|
Steps
of Inductive Bible Study
Just the basics
Many
throughout the ages have had their own opinions and
conclusions about the Scriptures as they have examined
the content of the Bible through the systems of mans
wisdom rather than through the wisdom of
God
thereby arriving at erroneous and unbiblical ideas.
It is not with the demonstration of man's wisdom but
as Paul says, "with the power of the Holy Spirit"
(1
Corinthians 2:4).
The task of studying the Scriptures is not only commanded
by God but also made possible by God to those who know
God. Listed are some important verses that not only
encourage us to know God's word, but they also command
us to study (Joshua 1:8, Jeremiah 23:28-29, Psalm 119:9-11,
Acts
17:11, 2 Timothy 2:14-16,
Hebrews
4:12, these by no means are exhaustive but they will
do). The believer is called a disciple of Jesus which
really means a learner or pupil. Utilizing the inductive
study method is the most valuable and accurate way of
studying the Scriptures, which focuses on three main
areas:
I. Context
The context is vital to insure the original intent and
purpose of the writer of the day it was written.
Today
many teachers and preacher do violence to the Scriptures
and come up with some of the most erroneous interpretations
because they have ignored this basic principle.
II.
Historical Background
The historical background is also very important to
insure whether what is being taught or required is relevant
to our day but we must be careful not to compromise
or substitute the word of God for situational ethics,
value clarification or humanistic teachings to justify
or even remove guilt from man's sinful conduct.
A
good example would be the command to the women to
wear veils to honor their husbands at Corinth.
1.
The city had a temple to Aphrodite and the temple
prostitutes would be unveiled showing that they had
no covering over their lives, in other words no husband
and were in fact temple prostitutes.
2.
The command of Paul to the women is to not use their
liberty in Christ lest two things take place; they
be mistaken for temple prostitutes and dishonor their
husbands by identifying with the permissive women
of the city.
·
This is what we might call "cultural relativity",
the literal command does not apply to our day yet
we can apply the principle of staying away from all
appearance of evil, honoring and obeying husbands
as the heads of the homes and glorifying God in ones
conduct.
III.
Original Language
The
original language is key to understand the meaning as
well as the sense of the sentence, be it Hebrew or Greek.
·
Word studies must not be done in isolation but in
conjunction with the passage, context and their relation
to the other words that structure the sentence or
section, lest a wrong meaning is given to a word because
the same word can be used in different ways.
·
This simple three step process is call "general
Hermeneutics" which means interpretation or to
explain, at times called grammatico-historical exegesis.
·
There is special Hermeneutics which does not replace
the former but adds other rules to help come to the
original meaning, this would be true of Poetry and
Prophecy. Whenever a person begins to approach a book,
a chapter or a section, the central theme or subject
must be grasped and this comes only by reading it
over and over again until the central theme stands
out as the sun illuminating the rest of the material.
Another thing to understand is that the Scriptures
interpret Scripture with the help of the Holy Spirit
(1
Corinthians 2:13).
· In the context Paul is contrasting the natural
mind of man that is blind to the things of God and
the spiritual mind of the believer, who is able to
receive the things of the Spirit.
There
are three basic steps to inductive bible study while
there are many types of sermons such as biographical,
textual, topical and propositional to name a few.
I.
Observation
The
first step is called "observation" which reveals
what the text says.
A.
The first step of observation is to record the obvious
observation, what is being told in the sentences.
1.
Do not think any information is unimportant or too
obvious.
2. Only what is found in the text is biblical truth,
distinct from human speculation.
3. The observations should not be limited or confined
to one reading!
B.
The second step is to record the various themes found
in the passage such as the deity of Christ, faith, sanctification
etc.
C.
The third step is to record the natural divisions in
the section, chapter or book.
1.
Do not accept the divisions of your Bible as correct
as if they are inspired by the Holy Spirit, they are
not.
2. After spending time with your text you may come
to the same division or divisions but you are now
convinced by your own study.
·
This necessary process will provide for you all the
information about the book or passage that can be
known about the text, that is why it is called "inductive".
II.
Concentration
The
second step is called "concentration" which
focuses on the general Hermeneutics, context, history
and language. It is here that the basic observations
begin to be identified in relationship to each other
and the entire text to reveal what it meant to the original
recipients.
·
The German term is "Sitz im Leben" which
means "life situation".
A.
Outline the book, chapter or section in such a way to
explain the movement and relationship between the mayor
points & the minor points.
B.
List the key words and pivotal terms that seem to have
emphasis and the mayor focus of the verse or passage.
1.
Words that are repeated more than once.
2. Words that stand out or give importance to the
text.
C.
List key phrases also that either stand out or are repeated.
D.
List key verse or verses.
E.
Identify theological themes and mark their relationship
to each other and the passage.
F.
Ask questions of your text; what, when, where, who,
why and how.
G.
Use parallel passages to support, supplement or help
interpret the passage but never develop your parallel
passage as a substitute for your original passage, stick
to your text!
H.
Use concordances, dictionaries, encyclopedias, word
studies and commentaries etc.
I.
Identify the genre, the type of literature it is, is
it narrative, poetry, history, law or prophecy etc.
·
This process will allow you to not only know what
the passage says but to know what the passage means!
· This is the task of every expositor, to discover
the intended meaning for the people of the day it
was written to, then and only then should he or can
he make application for today!
III.
Application
The
third step is called "application" which centers
on the practical and relevant truth to be lived out
as a Christian in today's world in relation to the meaning
of the concentration, how it applies to me!
A.
The expositor makes application of the theology being
taught in the passage to instruct the believer in the
faith.
B.
The expositor makes once again application to the believers
personal life obedience, how the text applies to his
or hers every day life.
C.
he expositor declares the application to the responsibility
the community of faith has towards society, how the
church should be affected and transformed and how it
should effect and transform the society as the salt
and light of the earth.
Conclusion
These
basic steps will enable you to better understand the
Scriptures but be ware of thinking that mere intellectual
abilities and mechanical steps can unveil the truths
of God alone, PRAY before you begin and remain in an
attitude of prayer as you study in order to show God
your dependency on Him and to ensure your fruitful study
of spiritual truth!
·
Please realize that not all these points or elements
are taught in every sermon but the expositor has to
allow God to direct him as to the specific theme and
purpose behind the sermon, giving only that which
will be in line with the theme, communicating the
meaning and application!
SimpleTruths
Calvary Chapel Pasadena
2200 East Colorado Boulevard
Pasadena, California 91107
A registered California non-profit religious Corporation.
Permission to reproduce must be obtained by writing
the Editor.
All material in this issue is Copyrighted.
© Copyright 2000 Calvary Chapel Pasadena
|
