Guide to Effective Bible Study

GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE BIBLE STUDY

Conformity to Christ is a life long process which is
completed only when you pass into God's presence.

Bible study is a vital part of this process.
If you will:

Study God's Word faithfully

Pray for understanding

diligently apply Scriptures to your experience and daily walk

Your life will change and increasingly glorify God!

God's Word is able to satisfy the spiritually dry and thirsty.

You must study the Bible to draw out its truths.
You must personally apply these truths to your life.

CHARACTERISTICS OP BIBLE STUDY

1. Must be systematic and consistent

R. A. Torrey "Have some good system of Bible study
and follow it. System counts in everything, but it
counts more in study than in anything else, and it
counts more in Bible study than in any other form
of study."

2. Must be original investigation in the Bible itself.

go to the source itself

compare Scripture with Scripture

do not depend on what others have said about the Word

3. There must be a written reproduction of your findings.

"If you want to master the truths of Scripture, write
them down in your own words."

Dawson Trotman,Navigators

4. Must be personally applied to dally living

Scriptures are the means by which the Holy Spirit
changes our lives, but in this ministry. He needs our
cooperation.

5- Must be "Pass-on-able"

Teaching someone else how to study the Bible for
himself is far better than sharing what you have

received from your own study although this is

helpful.

Personal Preparation for Bible study

The Bible can only be understood fully with the aid. of
the Holy Spirit.

1. A Cleansed Life – Confession

Refusing to deal with sin in your life breaks fellowship
with God.

Before beginning your Bible study stop and confess to
God any known sin.

2. Prayer for Illumination
Psalm 119:12, 18, 27, 35

teach me your decrees

open my eyes that I may see

let me understand the teaching of your precepts

then I will meditate

direct me in the paths of Your commands

3. Dependence- on the Holy Spirit

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not
on your own understanding"

Proverbs 3:5

John 14:26
I Corinthians 2:12

4. Willingness to obey

The one who is willing to obey will receive God's
Instruction.

John 7:17 willingness to obey the truth

OBSERVATION

Act of seeing

Taking notice of things as they really are

The art of awareness

Root Attitudes

An open mind

A willing Spirit

This is necessary because whenever you guard
an area of your life, you hinder understanding.

Accurate observation is result of reading with

dilligence
purposefulness
thoughtfulness
inquiry

Reading until the Word jogs the mind and heart requires
quality time.

RECORD WHAT YOU OBSERVE

Define important words and phrases.

Questions:

Who Who are the people Involved?

What What happened? What ideas are expressed?

Where Where does this take place?
What is the setting?

When When did it take place?

What was the historical period?
Why

Why did it happen?

What is the purpose?

How        How are things accomplished?
               How effectively?
               By what method?

INTERPRETATION

Seeks to clarify the meaning of a passage and help you
understand why the Holy Spirit included this portion in
Scripture.

One aspect of Interpretation is correlation – the process
of relating the passage under consideration to the rest of
the chapter, the whole book and other portions of Scripture.

APPLICATION

Putting God's Word into practice in your life – recognizing
in the Scriptures their personal message to you and
responding accordingly.

The benefit is in obeying the voice of the Lord –
receiving what He says and putting it into practice.

Application is by intent!

Application begins with the willing acceptance of truth.

The right response to Scripture is characterized by:
     trust
     obedience
     praise
     thanksgiving

Respond to God, not a rule book !

Our goal is to glorify God by pleasing Him in every area of
life.

SPECK can help you apply the Word to your life !
S Is there SIN for me to avoid?
P Is there a PROMISE from God for me to claim?
E Is there an EXAMPLE for me to follow?
C Is there a COMMAND for me to obey?
K How can this passage increase my KNOWLEDGE about
God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit?

ABC Study

A. A title

Should fit the chapter – brief one or two words
Clearly identifies the passage's content

B Best verse of basic passage
Includes central message
Key to contents of the passage

C Challenge

Ask God to challenge your heart in a personal way
from some portion of what you are studying.

Your purpose now is to accept this challenge and
its truth in a definite way in your life.

State in your own words the truth of the verse,
Tell how this challenge applies to you

a. What needs it reveals in your life.

b. What shortcomings – transgressions or
neglects it Indicates.

c. What new appreciation or understanding it
opens up.

Use "I", "me", "my", "Mine" in your writing, this
challenge is personal.

THEN: State clearly what you plan to do about it.

What specific action you will take to correct
weakness. –
To build the needed quality into your life
To increase your understanding of this truth

Choose something practical you can do in a week

(a short period) not a long term project.
REMEMBER to depend on the Holy Spirit who enable us
to grow in our Christian life.

D. Difficulties

Does it speak of anything you could not explain
to another person

Write down verse or passage and the question or
problem it raises in your mind – state the
specific difficulty it presents to you.

E. Essence

Summarize or outline passage

Record only what the passage says not what it
means.

A brief condensation in summary

Divide passage – put a title or heading to
each section Outline

SPECIFIC THINGS TO OBSERVE

KEY WORDS	When you first read a passage, look for the key words, those words which you think are important in the passage. Repetition of words will sometimes give you a clue. Underline them in your Bible.
ADVICE ADMONITIONS WARNINGS PROMISES	Be on the alert for the admonitions which a writer gives: the advice, the exhortations, the warnings, the things which he tells you to do. Also note the promises and the encourage- ments. One clue is to look for imperative verbs.
REASONS RESULTS FOR DOING THINGS	When you observe admonitions, see if the writer gives you some reasons for his advice. Or note if he sets forth a cause-effect relationship – if you do this, then this will happen. Often with a warning, he will give possible results.
CONTRASTS COMPARISONS ILLUSTRATIONS	Make a special note of the way a writer uses contrasts, comparisons, illustrations to bring out his ideas. Comparison is the association of things that are similar. Contrast is the association of things that are opposite, often introduced with "but".
REPETITION AND PROGRESSION OF IDEAS	Be on the alert for repetition of words, ideas, statements. This will often give you a clue as to the author's purpose in a passage. Take special note of lists of Items or ideas. Compare the items and see if there is any significance in the order. Do ideas progress toward a climax?
IMPORTANT CONNECTIVES Prepositions Conjunctions	Connectives are very Important in revealing key ideas and relationships. Be on the alert for some of the following: but – introduces a contrast if – Introduces conditional clause for, because, therefore – introduce reason, and results in, into, with – important connectives in order that – sets forth a purpose
GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTION Verbs Nouns Pronouns Adverbs Adjectives	The term "grammar" do doubt frightens you, but even so, it is important to note the grammatical construction of some statements. Be on the alert for the verbs and their tenses – for the use of pronouns – for the use of adverbs and adjectives and the way they describe things.
ATMOSPHERE	Note the general tone of a passage. It may be characterized by the mood of Joy, thanksgiving, concern, humility, zeal, anger, caution. The tone of a passage may vary as a writer moves from one idea to another. The mood of a writer is often revealed by the way he addresses his readers.
EMPHATIC STATEMENTS	Also note the use he makes of emphatic statements, words and phrases to reveal his feelings.
LITERARY FORM	Always note the literary form of a passage – discourse, narrative, poetic, dramatic, parabolic, apocalyptic.
GENERAL STRUCTURE	Note the arrangement of the ideas in a passage, the relationship of verses to each other. Sometimes the author makes a general statement, then explains it with examples. Other times he may list a series of ideas and then summarize with a general statement.