BIBLE STUDY METHODS An Inductive Approach

Transcription

1 Southwest College of Biblical Studies BIBLE STUDY METHODS An Inductive Approach According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, God s inspired & inerrant Word is useful for us. It is what we need. God teaches us the right thing to believe (doctrine), warns us about the wrong things to avoid (reproof), tells us the right things to do (correction), and guides us how to do the right things (training in righteousness). God uses His Word to do all this so that you & I will be adequately equipped for every good work that He puts before us to do. According to 2 Timothy 2:15, we are to step forward eagerly and give ourselves to God, willing to be tested & proven for His service without shame or regrets, and actively learning how to accurately handle God s Word of Truth. Obviously, the methods of Bible study will vary. One might be through the receiving of God s Word through lectures, audio tapes, video presentations, and textbooks; another might be through inductive Bible study methods used during your own personal & disciplined study of Biblical text. This college uses both methods, but emphasizes the inductive approach at the beginning of our course of study. According to James 1:22-25, if we will intently look into the Word of God, and will honestly agree with God about the things in our lives that need to be changed, and if we will live out those changes in our words, actions, thoughts, and attitudes each day, God will bless our lives and produce results in what we do. A person will almost always refer to an instruction manual after buying an appliance from a store, yet that same person may rarely consult the manual of life (the Bible) when attempting to operate the life God constructed & gave to him to function in this fragmented, foreign, and hostile world. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 1

2 Southwest College of Biblical Studies BIBLE STUDY METHODS An Inductive Approach The 19 Bible study methods that follow are NOT the only way to study God s Word. They represent one approach that may excite & enable us to eagerly dig into the truths of the Bible, to understand the reasons why it was written, and to willingly make those truths visible & alive through our behavior & integrity. The best way to get the most out of any Biblical text is to understand : WHAT text was written, HOW the text was written, and WHY the text was written. The 19 Bible study methods provide guidance & structure to help in answering those three questions as you study the Biblical text. What was Written How it was Written Why it was Written Bible Reading Author Investigation Recipient Investigation Paraphrasing Biographical Research Theological Research Observation Geographical Research Devotional Application Paragraph Titling Cultural Investigation Essay Theme Development Word Study Paragraph Retitling Connecting Words Book Structure Chart Figures of Speech Book Summary The Biblical text that was written and the methods used to write that text are both pointing to why the text was written. The authors wanted to show us two things: why the receivers of this letter needed to read or hear it, and what doctrinal truths did they need to know. We, the present-day readers, need to know the same things. The last two methods (Devotional Application & Essay) guide us into considering what this Biblical text has & can do in our personal lives. Southwest College of Biblical Studies Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 2

3 BIBLE STUDY METHODS An Inductive Approach Your first task is ONE-SITTING READING. You are to sit down & read the entire letter without getting up or stopping. On another occasion, sit down & read the letter again without stopping. You must do this reading seven separate times. Each time you read the Biblical text, try to use a different translation of the Bible. Your second task is PARAPHRASING. Start by reading a complete thought in the Biblical text, and then re-writing that thought using your own words. You may write the way you speak, but you must retain the accurate meaning & intent of the Biblical text. Start at the beginning of the letter & continue paraphrasing to the end. Make sure you understand a passage before you attempt to paraphrase it. Your third method is OBSERVATION. Look through the text in the entire letter, and find the significant words that are repeated five times or more. The best way to do this is to start reading the text at the beginning. In the first verse you might see the word grace. Read through the rest of the letter looking for the word grace. Look for other repeating words also. This method is basically a counting method where you record repeating words used by the author. Often, we the readers can determine what is important to the author by noticing ( observing ) the frequency of certain words used throughout the entire text. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 3

4 After you have concentrated on the main words ( grace, God, sin, confidence, etc.), then go back & pay closer attention to three words that we usually skip over as being unimportant. Those three words are: ALL, IN, & WITH. Then, find a maximum of 20 places where the words are used. Write the verse & then how the word is used ( with the Lord, with joy, etc.). The fourth method is PARAGRAPH TITLING. Simply put, you are to cut the Biblical text up into parts based on subject matter. Read through the text & give a title to each passage that changes the subject, as if you were outlining the book. The fifth method is THEME DEVELOPMENT. Now that you have read the Biblical text in excess of 25 times, it is time to decide what the overall subject of the entire book is. Pick four possible themes for the book & then select one as your best choice. The sixth method is PARAGRAPH RETITLING. This is a fine-tuning step. Since you have divided the book into topical parts and have determined a theme for the book, you should now polish or rename your original titles to match your theme. The seventh method is BOOK STRUCTURE CHART. You are to make a chart showing the outline structure of the Biblical text. It will be a picture of your Paragraph Retitling method. It is like flying over the text & seeing the whole picture in one pass. The eighth method is AUTHOR INVESTIGATION. You are going to look for any references in this Biblical text about the author. Start reading through the text & mark all personal pronouns such as I, me, my, us, we, our. Make sure to eliminate all personal pronoun Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 4

5 references that are in quotations that do not refer to the author. Use all the data you have gathered to write a one-page essay about the author of this Biblical text. The ninth method is RECIPIENT INVESTIGATION. You have two separate projects to complete in this method; both involve studying the people who received, read, or heard this letter. Start reading through the text & mark all personal pronouns such as you, your, us, we, our, etc. In this your first project, you are only looking for EXISTING QUALITIES (qualities that already existed in these people at the time of this letter). Use the data to write a one-page essay about the existing qualities of these people. In the second project, you will read through the text looking for DESIRED QUALITIES (qualities that the people need). Then, write a one-page essay about what kind of people the author wants them to be. Your tenth method is BIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH. You are to read through the text & mark every person who is mentioned. You will not need to mark Jesus Christ or God in this method because you will be concentrating on them later. After you have located all the people mentioned, record your data. There may be many people listed or there may be few. Choose one person from your list who you wish to study in more detail. Now, using a concordance, your course notebook, or other research tool, find all the references to this person in the entire New Testament. Using all the information you have gathered, write at least a one-page essay about this Biblical personality, writing as though we know nothing about him/her. Your eleventh method is GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH. You are to read through the text & mark every geographical location that is mentioned. After you have located all the places mentioned, record your data. There may be many geographical places listed or there may be few. Choose one place from your list that you wish to study in more Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 5

6 detail. Now, using a concordance, your course notebook, or other research tool, find all the references to this geographical location in the entire New Testament. Using all the information you have gathered, write at least a one-page essay about this Biblical geographical location, writing as though we know nothing about it. Your twelfth method is CULTURAL INVESTIGATION. In this project you will attempt to step into the lifestyle of that New Testament era. There are many customs, traditions, foods, etc. mentioned in the Biblical text that those people lived with everyday. Unfortunately, we did not live in that day & we are not intimately familiar with those customs. It is important to know something about the aspects of their daily lives since the Biblical writers not only mentioned them, but also referred to them to teach Biblical truths. Examples of cultural references could be the Law, slaves, sacrifices, Old Testament references, clothing, military life, etc. Read through the Biblical text and mark any reference to something that the Jewish people of that day would understand clearly, but which you & I would not be familiar with in the same depth. From your own opinion, determine the importance of these cultural topics in this Biblical text you are studying. Then, select four (4) which you would like to study in more detail. Refer to your course notebook or any research materials to gather more information about these four (4) cultural references. The data you are gathering here is not your opinion, but rather is to be taken from historical Biblical scholars who have studied & written on these cultural subjects. The thirteenth method is THEOLOGICAL RESEARCH. In this method you are to locate within the Biblical text you are studying certain of the major doctrines of our Christian faith. These include the doctrines of Christ, God the Father, Holy Spirit, Angels, Man, Sin, Salvation, The Scriptures, The Church, Future Events. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 6

7 You will be expected to research three (3) doctrines. You must do the Doctrine of Christ, and then you may select two (2) of the remaining doctrines provided they each have five or more references. If you choose to do a doctrine that has fewer than five references, then you must pick a fourth doctrine to study as well. Read through the text and mark every mention of Jesus Christ. He could be referred to by Christ Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus, Christ, Lord Jesus Christ, Lord, He, Him, His, etc. Feel free to combine the facts into groups, such as, His Nature, His Works, or His Attributes. Next, select the two other doctrines and find references to them in the Biblical text. The fourteenth method is WORD STUDY. You will be assigned a certain word in this Biblical text. Your overall objective is to see how the word is used throughout the New Testament, and then to consolidate your data into making a good & accurate definition of that word. The first step is to look in The Word Study New Testament. A copy of the appropriate page has been included in your course notebook. As you read the chosen Biblical text, you will notice a small number under the word you are looking for. That number is the same number used for that word in the Strong s Concordance. Next, you refer to The Word Study Concordance. A copy of the appropriate page has been included in your course notebook. Look for the same number that was under the word in the other book. This number is not the page number. When you locate the word number, you will see that it is in a column with a listing of Biblical verses under it. This listing of verses represents all the places in the New Testament where this very same Greek word is used. It is important that we study how the same Greek word was used by the different Biblical writers. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 7

8 The next step is to write questions about this word using who, what, when, where, why, and how. The answers to the questions will come from the verses you have written out. For instance, if the word you were studying was holy, you would make questions like this: who is supposed to be holy, what is holiness, when are we to be holy, where are we to be holy, why should we be holy, how can we be holy? Your questions will vary from these. You are to look through your list of verses to try & find the answers to these questions. Next, look up the word meaning in The Strong s Concordance, and Vine s Expository Dictionary; copies of the appropriate pages are provided in your course notebook. Lastly, review all you have learned about the meaning of this word. Write all your findings, including a good definition. The fifteenth method is CONNECTING WORDS. The Greek connecting words you will study here are mostly the same as the conjunctions in English grammar. We will concentrate on the following Greek connectors: και ( and ), αλλα ( but ), γαρ ( for = explanation follows), ινα ( so that = purpose follows), and κατα ( according to = cause & effect). Refer to The NKJV Greek-English Interlinear New Testament. The appropriate pages have been included in your course notebook. Start reading through those pages looking for & marking the και και connectors. Only look in chapters 1 & 2 of the Biblical text. When you find one, look at the word or phrase before the και και, and the word or phrase after it. Record that data. After you have completed your search & your recording, select one of the και και s. Write an explanation on how this connecting word helped you better understand the meaning of this text. Use the same procedure described above to find & analyze the remaining four Greek connectors. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 8

9 The sixteenth method is FIGURES OF SPEECH. There are a variety of figures of speech used by the Biblical writers when they used the Hebrew or the Greek languages. This study will only involve two comparative figures of speech, simile & metaphor as they appear in the New Testament. Many times, it is necessary to compare something that is hard to understand with something that is well known. The author may choose to paint a picture of something difficult by using a comparative figure of speech to make it clearer or more powerful. If the text says, God is strong, we understand it but it is a rather simple & shallow fact. If the text says, God is like a rock or God is my rock, that shallow fact suddenly receives description & depth. It would have more of an impact on us; that was what the author intended. A simile is a comparison of two items using the words as or like. God s Word is as gold, or God is like a fortress. Find all the similes you can find in the Biblical text, and record your findings. Pick one simile & explain how it helped you better understand the Biblical text. A metaphor is a comparison of two items without using the words as or like. The author is still comparing two or more items, but he does not use the comparison words. Many times, there is just a form of the word to be in between the items being compared. Metaphors could be God s Word is gold, God is my fortress. Jesus is my rock, etc. Find all the metaphors you can find in the Biblical text, and record your findings (verse & phrase containing the comparison). Pick one metaphor & explain how it helped you better understand the Biblical text. The author has actually taken a one-dimensional truth & painted it with a figure of speech to give us better understanding as we picture it in our minds. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 9

10 The seventeenth method is DEVOTIONAL APPLICATION. This activity is basically a daily devotional exercise using this same Biblical text. You will only read two verses each day. Your objective is two-fold: determine the interpretation (actual meaning & content) of those verses, and then apply the usefulness of these verses to your own life. Begin recording your devotional activity. Allow enough time during the course to do this. You should either start this method at the beginning of the course, or begin it in excess of 30 days before the end of the course. DO NOT wait until the last minute to cheapen this method in God s Word. The eighteenth method is BOOK SUMMARY. Obviously, all the previous seventeen methods must be completed before you can fill in these two summary charts. An abridged version of all the research you have done in this course with this Biblical text will now be recorded. You will be able to see the variety of facts that you have learned & researched in this book of the Bible. Congratulations! The nineteenth & final method is the ESSAY. You are to write a 3-5 page essay covering the following two points: how has the study of this book enhanced my walk with the Lord & improved my personal integrity; how has the study of this book equipped me to effectively minister to other people. Be Honest! Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 10

11 The 19 Bible study methods are utilized in five of our courses: Bible Study Methods in Philippians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Colossians, and James. These courses take 11 weeks to complete, and are offered because Philippians teaches Successful Christian Living, 1 & 2 Timothy cover Instructions for the Christian leader, Colossians teaches The Superiority & Sovereignty of Jesus Christ, and James teaches Living the Faith You Claim to Have. All five of these courses are required to complete the Bible Study Methods Certificate Program, and they represent 15 units of college credit. After the students have completed all five Bible Study Methods courses mentioned above, and some other character development courses, they are required to take two Advanced Bible Study Methods courses: Advanced Bible Study Methods in Philippians, and Colossians. These courses involve more book outlining, more translation comparisons and more word studies. Ten Bible study methods are utilized. The objective of these courses hinges around the word studies. After the students have performed 60 individual word studies, they then paraphrase the entire book in their own words. These two courses represent 6 units of college credit. The courses described above are worth 21 units, and are concentrated on Bible study method skills. Anyone who wants to be a leader in the Christian community must be able to accurately dig out the truths from God s Word, and be willing to apply these truths to their lives in the pursuit of personal holiness & integrity. These courses represent 21 out of the required 34 units to complete the Bible Study Methods Certificate Program. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 11

12 There are five courses required that concentrate on personal character & integrity, and on leadership preparation. The first course is Attitudes: A Step to Real Success. This course covers two topics: what to do with failure, and what factors affect our attitudes. We must look at our mistakes as temporary and in the past, and not as a lifetime indictment of worthlessness. We must begin the journey to liking ourselves, and starting where we are. This is a 1 unit course. The second course in this character development curriculum core is Healthy Relationships. There are four relationships that men need to concentrate on: with their families of origin, with other men, with their wives or the women in their lives, & with their children. Since many of our past relationships have failed or experienced severe & unresolved pain, this course provides strategies to deal with or repair those broken relationships. The course also covers the need to promote current healthy friendships with those that are involved in our lives right now. Unresolved relationship pain or current relationship strain affect our ability to function from day to day, and restrict our abilities to lead others. This is a 1 unit course. The third course is called Equipping: Finding & Making Disciples. After the students have taken at least two Bible study methods courses, and have completed either Attitudes or Healthy Relationships, they are required to find an individual not already a student with the college, and asked them to join him in studying together for 11 weeks. The contents of the course involve three things: performing 10 Bible study methods in the letter of 2 John, participating in an presentation about the Doctrine of the Scriptures (our student teaches the new-comer), and learning Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 12

13 how to present your personal Christian testimony in writing as well as orally. This is good old-fashioned discipling. Many of these new-comers choose to enroll in our college after completing this Equipping course. This is worth 1 unit of college credit. There are three courses that cover leadership preparation: Preparation For Leadership 1, which is worth 3 units & takes 11 weeks, Preparation For Leadership 2, which is worth 4 units and can take up to 24 weeks, & Facilitator Skills, which is worth 3 units and can take up to six months. Course 1 covers the following three areas: the ten major doctrines of our Christian faith, the development of the student s personal testimony in writing & orally, and the analysis & understanding of spiritual gifts. Course 2 covers the following four areas: Moral Purity A Biblical Investigation, The Battles Every Man Faces, Freedom From Sexual Strongholds, and Dealing With Shame. Facilitator Skills requires four projects. The program presentation involves teaching other men (either 4 men in a small group or an entire class) the purpose & workings of the entire Bible study methods curriculum. The methods teaching project involves explaining each of the 19 methods to other men (either 4 men in a small group or an entire class). The church participation activity requires the students to be actively involved in their church programming, and to document their attendance & participation. The homiletics project requires the students to give three additional 15-minute oral devotionals before an audience on the following three subjects: your personal testimony, a biographical sketch, and the plan of salvation. All three parts of the program, the Bible Study Skills (21 units), the Character Development (3 units), and the Leadership Training (10 units) make up the Bible Study Methods Certificate Program Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 13

14 (34 total units). A certificate of completion is issued when the student has successfully accomplished all 34 units. The chart below lays out this Bible Study Methods curriculum. BIBLE STUDY SKILLS UNITS Bible Study Methods in Philippians 3 Bible Study Methods in 1 Timothy 3 Bible Study Methods in 2 Timothy 3 Bible Study Methods in Colossians 3 Bible Study Methods in James 3 Advanced Bible Study Methods in Philippians 3 Advanced Bible Study Methods in Colossians 3 TOTAL UNITS 21 LEADERSHIP TRAINING UNITS Attitudes: A Step to Real Success 1 Healthy Relationships 1 Equipping: Finding & Making Disciples 1 Preparation For Leadership 1 3 Preparation For Leadership 2 4 Facilitator Skills 3 TOTAL UNITS 13 TOTAL PROGRAM UNITS 34 After a student has completed the 34 units of the Bible Study Methods Certificate Program, he may apply the units toward an Associate s Degree (61 total units required), or a Bachelor s Degree (121 total units required). See a description of the degree program on the next page. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 14

15 DEGREES & CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS ASSOCIATE CERTIFICATE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES Code Course Unit TH 101 Doctrine of the Bible 3 TH 103 Doctrine of Holy Spirit 3 TH 106 Doctrine of God 3 Total Units 43 ASSOCIATE S DEGREE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES Code Course Unit TH 101 Doctrine of the Bible 3 TH 103 Doctrine of Holy Spirit 3 TH 106 Doctrine of God 3 OT 101 Pentateuch Books 1 3 OT 102 Pentateuch Books 2 3 AP 101 Christian Evidences 3 OT 103 O.T. Historical Books 1 3 OT 104 O.T. Historical Books 2 3 TH 107 Doctrine of Christ 3 Total Units 61 CERTIFICATE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES Code Course Unit TH 101 Doctrine of the Bible 3 TH 103 Doctrine of Holy Spirit 3 TH 106 Doctrine of God 3 OT 101 Pentateuch Books 1 3 OT 102 Pentateuch Books 2 3 AP 101 Christian Evidences 3 OT 103 O.T. Historical Books 1 3 OT 104 O.T. Historical Books 2 3 TH 107 Doctrine of Christ 3 NT 101 Synoptic Gospels 3 NT 102 Analysis of John s Gospel 3 NT 103 Analysis of Acts 3 HI 101 History of the Early Church 3 Total Units 73 BACHELOR S DEGREE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES Code Course Unit TH 101 Doctrine of the Bible 3 TH 103 Doctrine of Holy Spirit 3 TH 106 Doctrine of God 3 OT 101 Pentateuch Books 1 3 OT 102 Pentateuch Books 2 3 AP 101 Christian Evidences 3 OT 103 O.T. Historical Books 1 3 OT 104 O.T. Historical Books 2 3 TH 107 Doctrine of Christ 3 NT 101 Synoptic Gospels 3 NT 102 Analysis of John s Gospel 3 NT 103 Analysis of Acts 3 HI 101 History of the Early Church 3 OT 111 Between the Testaments 3 OT 107 Major Prophets 1 3 0T 108 Major Prophets 2 3 OT 109 Minor Prophets 1 3 OT 110 Minor Prophets 2 3 NT 104 Analysis of Romans 3 NT 106 Analysis of Galatians 3 TH 111 Doctrine of Man & Sin 3 TH 104 Dispensationalism 3 NT 132 Adv. BSM in 1 Timothy 3 AP 102 The Cults & the Occult 3 AP 103 Non-Christian Religions 3 TH 108 Doctrine of Salvation 3 TH 109 Doctrine of the Church 3 TH 112 Doctrine of the Future 3 TH 115 Doctrinal Summary 3 Total Units 121 (The B.A. Degree is currently not available due to course editing.) Southwest College of Biblical Studies is NOT accredited by any accreditation organization or agency. However, the college is fully licensed by the State of California to offer Bible & theology courses & to offer certificates of completion, and Associate & Bachelor degrees in Biblical Studies. Copyright 2004 by Bruce Leary. All rights reserved. 15