About 8 years ago, I read Bible Study That Works while doing an inductive Bible study of the book of Colossians. The simple Bible Study skills that I picked up have greatly enhanced my relationship with Scripture.
I’d say the most valuable thing I learned was the idea of reading Scripture as God might read Scripture. So, considering all that God reveals throughout Scripture, we are wise to make the following preferences when interpreting any portion of Scripture.
Prefer:
God’s story over man’s story
(Colossians 1:16, Phil. 2: 9 – 11)
the whole over the part
(Matthew 23:23, 2 Timothy 3: 16)
the personal over the mechanical
(Isaiah 29: 13 -14)
liberty over legalism
(1 Corinthians 6:12, Galations 5:1)
obedience over independence
(1 John 2: 3 – 6)
faith over works
(Ephesians 2: 8 – 9)
love over all else
(1 Corinthians 13)
