Why should we spend a substantial amount of time studying this ancient book, the Bible? We do so for two essential reasons. First, no book has had such a positive impact on the world as much as the Bible. It's message is life-transforming, so much so, that we recognize it as God's message to us. It is God's Word. Even if you are not a believer, when you consider the impact this book has had and continues to have on others, you have to admit that the Bible is worth considering as an object of intense study.
The second reason we take time to study the Bible is because its message does not reside in us naturally or automatically. We must devote our minds to examining its message -- to understanding and internalizing what it has to say.
Since, we admit that the Bible's message does not naturaly reside in us, then we must approach the Bible with a manner of study that lets the Bible speak to us rather than having us speak to the Bible. A manner of study that allows the Bible to speak to us is called an inductve method. The indictve approach is a scientific method whereby we examine the evidence as objectively as possible -- examining the evidence in its historical and literary context and forming conclusions.based on that evidence. A good detective approaches a crime scene in much the same way. He doesn't (or shouldn't) form any conclusions until he has examined as much of the evidence as possible. Once he has completed his investigatory work, he can then make important decisions about the crime and the crime scene. That's the inductive approach.
The inductive approach is the approach we will take in our study of the Bible. In the pages that follow, you can click on the steps of inductive study, beginning with the survey of a book. Before we get into that survey, however, let's look at the importance of prayer in Bible study. Click on "Prayer in Bible Study" at the top of this page.
