SEVEN REASONS TO TEACH VERSE BY VERSE
"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Mat. 4:4)
"And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground." (I Sam. 3:19)
"For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." (Acts 20:27)
There are certainly more verses that we could consider, but the point is clear that ALL of God's words are inspired and all of them are essential. God never intended for us to treat the Bible like an orange or a banana where you eat just the parts that you like and throw the rest away. Proverbs 30:5 says, "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." Because of that, I want to address the subject of SEVEN REASONS TO TEACH VERSE BY VERSE.
There are numerous ways to teach the Bible, and there's nothing wrong utilizing various methods, but verse by verse teaching should not be abandoned for long periods of time. I try to have at least one verse by verse study underway at all times, and sometimes two or three. As we shall see, there are some very good reasons for this . . .
I. THE FOCAL POINT REMAINS THE SCRIPTURE ITSELF
Verse by verse teaching requires that the teacher and the students keep looking back to word of God itself, not to some outline or some projection on a screen or drawing on a board. Using such things occasionally is fine, but they should not be allowed to take the place of the text of God's word. Verse by verse teaching keeps people focused on the word of God itself.
II. THE CHURCH GROWS FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE BIBLE
When teaching verse by verse, the church is confronted with scripture from nearly 1,200 chapters and over 31,000 verses, thus having a grand opportunity to mark and highlight special texts and special truths that might not otherwise even be noticed, as well as becoming familiar with where books are in the Bible. The cross reference checking that goes with any good verse by verse study will greatly help people to learn their way around in the Bible.
III. THE CHURCH IS TAUGHT A WIDE RANGE OF BIBLE DOCTRINES
Rather than being placed in particular sections as with a dictionary or an encyclopedia, Bible doctrine is sprinkled throughout the scriptures. This means that a student will grow in his understanding of the various Bible doctrines as he consistently studies verse by verse. One might be shallow, for instance, in his knowledge of the theme of blood atonement, but he won't be shallow for long, if he studies verse by verse. Maybe a Christian isn't very established in his understanding of dispensations, but he will encounter numerous dispensations as he studies verse by verse. A student might know very little about the King James Bible debate, but no good Bible teacher would fail to address the issue when teaching on verses like Genesis 3:1, Deuteronomy 4:2, I Samuel 3:19, Psalms 12:6-7, Matthew 24:35 or II Corinthians 2:17. So the student learns more about the issue as he pays attention to the verse by verse teaching.
The Bible is an ocean of truth, but few really ever explore it, because few ever engage in serious verse by verse teaching.
IV. GOD HAS MORE LIBERTY TO DIRECT THE TEACHING
This is similar to the last point, but it goes a step further. When reading and teaching through every word and every verse, we are automatically allowing subject matter into the study that God strategically placed into his word. Instead of cherry picking what we WANT to teach, we are teaching what appears in the text as we come to it. Over time, this means that a very good mix of divinely appointed Bible doctrine gets taught to the church.
For instance, you might not normally ever get around to teaching on God being the creator of evil, but that issue arises in Isaiah 45:7, so you're challenged to deal with it. Maybe the destruction of the United Nations isn't on your preaching list, but it is in Zephaniah 3, so you're challenged to deal with it. Maybe it has been a while since you spoke against the sodomite sins, but today you're teaching on Romans chapter 1, so you must deal with it. Perhaps a Catholic has been visiting your church and you've been trying real hard not to offend him, but the next verse in the text is Matthew 23:9. God has something to say, so let him say it.
". . . where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (II Cor. 3:17) Verse by verse teaching clearly gives God more liberty in the teaching by sticking with the text that he ordained and allowing it to speak as we come to its numerous words, phrases, statements and themes.
V. VERSE BY VERSE TEACHING PROVIDES DOCTRINAL BUILDING BLOCKS
Think of your Bible understanding as doctrinal building blocks. The more blocks you have, the stronger your understanding and spiritual growth becomes as you build yourself up like a strong wall and castle in the Lord. Since God's doctrinal building blocks are scattered throughout the scriptures, one must study ALL of the scriptures to be able to add these building blocks to his structure of understanding. For instance, we mentioned Matthew 23:9 above, the verse where Jesus forbids calling a religious leader "father." One's understanding of this important principle is greatly helped when his teacher expounds on the building block of Judges 17:10. Then another building block comes in Job 32:21-22, and yet a couple more in Psalms 118:8 and I Peter 5:3. Little by little, over time, one can truly grow in his knowledge of sound doctrine as, one by one, verse by verse, he puts the building blocks of hundreds of doctrines into place.
VI. BIBLICAL AUTHORITY IS ESABLISHED
As the believer sees the above realities occurring, he sees first-hand the power of God's word, and its authority is further established in his own heart and life. Far too often, the methods and habits of men dominate in Bible teaching and the power of God's word is overshadowed. Proper verse by verse teaching keeps God's word front and center and allows its power to affect everyone as they see for themselves just how much the Bible really covers when we consider "every word" like Jesus said (Mat. 4:4).
As mentioned earlier, even the KJV debate can be frequently brought to the forefront and addressed when certain verses come up in the teaching. This helps to further establish biblical authority, yet without having to teach a special "class" on the KJV debate. The issue can also be addressed frequently as challenged words come up in the studies, such as "virgin" in Isaiah 7:14 and "Easter" in Acts 12:4. In the end, everyone's faith in the Book is strengthened as the able verse by verse teacher continually magnifies ALL of God's preserved words.
VII. THE TEACHER IS CHALLENGED TO GROW
No teacher knows everything, but those who refuse to teach verse by verse usually know a lot less because they aren't challenged to know and teach every word. Skimming over a passage and teaching on select words, phrases and statements is much easier than having to read and explain entire verses. The verse by verse teacher is challenged to study and know the many people, places and things that are mentioned in the Bible's 31,000 verses, and this often requires a great deal of study.
For instance, anyone can skim their way through John chapter 3 and present a lovely little outline, but the experienced verse by verse teacher will be challenged to gear down in John 3:5 and explain with two or three scripture witnesses what it means to be "born of water" AND what it DOESN'T mean. This challenge has a way of separating the men from the boys, and believe me, there are far more boys out there TRYING to teach than there are men actually teaching. Verse by verse, that can be changed drastically.
I once had a pastor tell me that the Bible doesn't "open up" to him. Well, it doesn't "open up" to me either! I have to OPEN IT and STUDY it! I guess he thought that something magical is supposed to happen where you don't have to actually study and work. Well, that's just not true. Study IS work (II Tim. 2:15), which is why the lazy boy preachers usually end up at the preacher fellowships, the camp meetings, and at the gospel singings instead of in their library with the Holy Spirit and the Book. You can't feed the sheep, if you don't feed yourself first, and Laodicean junk food doesn't qualify.
In closing, let me say that I have done most everything that a man can do in a pulpit. For my Sunday morning messages, I have preached hundreds of topical sermons, and I have taught through more serial studies than I can count. These have been very needful and helpful through the years, but nothing has been more important than the ongoing verse by verse Bible studies that we have consistently done on most Sunday afternoons and on most Wednesday nights. I have grown, the church has grown, and the standard has been raised for everyone. Verse by verse is how I learned the Bible, and verse by verse is how I teach most of the time. Preaching is different, but when it comes to the actual teaching of God's word, verse by verse is most definitely the best way. There's just nothing like it, and if you aren't spending at least some time studying God's word verse by verse, then you are really falling short in your Bible studies.
