Have you’ve been told that you should read the Bible, but that after giving it a try for a time, you just couldn’t get excited, only to fail again at making Bible reading a habit? That’s exactly how my Bible reading was years ago. I would read different books of the Bible like they were stories, and only for the knowledge and information. Knowing scripture is a good thing, but there’s a whole lot more to what’s inside this book if you know how to look for it.
My hope for you is to help you not only read and understand scripture, but for the Holy Spirit to speak directly to you through it. When this happens, you’ll need no more motivation to continue in the word. You’ll not be able to put it down!
Thanks to a great teacher and expositor of the Bible in my past (Ken Walker), I learned how to recognize the instruction of God’s word. After all, the “Word of God” is more than a book of words. It is God carrying on a conversation with you. The following is an outline of different methods and tools to help you pull God’s wisdom out of scripture that meets you where you are. Go to Biblical Skills Daily Outline to go in-depth to the methods we are studying.
Here’s the methods for us to “consider” (see Daniel 9:23 ESV).
How to Study the Bible: Methods and Tools – Outline
WHY STUDY THE BIBLE?
PRE-REQUISITES FOR BIBLE STUDY
OBSERVATION: WHAT DOES IT SAY?
INTERPRETATION: WHAT IS MEANT BY WHAT IS SAID?
INTERPRETATION OF PARABLES
APPLICATION: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME?
THE HISTORICAL METHOD
THE BIOGRAPHICAL METHOD
THE SURVEY METHOD
THE ANALYTICAL METHOD
THE LINGUISTIC METHOD (Word Study)
HOW TO STUDY WITH STRONG’S CONCORDANCE
USING THE ANALYTICAL LEXICON
HOW TO DEAL WITH VERBS
HOW TO DEAL WITH NOUNS AND NOUN FORMS
THE FOUR CLASS CONDITIONS OF “IF” (CONDITIONAL CLAUSES)
THE COMPARATIVE METHOD
THE TOPICAL METHOD
THE THEOLOGICAL OR DOCTRINAL METHOD
Consider God's Word 