Devotional
Join Pastor Jake as he talks about the six steps for reading the Bible well. Afterwards, feel free to look back to our first day and engage with the first chapter of Romans, applying these six steps as you do. We would love to hear from you, so if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
Step #1: Supplication
“Help, Lord”
Start your time with God’s Word in prayer, properly setting yourself before his throne and asking that He would provide the strength and ability to read His Word faithfully.
Step #2: Observation
“What do I see?”
Observation is where we simply point out the information in and around our text by asking questions like: Where is this book in the grand history of the bible? What is its genre? To whom is this written and why? or What is happening immediately before and after the passage I am reading?
Step #3: Interpretation
“What does it mean?”
Interpretation makes connections and conclusions with the information found in observation, and always obediently follows the connections and conclusions made by the text.
Step #4: Principlization
“What is the truth of the text?”
Principlization is where the reader determines what is prescriptive (or what is encouraging an idea, behavior, way of thinking, etc.), and what is descriptive (or what is giving information about an idea, behavior, way of thinking, etc.), while comparing his/her conclusions of the text with a reliable commentary or study Bible.
Step #5: Application
“What effect should this have on my life?”
Application is where we apply the eternal relevance gleaned from Scripture to our life circumstances and situations.
Step #6: Supplication
“Help, Lord”
We end as we began – in prayer, but this time we pray that what we have observed, interpreted, principlized and applied from God’s Word would transform the way that we live.
Romans 1 - Applying the Six Steps
Hermeneutics 101
For more information about the six steps of Bible reading, click here