How to Study the Bible: Introduction

The plan over the next few weeks.

We’re going to start a series on How to Study the Bible. Here’s what we’re going to take a look at over the next few weeks.

Introduction- Inductive vs. deductive bible study method

Observation

Interpretation

Application

Studying the OT & Genres

Studying the NT & Genres

Bible Study Tools

Studying difficult passages

Mock Debate

Before we get into our topic for this week I want to show you some stats.

Bible Engagement

This was a study done at the beginning of 2019 by Barna Research.

**Almost half of the population doesn’t engage with the Bible at all!

Scripture Engagement, By Year

Red is 2018

Blue is 2019

Trends in Bible Use

Notice that each year those who never use the Bible increases.

What’s the Big Deal?

God has revealed himself to us through his word. If we are to know who the God of the Bible is, we must learn that through what he has revealed to us in the Scripture.

One of the reasons we are seeing truth being only relative is because we are seeing a decrease in Bible engagement. The less people read their Bibles, the less they will see objective truth.

Scripture tells us some information:

Who God is.

What God requires.

Who we are.

How we found ourselves in the condition we’re in.

The remedy for our condition.

The hope or the concern that lies ahead.

If the scripture tells us these things and if almost 50% never reads the Bible, it’s no wonder that we see a world that is falling apart.

I want to ask you two question:

How many of you would honestly say that you are CONFIDENT in your ability to read and study your Bible?

How many of you would say that you don’t read your Bible because you don’t know how?

Here’s my goal for you as we do this study.

To teach you how to read the Bible and give you the tools that you need to feed yourselves spiritually.

To show you that you can understand the scripture…for the most part.

“He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some matters that are hard to understand.” 2 Pet. 3:16

To grow to love God by knowing Him as he has revealed himself in the Bible.

Let’s now jump into our study for today.

There are two ways you can approach the text:

Deductive Approach

Inductive Approach

Deductive Approach

Pick a topic and then find passages that support the topic.

Example: Where would I find where God has big plans for my life?

“For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration--” plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

If you just read this verse, you would think, man, things are going to go really well for me in life. God says he promises to give me a hope and a future.

Problem: This isn’t what Jeremiah had in mind.

If you back up to verse 1 of chapter 29, we read this:

This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining exiled elders, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. Jer. 29:1

Do you see how it could be dangerous to take a verse by itself?

Bible study can be done deductively, but you must be REALLY careful that you’re not using scripture to say what you want it to say.

Inductive Approach

Take a verse or passage, break it down, and examine its details to draw out the meaning of what it is telling us.

Looking at what we see in the text in order to learn what the text is saying.

It’s about coming to the Bible without an agenda, and reading the passage to see what God is communicating to us.

You may have heard of the word

Exegesis

We’re going to take the Inductive Approach of studying the Bible.

This is what I’m going to teach you how to study the Scripture.

Does anyone have any questions?

Pray