I’ve never been a reader. I hated it.

In grade school, my twin brother was always in the first reading group. I was lucky if I was in the second. While I did graduate from college, studying was always a struggle due in part to my undeveloped reading skills.

But I didn’t care, because I wanted to work with my hands.

When I was twenty-one, I accepted God’s offer of “salvation,” and, like so many others who had done so, continued to live as I saw fit. I had no concern for my destiny since I already had a ticket to Heaven. I’d heard this every time I went to church, that is, as often as it was convenient to do so.

It was as if I had a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card in my back pocket.

But a number of years ago, something inconvenient happened, or at least that’s the way I originally perceived it. I became hungry for God’s word, but I couldn’t seem to get full. A switch had been turned on in me and I wanted to read or hear about anything that anybody had to say about God, the Bible and Jesus Christ. I couldn’t understand why since I thought that I already knew everything I needed to know on these subjects.

My unexplained religious zeal led me to regular attendance in men’s congregational Bible studies and close fellowship with others sharing common interests. I was amazed to find that adult men actually got together and discussed what the Scriptures said—and enjoyed it. I learned many truths from others who had studied much longer than me.

But some of my questions remained unanswered.

I became increasingly bewildered that some passages of Scripture seemed quite significant in their contexts but were never examined to any detail, much less discussed. I also discovered that there were always doctrinal boundaries that were never to be crossed or challenged.

I wondered…if the integrity of sound doctrine was never tested, could it really be said to exist?

Was this a practical approach to understanding something so important? I instinctively knew that there was a more realistic method to apply to the study process, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

The concept seemed too simple the day a friend explained the inductive study process to me

First and foremost, eliminate (at least temporarily) any doctrinal biases or premises which are held in the mind. Another way of saying this is to employ Scriptural exegesis. That is to say, bring nothing INTO the interpretive process, only interpret based on what can be taken OUT FROM the text. Then do what should come naturally:

1. Make observations about who was writing to whom and when.
2. Notice where something’s written from, and for what reason.
3. Look for key phrases, contrasts and comparisons. [see: Common threads are common]

4. Note expressions of time and verb tenses. [Past, Present, Future, etc.]
5. Try to list any basic themes or lists present in the text.

Only then should any attempt be made to interpret the passage, always considering the context.

This process is not just a Biblical one. It’s an effective learning tool for anyone wanting to accurately understand text. It transforms the reader into a level of confidence and understanding that cannot be otherwise achieved.

The key to the inductive process is the presence of other committed members of the Body of Christ in weekly study meetings. I’ve come to understand passages of Scripture that used to make no sense to me at all, due in part to the effective participation of other men.

The story of God’s redemptive plan for men and women to share Christ’s inheritance in the His kingdom is very visible to me now. But if I want to inherit with Christ, I have to endure in His sufferings.

That’s something I learned through inductive study.

Words mean things.