SBS is a 9-month Bible course. It's essentially a year of school. But unlike school, I'm actually studying something that I want to learn about! Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed college while I was there (and I may end up going back at some point), but I'm stoked to have this opportunity to study the entire Bible.
We are going through the Bible using the Inductive Method. In the simplest of terms, the Inductive Method consists of Observation, Interpretation, and Application.
- OBSERVATION. We observe what the text says. We let the text speak for itself and we don't try to manipulate what it actually means. We use observations and questions to help us simply understand what the text says in context.
- INTERPRETATION. We then use interpretation. In this step we aren't asking what the text means to us, we look at what the author meant to say to the original reader. We look for what the original reader would have understood from this text. This process makes us take a step back from our own world view, culture, and preconceived ideas to we can think about this from the perspective of the original reader.
- APPLICATION. The final step is application. Here is where we find and identify the timeless truths that are in the text and actually apply them to the world today. This step is important because after we find what the text meant to the original reader, we can see how it applies to the contemporary reader today. It also keeps us from just collecting information. We find what the truths are, and then we let it affect our lives.
For each of those three steps (Observation, Interpretation, and Application), there are lots of tools and stuff that we use to help us. But to use all those tools, we have to read through the Bible multiple times. By the end of SBS, I will have read through each book of the Bible at least 5 times. Here's what I mean.
First, we read through whatever book we're studying out loud (observation step). The divisions, paragraphs, paragraph titles, verse numbers, etc we see in the Bible weren't there when it was first written. We read the entire book, top to bottom, so we can actually understand where the author was coming from and how they wanted what they were writing to flow.
Next, we do what's called Paragraph Titles and Structure (observation step). This helps us see the structure of the book and see what the key points the author was trying to get across. We come up with our own name of each book, we name each division, section, segment, and paragraph. Here's what I did for my Paragraph Titles and Structure for Galatians. I'm still a beginner at this method, so don't critique me too hard. But this is what we'll do for every book:
Then we do what's called Color Coding. We look for specific observations in the text, and then we mark them so we can see patterns and specific observations easier when coming back to it. We look for observations that include but are definitely not limited to repeated words/ideas, who, events, geographical locations, when/time elements, contrasts, comparisons, figures of speech, illustrations, commands, progressions, themes, and LOTS more. Here's an example of 1 page of Ephesians that I've color coded:
After color coding, we find the Basic Required Information (BRI). This means we look for specific details about who wrote the book, who they wrote it to, when they wrote it, and more. We look for information in the Bible, and then we use Bible Dictionaries and stuff like that. This lets us see the history behind each book of the Bible.
We then do what's called the Inside Observations (yeah, we're still in step 1). This basically means typing out the observations I found when I color coded.
Then we do the Outside Observations, meaning we expand on the inside observations that we found.
After that, we interpret it (Step 2!) asking questions that aren't answered in the actual text. We try to determine what the book or passage meant when it was first written. Some of these questions could look like this:
- What did the author want to get across through this?
- What would that mean to the original reader?
- What resulting actions would this have produced in the original reader?
- Etc.
After that, we go to Step 3, Application. This is where we look for timeless truths: truths that remain true no matter what era or what culture you are in. Once we find the timeless truths, we write why that truth is significant to the contemporary reader today. Here's an example of one of those I did in Philemon:
It cut off at the bottom of the Significance to the Original Reader. Sorry. But that picture is what SBS'ers call a build. We do multiple builds for each book of the Bible. How many depends on how long that particular book is. But that's the process.
After we finish making builds for the entire book, we then move onto final application. I pick 1 timeless truth and then ask God what he's speaking to me through that truth, and then I actually do something with it. We are encouraged to look for final applications that we can actually do today. What is God telling us through this that we can act out today? We want to love and serve the people around us. The final application allows us to take what would just be head knowledge, and act it out.
If you read all of that, bravo! And thanks! It means a lot that you want to know everything that I'm up to. Sorry I haven't updated you sooner. As you can see, SBS is time consuming, and I'm constantly working on stuff. But I'll try to keep you updated. Have a great week ya'lls! Go bless somebody today. They'll appreciate it.
