To Study the Bible Inductively

Transcription

1 Someone once said, "If you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never accomplish anything!" The most important rule of Bible Study is TO DO IT! What is it about picking up your Bible that brings children clamoring for attention, or a husband wanting to talk at that moment, the phone ringing, or a text coming in that requires an answer? Satan and his cohorts are so good at distracting us, and even good at intimidating us. How many of us are guilty of saying, "it's too hard to understand", or "I'd be doing good to fit in a five minute devotional to my hectic schedule." Both of those statements may be very true, and in fact, I'm sure I've spoken those words myself. Life is so good at getting in the way of time in God's Word, and studying God's word takes work. Hectic schedules and intimidation from the enemy only mean that it requires more diligence and determination to carve out that time needed. The Apostle Paul exhorts his dear friend, Timothy (and really, all believers) in 2 Timothy 2:15 - to Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (nasb) Although addressed to Timothy specifically, this is a principle for all believers to be diligent. The word Diligent in this text is: 1. spoudazo (σπουδάζω, 4704) it signifies to hasten to do a thing, to exert oneself, endeavor, give diligence 1 Webster's defines diligent as: steady, consistent, persevering action, earnest, energetic application and effort, accomplished with speed and haste! That's how we are to approach God's word - hastening to study, realizing it's going to take some work on our part, it's an endeavor to work toward, be steady, consistent, requiring perseverance, action, a sincere earnestness engaging our heart and mind, with energetic application and effort, accomplished with speed and haste. Did you get all that? Oh, and it's an imperative, which means we are commanded to be diligent. That's just interpreting one word!! Interpretation - that's the next part of this brief look into Inductive Study. We looked previously at the fact that Inductive Study is using the Bible as our main reference, or source of study. The process that we use to figure out what God wanted us to know is more than just a cursory reading. We read with purpose. We Observe - what does the text say; observing the obvious: facts about people, places and events. And reviewing it until we know it. Then and only then, do we Interpret what the text means, so that we are able to Apply the word to our lives. So, how do we interpret what we have observed? By observing some more, since our interpretation will only be as good as our observation. I, by no means know how to do all this myself. But thankfully, there are many study helps available, and it's best to find sources that 1 Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Vol. 2, p. 169). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.

2 you can trust to be accurate, which I know can be tricky as there are many scholars out there, but find a teacher whom you know is a true student of the Bible in the original languages. I'm blessed to be able to ask for clarification from my Dad who is a Pastor-Teacher for 60+ yrs. He has taught Bible and Koine` Greek for many years. He also has one of the best understandings of harmonization of the whole Bible of anyone I know. And then, there's my son who, I may be partial, but I believe has been gifted linguistically. He has taught Bible and Greek courses, also, and it's wonderful to be able to just call and ask a question and have them give biblical documentation for the answer, not just an opinion. They do have websites for information, although both are so busy I'm not sure how up to date they are: Spheres of Grace Ministries, Dr. Troy Welch, Sr.; Koine Ministries, Dr. Todd Bounds. Study Helps - We have looked at the context, we have looked at the content, but we may be confused as to some of the meaning that is there, some of the answers are not as obvious, and this is where we can start doing word studies It's time to pull out the Study Helps and observe what they say about the text. No commentaries just yet though. Remember, we are trying to ascertain our own deductions from study, not read what other people have written in response to their thoughts of a text. After we have completed our work first hand, then we can search out the commentaries. They become the final look, rather than what we are most use to being the first place we go. We want to know what does God say in the text, then we can rightly discern if what others are sharing in regards to the text is correct. So, save the commentaries for later, but let's look at some study helps that are available to us as we work to interpret the text. Exhaustive Concordances - Some of you may have Concordances listed in the back of your Bible, and that's a good reference to find a verse you're looking for, but as I previously mentioned Strong's Exhaustive Concordance is the most often referenced Exhaustive Concordance. You may remember that it lists every place in the Bible where a particular word is used. Remember, it gives the root word and may not always take syntax and grammar into consideration. However, the number that is attached to a particular word, as you can see in the definition of diligence, "1. spoudazo [σπουδάζω, 4704])" is what is called the Strong's number. Each word is numbered in the concordance and used as a reference number in other publications, in fact, many other study helps refer to that number. Zodhiate's Concordance uses the Strong's number, as well as Vines, and others. In looking at the definition we learn several things. In the definition for the word you will have: (1. spoudazo [σπουδάζω, 4704]) This means this is the number 1 definition for the word "diligence." You will often find other definitions following after this. The word "spoudazo" is the transliteration (English spelling) of the Koine` Greek word. Then you have the actual Greek letters for the word. Followed by the Strong's number (4704) where you can find that word in Strong's. This is commonly how you would see a definition of a word, it would also list biblical references where the word is used, and give further information of how the word is used in other verses.

3 If you look up a specific word in Strong's you will find multiple verses listed below the word showing where the word is in the Bible it is used. You may also find different Strong's numbers listed for that one word, meaning it is not used in the exact same way in every text. Those different numbers have different definitions. Again, syntax, grammar and other factors play in to how the word is defined. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance is a huge book, but now is online in many Bible apps. Bible Dictionaries - There are many Bible Dictionaries available out there and they give good information on what a word means, such as I used above in describing diligence. You'll note that I used Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Vine's is a great resource, but limited in that it deals with root words, and also, not every word is defined. While Webster's is a good source to get basic English definitions, we must remember that the definitions found there are not taking into consideration the context of Koine` Greek, or how the word was used in the Bible. Resources Purpose - Resources have different information and different purposes. Some have more info, others are very brief. Some of the resources are: Grammars, Word Studies, Interlinears, Bible Dictionaries, Biblical Encyclopedia, Lexicons, Study or Reference Bibles, all have use for us. Many of these resources are available online, some are even modified in App form for mobile devices: Logos Bible Software, Blue Letter Bible, Biblesoft, E-sword, You Version, PC Bible, biblia.com, biblos.com., biblestudytools.com, and the list goes on. Technology has made it so much easier than carrying around those huge thick books. Beginning to Interpret - By now through your observation you have found key words, and key phrases. Those are good places to begin to do some interpretation. Look up and define each of those key words from the text. Define them separately, and then bring all the definitions together to form the whole picture, meaning, don't try to define a word based on how you think it's used in a text. Define individual words, and then see what they say when put together. There may be other words that you see in the text that aren't particularly key, but that still effect the text, or bring questions to mind. Look those up as well. If you have LOTS of time, look in an interlinear (has Hebrew & English, or Greek & English) and begin looking at the order of the words, look at what word was used in the original language rather than the translations. At the end of this lesson I have posted an excerpt from a syllabus my dad put together when he was teaching college courses. Its meaty, but it gives a lot of good information, so take the time to read with your thinking cap on. I think you will find it helpful. Harmonization - Harmonization is key to understanding what God's word says about a topic, or key word in other verses. Concordances are great for this in the regard that you can easily find where the

4 word is used in other verses. But be careful to stick to the references that have the same exact Strong's number since each of the other numbers have different words used and different definitions. Harmonizing the complete Bible is helpful to get the overall picture of what and why something is being said. It's the grand view of all God wanted us to know. A major component to understanding a text without taking it out of the overall context of God's word. As you delve into the meanings of God's word, I believe the next step in inductive study will become clear, for if you are in fellowship with the Lord, His Spirit will begin to tug on you as you look at the word. He will use it to transform your thoughts by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). You will begin to take on the perspective of God's view in regards to life and see it as He would. You will know Him more deeply as you seek Him and He reveals Himself to you. I have no doubt that as you do, your trust will grow immeasurably, your desire to know Him more will develop, and He will be faithful to lead you on. The results will be pure joy as you see His grace unfold in the pages of His book. Happy studying! The following pages are taken from "Tools for Biblical Interpretation" syllabus. Written by Dr. Troy Welch, Sr. for Channel Islands Bible College. I hope you find them useful. You will also find a similar study on Koine` Ministries, with Dr. Todd Bounds. God's word is rich and we cannot exhaust it. There is always something to learn, so let it be said of us that we were diligent to be in it! Faithful stewards of His words to us. God bless!

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