General Bible Study: Home

What is this guide?

   This is a Bible study resources guide organized for assistance with inductive Bible study and is designed with both students and non-students in mind.  If you are learning how to make disciples through DiscipleWay, you can use this guide to find resources that will help you to answer some of the key questions regarding a passage of scripture.  More than a list of books and websites, this guide is meant to help you understand the kinds of information sources that will be helpful to you in your study of holy scripture.

   If you don't know anything about DiscipleWay, you can learn all about it below, if you like.  If not, you can still use this guide to help you find resources for Bible study.

   DiscipleWay is a discipleship tool to help provide a foundation for Christian living. It is based on seven key spiritual disciplines. These include Bible Study, Prayer, Worship, Giving, Witnessing, Serving, and Leading.

   The Bible Study discipline is based upon the practice of indcutive Bible study and serves as a foundation for the rest of the curriculum.  Each portion of Discipleway includes inductive Bible study and goes on to include non-cognitive forms of learning for a holistic discipleship process that engages the whole person that he or she may hear and follow Christ.  You can find more information about DiscipleWay by clicking the link below.

What is Inductive Bible Study?

   Many Bible study materials present the main idea of a study up front with a topic or theme for the lesson.  The lesson will then teach the learner how that idea is presented in scripture through sub-points, verse references, and illustrations.  Though the teaching is often correct, the learner is left with a passive experience that does not prepare her for studying the Bible on her own.  Inductive Bible study is a process for studying scripture that can be repeated with any passage of scripture.  With the Spirit of God, the foundation of Christian orthodoxy received from a church, and a few study tools, the disciple can learn timeless truths directly from scripture.

   The process of inductive Bible study involves asking a set of standard questions about a passage of scripture.  After answering these questions the disciple is able to summarize the passage in his own words and apply timeless truths to his own life.  The questions are divided into three parts: Observation, Interpretation, and Application.

Observation:

1. Who is the author of the book and (or) passage being studied?
2. When was the book and (or) passage written and under what circumstances?
3. Who is involved in the passage being studied?
4. Who is speaking and being addressed in the passage being studied?
5. What are the key words or phrases in the passage?
6. What key words or phrases are repeated?
7. What is being compared or contrasted in the passage?
8. What are the cause-effect relationships?
9. What literary form is being used?

Interpretation:

1. How is the passage affected by its cultural/historical background?
2. What is the immediate context/setting of the passage?
3. What key terms or ideas need to be researched?
4. How does the passage relate to its immediate context?
5. Are there any related pasages that need to be studied?
6. Summarize the passage in your own words.

Application:

1. Is there a promise to claim or a truth to believe?
2. Is there an example to follow or an error to avoid?
3. Is there a command to obey?
4. Is there an attitude to change or a sin to confess?
5. Is there something to praise God for?