Inductive Bible Study

method for serious students of the Bibleonline interactive lessons

Learn the inductive Bible study method so that you know how to study the Bible more seriously. 
Once you grasp it, you will get new insights from the
Bible like never before. 
Our goal is for you to know how to study the Bible from scratch.  This is especially helpful if you
need to lead small group Bible studies.  But it's helpful even just in your personal devotions because it gets
you interacting with God's word. 
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"For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." -  Heb.  4:12 (NIV)

The Plan

You'll be guided through it step by step in short interactive bite-sized 'lessons',
and not just read about the theory and principles.  I have found from experience that just
hearing about the method is not too effective until you get your hands dirty.  If you are not
prepared to take time to work at it, you can stop reading now. 

3 Steps

There are three main steps:

Observe - make observations. 
In this step you ask yourself: What
do I see?+

So what is the difference between step 1 and step 2?  Let's look at an example, Genesis 1:1 - a verse that
just about every Christian is familiar with, especially those who start reading through the Bible from the beginning. 
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." ( NAS)
How would you answer the first question of 'what do I see?' 

You may say, I see that it says,
'At the beginning of time, God created the universe and the earth out of nothing.' 

Well, that is actually
an answer to the second question 'what does it mean'.  In other words, you're giving your interpretation of that verse. 
So how did you come to that interpretation or conclusion?  Often times we have to step back first. 

As you follow along, you will see the difference between step 1 and 2, hopefully! 

Apply
- apply the meaning(s) to your own life. 
In this step you ask yourself: What do I do? 

Simple, right?  Let's have a little test of your observation skills:

Often times the problem is that we zero in on just some of the facts and draw our conclusion
from a partial picture. 
That's the formula for misinterpretation.  We need to look at all the facts carefully.