Let the Bible Speak: A Simple, Three-Part Method for Bible Study

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Bob Smith in his practical book Basics of Bible Interpretation writes that "God wants everyone to be able to understand the Bible, for its message is essentially how we can have and enjoy the greatest kind of life, free from the futility of pointlessness, free from the limitations of our human, earthly thought patterns, free from the fear of death and dying. Not everyone understands it this way.

In fact, many are so convinced they can't understand the Bible that they never give it a second look. It's strange how we will study most any other subject with diligence only to have the acquired knowledge perish with us. But the words of the Bible are words of life! Perhaps you have approached the Bible more as "snack food" because of unfounded notion that deeper study was only for the "professionals. As Oliver Wendell Holmes once said "What you bring away from the Bible depends to some extent on what you carry to it.

And so in order to experience effective, profitable inductive Bible study we need the right attitude as emphasized by the following Scripture. The apostle Peter writes Therefore term of conclusion , putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Did you notice the order? Putting aside the perverse precedes practice of the positive. The Greek verb for " putting aside " was used to describe taking off one's old dirty clothes! Sin in one's life will destroy one's appetite for the Word and needs to be "cast off" by confession and repentance cf 1John 1: So first seek a "clean slate" as did David when he prayed "Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way.

Peter uses a figure of speech " newborn babies " to draw a poignant comparison simile between the appetite of a growing baby for its mothers milk and the appetite of a healthy believer for Gods Word. He commands us to long for pure milk, to desire it earnestly, to long for it greatly, to intensely crave possession of it and to have great affection for it. David wrote "As simile the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. Spurgeon explains the idea of panting "As after a long drought the poor fainting hind longs for the streams, or rather as the hunted hart instinctively seeks after the river to lave its smoking flanks and to escape the dogs, even so my weary, persecuted soul pants after the Lord my God.

The meaning of this word picture is obvious. Sinners bought with the precious blood and made into new babes in Christ are to crave the spiritual milk of God's Word just like babies crave the bottle. And just as the Bible is to be our primary source in inductive study, Peter instructs us to make sure the "milk" we partake of is pure -- genuine, without guile or deceit, unadulterated, not mixed with anything else.

So when you "eat" the Bible inductively, we seek to do so without "additives". See related messages by Dr. Why does Peter insist on a healthy diet of pure milk? What is his goal? In context clearly it is spiritual growth, which is only possible when one takes in pure milk. No intake of God's Word will result in stunted spiritual growth and the off shoot, spiritual maturity. In short, "no milk, no growth! How would you grade your spiritual growth over this past year?

Are you growing up in Christ or are you simply growing older?

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Howard Hendricks adds that 1Peter 2: Please note, it is not that you may know. But you can know and not grow. Not to make you a smarter sinner but to make you like the Savior. Not to fill your head with a collection of biblical facts but to transform your life. Search the Scripture's precious store As a miner digs for ore; Search, and you will surely find Treasures to enrich your mind. Francis Bacon once remarked that "some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.

Surely the Word of Truth and Life is to be "chewed and digested" so that it becomes part of our innermost being, not merely informing us but transforming us. Such was the approach of the weeping, downcast prophet Jeremiah who declared "Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts. German theologian Johann Bengel said "Be like a maker of a well who brings no water to his source but allows the water he finds there to flow freely without stoppage, diversion, or defilement.

If you're still not convinced that Inductive Bible Study is worth the investment of your time and effort, glance over a few of the benefits listed below. President Teddy Roosevelt rightly declared that "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education. Please do not misunderstand. Believers should sit under a godly teacher of the Word, but this should be a stimulus, not a substitute for getting into the book for ourselves!

Phillips Brooks said that "The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope, then he sees worlds beyond: The Bible is a thing to be looked through, to see that which is beyond; but most people only look at it; and so they see only the dead letter. Thy Word is Truth. It has been well said that "This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book. Howard Hendricks quips that "Dusty Bibles lead to dirty lives.

In fact, you are either in the Word and the Word is conforming you to the image of Jesus Christ, or you are in the world and the world is squeezing you into its mold. And since we behave on the basis of what we believe, we can be certain that we are "" walking living in a manner worthy of the Lord , to please Him in all respects , bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God " Col 1: So you can see why it is critical that what one believes about God is in fact truly what God says and not what someone else's "systematic" interpretation teaches, no matter how authoritative and respected the source.

And make no mistake -- this attitude is not one of arrogance but one of prudence! Howard Hendricks once asked a group of businessmen. The Bible gives us all we need To live our lives for God each day; But it won't help if we don't read And follow what its pages say -Sper. At this point you may feel a bit overwhelmed, and yet you are intrigued with the inductive approach. Let me encourage you first of all to continue reading the remainder of the summary notes on this website.

Here are some other suggestions you might consider:. This Bible is unique with an excellent synopsis of the inductive method including an example of how to mark the text, wide margins, paucity of study notes, suggestions at the beginning of all 66 books on how to study that specific book inductively and at the end of each book there is a blank "At A Glance" chart to record your chapter themes, key words, etc. If you are serious about the inductive Bible study method, you should strongly consider purchasing this Bible. Each 40 minute study so named because the lesson can be completed in 40 minutes is self-contained, self-instructional, does not require advanced training and is easily adapted to a small group setting even if participants are not familiar with inductive study.

These 40 minute studies are an excellent, "painless" way to begin to experience inductive Bible study, learning how to study the Scriptures on your own in a way you never thought possible before. Do You Know About Me? This self-contained study on the book of John will give you an excellent introduction to the inductive Bible study technique.

You could do this one in your personal devotional time to whet your appetite for a full fledge Precept Upon Precept study discussed below. Precept Upon Precept Bible Studies are the best in depth studies available for inductive Bible study. They take from hours of homework per week but are well worth the time investment for you will learn more life transforming truth in these courses than you ever thought possible in a lay setting.

You can also download the first lesson of each of their expanding selection of available Bible book studies in Pdf format click for list of available studies and Pdf downloads. You may feel overwhelmed at first but all Precept leaders are trained in the inductive method and are willing to assist you.

If you are unable to find a Precept Bible study in your call Precept headquarters at An Introduction to inductive Bible study is offered by Precept in Chattanooga a blessing to visit if you are able in addition to periodic seminars throughout the USA call This work is an entertaining and enlightening introduction to inductive Bible study which one could use to supplement the more practical and broader selection of inductive Bible study materials available from Precept Ministry International.

Available in Print and Digital formats. This book is an authoritative, well written, easy to understand textbook on hermeneutics the "science" of interpretation. Chapter 2 is especially useful to give the student of Scripture an excellent historical summary of how the Bible has been rightly and wrongly handled over the last years. Although it is not specifically a treatise on inductive study click , this book does contain excellent guidelines on interpretation of figurative language and practical guidelines on how to utilize the original languages, Greek and Hebrew.

This page Pdf is used as for the course on hermeneutics at Chafer Theological Seminary and represents a compilation of sound, useful material from a number of sources. On page 22 there is an excellent summary of how the Bible has been interpreted over the past years similar to resource 8 but no charge. A brief, well done online booklet from Radio Bible Class summarizing inductive Bible study.

I read it, and it transformed my study skills. In fact, it changed the course of my life. Begin your great adventure by first learning what to look for as you develop your God given ability to observe the living and active Word of God. Click the discussion on how to observe the Scripture. In France, there once lived a poor, blind girl who obtained the Gospel of Mark in raised letters and learned to read it with the tips of her fingers. She became so desperate for the Word of God that she literally cut the calloused skin from the ends of her fingers in an attempt to restore sense of touch, but in so doing actually resulted in completely destroying her sense of touch.

All night she "perused" the Word of God with her lips and overflowed with joy at this amazing provision from her LORD. So if we love the Lord Jesus, we shall love the Bible because it speaks to us of Him. Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture which is not manifold, but one , it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.

Men must interpret to the best of their ability each particular part of Scripture separately, and then combine all that the Scriptures teach upon every subject into a consistent whole, and then adjust their teachings upon different subjects in mutual consistency as parts of a harmonious system. Every student of the Bible must do this, and all make it obvious that they do it by the terms they use in their prayers and religious discourse, whether they admit or deny the propriety of human creeds and confessions.

If they refuse the assistance afforded by the statements of doctrine slowly elaborated and defined by the Church, they must make out their own creed by their own unaided wisdom.

Theological underpinnings:

The real question is not, as often pretended, between the word of God and the creed of man, but between the tried and proved faith of the collective body of God's people, and the private judgment and the unassisted wisdom of the repudiator of creeds. I had then, and at other times, the greatest delight in the holy Scriptures, of any book whatsoever.

Oftentimes in reading it, every word seemed to touch my heart. I felt a harmony between something in my heart, and those sweet powerful words. I seemed often to see so much light, exhibited by every sentence, and such a refreshing ravishing food communicated, that I could not get along in reading. Used oftentimes to dwell long on one sentence, to see the wonders contained in it; and yet almost every sentence seemed to be full of wonders.

Again, we are taught by this passage [John 5: First, then, we ought to believe that Christ cannot be properly known in any other way than from the Scriptures; and if it be so, it follows that we ought to read the Scriptures with the express design of finding Christ in them. Whoever shall turn aside from this object, though he may weary himself throughout his whole life in learning, will never attain the knowledge of the truth; for what wisdom can we have without the wisdom of God? Next, as we are commanded to seek Christ in the Scriptures, so he declares in this passage that our labors shall not be fruitless; for the Father testifies in them concerning his Son in such a manner that He will manifest him to us beyond all doubt.

But what hinders the greater part of men from profiting is, that they give to the subject nothing more than a superficial and cursory glance. Yet it requires the utmost attention, and, therefore, Christ enjoins us to search diligently for this hidden treasure. Consequently, the deep abhorrence of Christ which is entertained by the Jews, who have the Law constantly in their hands, must be imputed to their indolence. For the lustre of the glory of God shines brightly in Moses, but they choose to have a vail to obscure that lustre.

So then, from this we must gather that to profit much in the holy Scripture we must always resort to our Lord Jesus Christ and cast our eyes upon him, without turning away from him at any time. You will see a number of people who labor very hard indeed at reading the holy Scriptures -- they do nothing else but turn over the leaves of it, and yet after ten years they have as much knowledge of it as if they had never read a single line. Because they do not have any particular aim in view, they only wander about.

And even in worldly learning you will see a great number who take pains enough, and yet all to no purpose, because they kept neither order nor proportion, nor do anything else but gather material from this quarter and from that, by means of which they are always confused and can never bring anything worthwhile. And although they have gathered together a number of sentences of all sorts, yet nothing of value results from them. Even so it is with them that labor in reading the holy Scriptures and do not know which is the point they ought to rest on, namely, the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Heresy is not so much rejecting as selecting. The heretic simply selects the parts of the Scripture he wants to emphasize and lets the rest go. This is shown by the etymology of the word heresy and by the practice of the heretic. But take everything with other. And that is heresy. One does not hear God's word of grace in the Scriptures unless he has decided that this is the word he really needs and wants to hear. He must decide that as he hears he is prepared to submit to the voice of God, to be judged by it and to have it challenge all that he knows and intends. He must understand that what he hears the Bible say can change his very life.

Therefore, he cannot come to the New Testament as the disputer, the wise man, the judge over the word of God. It is strange how powerful is the tradition of the pulpit; how often able and thoughtful men will go all their lives taking for granted that an important passage has that meaning which in youth they heard ascribed to it, when the slightest examination would show them that it is far otherwise.

C H Spurgeon in his sermon on Hosea 2: To my mind, it is very instructive to notice how Paul quotes from the Prophets. The revelation of the mind of God in the Old Testament helps us to understand the gospel revealed in the New Testament. There is no authority that is so powerful over the minds of Christian men as that of the Word of God. Has God made known any truth in his Word? Then, it is invested with divine authority. Beloved friend, if you are seeking salvation, or if you want comfort, never rest satisfied with the mere word of man. Be not content unless you got the truth from the mouth of God.

I want chapter and verse for that which I receive as gospel. Notice, again, how Paul teaches that the very essence of the authority of the Scriptures lies in this, that God speaks through his revealed Word:. It is God speaking in the Bible whom we ought to hear.

It is a blessed thing to put your ear down to the promises of Scripture, till you hear God speaking through them to your soul. It is truly profitable to read a gospel commandment, and to listen to its voice until God himself speaks it with power to your heart.

I pray you, do not regard anything that is preached here unless it agrees with what is written there in the Bible. I will make only one other observation by way of introduction. There were seven or eight hundred years between Hosea and Paul; and it is remarkable that the promise to the Gentiles should lie asleep all that time, and yet should be just as full of life and power when Paul was quoting it after all those centuries.

It had lain there for thousands of years; but men took it out of the hand, and sowed it, and there sprang up the bearded wheat which has now become so common in our land. So you take a divine promise, spoken hundreds or thousands of years ago, and lo, it is fulfilled to you! It becomes as true to you as if God had spoken it for the first time this very day, and you were the person to whom it was addressed. O blessed Word of God, how we ought to prize thee! We cannot tell yet all that lies hidden between these covers; but there is a treasury of grace concealed here, which we ought to seek until we find it.

See full message on Hosea 2: Quotations on Bible Study by various authors. For the most objective, non-biased and "pure" inductive study, do not use paraphrased versions as your primary resource for they provide no way to determine whether or not the translator's interpretation of the original Greek and Hebrew is accurate. Although more literal, the Amplified is not recommended as your primary text, but can be helpful once you have done your study because in many verses it functions like a "mini-commentary".

Consultation after your own inductive study with some paraphrases e. Note that the NIV is a thought-for-thought dynamic equivalence translation which can be helpful for new believers, but it is not recommended for in depth bible study because of the inconsistent way in which it renders the Hebrew and Greek texts.

In some cases, the NIV includes significant interpretation which leaves the reader without any indication of the other possible ways to understand that particular verse. Do not base your interpretation on the words in italics.

These translations use formal equivalence as evidenced by the italicized words which signify phrases and conjunctions added by the translators for clarity of reading, but for which no corresponding words exist in the original language text. This also helps the careful student to know when he or she is standing on solid ground words not in italics or "thin ice" italicized phrases.

Preceptaustin is an independent website and is in no way affiliated with Precept Ministries International. The resources on Preceptaustin are provided for the purpose of edification of the body of Christ and should be referenced only after examining the Scriptures inductively. The resources on this site are neither specifically endorsed by nor representative of the resources available at Precept Ministries International. What does it say? What does it mean?

How do I respond? Or perhaps you begin each year with a resolution to read through the Bible, only to give up in frustration, wandering about somewhere in the " wilderness " of the book of Numbers? Or do you read passages of Scripture and find that only moments later you can't even remember what you just read?

Are you frustrated that there are so many different opinions about what the Bible says on a given subject and you wonder which one is true? Or do you doubt whether it's even possible for you to understand God's Word, since you're not a pastor, an elder or a degreed theologian? Packer is surely correct when says that You may be asking "Did anyone in Scripture study inductively? Receive The Word The first verb is received. Examine The Word The Bereans were not content with simply hearing Paul, but continually sought to check out what he said by daily How often?

Note The meaning of this word picture is obvious. Hendricks replied "Thank, you, sir, for the honesty"! Living by the Book 8 You will learn a method of independent Bible study that can be passed on to others who in turn can go out and teach others. Here are some other suggestions you might consider: Hardbound book 9 Basics of Bible Interpretation by Bob Smith is a well written book available free of charge online. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable.

Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveller's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword and the Christian's charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object, our good is its design and the glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened in the judgement, and will be remembered forever.

It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents. Inductive Bible study is meant not merely to inform but to transform. The Bible is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions. Backsliders begin with dusty Bibles and end with filthy garments. We cannot bear fruit without the water of God's Word. Let God's Word fill your mind, rule your heart, and guide your tongue. The more you read it, the more you love it; the more you love it, the more you read it.

The best protection against Satan's lies is to know God's truth. God feeds the birds, but He doesn't throw the food into their nests. We lose the joy of living in the present when we worry about the future. And we lose the joy of living for the future when we focus on the present. I, he, she, it, they, them, us, who, me, etc.

Ask the what question. What events are taking place? What is the order of these events? Observe figures of speech.

Bible Living

See separate handout on this subject. Observe questions that are asked and the answers. Ask the where question. Note the order in these lists. Is there a definite progression? Notice who is doing the acting. Observe important connectives which reflect reasons, results, and conclusions, such as: Interpretation is not what it means to the 20th century reader, but what it meant to the original audience.

Sometimes this is twofold. Interpretation builds on the foundation of observation and thorough observation results in better interpretation. Observation focuses on what is in the text. Interpretation asks, why is this said? What does this mean? We have completed a list of questions which you can ask which will aid you in moving into the second step of Bible study. You can apply these questions in an overview fashion to the whole book or to specific passages, sections or segments. Jot down your answers and then record significant interpretations on your vertical charts.

What is the meaning of this word? What is the meaning of this phrase, statement, or theological concept? What did it mean to the author? What did it mean to his audience? To develop this, one should ask; how is this word, term or concept used: Look it up in a concordance. After doing all this then relate your findings back to the original context of the passage you are studying. Does the author give his own interpretation? Does he state why he wrote the book? Does he interpret his use of symbols?

Is this literal or figurative language? What is the significance of this passage, idea, word or statement? Does the author quote Scripture? Look up the passages quoted and observe their context. Why does he use this passage? Pay careful attention to the context. How does this passage fit in with the overall message of the whole book? What is its relation to the surrounding paragraphs? What is the historical context?

Are they temporal or timeless? In the Epistles, determine from the text what questions the believers were asking, and what struggles they were encountering. This is like listening to one side of a phone conversation. Interpret figures of speech. Bombard the text with why questions. Read the book or the passage in another translation. Ask; what does this mean? Ask; what does this imply? What elements of composition or structure are used in this book or passage? See separate handout entitled Structure and Composition.

Have I committed one of the 20 reading errors? See separate handout Twenty Reading Errors. How does this passage prepare me for what follows, for what went before? Write out a summary statement of the book, a division, a section, segment or paragraph: Does your proposed interpretation agree with the rest of Scripture?

The Method

The New Testament interprets the Old Testament and clear passages are to shed light on the unclear and obscure passages. Have I taken into consideration the kind of literature? Use the commentary as a tool, not a crutch. Dialogue with the commentary. What did you learn from the commentary? Indicate the sources used on your charts. Consult Bible dictionaries, atlases and historical background resource materials for unanswered questions or more information. Your Basics of Bible Study handout is the main guideline for doing interpretation; however, there are some guidelines in interpretation that need to be considered which are not in the form of interpretation questions.

You have observed and interpreted. You are now ready to do the final step of Bible study: Application is the goal of all Bible study because in the end the Scriptures demand a response and changed lives. You may apply the questions to the overall truths of the whole book or to a specific passage. Please write out your answers and be specific. This will take some time and waiting on God. If the book or passage is a narrative, then consider some of the following questions to get you thinking: Application is looking into the mirror of Scripture and walking away a changed person.

According to Josh McDowell, there are some pitfalls in application that one needs to be aware of:. We want to give credit to the excellent resource materials from which we have borrowed information that shaped out thinking:. Berkeley and Alvera M. Better Bible Study, Regal Books c. Basics of Bible Study. Application — The Goal of Bible Study. SBS International encompasses more than 60 schools worldwide. The School of Biblical Studies SBS for short is a nine month school which trains students in Inductive Bible Study, equipping them to study God's Word for themselves while challenging them to give it out to others.

The Basics of Bible Study I. There are two approaches to Bible Study: We will be using the Inductive Approach. Overview of the three basic steps of Bible study. The three basic steps in depth. Interpretation Extra Helps Your Basics of Bible Study handout is the main guideline for doing interpretation; however, there are some guidelines in interpretation that need to be considered which are not in the form of interpretation questions. It is very important to do thorough observation first.

You must gather facts before making conclusions.

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