Curiosity is that quality that leads us to keep digging; to keep asking questions; to keep searching. Curiosity generates the questions we need to answer: Why was it written this way? How did the author use this word in other places?

A sense of adventure is that spirit that wants to go out and answer those questions! It's one thing to wonder, it's another thing to go find out! A sense of adventure includes determination and discipline, as well as joy on the journey. William Miller, the man who first preached the second coming of Jesus in the 1830s and 1840s, famously went verse-by-verse through his Bible until he understood it.

A desire to know God our goal in Bible study. We don't study merely because we are curious or want to go on an adventure. The goal of knowing God is what makes our curiosity and adventurous spirit worth it.

We are not just interested in a technical study of the Bible, but a spiritual connection with our God. We use study techniques and scientific methods, but we are not limited to them. The ultimate goal of Bible study is to know God better.

Before we go any further, let's make sure we understand the goal of Bible study: to know God better. We can best do this by accepting the Scriptures as a revelation of who he is. We strive to understand the text so we can better understand the Author.

With that said, our first order of business is to understand the meaning(s) of the text to the original audience. Our first question isn't: "What is Luke saying to me?" because *NEWSFLASH* Luke didn't know you. The Bible wasn't written to twenty-first century people. Insisting that any meaning is for us first and foremost can do some damage.

For instance, Ellen White wrote "It is natural for the young to be gay" (Youth's Instructor, May 1, 1854). If we think she was writing to us, we would have to conclude that Ellen White is saying it's natural for young people to be homosexual, because that's what the word "gay" means today. By putting ourselves first, we will completely miss her meaning. But if we try and understand that Ellen White wasn't writing to us but to a group of people in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and that the common meaning "happy", then we can understand what she meant.

Likewise with the Bible. We must first understand what the original authors meant in writing to the original audience(s) and only then we can discuss what it might mean for us.

OK, let's get going!

Grab your Bibles and head there.

The lines between sections in the Bible are usually indicated whenever the scene, time, or character changes in some way. There's no hard rule here and while the chapters and headlines in your Bible are usually correct, they're not aways correct. Let me explain...

Investigation is the make-or-break phase of Bible study. You will only get out of your study what you are able to put in. The more time, the more curiosity, and the more persistence that you put in here will yield greater rewards!

As you study, you may find that you have to get over the feeling that some other author or preacher explained this better than you can. We can feel inadequate and we just want a shortcut to the "right answer." Fight those emotions! The goal isn't to get to the "right answer," it's to increase your faith.

2. Retell the Story: Don't begin by getting distracted by the names and places; just try and tell the story as simply as possible. You want to get it clear in your own head before we complicate it by look at all of the details.

3. Collect the Evidence: This is the stage where we look for the names, places, themes, and repeated words in our text. Our goal here is to collect as many questions as we can. Don't race to grab the easy answers. Stay disciplined and ask as many questions as you can, even if you already know the answer.

4. Chase the Answers: Finally! All of our focus pays off as we begin to seek answers to these questions. Go down your list and try and put it all together.

Commentaries can be really helpful.

Or really unhelpful.

Let me explain in this video.

Context is a vital part of communication. Let's imagine that we discovered a new document by the Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther. On it was a single word: "No." We all know what the word "no" means, right? In this case, we can say that we understand the text we are studying.

But the question is: how fully do we understand the text?

What if we studied the external context of the text and discovered that it was written in July 1523. Now we are understanding his "no" a little better.

What if we dug deeper and learned that this new document was Luther's reply to someone who had recommended he get married. Ah! Now we know a lot more about his "no," especially in light of the fact that he did marry Katharina von Bora months later!

This is my point: You can understand the word "no" by itself. But you will never fully understand what you are studying unless you know the context.

In some cases, not knowing the context can actually mislead you.
 

We must study the internal context surrounding our passage, as the graphic to our left illustrates. We begin with our text, then we slowly work out way to the outside of the circle.

What does our text mean?
What does our text mean in light of the passages around it?
What does our text mean in light of the book it is in?
What does our text mean in light of the author who wrote it?
What does our text mean in light of the testament it is in?
What does our text mean in light of the entire Bible?

Each step we take toward the outside of the circle helps us understand our text. Check out the video above to learn more.

Understanding the external contexts of our text are often more challenging than internal contexts, but they are no less important.

WE are not free from context. We all read the Bible through various lenses. We can't help it. These lenses often lead us to notice some verses over others; to understand the meaning of a text or the skew it.






We read the Bible with biased eyes. We are not blank slates. This is why we need to gather together with other Christians who see things differently. We must accept that my own experiences and culture and history limits my perspective. I NEED your perspective to better understand the Bible - to see past my own biases.

What is good is what you studied if doesn't challenge you to change?

We don't study a nursing school textbook so we can be masters of the textbook. We study so that we can pass our class and, ultimately, help sick people become well.

Likewise, we don't study the Bible just to know the Bible better, but to know God better. Knowing God is not just knowing things about him, but understanding who he is and living in a way that honors him.

To do that, we need to take the results of our Bible study and put it to use.

When we are done investigating the text and exploring the contexts, we ask ourselves a vital question: So what?

As with all things, we can miss the point by misapplying the Word and do great damage to ourselves.

In particular, we have to be careful not to over-extend an application of a text by making it apply to something it was never meant to apply to. The application should be something the author of the text would agree is in harmony with his or her point in the text.

Always make the application of Scripture a matter of prayer. Thus, we begin and end every study of the Bible with prayer.

This is an invaluable resource that explains the background of much of the Bible.

Easy to read, this book has become the standard introductory book to help people get the most out of their Bible study.

This college textbook explores every nook of interpreting the Bible. This is for the more theologically minded members who are comfortable with words like "hermeneutical."