What is Inductive Bible Study? Part 2

Inductive Bible study is a method for studying the Scriptures in which one comes to the Scriptures to see what they say and then forms an ideas about what they mean. Unlike some other methods of Bible study, in which one comes to the Scriptures with a preconceived idea in mind and looks for proof for that idea, our goal in inductive study is to come to God's Word and allow it to shape our hearts, minds, and actions. This requires us to have a very fitting attitude of humility when we approach the Scriptures and, ultimately, as we approach the Holy God Himself--we are not coming to find justification for what we think we already know, we are coming to be instructed by His Spirit in how He has revealed Himself and to learn what He requires of us.

This method has three parts:

1. Observation - Looking at the text to determine what is happening
2. Interpretation - Thinking about the text to determine what it means
3. Application - Thinking about the text to determine how it applies to my life

In yesterday's post, we made some observations about Mark: 3:1-6:

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.”  And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Today, we will look at how to interpret and apply this passage.

Interpretation

Interpretation is the art of figuring out what a passage means. While observation deals with the Who, What, When, Where, and How questions, interpretation deals with the Why questions. When interpreting, the first rule in inductive Bible study is "stick to what the text says." Look at what is happening in the passage you're trying to understand. Look at what has comes before that passage and at what comes after it. Based on what the text has told you, try to figure out what the people in the passage know how they might feel. Think about what you would do if you were in their situation. Do the people you're reading about do that? Why or why not?

For instance, with our Mark passage, if we look at a little bit broader context, we can see that Jesus had already had a number of encounters with the Pharisees, so he knew they had set themselves against Him. In fact, he had just had an encounter with them about the Sabbath in the preceding passage (Mark 2:23-28), so he knew that they would regard Him healing on the Sabbath as breaking. He knew that the Pharisees were a powerful sect and that they could be vindictive. He could see that they were watching Him to see what He would do. What would you do if you were in Jesus' situation? If it were me, I'd be looking for ways to smooth things over. I'd be looking for some common ground with the Pharisees that I could emphasize when I spoke, or I'd just keep silent, or maybe even not go to synagogue that week at all so that things could die down.

Jesus does none of those things. Instead, he brings the issue the Pharisees have to the forefront. He calls forward the man with the withered hand, and He doesn't just heal him, He calls the Pharisees out and then heals him. The Pharisees prided themselves on their legalistic keeping of the Sabbath to the point where they would put their (erroneous) interpretation of The Rules above doing good and showing kindness. Jesus knows this and He is calling them to repent.

When they refuse, Jesus is angry and "grieved at their hardness of heart." Jesus might be angry at them simply because of their behavior, but nobody grieves when someone they don't care about refuses to change. You grieve when your friend or your child is doing something self-destructive, and, no matter how many times you tell him to he has to stop, that he's ruining himself, he refuses to do it. That is Jesus' attitude here. From this, we can see that, although the Pharisees are enemies of Jesus, Jesus is not the enemy of the Pharisees; that He loves them all and longs for their repentance.

Jesus then goes on and heals the man with the withered hand. At this point, He knows the Pharisees will be angry and heals the man anyway. From this, we can see that He loves the man and does not fear the wrath of the Pharisees, or at least that His love outweighs any fear he might feel.

Finally, the Pharisees are so angry that when they leave they go and plot with the Herodians about how they can kill Jesus. The Herodians, as their name implies were the political party of King Herod. They were the political enemies of the Pharisees, but their hatred of Jesus was so great that they were willing to put aside their differences in to work together on getting rid of Him. What makes people that angry? I can only think of two things: threats to one's power and threats to one's worldview. Jesus is hitting the Pharisees on both of these points. His popularity with the masses undermines the foundation of the Pharisees' power, and His teaching says that their very ideas about how to be right with God are wrong.

Application

This is where the rubber meets the road, where we bring the truth of Scripture to bear on our lives, where we allow God to speak to us, through His Word, about what we say, what we do, and why we do it. We have had the Who, What, When, Where, How and Why questions. Application asks, "So what?"

When applying a passage of Scripture to our lives, we should look at our interpretation and ask questions like this:

• What are the people in this passage doing that is right?
• What are they doing that is wrong?
• What attitudes do they display that are pleasing or displeasing to God?
• Am I doing the right things?
• Am I doing the wrong things?
• What is the attitude of my heart?
• How do I need to change?
• What should I continue doing?
• What does this passage tell me about Who God is?
• Do I trust and rejoice in that aspect of His character?

For me, application is a mingling of soul-searching and prayer. As I look at the passage through the lens of this kind of question, I ask the Lord to open my heart. To reveal to me what He sees there, to correct what needs correction, and to encourage what needs encouragement.

In applying the Mark passage, I might pray something like this:

Father, I see that you value kindness and doing good over the appearance of righteousness. Is my heart more like your Son's or like the Pharisees'? Do I value my reputation more than I value true righteousness?

You were willing to confront the Pharisees where they were wrong. Please give me that kind of courage. I don't want to condemn or to be self-righteous, but I don't want to let those I know and love suffer the consequences of their sin either. Please give me wisdom about when and how to speak and when I should stay silent. Please fill my speech with Your love and your kindness (which leads to repentance).

Father, please open my eyes to see the needs of those around me. Where I can help, please give me the courage and wisdom to do so. Please help me to regard others as better than myself.

Father, I am not aware of any ways in which you are (currently) challenging my worldview or in which I am hardening my heart against you. Search me, O God, and know my heart. See if there be any hurtful way in me. Please reveal the wickedness in me and grant me a tender heart toward You.

In praying this, I am walking through my interpretation and looking back at the passage and asking the Lord the kind of questions discussed above. When asking Him a question, I try to pause for a while to listen to what He might be saying to me.

Inductive Bible study is a step-by-step process in which each step builds on the last. If I don't look at the text and see what it says, how could I know what it means? If I don't know what it means, how can I apply it in my life? However, what good is it to understand everything about what the Scriptures say if that understanding doesn't affect the way I live my life?