Basic practical resources for personal and group inductive Bible study.
Overview
There are many places you can find good inductive Bible study materials–for some of those sites and for sound and helpful online tools for Bible study see the tools section which includes electronic tools and resources sites (under development).
My purpose is not to duplicate those sites nor to try to be exhaustive but to provide basic helpful materials which, Lord will result in helping individuals become self-feeds.
The goal is not isolated learners, but disciples able to feed themselves and who value learning in community and allow God to use them to reproduce more disciple-makers.
Approach
The approach–ROADS.
Read, Observe, Analyze, Do and Share.
For summary information see Bible Study Methods summary charts.
Purpose and Goal of Bible Study
Purpose of Bible Study
To seek to understand the author’s intended meaning and what the original (biblical) audience would have understood
- Seek the author’s intended meaning—it must mean what it meant
It cannot mean what it did not mean, though incremental revelation may expand what it means.
- Study the Bible using normal literary rules—study literarily
- Study the passage within its context—it must fit the whole picture
- Compare Scripture with Scripture—for clarity, let Scripture interpret Scripture
Do not read one passage into another.
- Respond to the authoritative nature of the truth in a relevant manner—obedience, submission and worship are the appropriate responses
Benefits
Letting the text speak
Seeing things for yourself
Makes it personally more memorable, therefore a greater opportunity for transformation
Gives you a way to evaluate what you hear and read
Overarching goal
Study of the Bible should lead us to a clearer understanding of who God is and what God wants from us.
Life transformation
Not information alone, but information leading to application leading to transformation.
Information without Application leads to Deception.
Overview
Read—involves: Recording and Reflecting
Multiple times to actually see what is there
Read it:
Carefully
Fully
Purposefully and selectively
Read the book in one sitting
Re-read each chapter several times
Context must control
A text without a context is a pretext
Observe—What do I see? What does it say?
Structural rewrite to seek flow and sections
Work with a paragraph as the main basic unit of thought
But keep it in the context of the
Pericope
Chapter
Book
Books by the same author
Structural rewrite to seek flow and sections
Three kinds of clauses
Main statements to the left
Parallel
Subordinate clauses indented
Interrogate the text
Who? —What is said about them, what do they say
What? —What’s taking place, what’s going go, what’s the point
Where? —Don’t assume
When? —What time, what day, sequence
Why? —Purpose, why does the author include that
Wherefore? —So what
Textual markers to reveal theme, purpose, and message
Repetition
Contrast
Cause and effect
Law of proportion—what does the author spend most of his time addressing?
Key conjunctions and prepositions
For—explanatory
But—contrast
Therefore—result
So that—purpose
Analyze
Ask Questions!
Analysis—Interpretation
Content
Observe—ask questions
Content Context Rules!
Comparison Scripture clarifies Scripture
Bridge the gap
Culture
Time—When?
Space—Where?
Customs—How?
Consultation Last step!
Comparison to other text
Let Scripture interpret Scripture
But start by seeking to understand each text in its own context and with its own purpose (i.e. for its intended audience)
- Don’t try to produce connections or links that are not real
- Don’t assume too quickly that there is no connection
Tools
Different translations
Concordance—for repetition
bible.faithlife.com
Biblewebapp.com/study/
lumina.bible.org
biblestudytools.com
General caution
Don’t simply accept what you hear or read
- You are responsible for what you believe
- You are responsible to act on the truth you believe
Don’t “fill-in the gaps” if the text doesn’t say it
Don’t
- Misread the Text
- Distort the Text
- Contradict the Text
Remember
- Subjectivism: the meaning of the text is in the text not in our feeling about the text
- Relativism: there is only one meaning in the text (not “It means to Me”)
- Overconfidence: don’t ever think you have mastered the text, there is always more you can learn
Don’t dismiss the difficult
“ya but” He can’t expect me to…
Or
“ya but” that can’t be true!
Do
Put it into practice
Does the passage challenge
- A truth to be understood
- A truth to believe and appropriate
- An action to take
Share
Pass it along