Bible Study Methods that Will Help You Understand God’s Word

I really love the Bible! If you are looking for a way to study the Bible that will help you get the meat out of it, here’s five helpful methods to use:

(If you are looking for Bible reading plans, click here.)

1. Discovery Bible Study

I’m putting this one first because it is very simple and it’s used all around the world. This is a leading way to “study” the Bible in church planting movements. It relies heavily the Holy Spirit’s ability to lead as you read the scriptures. You ask four simple questions. (This method is great for personal Bible reading and also in small groups.)

1. What does this story tell me about God?
2. What does this story tell me about people (or myself)?
3. If this is God’s word for my life, how will I obey it?
4. Who am I going to tell?

2. Inductive Bible Study

This is probably the most well known way to study the Bible and the most well-rounded. I’ve summarized the steps into 4 main parts here.

1. Background– the who, what, where when, why of the book. Who was the author? Why was it written? To whom was it written? Where was it written? What was happening at that time in history? What’s the context of the book or passage of scripture?
2. Observation– Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Read and reread the passage. Mark any key or repeated words, commands, themes, or phrases. Don’t try to interpret (because that’s the next step) just make a note of everything that stands out.
3. Interpretation– What do you think the author is trying to communicate? Paraphrase sections to help yourself understand. Cross reference any verses or topics that are in other parts of the Bible. What is God trying to say? Write down any questions you might have. Create your own title for the passage and pick out a key verse that you think summarizes it.
4. Application– What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you personally? How can you apply this passage to your life?

3. SOAP Method

This method is similar to the inductive method but a little easier to understand and focuses on writing out the verses to help bring revelation and clarity. This is a good method to use if you are meditating on a specific verse or small passage.

1. S – Scripture: Write out the verse or passage that you are focusing on.
2. O – Observe: What do you see? What stands out to you?
3. A – Apply: How can you apply this word to your life? “What’s God saying to me and how can I live that out?”
4. P – Pray: Use the scripture as a prayer back to God.

4. Topical Method

This can be a refreshing way to look at the Bible as a whole. If you are wanting more understand about God’s love or joy or sacrifice or patience or whatever, it’s easier than ever nowadays with the internet! I did a topical study on God’s view of me once and it really changed our relationship.

1. Make a search of the keyword throughout the Bible. Just google the word! Bible Gateway and Bible Study Tools are two good sites to start on.
2. Make a note of words or themes that repeat themselves in context with the word that you are studying.
3. What stands out to you about this topic? Is there a theme? Has God shown you something new about it? How does this influence your life?

5. Biographical Method

This is similar to the topical Bible study, but you look at a person in the Bible instead of a word. Here’s a few ways you can get revelation from God for your own life by studying the lives of others:

1. Search for all the places in the Bible where they are mentioned.
2. Record key themes throughout their lives. What stands out to you about this person?
3. Create a chronological timeline of their lives.
4. What can you learn from their faith? What can you learn from their mistakes?
5. How can you apply what you’ve observed to your own life?

The Most Important Method

There really is no most important method. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the Bible is not an end in itself. The Bible should connect you to God. The main reason we read the Bible is to grow in our relationship with God. If we are just doing it as a religious duty or to check an item off of our daily chore chart, we are missing the point. God wants to spend time with you and speak to you, even more than you want that. If we go into our times with God with that in mind, we will get so much more out of them.

If you are looking for Bible reading plans, like the Bible in a year or reading through the Bible chronologically, check out this post.

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