As a follower of Jesus, I am commanded to read, understand, study, memorize, meditate on, and pray with words from the Bible. This helps me know God's purposes and plans for the world, humankind and his Kingdom, to know how God interacts with people throughout history, my relationships with Him and to know and understand his Character. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8
Inductive Bible Study is one of the best methods I have found to support your in depth growth in the understanding of scripture. It is a facet of what I call scripture immersion, where I immerse my life for a period of time in a passage of scripture by reading, meditating, memorizing, and listening to a mix of sermons, lessons, and commentaries on the passage so as to better understand it and how it applies to my daily life.
The main activities that I have adopted from this method are as follows;
1. Time: Set aside 20-60 minutes to open in study Study is best if introduced by prayer. Pray - Humble yourself before God acknowledging His greatness and confess your sin of ways you have not shown Him love or honored Him. Ask for Him to guide your study, give discernment and understanding in interpretation, and provide wisdom in application. Pray scriptures to Him that promises these things. (Psalm 119). Then study the passage you have chosen for that day, and then pray & praise Him asking Him to apply what you learned.
Identification & Memorization
2. Passage: Read the full book or passage of scripture you want to study several times. ie - John 1-12 Write a summary sentence of the passage. Read a commentary context / summary of the passage and write down the people, place, period, and cultural perspectives.
3. Chapter: Read the chapter several times. ie - John 1 Write down a summary sentence of the chapter, and a brief outline of the chapter sections..
4. Passage/Section: Select a Passage of 1-20 verses, based on a logical break in the chapter.
5. Key Verse: Write a key verse from the passage on a notecard and write what it means to you on the back and then pray it back to God throughout the week.
Additional methods can be gained from these web sites;
https://www.navigators.org/resource/inductive-bible-study/
http://bibleseo.com/bible-study-methods/inductive-bible-study-method/
http://www.intothyword.org/pages.asp?pageid=53489
6. Scheduling and planning your time is also essential so that you can envision and complete a weekly goal. I often select 5-20 verses for the week. Prepare a notebook or online document in a table to capture your notes on;
Observation
a. Day 1&2: Read the chapter the passage is in and write down observations. Read the passage and look up cross reference passages and capture more observations. Write down the Who, What, Where, When, How of the passage that you observe. Print out a copy of the passage to carry for meditation when down time is available during the day.
b. Day 3: Read the passage and do word studies on key words and phrases for further clarity. You can look up words in a Bible Dictionary or Interlinear. A good one is Blue Letter Bible Interlinear. Write down any key words or themes that you observe in the passage. Listen to a sermon on the passage during the day. Find a song or hymn that relates to the passage and sing it.
Interpretation
c. Day 4: Read the passage and write down Interpretation as to what the passage teaches you by way of truth. Listen to another sermon or read a couple commentaries for further clarity.
Application
d. Day 5: Read the passage and write down Personal Applications from the passage. Listen to or read another sermon or commentary. Write down the fruit you desire to see in your life from it. How does know this truth help you see fruit of the spirit in your life? How is your mind renewed?
Meditation
e. Day 6: Read the passage and spend extra time in prayer, praying the scripture truth back to God, claiming the promises and truth, and seeking insights into applications.
Celebration
f. Day 7: Write down what God has done in your life through this passage. Share it with others. If you are able to be in a small group with others who are looking to grow in Christ and in the fruit of the spirit, join them and hear how they have grown through this.
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Reference
See an example from the Gospel of John
Other guides on Inductive Bible Study
InduBiblia: http://inductive.indubiblia.org/john-1
IntoThyWord: http://www.intothyword.org/pages.asp?pageid=53489
Precept Ministries Workbook Example for John: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1300/4555/files/NISS_TheGodWhoCaresAndKnowsYou_L1.pdf?9593567426678969423
Bible Study gone bad - Larry Osborne 1/7/2018
The purpose of Bible Study is for us to understand how to love God, obey Him, and love others unconditionally. It goes bad when...
- When we focus on the unclear, not the clear - the goal is to understand and not to speculate - Luke 18:16 - Kingdom of God belongs to the simple obedient children
- When our knowledge becomes a source of pride - Prov 6:16-19 - haughty eyes - looking down on others - spiritual maturity is only to be judged by how I love others
- When our knowledge becomes a source of division - dividing fellowship on the unclear. We use them as a club to say others are unacceptable. Whenever my standards of acceptance become stricter than God's standards of acceptance, we have gone bad.
Bible Study is important for use for....
Bible Study and Doctrine give us a foundation and boundaries of truth - truth becomes relative without it and morality becomes whatever I feel good about in the moment 2 Tim 3:16
- Jesus is the final word - Heb 1:1-4
- All previous messages were incomplete.
- All future messages are suspect. 1 Cor 11:3-4, Gal 1:6-9, 2 cor 11:13-15, 2 Peter 2:1