There are as many ways to study the Bible as there are translations. Please forgive me if I miss your favorite method. I do not consider myself an expert on Bible study or a theologian by any measure. I will try to compile a short list here that will supply a couple of different alternatives.
Regardless of what type of study you choose there is one law of study that remains true. Bible study must always begin with prayer. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the hidden treasures of the Bible. An open heart seeking after God will always receive a blessing no matter what method is used. The Bible is the living word of God. The God of the universe control every sun, planet and their courses. The Lord controls every atom. If God wants you to find a truth the Lord will find a way to present that truth to you. It is your decision to spend the time seeking the truth and your decision on what to do with that truth when it is found.
KJV Joel 2:28-32
28. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
Symbolic Word Study
This is a study approach that recognizees spiritual words within the Bible and uses the Bible to explain these terms. Spiritual words can often be found in scripture when the subject text does not agree with physical laws.
KJV Daniel 8:5
5. And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
As we know it is not physically possible for a goat to fly, we can determine that this goat is a spiritual symbol. We are only able to find the spiritual meaning of this goat by comparing Biblical scripture with scripture.
KJV Daniel 8:21
21. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
See Seven Steps to Doing Your Own Bible Studies, Word Studies, Parable of the Sower Explains how to Study the Bible and EZ Bible Study for detailed examples.
Reading the Bible
This is by far the oldest and simplest method of Bible study. The Bible may be read from cover to cover over any span of time or system. Bible study should not be completed on a tightly regulated schedule which resembles a strict diet. Otherwise the goal of reading through the Bible will generally fail like any aggressive diet. You need to be able to forgive yourself, take a break, fall behind and catch up if you wish. Do not fall behind in your reading schedule and attempt to catch up by flying through a few chapters. The key to studying the Bible through scheduled reading is not seen the first or second time through the Bible. The results are seen only after repeated readings. That is when you will begin to see comparisons between text that help to explain the Bible. As you gain experience reading the Bible you will begin to see more and more of the Bible explained by itself. As you continue to read your mind will be constantly going back over text that will help to reveal a deeper meaning to the text you are reading. You will develop the ability to see deeper into sermons that use Bible text as references. When the preacher states a text or two to reinforce a point your mind will be recalling another four text to drive home the point and make an impression on your heart and mind.
You may also read the Bible at random. Read through an entire book in a day or two. Open the Bible at random and read a few chapters at a sitting. Any method of reading gets these text off of the pages into your memory. You can also use any combination of a structured or random study.
Study Group
Joining a study group may be what some people need to motivate themselves. Often times a study group may meet for a set amount of time to study doctrine and that is it. This may seem good on the surface but this does not fit the term study. This is more like teaching. There is a difference. A Bible study must be entered into without a predetermined result being the goal of the study. Often times Bible studies are given with a predetermined result established before the study begins. How does this leave the door open for the Holy Spirit to come in and have a real influence on the subject of the participants?
A group study can use different methods to study as long as the study is not done to verify a point a originator wants to prove. Subjects should be chosen that the students are seeking answers for and not confirmation. The mind and heart need to be open to what the Spirit reveals.
Subject Study
Any subject can be studied in the Bible by simply searching the Bible by the use of a concordance or by using a search program on a computer. Once the text are gathered they can be reviewed, rearranged and studied. Some of these subjects may include the sanctuary, Bible characters, events, prophesy, salvation, law, sin, the flood or any other subject that interests you.
Following is a list of subjects you may consider for study.
Angel
Anoint
Ark
Baptism
Babylon
Blood
Bread
Christ
Commandments
Death
Devil
Forgiveness
God
Heaven
Lamb
Light
Lion
Love
Prophet
Prophesy
Resurrection
Chronological Study
There have been many chronological studies completed on the Bible. This type of study requires a great deal of organization, a solid back ground on history and an impeccable memory.
Reference Chain Study
Did you ever notice those little references in the middle or bottom of the page? These are verse references that tell you other text that are related to the same subject. You can go from reference to reference in a form of a study to see where it leads you.
What materials will you need to conduct Bible studies? Number one you will need a Bible. The only other book that you will need is a Concordance for the Bible translation you are using. A Concordance is a collection of every word in the Bible that lists every verse that the word is used in. The Concordance also contains Hebrew and Greek dictionaries where you can check on the original definition of a word. You can use the Concordance to look up a word that you do not understand in a verse. If the dictionary does not help you understand the meaning of the text you can look at other text that use that word and see if these other text help explain the meaning of text in question. This is a simple word study.
You may also want to use a Bible computer program to quickly look up, copy, collect, study and file text. Over the past 20 years I have compiled over 300 studies. That is nearly one study a month. Before the computer came along it used to take hours or days to compile a single study. With the use of a computer the time to do a study has been greatly reduced. Where text used to be copied by hand, text can now be quickly copied by a few strokes and clicks of a mouse. The program I use costs about $10 and has a special feature that allows me to highlight the text I want to copy, click on an icon at the bottom of the screen and not only the text, but the Book title, chapter and verse are placed at the top of the text. All that information is placed in a text document that can be opened, copied and placed in your word document program. Please contact me if you want more information about this product.
Your comments on other types of Bible Study are welcome.
