The road to Christian maturity involves more than a casual encounter with scripture. For us to be transformed by God's word we need to experience it regularly and take the time to understand it more deeply. We'll first look at relevant passages from the life and teaching of Jesus, then examine passages from the rest of the New Testament, and conclude with scriptural background from the Old Testament. Finally I'll share my own recommendation about study.
From Jesus
Matthew 4: 1-4
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.''"
Matthew 13: 18-23
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Matthew 7: 24-25
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Matthew 23: 8-10
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ.”
John 14: 25-26
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
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Other New Testament Background
Ephesians 6: 10-18
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Colossians 3: 15-16
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Hebrews 4:12-13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
James 1:22-25
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
1Peter 1:22-25
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
1John 2:14
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
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Old Testament Background
Deuteronomy 5: 1
Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.
Deuteronomy 8: 2-3
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Psalm 25: 4-5
Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your path, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 51:6
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:15
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
Proverbs 9:9
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.
Ezra 7:10
For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
Practical Application
The study of scripture is foundational to spiritual growth. Daily scripture reading is a habit that has a huge payback. Just reading God's word is transformational. A spiritual doorway is opened when I am reading scripture, allowing God to speak to my soul as I read his word.
You can benefit from the use of Bible study aids, especially a Study Bible (try the Life Application Study Bible), Bible Commentaries (the Expositors' Bible Commentary is good), Bible Dictionaries (The Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible is excellent), and Bible Concordances. A Bible Commentary gives scholarly background on each passage of scripture and helps you to see the context of the passage more clearly. A Bible Dictionary helps you to understand the way particular words in the Bible are used, such as sin, faith, redemption, justification, etc... A Bible Concordance helps in finding all passages of scripture which contain a certain word. When you can only remember some of a scripture passage and want to find it in the Bible, look in the concordance under the words you can remember and find the whole passage and where it is in the Bible. A concordance also helps in doing a study on a particular word by showing every time the word appears in the Bible.
The understanding of scripture is also helped by reading great Christian writing. Great Christian writing should not take the place of Bible study, but you will be challenged by leading Christian authors such as C.S. Lewis, Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, and Lee Strobel.