools for free:

www.blueletterbible.org online interactive reference library continuously updated

www.biblestudyguide.org online Bibles, dictionaries, concordances, commentaries

www.studylight.org loads of study resources such as, interlinear Bible, parallel Bible, daily
Bible reading plan, dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, encyclopedias and history

www.eastonsbibledictionary.com online Bible dictionary

www.bible.org online resources for Bible study

www.bible-history.com The focus at Bible History Online is history and the Bible

www.bibleworldhistory.com The history of the world from a Biblical perspective with charts
and tables

www.intothyword.org There to help equip and encourage you to grow deeper in your walk
with Christ and impact others around you. Shows you how you can study the Bible and have
loads of Bible study aids available

www.lproof.org website of Beth Moore

www.precept.org website of Kay Arthur

http://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?id=%23%2B%40E6%0A Watchman Nee’s online

book “How to study the Bible”

www.companionbiblecondensed.com E.W. Bullinger’s study Bible

http://www.godstruthfortoday.org/Library/bullinger/FiguresOfSpeech.html E.W. Bullinger’s

book “Figures of Speech Used in the Bible” online and for free

www.biblegateway.com searchable online Bibles, over 50 versions, parallel possible

www.oneplace.com Bible study tools, devotionals, podcast, “A Quick Word with Beth Moore”
(daily 2 min. message by Beth Moore)

www.cameronlaw.com guided Bible studies that you can print

www.path-light.com a collection of Bible study material and study aids

www.m-w.com Merriam-Webster Dictionary online

www.e-sword.net best Bible software, available for free

If you seriously want to get started, it is helpful to buy a few books, such as:

• Bible (a Study Bible for marking and a reading Bible that remains unmarked)
There is a lot of debate in Christian circles about what translation is "the best". Indeed,
there is even debate as to what "the best" means. Regardless of what translation you
prefer to read, you should use several translations in your studying.

• Study Bible
A study Bible is useful because it puts a number of tools all in one place. This is very
handy if you are travelling! Most Study Bibles will have introductions and outlines to each

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 of the books, discussions of themes, a brief set of cross references, a concise
concordance, some maps and notes at the bottom of the page.

• Concordance (should match the version of your Bible)

A concordance is one of the most valuable Bible study tools available. It lists the words in
the Bible alphabetically, and then lists verses that use that word.
There are several ways you can use a concordance. First, if you remember part of a verse
in the Bible, but don't know where it can be found, you can look it up under one of the
words. Secondly, a concordance is useful if you want to look up every reference to a
particular word. This is the start of a word study, which is one of the most common types
of Bible studies. Thirdly, many concordances have a numbering system to tell you what
this word is in the original language. For example, several different Greek words are
translated "love" in our English Bibles.

• Bible Dictionary
It contains articles on most biblical names, places, images, themes, subjects and other
words in alphabetical order.

• Bible Commentary
A Bible commentary is a book about the Bible. It tells us what the Bible means. Of course,
since commentaries are written by men, they will have their biases. Commentaries are
useful to make sure you haven't severely misunderstood a passage, and they are also
useful to make sure you haven't missed an important point, but you should only read a
commentary after you have studied a passage for yourself.

• Bible Atlas
A set of maps and charts illustrating place names mentioned in the Bible.

What other books exist on Bible Study?

Here are a few books that might help you:

"How to Study the Bible" (R.A. Torrey) - a 95 page booklet that has become a classic. Torrey
was a great evangelist and later, the president of Moody Bible Institute.

"How to Study the Bible for Yourself" (Tim LaHaye) - more detailed than Torrey's book, this
book covers most aspects of Bible study.

"Dynamic Bible Study Methods" (Rick Warren) - this book lists 12 different types of Bible
studies that you can do.

"How to Study Your Bible" (Kay Arthur) - uses the same techniques as the International
Inductive Study Bible.

How to Start?

Start with the proper approach - that of prayer and reverence. If we do not have the right
attitude and mindset, we will not get much out of God’s Word. Psalm 199:18 “Open my eyes,
that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

There are many ways how to study the Bible, create your own if you want. The main thing is
that you just do it and enjoy it. It is important to read your Bible, to re-read it carefully and to
gain context. Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will remind us of all things. But He can only re-
mind us of what we ever had in our mind.

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Where to Start?

There are a lot of things worth studying in the Bible, such as

• Main characters
• Women/men
• Topics (tabernacle of Moses, priesthood OT/NT, blood, armour of God)
• God’s relationship with man
• Jewish feasts
• Numbers
• Parables (any other figure of speech)
• Miracles
• Life and teaching of Jesus Christ
• Comparing the 4 Gospels
• Minerals, stones, colours
• Geography
• Names of persons
• Prayers
• Book by Book
• Christ
• Word-study
• Doctrines
• History, people, cultures

If you choose to study a book, which book should you start with? There are many sound
answers. Which book interests you the most? A good suggestion is the Gospel of John. It
has been said that it is shallow enough for a child to wade in, and deep enough for an
elephant to immerse in! From the novice to the sophisticated -- all will benefit from going
through this book again. It deals with all of the basics. A favourite is the little book of Ruth. A
small book, elegant literature, and yet one of the most important books of prophecy in the Old
Testament! You may like to jump into the Book of Acts. Others, one of the epistles. You can
really start anywhere. Let the Holy Spirit lead you, He always knows best.

Example using Bible study helps regarding

Acts 10:32 “Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is
lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.”

A Bible dictionary will tell you that the tanneries in Joppa were situated on the seashore at the
southern end of the town, the only natural harbour, and that they were not allowed to pursue
their messy craft within the cities.

About “Tanner” the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (www.studylight.org) states:

“The Jews looked upon tanning as an undesirable occupation and well they might, for at best
it was accompanied with unpleasant odors and unattractive sights, if not even ceremonially
unclean. We can imagine that Simon the tanner found among the disciples of Jesus a
fellowship, which had been denied him before. Simon's house was by the seashore, as is true
of the tanneries along the Syrian coast today, so that the foul-smelling liquors from the vats
can be drawn off with the least nuisance, and so that the salt water may be easily accessible
for washing the skins during the tanning process. The sheep or goat skins are smeared on
the flesh side with a paste of slaked lime and then folded up and allowed to stand until the
hair loosens. The hair and fleshy matter are removed, the skins are plumped in lime, bated in
a concoction first of dog dung and afterward in one of fermenting bran, in much the same way
as in a modern tannery. After drying, the leather is blackened on one side by rubbing on a
solution made by boiling vinegar with old nails or pieces of copper, and the skin is finally given
a dressing of olive oil.”

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A Bible atlas will show you that Joppa is a port city, today’s Jaffa in Israel.

A concordance (“Joppa”) will reveal that this was the city where

• Simon the tanner, where Peter stayed, had his house (Acts 10:32)
• Huram, king of Tyre, brought supplies to for the building of Solomon’s Temple (2
Chronicles 2:16)
• Jonah left Palestine from Joppa to sail to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3)
• Peter raised a woman named Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9)

This is how the Bible comes together, piece by piece, like a puzzle.

Orientalisms, mannerisms & customs

When Samson said that the Philistines had “plowed with my heifer,” (KJV Judges 14:18) he
was not in any way referring to cattle he owned. Just as our culture refers to girls in various
ways, including “dolls, babes, chicks,” etc., so in the Biblical culture young girls were
sometimes referred to as “heifers.” Knowing that fact makes the passage understandable,
and more fun to read.

In Romans 12:20 we read “To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty,
give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." In Bible
days it was a pleasant task to have the coals heaped on one’s head in the cold early morning
in order to distribute them to all the houses in a village so that they could all start their fires.

Example Word Study in the Bible

Choose a word to study (faithful, rain, heart, rest, glory, fruit, work, pride, profit, cross, joy,
peace or any other word) and write it on top of a blank sheet.

Use a concordance and look up and write down (only copy-paste when working with PC) all
the references that seem to answer (not everyone will categorize a verse under the same
question word)

1. Who?
2. What?
3. When?
4. Where?
5. Why?
6. How?

Sometimes you will find a reference that gives you a definition of what a word means as in
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen.” (emphasis added)

From all the references and categorizing under topics or questions, ask God for ONE truth,
one verse that can become a part of your life.

A Last Word

Even the longest journey starts with a first step. We encourage you to do just that, start with
the first step. Have patience with yourself but also be consistent and persistent. Don’t give up
when you first stumble. To stumble or even fall is not a problem, but not getting up is. If you
pray, God will bring people your way that can help you consider certain topics, help you with
studies and help you live it.

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If you should have any questions concerning “How to Study the Bible and Enjoy it” or need
some support in your Bible study, please contact me: andrea@kioulachoglou.com

I would love to help you digging deeper into the Word of God,

Andrea

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will
teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

1 Corinthians 8:1b “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”

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 Digging into a Word Study

th
Word I chose: to FOLLOW Reference: (in which verse you found the word) Date: May 10 2007

1. Why do I want to study this word? Because Andrea told me so

2. Lexicon/Dictionary definition: Pursue, follow after, at the foot of, to go on after.

e.g. Numbers 14:24, "hath followed me fully," literally means "fulfilled after me".
3. Use a concordance to look up and list the references: SEE NEXT PAGE PLEASE!

4. Now group your references, as many as possible, under:

a. Who (who do I follow)?

b. What (what will the others think of me? What is the cost/reward)?

c. When (when will this ever end)?

d. Where (where are we going at all)?

e. Why (why do I follow)?

f. How (how do I follow)?

5. Where is it used for the first time? Genesis 24:5 “The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may
not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”
6. Where is it used in the books of wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of
Solomon)?

7. Where is it used in the New Testament?

8. Did its meaning change?

9. Other findings (connect the information):

10. Personalize a verse — choose the most important verse — write it down in your own
words:

11. State why you need the verse:

12. Prayerfully write what you will do now to get this truth into your heart and life:

13. Outline or group your discoveries together for sharing with a friend. You keep only what
you give away.

14. Action: Make your study a centre part of prayer and meditation for at least a week. Apply
it, pray about it, review the verse and share it with others.

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 Some references of the verb “TO FOLLOW”
(actually 280 verses contain the verb to follow in the ESV, 253 in the KJV!)

1 Thessalonians 5:15 “See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both
among yourselves, and to all men.”

2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord
out of a pure heart.”

Romans 14:19 “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify
another.”

Hebrews 12:14 “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”
1 Corinthians 14:1 “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy”

Philippians 3:12 “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”

1Timothy 6:11 “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
patience, meekness.”

Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the
LORD for ever.”

Luke 9:23 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow me.”

John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will
never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 12:26-27 “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone
serves me, the Father will honor him. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”

Matthew 4:19 “And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Hebrews 6:12 “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Psalm 63:8 “My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.”

Matthew 4:25 “And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from
Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.”

Matthew 8:19 “And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Matthew 9:27 “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of
David!"”

Matthew 10:38 “and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
Matthew 26:58 “And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside
he sat with the guards to see the end.”

1 Peter 2:20-21 “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and
suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ
also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

John 21:19 “(This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him,
"Follow me.”
3 John 11 “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that
doeth evil hath not seen God.”
2 Peter 1:16 “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
2 Peter 2:2 “And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.”
2 Peter 2:15 “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of
Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,”
Exodus 23:2 “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to
wrest judgment:”
Hosea 6:3 “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he
shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”

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