Bible Study methods that work

In order to get the best from the Bible, the following methods could be of help. They are;

1.      Systematic Study

2.      Topical Study

3.      Character Study

4.      Word Study

5.      Thematic Study

1.                  SYSTEMATIC STUDY: This involves studying the Bible systematically. It involves a painstaking approach to Bible study. Here, you study a chapter or a book thoughtfully, slowly and meditatively. There’s a need to have writing material with you so as to underline verses of the Scriptures that minister to you specifically. There’s a need to try to memorize the striking verse(s) discovered. The lesson learnt from the chapter studied should be noted in a jotter and then prayer should be made in line with the lessons from the scripture.

2.               TOPICAL STUDY: This involves the selection of topics from the Bible. The person studying will try to see what the Bible has to say about the topic from Genesis to Revelation. Such topics include; Salvation, justification, the Virgin birth of Jesus, the fall of man, love, heaven, hell, the Holy Spirit etc. Christian books on these topics could serve as study aids.

3.               CHARACTER STUDY: The Bible contains the biographies of people in the Bible. Studying their lives helps you know what they did right and what they did wrong. This will help you to pattern your life according to godly examples. In order to have an effective character study, there is a need for you to write out their names followed by the passages where you can find their stories as well as the lesson you have learnt and avoid flaws seen in their lives.

4.                    WORD STUDY: Word studies are necessary because the Bible was not originally written in the English Language. Words written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic do not always have exact equivalents in English. Knowledge of the original languages is a great help in studying the Bible. Word studies allow us to discover the original meanings of the words that appear in our English Bible.

Thomas D. Lea in his book, God’s Transforming Word: How to Study Your Bible gave six-step guidelines for doing Word Study. They are;

a.     Select a word to study

b.     Define the word

c.     Discover the Bible usages of the word

d.     Define the Bible meaning

e.     Summarize what you have learned

f.        Plan applications

5.               THEMATIC STUDY: Thematic method of studying the Bible involves approaching a theme in the Bible and performing a basic study of it. It is shorter than the Topical Method of Bible Study, which is much less exhaustive in its scope. In a topical study, you would examine each possible verse that relates to your topic of study, including each sub-theme; in a thematic study, you will only study those verses that apply directly to a single theme.

Richard Warren and William A. Shell in their book, 12 Dynamic Bible Study Methods, gave six-steps guidelines for doing a thematic study. They include;

1.      Choose a theme to study

2.      Make a list of all verses you intend to study using the tools such as Study Bible, Exhaustive Concordance and Topical Bible or Cross-references and select from this list the verses that are most applicable, or important to your theme

3.      Make a list of the questions you will ask from each verse.

4.      Ask these questions for each of the verses in step 2

5.      Draw some conclusions from the study

6.      Write out a personal application.