How to Study The Bible: The Inductive Method

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How to Study The BibleThe Inductive Method

• Foundations of Knowing Him
• Crossroads Bible Church
• Spring 2004

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• I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a
  dozen verses all day long than I would, as it
  were, rinse my hands in several chapters.  Oh, to
  bathe in a text of Scripture and to let it be
  sucked up into your very soul til it saturates
  your heart.  The man who has read many books it
  not always a learned man, but he is a strong man
  who has read three or four books over and over
  til he has mastered them.  Set your heart upon
  God's Word!  It is the only way to know it
  thoroughly let your whole nature be plunged into
  it as cloth into a dye.
• - Charles Spurgeon

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What is the Inductive Method?
The Inductive Method is a systematic process of
observing, interpreting, and applying Scripture.
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Why use the Inductive Method?

• 1. Its aim is transformation, not information
• The aim of our charge is love that issues from
  a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere
  faith (1 Tim. 15)
• 2. It gets you re-reading and musing over the
  text, which helps memorization
• 3. Its applicable to every encounter with Gods
  word (hearing sermons, meditation, etc.)
• 4. It structures your study and organizes your
  thoughts
• 5. It deepens our love for God and dependence on
  Gods Spirit to teach us His Word

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Observation Overview
Identification Investigation
Emphasized Who?
Repeated What?
Related When?
Alike Where?
Unlike Why?
True to Life How?
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Identification Overview
Emphasized Amount of space, stated purpose, order, climax, progression, imperatives, conclusion (therefore)
Repeated Terms, phrases, clauses, thoughts, characters, events, patterns, OT quote
Related General to specific, QA (rhetorical and regular), cause/effect, conditional statements (if/then), negative/positive, idea/explanation, action/manner
Alike Similes, metaphors, comparisons
Unlike Contrasts, irony
True to life Problems, goals, emotions (ask how does this relate to my experience?)
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Investigation Overview
Who? Characters, names, pronouns
What? Main point, cultural issues, argument, etc.
When? Time, year, season, special days (festivities, etc.)
Where? Location, geography, origination, destination
Why? Purpose, choice of words vs. others, timing of teaching
How? Adverbs, way to obey, procedures
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Practice

• Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
• Matthew 1413-21
• What do you see?

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Matthew 14 13-21

• Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from
  there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.
  But when the crowds heard it, they followed him
  on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore
  he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on
  them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was
  evening, the disciples came to him and said,
  "This is a desolate place, and the day is now
  over send the crowds away to go into the
  villages and buy food for themselves." 16 But
  Jesus said, "They need not go away you give them
  something to eat." 17 They said to him, "We
  have only five loaves here and two fish." 18
  And he said, "Bring them here to me." 19 Then
  he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass,
  and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he
  looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he
  broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples,
  and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20
  And they all ate and were satisfied. And they
  took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces
  left over. 21 And those who ate were about
  five thousand men, besides women and children.

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Observation Pointers

• Record your observations. Think with a pen
  (Jonathan Edwards).
• Dont skip observation because youll risk
  interpreting poorly and applying dangerously.
• Dont be discouraged if you dont know how to
  answer your observation questions. Your first
  task is just to answer, what do I see?
• The better your observation, the better your
  interpretation, and the better your application.

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How to Study The BibleThe Inductive
MethodStep 2 Interpretation

• Foundations of Knowing Him
• Crossroads Bible Church
• Spring 2004

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• It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't
  understand that bother me, it is the parts that I
  do understand.
• - Mark Twain

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Definition Game!
exposition
exegesis
hermeneutics
dynamic equivalence
Tanakh
formal equivalence
canon
Koine
Total of all the books regarded by the Christian Church as belonging to the Bible
Translation principle aiming for a thought for thought translation
Analysis of a Biblical text to determine its meaning
Explanation and description
Translation principle aiming for a word for word translation
Dialect of Greek that the NT was written in
Jewish title for Hebrew Bible (the churchs OT)
Science of the interpretation of literature
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Translations
Which do I use?
ESV English Standard Version
NASB New American Standard Bible
RSV Revised Standard Version
NIV New International Version
KJV King James Version
NKJV New King James Version
TNIV Todays New International Version
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Evaluating Translations

• Overall goal Transparency to the original text
• a. Faithful to the original languages (does not
  change what it says)
• b. Presents itself in modern language with
  literary beauty

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Translation Spectrum
Dynamic
Formal
word for word
NASB
ESV
thought for thought
NLT
NIV
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Interpretation Overview
Learn
Interpretation
What does it mean?
Consultation
Culture
Comparison
Context
Content
Looking
Learning
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The Holy Spirit and the Word
1. The apostles delivered the NT not from their
interpretation, but directly from revelation by
God. (1 Cor. 13132 Pt. 120) 2. We also can
(and need to) rely on Gods Spirit to illumine
our minds and hearts to fully grasp Scripture.
(Psa. 11933 2 Tim. 27)
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Key One Content
Content The important observations and summarizations from the text Gather observations, and pick important questions from you investigation to answer. Also, write a preliminary summary of the text youre studying.
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Practice Content

• Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
• Matthew 1413-21
• What does it mean?

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Key Two Context
Context The text before and after the text of study Read the text before and after the one youre studying. Observe it what light does it shed on what youre trying to understand? Consider what bearing the context has in many areas literary, historical, cultural, geographic, theological, etc.
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Practice Context

• Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
• Matthew 1413-21
• What does it mean?

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Key Three Comparison
Comparison Other relevant Scripture In a phrase, interpret Scripture with Scripture. Gods Word does not contradict but support itself. Look for other texts on the same subject, and see what they have to say.
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Practice Comparison

• Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
• Matthew 1413-21
• What does it mean?

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Key Four Culture
Culture The customs and manners of that time period and location The Bible was written in a completely different society than ours, with its own set of values, customs, manners, and so on. Interpret your text through the eyes of the original audience.
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Key Five Consultation
Consultation Other secondary sources pertaining to the text Those believers truly gifted in teaching and related areas have produced a legion amount of helpful material. Much of this material is now available online tool.
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Practice Culture and Consultation

• Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
• Matthew 1413-21
• What does it mean?

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Matthew 14 13-21

• Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from
  there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.
  But when the crowds heard it, they followed him
  on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore
  he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on
  them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was
  evening, the disciples came to him and said,
  "This is a desolate place, and the day is now
  over send the crowds away to go into the
  villages and buy food for themselves." 16 But
  Jesus said, "They need not go away you give them
  something to eat." 17 They said to him, "We
  have only five loaves here and two fish." 18
  And he said, "Bring them here to me." 19 Then
  he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass,
  and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he
  looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he
  broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples,
  and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20
  And they all ate and were satisfied. And they
  took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces
  left over. 21 And those who ate were about
  five thousand men, besides women and children.

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Interpretation Pointers

• Ask, what barriers are blocking my understanding
  of this passage? Be aware of fear of change or
  of conviction (like we saw in Mark Twains
  quote).
• Check out online resources (links will be posted
  online)
• Ask your spouse to hold you accountable to
  growing in inductive Bible Study
• Dont skip observation and go right to
  commentaries they have great value but not
  before observation.

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How to Study The BibleThe Inductive
MethodStep 3 Application

• Foundations of Knowing Him
• Crossroads Bible Church
• Spring 2004

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• "Nobody ever outgrows Scripture the book widens
  and deepens with our years."
• - Charles Spurgeon

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Gods Interest

• Why is God utterly concerned with your
  application?

Our Sake His Sake Hes glorified!
Perseverance Matt. 724-27 Refuge, Safe haven, Rock, Fortress
Happiness (blessing) Rev. 227, Psa. 1 Fountain of life, Giver of good, Joyful
Eternal security (assurance of salvation) 2 John 19, Matt. 721-23, Luke 815 Peaceful, Helpful, Holy, Faithful
Fulfill our destiny Eph. 210, John 1516 Sovereign, Omniscient, Secure, Goodness
Escape sins destructive effects 1 Thess. 18-9, 1 Cor. 1130 Wrathful, Righteousness
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Christ and Our Obedience
1. Nothing tells more about our relationship
with Christ than application Whoever has my
commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves
me. 2. Application is the channel for us to
experience Christ more And he who loves me
will be loved by my Father. And I will love him
and manifest myself to him.
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Typical, Bad Substitutions

• Interpretation for application (doctrine for
  doing)
• Superficial obedience to substantive life-change
• Rationalization for repentance
• Emotional experience for volitional decision
• Conviction for change
• Talk for walk
• Busyness for obedience

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Application Questions

• Is there an example for me to follow?
• Is there a sin to avoid?
• Is there a promise to claim?
• Is there a prayer to repeat?
• Is there a command to obey?
• Is there a condition to meet?
• Is there a verse to memorize?
• Is there an error to mark?
• Is there a challenge to face?

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Application Areas

• People
• Work
• ministry
• coworkers
• Neighbors
• Family
• Other acquaintances
• Enemies
• People who annoy/aggravate you
• Church
• Community
• Those in need

World

• World
• Nation
• outside U.S.
• unreached people groups
• politics
• government
• missionaries

Friends

• Me
• thoughts (belief system)
• attitudes
• actions
• emotions

Me
God
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More Info

• Living by the Book
• By
• Howard Hendricks and William Hendricks