Our family was beginning a study of Titus when something in the opening verses grabbed our attention. The apostle Paul makes a passing reference to the eternal life that was “promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2). But promised to whom?
That single question led us to a rich study of God’s Word. It also illustrated a principle I have labored to instill in my children: “Sanctified” curiosity is the door to stimulating and satisfying study of the Bible.
But what is sanctified curiosity? And in this age of AI when we seemingly can find out anything by asking a chatbot, what does sanctified curiosity have to do with studying the Bible?
Defining Sanctified Curiosity
Scripture commends being innocent toward evil but wise and shrewd toward what is good (Matt. 10:16; Rom. 16:19). We ought to channel our curiosity in directions that incline our hearts toward God and his ways. Sanctified curiosity is curiosity aimed at righteousness.
The heart behind the questions we ask matters. Luke powerfully illustrates this when he records the question of the high priest Zechariah (Luke 1:18) in contrast to the question of the lowly young virgin Mary (1:34). Zechariah’s question exposes his unbelief—the fruit of pride. Mary’s question, in contrast, came from humility and faith, believing what the angel said but curious about how it would work.
On the other hand, Satan is a master of unsanctified curiosity. He uses it to plant seeds of unbelief and doubt into the minds of God’s people (Gen. 3:1; Matt 4:1–11). So we must be on guard, careful to channel our curiosity from a heart devoted to God.
Getting Started
But what if when you read Scriptures, like Titus 1:2, no questions come to mind? What if sanctified curiosity doesn’t come naturally to you?
God hasn’t wired us all the same way. For some people, questions abound. For others, they struggle to know what types of questions to ask. How do you walk through the door to rich Bible study if you don’t know where to find it?
Fortunately, sanctified curiosity can be taught, modeled and learned. If it doesn’t come naturally, mentors—living or dead—can show you what it looks like. After sanctified curiosity has been modeled for you, jump right in and learn by doing. You won’t develop this skill if you don’t find a safe place to start asking questions without fear of embarrassment. My favorite technique is to look or listen for patterns—or pattern breakers—in the text and list what most stands out for further inquiry.
Experiment with how you consume Scripture—when, where and by what medium. Should you read, listen or do both simultaneously? Print or digital? Small portions or longer? In a quiet space with no distractions or while you’re walking, driving or working? There’s no wrong answer.
Try different approaches to see when your mind and heart best engage.
Using AI in Bible Study
But what does all this have to do with AI? To borrow from the apostle Paul, “Much in every way” (Rom 3:1–2).
There is no doubt AI will play a larger role in Bible study going forward. Consider these three tips for employing sanctified curiosity while using AI effectively in your Bible study:
1. Learn what questions to ask.
Not everyone has access to people who can model sanctified curiosity, and finding Bible study resources that help them ask good questions can be challenging.
This is where AI can assist. Try asking a chatbot, “What questions should I ask of Titus 1:2 to better understand what it teaches?” At least one question from the list it provides will likely pique your curiosity and lead to fruitful study.
But treat AI as a starting point, not a destination. Use it to direct you down a path of curiosity. AI may not ask the questions that are most interesting to you, but it can help you get started. Let the questions it raises fuel your own.
2. Cultivate a healthy skepticism.
Sanctified curiosity will almost always be accompanied by sanctified skepticism. Those who use AI best in Bible study are those who trust it least. They use AI to provoke further questions rather than accept AI’s outputs at face value.
Scripture upholds a model of sanctified skepticism in the Berean Jews: They “received the message with great eagerness” yet still “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). This eager reception coupled with earnest inquiry produced faith (v. 12).
While our context differs significantly from theirs, the lesson remains vital. If sanctified skepticism ought to be applied to the claims of an apostle, how much more to the claims of AI?
Cultivate a sanctified skepticism alongside a sanctified curiosity, and AI can become a helpful tool you can wield for richer, deeper study.
3. Discover how to search for answers.
In Bible study, curiosity and asking questions are half the battle. But asking questions isn’t enough. We also need to know how to search for reliable answers. ChatGPT and other AI platforms can produce impressive-sounding outputs. While they’re often true and helpful, occasionally they’re not—and there’s almost no way initially to spot the difference.
There are other tools that can aid one here. But at Logos we addressed this by building a tool that searches for answers from within a curated library and provides links to those sources so you can verify for yourself.
But such use of AI requires discernment, as AI can just as easily short-circuit your Bible study as deepen it. My wife and I homeschool our four school-age children. The curriculum we use comes with answer keys, which we occasionally let the kids check when they are stuck. But if all they did was copy answers, they wouldn’t learn. That’s a risk of using AI: It can eliminate the benefit of our own reading and thinking and wrestling.
AI must not displace Bible study; it should only amplify it. We do ourselves a disservice if all we do is ask AI for answers and bypass getting into Scripture for ourselves—exploring its context, looking for patterns, wrestling with its meaning.
Instead, when we use AI to drive us further into Scripture, it becomes a friend rather than a foe.
Gons, Philip R. “Sanctified Curiosity: The Key to Using AI Well in Bible Study.” Outreach 24, no. 5 (September/October 2026): 160–61. Reposted by permission.