I was blessed to have mentors in high school and college who taught me how to study the Bible. I was also a Bible major at a Christian college which included college level classes on dissecting Scripture. What I sometimes forget as a facilitator of an online Bible study is that not everyone has had those same opportunities. Sometimes friends ask me to share my methods and resources so it is my goal in this post to allow you a sneak peak into my quiet time as I pause to share the basic "steps" I generally follow when studying Scripture.
Now, there is no magic formula or one correct way to study Scripture. The habits I have developed over time for digging into the Word and trying to understand and apply it may look different from someone else who is similarly committed to personal Bible study, and that is okay. So I am not offering a formula for life-changing quiet times. As with any intimate relationship, there is no formula. What I am sharing are the methods and resources that I use to dig into Scripture which have helped me to better understand the Bible and therefore to better understand God and my role in His kingdom.
In general, I use a Bible study method referred to as SOAP.
- S- Scripture
- O- Observations
- A- Applications
- P- Prayer
Good Morning Girls has an excellent post on "How to SOAP Your Quiet Time" found here.
For the purpose of inviting you into my quiet time I am going to SOAP my theme verse for 2014, Hebrews 12:1-3, with a focus on the O portion in which we really dig into the biblical text.
S- Scripture
Read the verses in a couple of different translations.
Include at least one "more literal" translation such as NASB or KJV which are translated more closely to the original language text. I generally also read a more "readable" version like the NLT. By reading multiple versions you get a better feel for what the passage means. Different translations can help shed light on one another, particularly when the more literal translations have awkward wording. There are a variety of different websites you can use to compare translations if you don't have multiple Bibles, like biblestudytools.com.
Write out the verses.
I would suggest writing out one of the more literal translations because it will help later in the Bible study process when we go to look up specific words in the original language.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NASB)
"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
O- Observations
List initial observations and questions.
{You can come back and add to this list or answer questions on this list at any time throughout the study.}
- What does the text clearly say?
- What immediate questions jump out?
- lay aside encumbrances (distractions?) and sin
- some things aren't sin but still don't help us reach our goal
- the race requires endurance> must be long and hard
- race is "set before us" presumably by God, as opposed to chosen by us
- fix eyes on Jesus> what does that mean???
- Jesus is author and perfecter of faith (initiates and brings about faith?)
- Jesus is the ultimate example of endurance produced by keeping eyes on the goal
- If our race is anything like Jesus's, it will not be easy (pain & shame are included)
- Jesus endured for the joy set before him> what is that joy???
- Jesus endured for a greater goal> reminds me of John 12:27-28
- endurance/endure is repeated 3 times- must be important> reminds me of James 1:2-4
- the race will end eventually (Jesus is now sitting at the right hand of God)
- Jesus's endurance is an encouragement to believers having an exhausting race
- who are these witnesses? >Hebrews 11?
- what hostility by sinners did Jesus endure?> see Gospel accounts
Those aren't very formal observations (I hope Hutch, my college Bible professor, isn't reading this...), but they are the things that jumped out to me which I wrote down in my journal to help process what is being said in this passage.
Consider the Context
{first 3 questions are generally answered at the beginning of the book in your Bible}
- Who is the author? unknown
- Who is the audience? "Hebrews," Jewish Christians considering abandoning their faith and lapsing back into Judaism due to intense persecution at this time in church history
- What are the major themes of the book? Christ's supremacy and superiority "as revealer and mediator of God's grace"
- How does author/audience/theme shed light on the passage's meaning? The audience was undergoing persecution for their faith and could certainly relate with what Jesus endured. The author points to Jesus as an encouragement for them to stick with their faith for the joy set before them and not to give up because Jesus didn't give up.
- Read the entire section containing the verses for contextual clues.
- Read the sections that precede and follow to better understand how the verses fit within the message the author is trying to convey.
- Hebrews 11 describes heros of faith in the Old Testament, people who gained God's approval through their faith but did not (yet) receive the promises of their faith (Heb 11:13, 11:39).
- The Jewish audience would have been familiar with and inspired by these examples.
- This (Heb 11) is the "cloud of witnesses" that encourage us by their examples to run with endurance.
- See the example they set in Heb 11:13-16: people of faith are strangers and exiles on earth because they desire a heavenly home rather than an earthly one. Motivation to run with endurance = heavenly home with God! The audience would know what it is like to feel like an exile since they left the religion so closely related to their culture to follow Jesus.
- Hebrews 12:4-17 discusses a father's discipline that is unpleasant but yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Continues the theme that a life of faith isn't going to be easy, but it is worth it.
Look up original language definitions for key words.
A great free resource for doing this is biblestudytools.com.
- Look up your passage
- Choose either NASB or KJV
- Check the box "Strong's numbers" and words will turn blue
- Click on any blue word to see the word in the original language and it's possible meanings
- Write down portions of the possible meaning that shed light on your passage
- encumbrance = whatever is prominent, hence a burden
- sin = to err, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness & honor, to violate God's law
- run = to spend one's strength performing or attaining something, word occurs in Greek writings denoting to incur extreme peril, which it requires the exertion of all ones effort to overcome
- endurance = steadfastness, a patient enduring, sustaining, perseverance
- fixing our eyes = to turn eyes away from other things and toward something (singular focus!)
- author = one that takes the lead in any thing and thus affords an example, a predecessor, a pioneer
- perfecter = one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith
- faith = conviction of the truth of anything, belief with the predominate idea of trust
- endured = to remain (abide, not flee), to preserve
- despising = to disdain, think little/nothing of
- shame = disgrace, dishonor
- lose heart = exhaust the breath of life, enfeebled through exhaustion, to despond
Consult Commentaries
Again, biblestudytools.com offers access to several free public-domain commentaries. After you have entered your passage, scroll down below it and click "study tools" and there is a list of resources you can click on for further study.
- John Gill's Exposition of the Bible: Hinderances include worldly cares, riches & honors when immoderately pursued. The heart should not be set upon them or overly anxious about them.
- John Gill's Exposition of the Bible: "This race is 'set before' the saints, that is, by God; the way in which they are to run is marked out by Him in His Word, the troubles they shall meet within it are appointed for them by Him..."
- John Gill's Exposition of the Bible regarding "author and perfecter": all men by nature are without faith and it is not in their power to believe, it is a work of omnipotence and it is an operation of Christ by His Spirit, and the increase is from Him, He gives Himself and the blessings of His grace, to His people, to maintain and strengthen, He prays for it, and brings it to it's end in eternal life.
Answer the following questions:
{I stole these questions from Jennie Allen's project IF:Equip because I think answering them really captures the essence of why we study the Bible in the first place}
IF this is true...
THEN...
- What does it mean about God? He understands our struggle because He has endured much more than we ever will in the running of His race. He considers a relationship with us worth enduring the struggle. He wants us to desire a relationship with Him. He has set a course for us and given us an example to follow and motivate us. He initiates, supports, and brings our faith to it's proper end in salvation.
- What does it mean about me? I can be easily distracted and therefore I must be very intentional in running my race. There will be times I become exhausted and want to give up. A singular focus on my heavenly goal is the only thing that can produce in me the kind of endurance required to run the race set before me well.
- What does it mean about the world? The world is full of distractions to tempt us off course. The world is also full of other runners in need of encouragement and motivation. The world is our race course and we must have an important purpose here or God would not have us go through this exhausting experience.
The answers to those questions help me flow right into the next phase of SOAP.
A- Applications
- What are the timeless concepts?
- How should this affect my life?
- What questions do I need to honestly ask myself?
- Be encouraged by great examples of faith and endurance!
- What aspect/aspects of Jesus's ultimate example are most encouraging to you? Why?
- What biblical examples (see Heb 11) are most encouraging to you? Why?
- Who are some modern examples of faith? And how are they encouraging to you?
- Who are some personal examples of faith? And how are they encouraging to you?
- Seriously evaluate the encumbrances and sins that entangle you.
- What encumbrances/sins are the Spirit revealing to you and convicting you to work on?
- What practical ways can you train yourself to lay aside these things?
- Remember not only what Jesus did for you, but why He did it. The joy set before Him was eternal communion with us! Being with us is that important to Him, and is also what we fix our eyes on- the hope of life with God, both here and in eternity.
- Fix your eyes on Jesus!
- Honestly, what do I spend my days pursuing? The world or God?
- Endurance in this race requires a singular focus> turning away from everything else to focus solely on Him.
In my own journal I wrote my personal answers to these questions but I will spare you those details :)
P- Prayer
Prayer should be involved throughout the process of studying the Bible if our aim is not just to academically understand the Bible but to have it actually transform us. It is my habit to focus my heart towards God in prayer before even opening my Bible. I lay all my concerns on Him so I am free to focus on His Word, I commit myself to obedience in whatever way He reveals His will to me, and I ask Him to reveal Himself to me. Throughout my study I frequently pause to turn my heart towards God and ask, "what are you saying to me in this?" or "please reveal to me the proper understanding of this." Finally, after all reading, observation, and applications have been made, I finish my quiet time by praying specifically for what I have learned and how I hope to apply my understanding. This is a reminder that studying the Bible is more than an academic pursuit, but it is communication with God. As someone who has spent years academically studying and applying the Bible, often without the communication portion, the aspect of prayer as a part of Bible study is so precious and important to me now.
Father, You are the almighty God of the universe and yet you desire a relationship with me! How merciful, and kind, and good You are. It blows my mind that You consider me worth enduring the pain and the shame and the suffering. Your grace overwhelms me and yet I am still so easily distracted and so easily tripped up by sin. Thank you for bringing an awareness to me regarding areas of my life that have become distractions and strongholds of sin. I give those up to You and ask You for the strength to turn my eyes and my heart away from those things and toward Jesus, toward the hope of heaven and eternal communion with You. Thank You for Your Word and for inspiring me with the many examples of lives of faith, including Your Son. Thank You for the mentors and friends you have put in my life as examples of lives of faith, and as encouragers, and as fellow runners in this race You have set before us. As I run towards You Lord, may I be an encourager to other runners, may my life become an example for my children and others. Thank You for allowing me the joy of being a part of your plan in bringing your kingdom to earth!
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