Updated September 25, 2006 (first published February 10, 1998) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

From time to time friends write to ask what commentaries and Bible study material I recommend, and I intend to publish a series of articles on this topic in coming months, the Lord willing. I have had the joy and inestimable blessing of studying the Holy Scriptures daily for 33 years. For the first 23 years of my life (before I was saved), I was not consistent in ANYTHING (except foolishness!), and only by the Lord’s marvelous grace have I been motivated to remain steadfast in His Word decade after decade. I have read the Bible through dozens of times, and it remains fresh and vital and fascinating. During the first twelve or so years of my Christian life, I averaged five to eight hours every day studying the Word of God. I still study its pages daily, but I no longer can dedicate as much time to it as I could when I was younger and had fewer responsibilities. (This reminds me of the importance of using the opportunities of life that God puts in our path. It is common for young people to waste on frivolous activities the precious hours they could be using to gain some mastery of God’s Word, and by the time they become more serious about the Bible the great opportunity of youth is past.) I feel that I have barely begun to understand its wonderful words. By the way, if you think I am bragging about all of this, you are very wrong. As I sit here before the Lord and write this article and think back over my Christian life, I realize all too well how many hours I have wasted on vanities and on leisure which I could have invested more wisely in things of eternal value. I realize how far short I have come of attaining to God’s perfect will for my life. I have spent time studying that I should have spent in other things, and I have spent time in other things that I should have spent studying! No, the Lord knows I’m not bragging; I’m simply explaining my background for those who do not know.

There are two things that must be done to learn the Bible. First, one must read the Bible, and second, one must study the Bible. These are two different things. It is crucial, first, simply to read the Bible, consistently, systematically. The excellent practice of reading the Bible through once a year keeps the Bible fresh in one’s mind, and gives the Holy Spirit opportunity to enlighten the student through its pages. The Bible is not merely a series of writings; it is one Book; and to be understood it needs to be read and studied as one Book. Each book of the Bible complements the other books, and as the Bible is read systematically the pieces begin to fit together. In the earlier years of my Christian life I always read the Bible through more than once a year, but as the years have passed and the responsibilities have grown, I have found that a Yearly Bible Reading Schedule is very helpful to keep me focused so that I read all of the Bible during the year. I like the ones whereby you read a section in the Old Testament and a section in the New Testament every day. Another helpful practice is to read an individual book of the Bible repeatedly until the theme and meaning become clear. One respected Bible teacher stated that the preacher should read a book of the Bible at least ten times repeatedly before trying to analyze and teach it. It is crucial, also, to study the Bible. This involves slowing down the pace, doing word studies, analyzing individual passages, doing topical studies, outlining books, using commentaries. Here is the point at which we begin to use our Bible study tools.

In addition to the all important enlightenment of the indwelling Holy Spirit, God has given two things to help His people understand the Bible: tools and teachers. The latter reminds us of the importance of being in a good church which has gifted preachers and teachers and where the Word of God is taught properly. Bible teaching should be accompanied by pastoral authority, and that can only be found in a sound New Testament assembly. Hebrews 13:7 connects those who speak the Word of God to me with those who have the rule over me. This refers to being taught the Bible by my own pastors and teachers in the congregation of which I am a faithful member.

This does not mean, though, that I cannot learn from Bible teachers who are not my own pastors or who are not in my own congregation. Churches frequently invite special speakers from outside, speakers who are not members of that assembly, because it is important for the people to have access to a wide variety of men with their various gifts and messages. Likewise, in our private study of God’s Word we can have access to various gifted men through books.

Of the men who have helped me to understand God’s Word, many of them I have never met face to face. They have taught me via the pages of the books in my library. What a wealth of excellent Bible study aids we have in the English language! This is not the case in many other languages. When I first arrived in South Asia to begin our missionary work in early 1979, I was immediately impressed with the fact that God’s people there had no Bible study helps. They had no concordance, no Bible dictionary, no topical studies, no commentaries. My wife and I had the joy of producing the first Bible study book in the Nepali language, a Topical Bible Study Guide, and it is still in print today. That remains one of the few Bible study tools available to the 25 million Nepali-speaking people. English-speaking Christians are very rich in Bible study aids. May the Lord help us understand just how rich we are and not take these things for granted or let them lie idle on our shelves.

There is an old saying which is very true: “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” It has been said that a dusty Bible indicates a dirty heart. How is it with you these days, dear reader? Evangelist Lester Roloff often said, “We don’t need to re-translate the Bible; we need to re-read it.” I trust that these articles will challenge each reader to strengthen his or her daily Bible study habits. The hour is very late and very evil. There is a spiritual warfare raging for the souls of men. Our swords need to be sharp and ready. Not only do we need to edify ourselves; we also need to help others.

We are going to begin these articles with some FOUNDATIONAL BIBLE STUDY AIDS for an effective English Bible research library.

STRONG’S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE by James Strong (1822-1916). This tool is at the top of the list for a reason: We believe it is the most important Bible study tool ever published. Not only is it exhaustive in its treatment of the words of the English Bible, but it links the English words to an exceptional dictionary of the Hebrew and Greek terms underlying the English. One does not have to know the Greek and Hebrew alphabets to use Strong’s dictionary; he developed a masterly apparatus whereby each Greek and Hebrew word is assigned a number, and the student can search for Greek and Hebrew terms by numbers. The dictionary gives a concise definition of the Greek or Hebrew word as well as a list of the ways that word is translated in the English Bible, thus showing the Bible student how the word was used by the translators of the Authorized Version. Strong was a conservative Methodist Bible scholar who was proficient in biblical Greek and Hebrew as well as some other ancient languages. As a professor at two Bible colleges, he defended biblical inspiration against the onslaught of Modernism that was beginning to sweep through the Methodist denominations of his day.

When I completed the first edition of the Way of Life Bible Encyclopedia in 1993, I still used the Strong’s Concordance in book format. In fact, all of the research for that volume was done by hand using books. That Encyclopedia, though, might be the last one that will be completed without computer assistance. I had computer Bible software for many years prior to the completion of the Way of Life Encyclopedia, but for some reason I had not developed the habit of using it in my daily studies. Since 1993, though, I have put away the Strong’s book and I do my Bible word studies strictly by computer. The laptop allows me to have my computer Bible study software available no matter where I happen to be studying the Bible. At present I use Online Bible for Windows, Swordsearcher (the only Bible software that has the Way of Life Encyclopedia module), and PC Study Bible. Practically all of the computer Bible software packages include the Strong’s numbering and definition system. Most are enhanced with the addition of other Greek and Hebrew lexicons. I will say more about computer Bible study software.

TREASURY OF SCRIPTURE KNOWLEDGE. This invaluable Bible study tool facilitates comparing Scripture with Scripture. It is often the first “commentary” I consult when searching the meaning of a particular Bible verse or passage. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge was first published circa 1836. The original Treasury has roughly 4,000 cross references; the newer editions have roughly 570,000 references. The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself, and herein lies the value of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. The original was compiled by Thomas Scott (1747-1821), an Anglican minister who converted from Unitarianism. Scott was the author of a popular British commentary on the Bible, which was first published as a weekly newspaper series. (How times have changed!) The Treasury has been updated many times. Hendrickson Publishers has an updated edition of The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge which is 778 pages. As with Bible word studies, I no longer use a book for doing cross reference searches. I use the cross reference system available in my Bible software. Some version of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is available for most of the Bible software packages. Running the references with the computer can be much more efficient than trying to do the same thing with a book and a Bible. (The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge edited by Jerome Smith contains more than 670,000 references, plus extensive additional topical and word studies, but we cannot recommend it because of the undependable nature of the notes. For example, the note by 1 Timothy 3:16 claims the word “God” should be omitted, and the note by Acts 8:38 claims that baptism is not by immersion).

WAY OF LIFE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BIBLE & CHRISTIANITY by David W. Cloud (1949- ). The 2nd edition of this Bible Encyclopedia (January 1998) contains 560 pages (8.5X11) of information, over 5,500 entries, and over 6,000 cross references. More than twenty years of research has gone into this one-of-a-kind reference tool. It is the only Bible dictionary/encyclopedia that is written by a Fundamental Baptist and based strictly upon the King James Bible. It is a complete dictionary of biblical terminology and also features many other areas of research not often covered in Bible reference volumes. Subjects include Bible versions, Denominations, Cults, Christian Movements, Old Testament Typology, the Church, Social Issues and Practical Christian Living, Bible Prophecy, and Old English Terminology. The Christian will be helped and fortified in his faith through this Bible Encyclopedia. It does not correct the Authorized Version of the Bible, nor does it undermine the fundamental Baptist’s doctrines and practices as many study tools do. For example, look up “baptism” or “church” or “prophecy” in almost any other Bible dictionary, including Smith, Easton, or Davis, and you will find almost no help in learning the biblical definition of these terms. Instead you are given a smorgasbord of views, most of which are unscriptural. Not so with the Way of Life Bible Encyclopedia. Extensive and practical Bible studies are given on every topic. Further, the Way of Life Bible Encyclopedia contains the definitions of hundreds of words which do not appear in the common Bible dictionaries, words such as Alcoholic Beverages, Annihilation, Apocrypha, Capital Punishment, Child Training, Cremation, Dancing, Divorce, Employment, Evangelicalism, Foot Washing, Fundamentalism, God’s Guidance, Mass, Modesty, Ordination, Pacifism, Parish, Polygamy, Pope, Purgatory, Rapture, Seventy Weeks, Sodomy, Soul Sleep, Wine. The Way of Life Bible Encyclopedia is much more practical than most Bible dictionaries. The key word and topical studies are given in outline form and are designed to be used by teachers and preachers and parents. It defines not only words and topics and doctrines, but many of the unique phrases which appear in the Authorized Version. These include Abomination of Desolation, Abusers of Themselves with Mankind, Blood Guiltiness, Cunning Craftiness, Foolish Talking, Itching Ears, Puffed Up, Superfluity of Naughtiness, Taken with the Manner, etc. The Bible Encyclopedia also contains the definitions of an exhaustive list of antiquated words and phrases from the KJV. The studies on the denominations and cults are very extensive. The large sections on Roman Catholic Church and Seventh-Day Adventism, for example, are equivalent to individual books on those subjects. Many preachers have told us that the Way of Life Bible Encyclopedia is one of their favorite Bible study tools. Burgundy cloth hard-cover book. A computer edition of the Way of Life Bible Encyclopedia is available in the Fundamental Baptist CD-Library and also as a module for Swordsearcher. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, http://www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org.

TOPICAL STUDIES. One of the important ways to study the Bible is topically or doctrinally. “Systematic Theology” sounds more sophisticated than topical Bible study, but it is the same thing. Systematic Theology is nothing more or less than analyzing what the Bible says on various subjects. During the first few years after I was converted, I developed my own topical studies by arranging Bible verses by subject in a large notebook that I kept for that purpose. I had separate pages for subjects such as Christ’s Deity, Sin, Heaven, Hell, Satan, Diligence, Anger, Holy Spirit, Demons, Resurrection, Baptism, Tongues, etc.; and on the various pages of the notebook I copied the relevant verses by hand. It was very exciting to learn what the Bible had to say on so many momentous topics. I found that by the time I arrived at Bible school a year after I was saved I already had a good grounding in the doctrines through this practice. My topical studies became more expansive and refined as the years passed, and eventually they were incorporated into the Way of Life Bible Encyclopedia. If you have the Way of Life Encyclopedia you have access to these topical studies and to the vast cross reference system, which is much more extensive than those you will find in other Bible dictionaries.

If you are interested in other topical tools, there are many available. I have probably 30 in my library. Many friends like the topical study system in the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. There is a topical system built into the Scofield Reference Bible. Dugan also publishes an excellent topical study Bible. Two of the stand alone topical tools that I have found helpful are the Nave’s Topical Bible (available from Hendrickson Publishers, P.O. Box 3473, Peabody, MA 01961) and the New Topical Textbook (available from Sword of the Lord, P.O. Box 1099, Murfreesboro, TN 37133), each of which contains more than 20,000 topics and sub-topics. The New Topical Textbook is printed in a small format which is particularly convenient for travels. Both the Nave’s and the New Topical are available for the Logos Bible Software. The Nave’s and the New Topical are also is available on the web at the Goshen site -- http://www.goshen.net/ntb/ and http://www.goshen.net/ttt/. Swordsearcher includes four topical studies: Thompson Chain Reference, Nave’s Topical Bible, Torrey’s New Topical Textbook, and Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia. Most of other the Bible software packages include various topical studies.

ENGLISHMAN’S GREEK CONCORDANCE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. This reference work was first published in 1840. In 1979, a revised edition was published which is numerically coded to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, thus facilitating its use by students who do not know Greek. Each Greek word is followed by a concordance-like entry showing each usage of that word throughout the English N.T. Thus the student can see immediately how the august translators of the Authorized Version rendered the various Greek words and phrases. By thus studying the various translations and the contexts, one can gain much insight into the broad definitions of Bible words. For example, the Greek word panourgia is variously translated “craftiness” (Lk. 20:23), “subtilty” (2 Cor. 11:3), and “cunning craftiness” (Eph. 4:14). Each of these translations considered in its context helps the Bible student better understand the meaning of this Greek word. The Englishman’s Greek Concordance Numerically Coded to Strong’s is published by Baker Book House and Hendrickson. 

ENGLISHMAN’S HEBREW-CHALDEE CONCORDANCE. This is the same as the above except that it deals with the Old Testament Hebrew words. Published by Baker Book House and Hendrickson.

The Englishman’s Greek Concordance and Hebrew-Chaldee Concordance are not needed for the Bible student with a good Bible software package. I do the same type of searches much more quickly and efficiently with Online Bible and Swordsearcher. There are many other software packages which allow the student to search for the English usage of a particular Greek or Hebrew word and then display the results of the search in context.

ALL AMERICAN DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE by Noah Webster (1758-1843) --1828 edition. This edition was the apex of the masterful lexicographic researches of Mr. Webster. The Foundation for American Christian Education put this amazing volume back into print in 1967 because “we need the ‘primary’ Biblical, Christian and Constitutional meanings of words.” Indeed, we do, and that is exactly what Noah Webster gave us. One would think that the British Oxford Dictionary would be of more benefit in the study of the English Authorized Bible, but such is not necessarily the case. I have looked through the exhaustive Oxford Dictionary, and while its etymologies, in some cases, are more extensive than Webster’s, and while there is no doubt that the Oxford is an invaluable resource, it is entirely secular in mood and philosophy. The mood of Webster, on the other hand, is biblical. Webster brought a wide knowledge of foreign languages to his work. Ultimately he mastered 26 languages, and he spent a full decade in tracing the origin of English words in these languages--but he was always oriented, first and foremost, to the Bible and to absolute truth. Webster was deeply influenced by the Second Great Awakening which swept through the New England states. It so happened, that this Awakening was at its zenith in the years during which Webster was preparing his crowning work--a dictionary that was destined to standardize the English language in America and to help unite that country in mind and purpose for the century to come. It is this biblical environment that makes Webster unique for the Bible student. While certainly not infallible, it has been observed that Webster’s dictionary was “the only dictionary in the world to ‘draw water out of the wells of salvation’--to utilize God’s written word as a key to the meaning of words.” We should also note that Webster was not far removed from the actual era of the creation of the King James Bible. He began his lexicographic studies only a little more than 100 years after the translators of the King James Bible had passed off this earthly scene. While Webster’s 1828 is still in print, it is not widely available because of its cost and size. We have incorporated the heart of many of Webster’s definitions pertaining to Bible words into our own Way of Life Bible Dictionary for the edification of our readers. Let me hasten to say that we have taken pains to give credit where the distinguished lexicographer has been quoted. The publisher for the Webster 1828 is Foundation for American Christian Education, Box 9444, Chesapeake, VA 22321. 804-488-6601 (voice), 804-465-0307 (fax). There is also a software version of the 1828 Webster available for IBM-compatibles. It comes on disk or CD-ROM. This can be obtained from Christian Technologies, P.O. Box 2201, Independence, MO 64055. 800-366-8320, 816-478-8320. The 1828 Webster is also available in the Swordsearcher Bible program.

THINGS HARD TO BE UNDERSTOOD: A HANDBOOK OF BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES by David Cloud. This volume deals with a wide variety of biblical difficulties. Find the answer to the seeming contradictions in the Bible. Meet the challenge of false teachers who misuse biblical passages to prove their doctrine. Find out the meaning of difficult passages. Be confirmed in your confidence in the inerrancy and perfection of the Scriptures. Learn the meaning of difficult expressions such as “the unpardonable sin.” In my library are about 35 volumes dealing with Bible difficulties, but there are many things which set the Way of Life volume apart from others. For one thing, it is more practical than any of the volumes I have seen on this topic. It deals with a wide variety of biblical questions with which the ordinary Christian is faced in his day to day life and ministry. Also it is written from a fundamentalist, Bible-believing Baptist viewpoint and it contains no criticism of the Authorized Version. We do not believe one has to assume there are scribal errors incorporated into our standard English Bible to find the solution to alleged contradictions and difficulties. In writing this book our desire is to help protect God’s people from the false teachers who abound in these last days. They raise nagging questions and doubts by misusing passages of Scripture to “prove” their specious doctrines. Examples of passages considered in this context are verses misused by Seventh-day Adventists to support their doctrines of soul sleep and annihilation, verses misused by the Roman Catholic Church to support its doctrines of Mary and the Papacy and purgatory, verses used by ecumenists to justify their unscriptural goals, verses used to support infant baptism and baptismal regeneration, and verses misused by those who deny the doctrine of eternal security. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org. Things Hard to Be Understood is available as a module for the Swordsearcher Bible program. 

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF BIBLE LANDS by Fred Wight. This helpful volume was first published in 1953 and is kept in print by Moody Press, Chicago, IL 60610. (800) 678-8812. An alternative is MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN THE BIBLE by Victor Matthews. Hendrickson Publishers, P.O. Box 3473, Peabody, MA 01961, 508-532-6546.

BAKER’S BIBLE ATLAS by Charles Pfeiffer. This volume contains 26 colored maps, numerous black and white maps, and 75 photos to illustrate the material. There is a discussion of biblical geography from Genesis to Revelation. Available from Baker Book House. Another alternative is the NELSON’S COMPLETE BOOK OF BIBLE MAPS & CHARTS, available from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Many of the Bible software packages now offer excellent Bible atlases. Parson’s has one for its Quickverse Bible software called PC BIBLE ATLAS (Parsons Technology, P.O. Box 100, Hiawatha, IA 52233). It comes standard with the basic QuickVerse 4.0 CD-ROM Bible Reference Collection, or it can be purchased separately as a stand alone program. The LOGOS BIBLE ATLAS published by Logos Bible Software is the creme of the crop. It contains actual satellite imagery of the Holy Land, and the user can analyze the actual contour of the land. Swordsearcher includes many maps.

ONLINE BIBLE by Larry Pierce. This Bible program was written to be distributed royalty free. Any profit incurred goes to a missionary work. The resources which have been made available with Online Bible are extensive, including Strong’s, Treasury of Scripture Knowledge; Geneva Bible Notes; Nave’s Topical; Smith’s and Eaton’s Dictionaries; Greek lexicons by Thayer, Brown, Driver, and Briggs; Robertson’s Word Pictures, Bible maps and archeology, Creation Science material, Thompson Chain References, People’s New Testament Commentary, Wesley’s New Testament Notes, concise Matthew Henry; John Gill’s complete commentaries. All of these are available on the CD-ROM. Mr. Pierce is a computer engineer who attends a Brethren assembly. When I visited him a few years ago at his home in Ontario, volunteers were busy scanning and editing the massive John Gill commentaries--no small project! One of the things I do with a Bible software program is search for Greek and Hebrew words to see the various ways they are translated in the English Bible. I can do this very efficiently with Online Bible. There are many foreign language Bible translations available for the Online Bible, including Arabic, Cebuano (Philipines), Chinese, Dutch Staten Vertling, French Segond, German Elberfelder, Haitian Creole, Hungarian Karoli, Indonesian, Italian La Nuova, Latin, Netherlands Bibelen, Pacific Maori, Romanian, Russian Synodal, Sango, Spanish Reina Valera (1909 & 1989), Swahili, Turkish, U.M.A. NT, and Vietnamese.

Logos Bible Software has a more powerful search engine than Online Bible, more extensive Greek and Hebrew resources, and a larger library; but that does not mean it is more useful for the average Bible-believing preacher. I do not want to downplay the value of Logos, because it is very powerful; but it is also true that it is designed around the modern critical Greek and Hebrew texts and English versions, and the vast majority of the materials being developed for the Logos Bible Library are of a Modernistic or New-Evangelical bent. One brother wrote the following in his review of Logos which he sent to me: “I think their commentaries are weak. I had hoped that it would provide some of the commentaries I use in my personal library to save me the time having to look them up. [Logos has none of the basic commentaries that I like to use.] When I first got Logos I consulted their commentaries frequently, but found them wanting and do not even bother anymore.”

Online Bible for Windows can be downloaded from the Internet from the following web site: http://www.onlinebible.simplenet.com/downlwin.htm

Online Bible for Windows CD-ROM can be obtained for about $40. You will pay $200 or more to get anything equivalent to this package from another publisher. Online Bible, Box 21, Bronson, Michigan 49028, 800-243-7124.

SWORDSEACHER. This is our favorite electronic Bible study software package. SwordSearcher has a host of features and resources for improving your Bible study, featuring numerous resources, including excellent commentaries, dictionaries, maps, illustrations, and topical guides. Supports user-created content. Pop-up verse references allow instant examination of cross-references in resource material. Pop-up Strong’s definitions immediately show Strong’s definitions over King James Bible Strong’s links. The Topic Guide allows quick indexing of all dictionaries, topic guides, etc, on a particular topic or verse. The “Deep Referencing” tool links all relevant material to verses, alleviating the need to guess at relevant dictionary or topical entries. Over 1 million cross-references combined. 14 Bible texts; 8 dictionaries and encyclopedias, including the complete 1828 WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, the complete multi-volume INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA, Smith’s Bible Dictionary, American Tract Society Bible Dictionary, Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Hitchcock Bible Dictionary, Treasury of Scripture Knowledge); 14 commentaries (including Matthew Henry unabridged, Barnes--both Old and New Testament, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Abbott, Burkitt, Adam Clarke, Keil and Delitzsch, and John Lightfoot’s Commentary on the Gospels); 3 ancient pre-KJV English versions (WYCLIFFE, TYNDALE, AND THE BISHOPS); the ORIGINAL 1611 KJV; 2 Greek New Testaments (the Received Text and the Westcott and Hort); 4 foreign language versions (Spanish, German, French, Dutch); 4 topical Bible guides (Thompson Chain Reference, Nave’s Topical Bible, Torrey’s New Topical Textbook, Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia); other books; and over 360 maps, charts, and illustrations. The Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity and “Things Hard to Be Understood: A Handbook of Biblical Difficulties” are available as a module for Swordsearcher. Swordsearcher and the Way of Life modules are available from Way of Life Literature, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143 (toll free), fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org. In Canada contact Bethel Baptist Church, 4212 Campbell St. N., London, Ont. N6P 1A6, 519-652-2619 (voice), 519-652-0056 (fax).

SHOULD I BUY BOOKS OR COMPUTER SOFTWARE?

Computer Bible research tools are not necessarily for everyone. While it is true that Bible research can be more efficient on a computer than with books, this does not mean that such is always the case. The computer is only more efficient if it is readily available and if the Bible student can use that computer properly and in a godly manner. Books well used are certainly more efficient than a computer not used! Books that produce godliness and wisdom are more to be desired than computer programs that distract from the same.

If you have already effectively and spiritually incorporated the computer into your daily Bible study, you know by experience that a computer Bible study tool can be very efficient. There are many Christians, though, who do not yet use a computer, who use it only occasionally, or who use it only for an occupation other than Bible study, and who are asking themselves the question, “In making further additions to my Bible study library, should I obtain books or should I turn to computer software?” Let me offer some tips that might help you answer that.

First, if you do already have a computer, ask yourself if you are committed to using that computer for your daily Bible studies. It is one thing to own a computer or to have access to one and even to use that computer for various other tasks; it is quite another thing to integrate the use of the computer into your personal daily Bible study routine. There are many people who own computers but who do not have ready access to that computer every day for their Bible study. Perhaps the computer is shared by several family members and is kept in a central location for that purpose. If that is the case, you might not be in the habit of using the computer for your daily Bible studies even though there might be a computer in your home. If such is the case, I would recommend that you continue to purchase and use books until you can obtain a computer which is used strictly by you for your own studies. For Bible software to be practical for you, it must be readily available every time you do Bible research. The computer must be handy, it must be turned on, and it must be mastered. Otherwise, you will tend not to use the computer for Bible study even if you own Bible search software because it will not be convenient. Owning Bible study software is not the same as using Bible study software!

Second, if you do not already have a computer, ask yourself if you are truly committed to obtaining one, mastering it, keeping control of it, and then actually using it for Bible study. Many computer programs are purchased which are not used. This is a waste of money. There is a real learning curve with computers. The personal computer is easier than ever to use, but to master its use still requires dedication and time. Children seem to take to them naturally, but that is not usually the case with us “older foggies.” If you are contemplating purchasing a computer and incorporating it into your Bible study routine, I would encourage you to go for it. It is doubtful that you will regret it IF YOU ARE COMMITTED TO GIVE ENOUGH TIME TO THE PROJECT TO GAIN A MASTERY OVER IT. Otherwise, you are probably wasting your time and money. As noted previously, books well used are certainly more efficient than a computer not used.

Third, are you easily distracted from your study of God’s Word? Do you find yourself daydreaming a lot? Do you find your attention drawn away from the Lord by the thought of other things entering in? If so, you might be wise to avoid trying to incorporate the computer into your Bible studies. I have used a computer every day for a dozen years and I am sold on its value, but I also have a ministry somewhat different from that of many preachers, because of the publishing and contemporary research aspects. I do not believe the computer has produced more godliness in the ministry and I do not believe it is absolutely necessary for the ministry. It can as easily be a distraction and a hindrance as it can be a help. I have seen preachers waste many hours simply playing with their computers. One can play with his computer even when he isn’t using computer games! A man might say, “Look at all the time I save with my Bible search program.” That is no doubt true, but the other side of that is to consider all the hours you might be wasting by merely playing around with your computer. Each man must answer these questions for himself. A man who is able to use his books without distraction to study God’s Word in such a manner that he draws near to the Lord and increases in holiness and wisdom is far ahead of the man who has owns and masters the most expensive Bible software but who frequently gets distracted from godly worship of Christ and serious meditation on God’s Word by the bells and whistles of his software and of his computer system.

It is also important that a man get the right software. An important challenge was contained in a note I received recently from a brother in the Lord: “I love Logos [Bible software] but I would not suggest it to anyone unless they had excellent computer skills and the right computer. Also, I believe Logos is an excellent tool for the advanced student of the word but not for everybody. When I first purchased Logos, I spent all my time ‘playing with the computer’ rather than studying God’s Word. I was ready to toss Logos. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t buy Logos even though I do realize its potential.” In contrast to Logos, which has a higher learning curve, are programs like Parsons Quick Verse, which are easier to use.

I am saying that there is danger with the technology. High technology does not equate to deep spirituality. It can be a servant, or it can be a master. Each man must make this determination for himself. I am merely saying, don’t be intimidated into putting away your books unless you are certain that is God’s will for you. The greatest sermons ever preached and the greatest Bible study tools and commentaries ever made were produced with BOOKS WITHOUT COMPUTER ASSISTANCE! If you can use a computer effectively and spiritually for your Bible study, that is great. If not, that is also great.

“Sell your shirt and buy books.”

--Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s advice to the preachers in his school