Imagine if an NFL team just practiced their own plays all week, never watched film, and went into Sunday without a game plan. They’d get crushed. Because they’re professionals, the effort would be there. But they wouldn’t know how to react to anything unexpected. Random plays wouldn’t work, and the lack of preparation would demoralize them. They’d give up. That’s happened to me in the past.
This page might look long, but don’t worry about all the details – they’re provided for reference purposes.
Focus on the high points. They provide a straightforward, four-step plan for studying the Bible. A repeatable sequence of steps will provide you with the confidence you need to avoid getting bogged down in the weeds.
Usage
Important – this page is for reference purposes, unless you’re excited about digging in. Don’t feel obligated to study every detail of this section today. It will come naturally the more you use the templates.
On the other hand, some of you may want to dig even deeper. If that’s you, check out Insight For Living’s page on this topic, including worksheets and podcasts. Also check out Chuck Swindoll’s book, Searching the Scriptures 1, for a deeper dive on this methodology (and a lot more).
The Steps
Step 1 – Observation
This step involves identifying what a passage of scripture says.
Make a list
Observation can be as simple as just writing down or typing a list of what you notice in the passage. Don’t worry about what it means yet. But slow down. No speed reading. Observe every word or phrase in the passage (perhaps biting off smaller chunks each day if you don’t have as much time.
Principles of observation:
- Contrast – look for words like but to alert you to check the verses or phrases before.
- Cause and Effect – Swindoll’s example is Acts 1:8. But you will receive power (the effect) when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (the cause of the power)
- People and Places – who’s talking? Who are they talking to? Where are they all?
- Use a Bible map – Some Bibles have them. There are also plenty available online. When a passage mentions a place, look it up on a map for that time period. Note the bigger picture of where that place is on the map.
Techniques to read a passage
- Read as if you have never seen the passage before (open eyes to new things)
- Read as if you are reading a love letter. Ups the intensity.
- Read like a detective, searching for clues. Note dialog, emotions, motives, details.
- Place yourself in the text. What would you see, feel, hear, smell if you were there? Activating your senses makes the text come alive.
Context
This is a big one. If you see connecting words like therefore, since, but, you need to note the context. Read the sections before and after. Guard against taking verses out of context. Often, I will save Context for the Interpretation step, but it can be researched under Observation as well.
Signals in the text to alert you
- Emphasized – what’s being emphasized in the text? Note themes running through scripture that catch your eye
- Repeated – Note words or phrases that are repeated. They’re probably important.
- Related – Ideas that are connected.
- Questions followed by answers
- Promises followed by rewards
- Warnings followed by either failure or obedience
- Sin followed by consequences
- Alike – Often introduced by the words as or so.
- Unlike – Passages that describe opposites or contrasts
Step 2 – Interpretation
This step involves identifying what it means.
First, pray for understanding
Understanding what the Bible means is available to all of us, regardless of our background or education.
Ask God to grant you understanding. He wants this for us! But the Holy Spirit grants us this ability.
Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 119:27
What is the Setting?
This ties into the context from the Observation step. Observe people, places, names, clues about the time of year, the weather, or the
geography of the scene. Some of that can be inferred from the verses before or after the passage. Additionally, various tools can help understand the customs of the time or other factors:
I have subscribed to Bible Gateway which allows me to read passages online in different translations and open various study guides about the passage I’m reading. The other tools are good too, and most have some good free content.
What is the Genre?
Understanding the style of the writing will shed light on the context and the meaning of the text.
- Narrative – the events of Scripture (telling what happened). The interpretation of narrative is usually easy. The events are what they are. Application of those steps can be another story (which we’ll get to).
- Parables – Jesus’ stories that teach a lesson. You might have to dig deep to understand some parables. Even his disciples sometimes struggled to grasp them.
- Poetry – All good poetry will make you think.
- Proverbial – Wise sayings and teachings. Usually straightforward to understand.
- Prophecy – the message of God given through His spokespeople. Prophecy can speak about past, present, and/or future.
Who is the author and why was it written?
What was the writers’ perspective? When did they live? What motivated them? Did they know the people firsthand that they were writing about?
Study Bibles usually contain information at the beginning of each book about its author.
Imagine…
Put yourself in the shoes of someone in the story, if applicable. From their perspective, what would it have been like? What would they have thought? How would you have reacted? This can be fun, but also insightful.
Step 3 – Correlation
This step involves identifying what other passages say about the topic.
How can I confirm that my interpretation is correct? Correlation will give you that confidence. Using a cross-reference Bible, a Bible Dictionary, or a concordance to look up words in your passage, find out what other parts of the Bible have to say about the topic.
Hint for finding related passages
The Burning Bush Blogs use BibleGateway.com to display Scripture. The free tier includes a cross-reference tool that will help you correlate. Turn it on under Page Options when you are reading verses.
Added benefit 1 – we can gain additional insights from the cross-referenced scripture that we didn’t notice in the original passage.
Added benefit 2 – We can better defend ourselves against false teachers and false doctrines
Step 4 – Application
This step involves identifying how this applies to me.
Why is application important?
- We need to practice what we believe.
- Both the Old and New Testaments exhort us to do so.
- Application enables the Holy Spirit to work in and through our lives.
Application: Allowing the truths of God’s Word to grip us in areas that need attention and call us to action.
-Chuck Swindoll, in Searching the Scriptures
Tips for Self-Examination
Think – Reflect on what’s going on in your life. Good, bad, unclear. What are you struggling with? Who are you struggling with? You’re not alone. We all have to ask these questions.
Acknowledge – Identify the trouble spots in our lives. God already knows, so we might as well face them head-on.
Ask – Bring up specific questions. For example:
- Is there an example for me to follow?
- Is there a promise for me to claim?
- Is there a prayer I should offer?
- Is there a person I need to forgive?
- Is there a person from whom I need to ask forgiveness?
- Is there a sin I need to confess?
- Is there a command I need to obey?
- Is there a habit I need to break?
- Is there an attitude I must change?
- Is there a challenge I need to face?
Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:
Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.
- Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures, Tyndale House Publishers, 2016. ↩︎