Inductive Bible Study, Pt. 3

After you have taken the time to observe and then interpret the Scripture you are working through, the third part of good Inductive Bible Study is Evaluation.

How in the world are we supposed to look at all of this information we've gathered?  Sometimes it is so easy to simply read through a portion of Scripture and we might observe things about it, we might spend time interpreting, but we forget that our own thoughts actually stop us from seeing this Scripture without a personal agenda.  By evaluating the Scripture with some of these ideas in mind, we begin seeing it more from the long view of history and what Scripture is really doing. 

Now, while these steps may seem long and tedious, I can promise you that over the next few months I'm going to be taking every one of them through the Book of Matthew.  I can only hope that it will make more and more sense to you as I show you what I'm doing and how I'm getting down to the nitty gritty of God's Word.

3.    Evaluation
   a.    The Sacred Story
      i.    Progressive Revelation
         1.    God continues to reveal His word throughout scripture
         2.    Later teaching refines scripture
      ii.    Understand major Biblical history points
      iii.    Learn settings from which writings come
   b.    Separate historical / local information from universal truths
      i.    What information is locked in time
      ii.    What points are foundations of faith
   c.    Biblical Preferences
      i.    Personal over the mechanical – choosing the relationship of God over the strict performance of acts
      ii.    Liberty over legalism
         1.    Love and grace balanced with justice
         2.    Spirit of the Law versus the letter of the Law
      iii.    Faith over works
         1.    Trust, faith, belief in God
         2.    God is the emphasis, not us
      iv.    Holy love over all else
         1.    Goal for salvation – love for God, love for each other
         2.    Love that is filled with God
   d.    Jesus’ life and words
      i.    Jesus is Lord of all revelation
      ii.    Jesus set the standard for Kingdom living
   e.    Canonical Dialogue
      i.    Evaluation in context with all scripture
      ii.    When scripture isn’t specific, prayerful understanding of entirety
   f.    Find the Dialogue – find other similar Bible passages
      i.    Concordance
      ii.    Cross-References
      iii.    Commentaries