Doing an Inductive Study

The purpose of Bible study is to dig beneath a merely superficial reading of the Bible. It means you wrestle with the apparent contradictions and grapple with the hard passages that challenge your dearly-held beliefs. It means you consider the implications and ramifications of what the text is saying. It invites you to gain a greater appreciation for Who God is and what He has done. It moves you beyond the shallow Christianity that is so prevalent in today's church into something deeper and more satisfying. It forces you to leave behind your small conceptions of Biblical doctrines and confront a reality that is greater than you had thought.

The kind of study recommended here is called the Inductive Method. This is a three-fold approach to the text: observation, interpretation, and application. Each step builds upon the previous one, in order. The first step of observation involves an examination of the text, with an understanding of the context. After observations, the second step of study involves asking interpretative questions and formulating answers to those questions. After the determining the meaning, the final step is application. That is, what are the theoretical and practical ramifications of the text and how do you appropriately apply it to all aspects of the your life?

In practical terms, how does one do this? One certainly must start with reading it. Inductive study goes beyond that by asking you to answer questions. There are many inductive studies out there, but they mostly follow the idea of asking you to answer a series of questions. Answering these questions after considering (and re-reading if necessary) the passage, you are forced to deal with it on a deeper level. The actual questions vary between methods, but there is no "secret recipe". The specific questions aren't handed down by angelic visitation and, to some extent, aren't important in themselves - so long as they force you to truly engage with the scripture without going off on flights of fancy. Below, we've included a series of questions that you can use in your own study. Feel free to add more, if you wish. However, we'd recommend that you don't ignore any of them as they are, in total, intended to get you to address all important aspects of a passage (although sometimes one or more may not be relevant to a given passage).

Consider reading the passage out loud before you start, or listen to someone else reading it. Reading and hearing are different "gates" into the mind. We want to engage as much of our mind as possible when we study the Bible ("Love God with all your mind..."). If there is a scripture song, or songs, related to this passage, you may wish to sing it. Some people even write down the passage word for word as that engages yet another part of the mind. These things may sound silly, but it is surprising how often new perspectives can be gained simply by reading a passage out loud, or writing it out by hand.

One final point, and this may be the most important one: one should always approach scripture from the standpoint of what was the intended meaning for those to whom the passage was directed. If you, as so many do, approach it entirely from a standpoint of "what does this mean to me?" you will never discover the deeper meaning of the passage. If you make it all about yourself, you've limited the scope of the study to the limits of your own current understanding, presuppositions, and level of spiritual maturity. The purpose of Bible study is to understand God better and bring our thinking and actions in line with what He tells us through the Bible. This demands that we change. Our perspective must change since none of us has perfect understanding this side of heaven. If studying the Bible doesn't change you, you've completely missed the point of it.

Briefly, here are the things you should write down as you do your study.

Outline. Write an outline of the passage. This is, perhaps, the most neglected part of the study. Partly because some find it difficult to create an outline. Partly because some don't see the benefit of doing so. As to the first issue, like most skills, the more you practice it, the better you get at it. As to the second issue, the point is that it forces you to consider the structure of the passage. This is especially important in doctrinal passages, such as Paul's letters, and nearly essential in prophetic books. What topics are discussed? What sub-topics? Is there a change from one train of thought to another? Observing these things will often clarify an otherwise confusing passage. It also allows you to break the passage down into smaller "bite-sized" pieces so that you won't feel overwhelmed in complex passages. A passage may be in (or contain) Hebrew poetic forms and identifying these can help in understanding.
Context. All scripture was written in a context. As has been said by others, "interpretation without context is merely pretext". Proper interpretation requires understanding who wrote it and to whom it was written. For instance, Genesis was written by Moses for the Israelites. Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul to the believers at Ephesus. Also of high importance is the scriptural context. For instance, if a chapter starts with "therefore", it is a thought that follows from the end of the previous chapter. Passages cannot be taken out of the context of the text before and after, nor out of context of the rest of the Bible. Also of potential importance is the historical and political context at the time it was written, and the culture of those to whom it was written. If locations are mentioned, the geography is also important.
Objective analysis. There is no room for subjective "what does this say to me" here. Given the context, what are the points being made by the author of this passage? What are the consequences and ramifications of these points? How does this agree with other scripture? How does it potentially contrast with other passages? Are there apparent contradictions? Apparent contradictions usually indicate different aspects of a greater truth. Do you have questions about the passage? Write them down. Don't be afraid of having questions. God loves honest^* questions because, through them, you will move into a deeper relationship with Him. A lot of people are spiritually stunted because they are afraid to grapple with hard questions.
Key verse. Which verse summarizes the point of this passage?
What does this tell us about God?. What does the passage say about the nature and actions of God?
What does this tell us about man?. What does the passage say about mankind? About believers? About human nature?
Favorite verse. Which verse most stood out to you as you studied the passage? Consider memorizing this verse.
General application. What "life lessons" does this passage teach? How then should everyone think and live according to this passage?
Specific application. What do you feel that the Holy Spirit was telling you through this passage? Perhaps you gained an new perspective on something. Perhaps you were encouraged in some way. Perhaps you were convicted about something in your life. Perhaps you feel like the Spirit is leading you to pray for someone or some situation. This will often be related to your "favorite" verse in the passage. Whatever it is, this is your action item for the week, whether it is to meditate on the greatness of God, to address a sinful behavior, to be an encouragement to others, or whatever else the Spirit revealed to you.

Now you see why a study will take you more than a few minutes. That is why you should set aside a specific amount of time each week for study.

* An honest question is one in which you are seeking understanding. A dishonest question is when you've already made up your mind and the question is more of an accusation.