Reading the Bible: Examining Each Leaf

Martin Luther said that every Christian ought to read the Bible from cover to cover every year. But, likening the Bible to a forest, he also said that reading the Bible doesn’t become really enjoyable until you see not only the forest but examine each tree, each branch, and, finally, each leaf. Every little leaf of sacred Scripture must be turned over and studied in order to see the intricate truths that are revealed in God’s Word.

To study the Bible is to look at every branch and leaf of Scripture so that we can find those intricate truths and know how they relate to one another. And just as there is a science to studying plants so that we can draw the correct conclusions (botany), there’s a science to studying the Bible so that we can make the right deductions from God’s revelation. It’s called hermeneutics, and it’s what this little book that you’re holding in your hands is all about.