In college, I had extraordinary study skills; I was the girl that made money selling her notes to the other slackers less studious types. (I had a killer wardrobe several of those years. Maybe I should try that again…)
Fast forward 10 years…
When we lived in Denver, we were so incredibly fortunate to have a deep source of great Bible teachers and mentors that propelled us forward in our understanding of the Word, and thus, THE Word. I remember sitting at a weekend Bible intensive and the light bulb FINALLY flicked on in my head – study the Bible like you studied in college. What a novel idea! This is the most important material we will ever cover, so why not treat it the same way? Over the next week or so, I’ll share several different methods for doing so. Plus, what’s better than a hot cup of coffee and some Bible action when it’s -2 outside?! YIKES!
Today, let’s look at an inductive study. An inductive Bible study uses the Bible as the main source of information about the Bible. Essentially, it uses the Bible to prove or validate itself. (If you’ve ever done a Precepts Bible study, this is the method you’ve used.) It’s a way of study that has you extract, or draw out, information from the text to understand its meaning.
The inductive method uses three basic steps…
- Observation – what does the passage say?
- Interpretation – what does the passage mean?
- Application – how does the meaning apply to me?
Observation – the 5 W’s and H
- Pray and ask the Lord to teach you.
- Select and read a passage of Scripture.
- Note the obvious and answer the 5 W’s and H: who, what, when, where, why and how…
- Who wrote it?
- Who are they writing to?
- Who are they writing about?
- What are they writing about?
- What is the purpose in writing this?
- What are these people like?
- What were they doing during this time?
- What was their reaction?
- When was it written?
- When did the event happen or when will it take place?
- Where was this done?
- Where was this written?
- Why was this written?
- Why did God want me to know this?
- Why did the author say so much about this?
- Why did the author say so little about this?
- Why should they do ____?
- How did it happen?
- How did they do it?
- How did they react?
Interpretation
- Interpretation is not necessarily a separate step from observation. As you carefully observe the text and answer all of those questions, you often begin to see what it means.
- Be objective in your reading and let the Scripture speak for itself. Don’t try to make it say what you’ve always thought it said. Ask God to make His truth obvious to you.
- Let Scripture interpret Scripture. Use the Bible as a cross-reference tool to make sure your interpretation isn’t contradictory to the entire Word of God. The Bible will not contradict itself.
Application
Application is putting the truths you’ve discovered through observation and interpretation to use in your life. Bible study is meant not merely to enlighten or inform, but to transform us and renew our minds.
Application happens when we are confronted with truth and we decide to respond in obedience to that truth. When you know what God says, what He means, and how to put His truths into practice, you will be equipped for every circumstance of life. To be equipped for every good work of life—totally prepared to handle every situation in a way that honors God—is the will of God.
I will admit that this was never my first choice for study types but OH MY GOODNESS, I have changed my mind! I always learn so incredibly much when I take the time to go through a passage of Scripture in this way. The inductive study is leaping it’s way into my top three faves. Fickle, fickle me.
If you’ve never tried this method of study, I highly encourage you to give it a whirl. I guarantee you’ll be blessed and fed and emboldened and convicted and drawn closer to the heart of God. Let me know what ya think, k?