All The Questions You Need To Ask When Doing Inductive

When I first started doing inductive Bible studies there was a lot of information to digest and process. I need a way to go through the process one step at a time without feeling overwhelmed. So, I created a list of questions to help guide me.

There are lots of questions to ask when doing an inductive Bible study of a passage. These questions may relate to choosing a passage, making observations, interpreting the text, and making application points. Though there are lots of questions, they are helpful in a deep study of the Bible.

Hopefully, these questions will help you walk through the inductive Bible study method and not get overwhelmed like they did for me. There’s only one way to find out.

What is Inductive Bible Study?

Before we get started on the list of questions. I want to give you a quick overview of the inductive Bible study method in case you are unfamiliar with it. The inductive Bible study method is a method of studying the Bible that finds the original meaning in a passage and brings it into everyday life.

There are three main questions Inductive BIble Study seeks to answer. They are,

What does the text say?

What does the text mean?
How does the meaning apply to my life?

This is a very simplistic overview of the Inductive Bible study method. If you would like a a more in-depth understanding, then check out my Complete and Easy Inductive Bible Study article. You’ll walk through answering each of these questions step by step, and there is even free worksheets to help you.

The question that we will spend the most time answering is “What does the text say?” To do that we will look at the historical, cultural, and literary contexts of a passage of Scripture. But, let’s start by choosing a passage of Scripture.

Questions for Choosing a Scripture

If you are having trouble choosing a passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to ask yourself a few questions first. Is there a verse that you want to study, know more about, or are interested in? Choosing something you are interested in will help make the Inductive Bible study Process more fun.

So, here are some questions that will help you choose a Scripture and translation to use in your Inductive Bible Study:

Is there a verse or passage I’m interested in or want to know more about?
What is my favorite Bible translation?
What other translations do I want to read this passage in?

What is the same in these translations?
What is different in these translations?
Which of these translations do I like better? Why?

After you answer these questions it is time to pick a specific verse or two that you want to look at and make some observations.

Questions for Observation

There are a ton of questions that we can ask to help us make observations of a passage. The more questions we ask, the more we can observe, the more we can learn from a passage. So, without further ado, here is a list of questions to ask when making observations:

Do I see any repeated words?

Any transition words?
Any figures of speech?
Any cause or effect statements?

Any “If…Then” statments?
Are there any lists?
Comparisons?

Contrasts?
Other related words, phrases, or ideas?

Questions to Ask About Historical and Cultural Context

Who wrote this?
What is his background or ministry?
When did he write?

Why did he write?
Who is the audience?
What is the audience’s relationship to God?

What is the audience’s relationship to each other or those around them?
What situation is the audience in?
What was happening at the time this was being written? When did it happen?

Where was this going on geographically?

Questions to Ask About Literary Context

What genre is this passage of Scripture?

What words are unfamiliar or important that I want to look up?

All of these questions will help you make key observations of the text. It can take a while to answer these questions, and it’s something you don’t want to rush. Why? Because the more time you take making observations, the easier the next set of questions will be.

Do you know what else makes making observations easier? Marking in your Bible. If you are hesitant about that, then this article explains why marking in your Bible is okay, and what to mark. And this article will show you some common symbols that will help make finding observations easier.

Questions for Discovering the Meaning

Now, that you’ve made some key observations, these next set of questions will help you discover the original meaning the author intended when writing the audience. These questions are:

What does this say about who God is?
What does this say about who we are?

What does this say about God’s desire for people?
What does this say about the world we live in?
What is the overarching theological principle found in this passage?

What does the rest of the Bible have to say about this theological principle?

These questions will help you discover the meaning of the text. Remember, that the meaning needs to be broad enough that it is for every one, every where, all the time. It needs to be relevant to the original audience back then and to people today.

Questions for Application

Honestly, this is where I struggle with most when it comes to doing and inductive Bible study. But I have found these questions very helpful in creating application points in my life.

Is there an example to follow?
Is there a promise to claim?
Is there an attitude I need to change?

Is there a prayer that I can pray?
Is there a truth that I need to believe?
Is there something I can thank God for?

Is there a command I need to be obeying?
Is there an example I can follow?

These questions will help you bring the meaning into your life. It’s helpful if you set goals that will encourage spiritual growth and life transformation.

So, this every single question I ask when I do an inductive Bible study. These questions have helped take the fear and stress out of studying God’s word.