Bible Study Guide

What is Scripture?

1.     All Scripture is God breathed

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

- 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”

- John 1:1-4 (NIV)

      2. All Scripture is Prophetic

“For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

- 2 Peter 1:16 (NIV)

“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.”

- 2 Peter 1:19-20 (ESV)

·      “The Old Testament concealed what the New Testament revealed.” – David Hammond

The Bible was written:

·      Over 1,600+ years

·      Contains 66 books

·      Written in 3 different languages

·      Written by 40 different authors

·      In different genres

·      In a different culture than ours

“For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” - 2 Peter 1:21

3. All Scripture is Profitable

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

How to Read the Bible:

Before we open up our Bibles, make should:

1.     Pray and ask the Holy Spirit for understanding, clarity, and guidance

2.     Approach the text with humility

Inductive Bible Study Method (OIA Method)

1.     Observation – What does this say?

2.     Interpretation – What does this mean?

3.     Application – What does this mean to me?

Observation: Establish a basic knowledge of what the text is saying

A majority of your time will be spent here

1.     Identify what Genre this was written in

Genre	Books
The Law	Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Historical	Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
Wisdom Literature/Poetry	Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)
Major/Minor Prophets	Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
Gospels	Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Letters	New Testament
Apocalyptic Literature	Daniel, Revelation

2.     Conduct Word Studies

a.     Look into the original language

b.     Pay attention to words that are:

                 i.     Interesting

                ii.     Repetitive

               iii.     Theological

c.      Law of first mention – When was this word/phrase first used in the Bible

d.     Look at the surrounding words/verses of the word you’re studying

3.     Avoid reading into the text what isn’t there

4.     Descriptive vs. Prescriptive

a.     Prescriptive – this is telling me what to do

b.     Descriptive – this is describing what happened

5.     Research/compare different translations

a.     Who translated this?

b.     How was this translated?

                i.     Word for word

               ii.     Thought for thought

              iii.     Paraphrase

6.     Ask questions (people, place, things, anything that is not clear

a.     Historical –

                i. Who is writing this?

               ii.  Who is the author writing to?

              iii.  When was this written?

              iv.  What is historically taking place at this time?

b.     Literary

           i. What literary devices are being used? (Parables, metaphors, symbolism, similies)

c.      Theological questions

                i. What does this say about God? Sin? Humanity? Jesus?

               ii.  How does this fit into the overarching narrative of Scripture?

Interpretation: Seeks the intended message of the author to his audience

This meaning is developed as observational questions are answered

• Use commentaries, footnotes, books, articles, websites

1.     Let Scripture interpret Scripture

2.     When figures of speech are present, look for the literal intent behind it.

Example: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5

3.     Show your work (how did you arrive to this conclusion)

Application: In light of all of this, how does this apply to me in present day?

1.     Meditate on Scripture

“but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.” – Psalm 1:2

2.     Sharpen Your Sword

“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”

- Ephesians 6:17

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

- John 14:26