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There are multiple ways to do good things. There are many good ways to cook a good meal. Just like there are many good ways to pursue physical fitness. There are a few questions that have to be asked, though:

  • What’s the task I’m endeavoring to do?

  • What’s the purpose behind the task?

  • What path will help in accomplishing the task?

I love the Bible. I love studying it. I get paid to preach and teach from it. I (work hard to) order my life around it. I help my kids understand it. I like praying its words with my wife. I love the Bible because it points me to where I can find life over and over again—God’s Son, Jesus of Nazareth.

It is certainly a witness to God’s master plan to save the world. As an eyewitness, it detailed/details God’s saving acts throughout human history from beginning to end, especially highlighting Jesus as Rescuer and King. That’s not all. All of the Bible is always good to read for our development, devotional life, and doctrinal edification (2 Tim 3:16-17). It is God’s chosen instrument to change me. In other words, the Bible does not just contain God’s words collected throughout history—it is still God’s Word for me today.

If these two propositions are true, then how we read matters just as much as that we read. The Bible points me to Jesus, and should be read for my spiritual health, then I should come to the Bible with a plan to understand and act upon it.

An old preacher once said, “I always read the Bible with something to write with, because I’m expecting to receive something from God.”[1] God has something for you every time you open the Scriptures and meet with him. I want you to be prepared to get what He has for you as you develop the discipline of reading.

There are many ways to read to grow in trust and holiness. The first one that we’ll look at is called the Inductive Method. It sounds fancy, but it’s really not. The Inductive Method is built upon three basic steps: Observation, interpretation, and application. With a cheap little notebook, like this, you can write these three steps and start getting to work for as little or as long a time as you have! What do the steps look like? You’ll see below here! Also, I’m including this Google Drive Folder to help you get the most out of your time with the Inductive Method!

Observation

This is the starting point. You might be tempted to move to “What’s it mean to me?” or “How do I do this now,” but start with what the Bible says to the people it was written to in its own day—because that’s how we understand what it says to us today. What does the Bible say in its own context? Think like a news reporter, and ask journalistic questions:

  • Who: Who was the author? Who was the audience? Who is named in the text?

  • What: What are some keywords used in the section? What does the text say?

  • Where: Where is the location? What spaces and places are named within the text?

  • When: When does all of this take place? Is this looking back in the past, like history? Is this looking towards the future, like prophecy?

  • How: Are there circumstances surrounding the passage that should be noted? What is the genre of the passage?

Depending on the time, you can pull up all sorts of things to get helpful background information on a book or passage. These tools serve the text; they don’t replace reading it carefully. Here are a few tools that help me when I’m doing Personal Bible Study (PBS):

  • Atlases

  • Certain commentaries (You need to be careful here; not all commentaries are equal. Some are incredibly helpful, while others are overwhelmingly technical or unhelpfully slanted in destructive ways.).

  • Study Bibles

  • And pray. Ask the Spirit to give you eyes to see the passage the way it was intended to be seen.

Interpretation

Now that the passage has been mined for its treasures, the next move is to ask: What does the passage mean? What does each verse mean in the context of the whole? You can even begin asking larger questions about the place of the book/letter in its relationship to the Bible as a whole. At the very least, though, we are driven to the question of intent. Why did the Spirit have a specific author write a specific letter or book?

What does that look like? I write down the passage’s main idea in short, easy-to-understand summary statements. Something I can explain to someone without using notes.

Application

If we can see both the background info and the intent behind the letter, then we can move to how the Bible moves us to action. There’s a helpful acronym to help us ask questions about the application: SPECK.

  • Sins to avoid: Does the author speak to any particular sin? Idolatry, adultery, malice? Are there people who lead others astray?

  • Promises to claim: Some promises are given to specific believers, and not all believers. What does God promise to me/us? And how do God’s promises to specific people bolster my faith?

  • Examples to follow: Who in the section acts honorably, trusts God through difficulty, loves their neighbor, etc.?

  • Commands to obey: These commands could be general, as simple as “David obeying God’s commands and decrees” from 1 Kings 11:34-36. Or, more specifically, as the call for husbands to “love their wives as Christ loves the church” in Ephesians 5. Evaluate if this was an act that was descriptive for the time, or if this is prescriptive for all Christians.

  • Knowledge about God: What does this passage teach me about God? What does this passage teach me about how God thinks about/acts towards me? Creation? The Church?

Make no mistake, our Bible reading should move us to action. Sometimes that action is not immediately measurable (or outward). Its effects over time, however, will be. Change comes as you meet with God through the Bible. Rebukes help us repent, promises fill us with praise, and doctrine makes us dance! An application is never just about doing better. It’s about responding to what God has done in Christ.

Next post will cover my current favorite PBS method: HEAR Journaling.

Don’t stop! Keep reading! Let’s keep going together!

To read more from Pastor Tim, check out his blog: The Bitz Blitz