A short guide for Bible study
Observation → Interpretation → Application

2 Timothy 3:16-17…  

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Introduction

God has given us his Word so that we may have the joy of knowing him. God’s word is the bread of life. Just as we must eat physical food for our bodies to grow, so we must feed on the word of God regularly for our spiritual life to grow in Christ. 

God speaks to us primarily through his word. So to have a relationship with God, we must listen and obey what God says in his word. Studying our Bibles is an act of worship to God that leads us to know God more deeply and changes our lives to be more like Jesus. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is alive 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.”

The Bible is a big book with many different types of literature (stories, letters of teaching, prophecy, proverbs, poetry…). Studying the Bible properly keeps us from misunderstanding the Bible. Many people read the Bible, and impose their own meaning on top of the text which leads us away from the gospel of Christ and leads us into sin. So if we know how to study the Bible faithfully, it helps guard us from wrongly understanding and wrongly applying the Word of God in our lives. Faithful Bible study allows us to discover the right meaning and application of the passage for our lives today.

This is a short guide to help someone study the Bible. It is also intended to help someone prepare a sermon that is faithful to God’s word, centered on the gospel of Jesus, and applied to the hearts of the listeners. 

Personal Bible study is good, and every Christian should do it. But remember that each believer should also study the Bible with other believers because the Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. We are to help others in our church family grow in Christ, and we need others to help us faithfully follow Jesus as well. So look for someone else in your church to study the Bible with you. Our relationships with others in the church should be centered on the word of God and prayer because our unity is in the gospel of Christ.

This Bible study guide teaches how to study the Bible in three steps. 

1. Observation: What does the passage say?
2. Interpretation: What does the passage mean?
3. Application: How does this passage apply to me? 

Prepare for the study

1. Pray for God’s help as you begin to study the Word of God. Confess any sin you have in your heart and ask for God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Remember that we need the Holy Spirit to reveal his word to us and empower us to obey him. We read the Bible not just to gain information, but to listen to and obey the Word of God so we that may live to glorify him. 
2. Choose a passage of scripture to study. A passage is one story, one parable, or one unit of teaching. The chapters and section headings in the Bible can be helpful to determine a passage to study.
3. Have a notebook to write in as you study. If possible, print out the passage your will be studying so you can write notes on the passage itself.

Observation (what does the passage say?)

The point of observation is to understand the content of the passage. We are not looking for meaning of the passage in this step. Observing the text well will help our ability to rightly interpret the text. 

Background

• Who wrote the book? What do we know about the author? 
• Who were the original hearers or recipients?
• Why was the book written? What are major themes of the book?

Context

Observing the context means that you see how the passage you are studying relates to the whole book and even to the entire story of the Bible. 

There are two main types of context to observe. Literary and redemptive history. The literary context helps to see how the passage fits in with other parts of the book. The redemptive historical context shows how the passage fits into the entire story of the Bible of how God saves his people (creation, fall, redemption, restoration)

If you are preparing for a sermon, it’s helpful to read the entire book in which your passage is in straight through in one sitting to get an idea of the big picture of the book. This may not be practical for many old testament books since they are very long, but for many new testament books this is possible. For example, if you are studying Philippians 2:1-11, then read through the entire book of Philippians (it takes less than 20 minutes) at one time to help understand the main themes and ideas of the book. For longer old testament books, skim the book to remember the main ideas of the book.

• Literary context:
  • How does this passage fit the immediate context? What comes before this passage? What follows this passage? 
  • What is the overall message and story line of the book and how does your passage fit into that message and story line?
• Redemptive history context
  • Where does your text come in relation to redemptive history? (creation, fall, redemption, restoration)
  • Does your passage point forward to the cross and Jesus or point back to the cross and Jesus? 
  • Understanding the redemptive context is especially important when applying an Old Testament passage. 

Structural questions

Read the passage straight through two times. Then try to summarize the passage in your own words.

Then go back and read the passage carefully again. Take notes about the following points and questions.

• Are there any repeated words, phrases, or ideas?
• Is there anything that is being compared or contrasted?
• If the passage is a story, who are the main characters? What is the plot of the story?
• Does the author raise any questions? Does he provide any answers?
• How are things described in the passage? Are there any images or metaphors used? (example: The Lord is my shepherd)
• What is the mood of the passage?  (example: Hopeful, sadness, joy)
• Does this passage remind you of anything else in the Bible? 
• Do the people, places, or ideas appear elsewhere in the Bible?
• Note anything which seems strange, out of place, or confusing. Write down any questions you have about the passage.

Use the answers to these questions to make an outline of the passage.

Interpretation (what does the passage mean?)

During the interpretation step we are trying to discover the meaning that the author intended the text to have to its original readers.  It’s tempting to skip this step of interpretation and go straight to application. But be patient. First we need to find out what was the author’s main point to the original readers, then in the step of application we will say what it means for us today.

This interpretation should be built from our observations. So look at your notes. The goal at the end of the interpretation step is to write a short summary (1-3) sentences of the main point of the text. Use these questions below to help you develop the main idea…

• How should you interpret this in light of Jesus and the cross?  Always remember the gospel!  The gospel is in every text we study in the Bible, even in the old testament. Identify the particular elements of the gospel (God, man, Christ, response) in the passage and think about how to teach the gospel from the passage.
• What do other parts of the Bible have to say about the ideas and themes in this passage? For example, does the passage talk about sin, faith, God’s promise to not forsake his people, or God’s sovereignty. Use other parts of the Bible to help clarify and support the main idea of the passage. Remember, the Bible will never contradict itself!
• How does the passage give us a right view of ourselves in relationship to God?

Write the main message of the passage in 1-3 sentences.

Application (how does this passage apply to me?)

We should not be hearers of the word only, but also doers of the word (James 1:22-25). Right application of the passage is built upon good observation and interpretation. So think about your main idea that you have written in the interpretation step, then think about how it calls you to live today. Your applications should come from the main point of the passage. 

A text has one interpretation and main idea but it will have many possible applications. Although a passage may have many different points of application, focusing on two or three applications is best. Our goal is not simply to list applications, but to actually change our lives to obey the word of God that we have studied.

If you’re preparing a sermon, think about the different types of people who you are preaching to. For example mothers, husbands and wives, single people, and believers whose family members are non-believers. Give applications to different areas of life such as parenting, evangelism to family and coworkers, or serving others in the church. Also, rather than just listing lots of applications, focus on two or three and explain them more deeply. Give practical examples to connect with the listeners. Remember to encourage the listeners that the power of the Holy Spirit in us gives us a sure hope that we can obey the word of God. God doesn’t command us to obey but then leaves us alone and unable to obey. No, a Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them to lead them in obedience through the grace of the gospel. 

Remember, In Christianity, the good works of Christians are not done in order to earn God’s love and forgiveness (this is what Islam and Catholicism teach). The Bible teaches that we are loved and forgiven by God because of what he has done for us in Jesus, and so then we do good works as fruit of our changed heart. So good works are the fruit of salvation, not the root of salvation.

Here are some questions to help you think of good applications.

• A New Understanding  
  • Did I learn something new about God, his ways, his character, his plan, or his priorities?  
• A Challenge
  • Do I need to change my thinking on a certain point? 
  • Is there a behavior I need to start or stop doing? 
  • How does this passage teach me to relate and speak to others?
  • How should I pray based on this passage? 
  • Is there an example to follow?
  • Is there a command to obey?
• An encouragement or praise 
  • Should I be praising God for something from this passage? 
  • Is there an encouragement or a promise I need to constantly think about?