Inductive Study: The Basics

Inductive Bible study consists of three component parts, which we will look at separately, but which frequently overlap in practice. These three parts are observation, interpretation, and application.

Observation answers the question: What does the passage say?  It is the foundation which must be laid if you want to accurately interpret and properly apply God’s Word. Have you ever read a book, chapter, or verse of the Bible and five minutes later been unable to remember anything you have read? So often we read the Bible with our eyes but not with our mind. There are several reasons for this. Either

• we think God’s Word will magically make an impression on us without any effort on our part, or
• we don’t really believe we can understand what we’ve read, or
• we are waiting for the pastor to teach on this section of Scripture so we’ll know what to believe.

Often, however, we forget what we have read simply because we don’t know what to look for in the text. Therefore, in the first part of this book you are going to learn what to look for when you read your Bible.

Because observation is discovering what the passage is saying, it requires time and practice. You’ll discover that the more you read and get to know a book of the Bible, the more its truths will become obvious to you. You’ll be awed at the wealth of spiritual riches contained in even the shortest books of the Bible?and you will have discovered it yourself! You will know that you know!

Interpretation answers the question:  What does the passage mean? And the basis for accurate interpretation is always careful observation.  Interpretation is the process of discovering what the passage means. As you carefully observe Scripture, the meaning will become apparent. However, if you rush into interpretation without laying the vital foundation of accurate observation, your understanding will be colored  by  your  presuppositions?what you think, what you feel, or what other people have said, rather than what God’s Word says.

Interpretation is not necessarily a separate step from observation, for often, as you carefully observe the text, at that very moment you begin to see what it means. Thus, interpretation flows out of observation.

However, interpretation can also involve separate actions or steps that go beyond merely observing the immediate text.  One of these exercises is investigating cross-references. First and foremost, let Scripture interpret Scripture. You may also use other helps, such as word studies or the evaluation of resources such as commentaries and Bible dictionaries to check your conclusions or to supplement your understanding of the historical or cultural setting of the text.

What we are going to do is to give you principles of interpretation and  offer  special  sections  to  guide  you  in  handling  different  types  of writing, including figures of speech, parables, and allegories. We’ll also show you how to do word studies and how to use Bible study tools that will greatly enhance your learning.  It’s going to be exciting?and so enlightening!