Do you ever find yourself thinking about something someone did or said (or something you did or said) and you wonder, “What does the Bible say about ________?” I feel like I do this a lot, depending on the subject (love, sin, shame, forgiveness, etc.) As a whole, I think we tend to know a little bit about a lot of things or we may know the gist of it, but not the full spectrum of the Lord’s heart on a specific issue…and that’s where topical studies come in.
On our quest to know the Lord more intimately through Biblical study, we’ve looked at inductive studies and personalization. Today, let’s look at topical studies.
Topical study – a study about a specific topic…love, grace, prayer, forgiveness, humility, sin, etc.
It involves the same three basic steps that we saw in the inductive study…
- Observation – what does the passage say?
- Interpretation – what does the passage mean?
- Application – how does the meaning apply to me?
Observation
- Choose a topic. Choose something you’re interested in or something you’d like to know more about…or something you need to know more about. Because the Bible is so rich and vast, it’s often best to specify these even more, for example: Jesus’ love for others while on earth (instead of just trying to study love) or intercessory prayer (instead of just trying to study prayer).
- Make a list of related words. Since there are so many different version out there, sometimes it’s best to write down synonyms for the topic you’re studying so that you can get a full explanation of the topic. If you’re studying prayer, jot down ask, call, intercession, supplication, etc.
- Look up Bible references for your topic. Start with a concordance to look up references to your original word and your synonymous words. Online Bible tools (Bible Gateway, Bible Hub) have made this a lot simpler and faster, as you can do keyword searches and switch from translation to translation with the click of a mouse.
- Read each passage and read them in context, meaning the verses preceding and following, so that you get a full picture of what the Lord is truly saying.
Interpretation
- Study each reference. Use the inductive method of the 5 w’s and h to get the full effect and meaning of the scripture. If you feel like topics are mentioned that need further cross-referencing, then by all means, research some more!
- Write down your observations. What did you learn broadly? What is the Lord’s heart regarding your topic? What did you see brought up consistently throughout Scripture?
Application
- Apply what you’ve learned. How did the Lord speak to you during this study? in what ways were you convicted? In what ways do you feel like He’s asking you to make a change or application? Write down several ways that you can apply what you have learned to your self and do just that.
Topical studies can be quite vast but OH SO RICH. We have so much Biblical information right at our fingertips thanks to Bible search engines and study materials available online, that this should be an easy-peasy way to learn more about the Lord. So….hop to it! What topic is calling your name?!