Blog Post 1- Week Three at KI- Inductive Bible Study
For the first time in seven years, the Lord has uprooted me.
It was a 75 mile journey. Yet it was more gut wrenching and heart rending than an 8,000 mile move to South Asia.
I wrestled with Him, I questioned, I prayed, I submitted, I left.
I have absolutely no idea where I will live or what I will do after April.
I have never been happier.
I believe that the most important thing I can do in life right now is study God's word with unprecedented discipline so that I can teach it to people who don't know. After two years of working in a public school, I learned that I don't love teaching math, science or reading so much as I love sharing truth from God's word. To that end, I chose to spend eight months this school year in Branson, Missouri as a graduate student at the Kanakuk Institute, a biblical training program that serves as a great foundation for any career or ministry.
With empty hands, stripped of every role and norm I bound myself to my adult life long, I am walking forward by faith alone. What grace He has given me, to allow me to be in such a place- one of the most beautiful places in our country, surrounded by the striking hills of the Ozarks, with 70 of the greatest men and women of God I've ever known.
Each week I'll be sharing briefly about what we're learning in our classes. This was our third week of class, and we devoted most of it to learning a study method known as Inductive Bible Study. If you're unfamiliar with the usage of the Inductive Method, suffice it to say that it's a breaking apart of the Biblical text using a marking system of key words, themes and names and making detailed lists of your observations.
It is certainly possible to read the Bible simply, taken in plain meaning in a devotional setting. God's word does not return to Him void, and the Word is always transformative. Yet for the text to appear at its richest in the life of a believer, we have to take it to the next level. My professors in college taught me to interrogate the text of the Bible, parsing every "and," "but," and "therefore." But I've never found a method this effective that can be done by a layperson in a conventional setting.
It's key to do these steps before consulting what others have said about scripture (very tempting to do if you have a Study Bible in hand.) Resist! It's better to get a first impression of what God is trying to say to you through His word than to depend on the presuppositions of others.
The following are the basic principles that govern the inductive study of the Bible, with steps included in the process.
Step 1: Observation- What does the text say? This is the most involved step.
It's important to read the entire text first multiple times.
Ask yourself the 5W questions "Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?"
-Use questions like- who is the author? who else is mentioned? what do I learn about each of these people? What do I learn about God as He is mentioned? Where are the geographical locations in the text? If the text is a letter where is it being written from and who is it to? What words and phrases are repeated?
-Use an observation sheet or a Bible you're comfortable marking in to mark key words, phrases, geographical locations and characters. Look for lists about topics- for instance, if the passage is about Christ, list what the passage teaches you about Him. Note comparisons and contrasts. Note expressions of time.
-Identify terms of conclusion- these are found in nearly every chapter of scripture, and are prevalent in the letter's of Paul to churches and individuals. Words such as 'therefore' and 'finally' means you should go back and look at what he is saying before because they are bringing to conclusion an important point in the message. We must remember that chapter and even verse markings were created by men who translated God's word long after it written. They're excellent because they take you straight to places in scripture, but we must remember to read the Word thematically and not chapter by chapter.
Finally, write basic ideas of each paragraph above the paragraph. This will help you track the themes that appear. This will also help you to come to a conclusion about the author's purpose(s) for writing, which you should also record.
Step 2: Interpretation- What Does the Text Mean?
When you choose to study a book, you should read it over 1-3 times a day, literacy in the text (knowing what it says and how it says it) is massively important as you consider interpreting God's word.
The first step of interpreting after you've read the text multiple times and written observations is to consider the context (the surrounding verses, the time in which it was written, the book it's found in, and the counsel of the entire Word of God as it relates to that passage). It is impossible to read the Bible through clear lenses, with no bias or presupposition, but the greatest error we can make in reading scripture is taking it out of context to make it say what we'd like for it to say.
Remember that Scripture does not contradict itself. It's always best to interpret the Bible literally. God meant for you to know what He was saying, it's why the Bible exists. Unless a text tells you that it's a parable, a saying or an example, take it as something that literally happened.
Try to understand what the author had in mind when writing and let the words speak for themselves.
Step 3: Application- How does the meaning apply to me?
These applications can have to do with:
-Belief- something to understand as a result of the passage
-Behavior-something to do as a result of the passage
For Example, when Paul writes an epistle, the first part is usually doctrine, the second part is behavior or deeds. "This is true…because this is true, this is how you act."
I like to ask the Lord what He would have me do, remember, or believe as a result of what I've read. This step is vital, if you have to write these things down, then do it! Otherwise, we're merely hearers of the word who don't do what it says. We have to constantly look into the mirror of Scripture and allow it to show us who we are, who God is and what He is calling us to be.
If the process seems exhausting or even a bit discouraging, take heart. As our teacher David Lawson said this week, God doesn't teach us to do things that we aren't already wired to do- our nature through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to love God and people. It's not radical change so much as movement and growth to maturity.
Studying the Word of God is a workout. Yet just as those who train physically become healthier and stronger, so we will become healthier spiritually and more able to study the Word in depth as we do it. The change doesn't happen overnight, but it's so worth the journey and the effort. That is the journey of my life this year and, I hope. forever afterward.
