Easiest Bible Study Method, Plus Some Alternatives

There are a lot of Bible study methods out there. And if you are new to Bible study, then it can all get confusing very fast. Oftentimes, it’s best to start small and work your way up. That’s why I created the easiest Bible study method. It’s adaptable and versatile no matter where you are in your walk with God.

Overall, the easiest Bible study method is the RBE Bible Study Method. RBE stands for Read, Background/Believe, and Experience. This method is one that will keep you in God’s word, require little to no outside resources, and is applicable to where you are in your faith journey.

Curious how this method works? Well then, let’s find out just how versatile the RBE Bible study Method really is.

The Easiest Bible Study Method

What Makes a Bible Study Method Easy?

Before we dive into how the RBE Bible study method works, let’s look at what makes a Bible study method easy in the first place. Lot’s of things factor into what may or may not make a Bible study easy. For example,

• Level of Biblical knowledge
• Access to Bible study resources
• Time commitment
• Etc.

An easy Bible study method ought to take all of these factors into consideration and not allow them to be a hindrance to good Bible study. It also ought to be able to adapt to different levels of these factors and grow with you as you grow spiritually.

There are some great Bible study methods out there that do that now, but some of them take a lot of time or require a lot of resources. So, I wanted to develop a Bible study method that is highly flexible and adaptable to any situation. Thus, I created the RBE Bible study method.

The RBE Bible Study Method

The RBE Bible study method is designed to be flexible and adaptable to where you are at in your walk with God and grow with you. Whether you are a new Christian or mature Christian, this Bible study method works for you.

You can use this Bible study method with no outside Bible study resources or with lots of Bible study resources. And it can be done in as little as 10 minutes or as long as you want. Overall, it’s designed to fit your personality and lifestyle. So, let’s dive into how the RBE Bible study method works. RBE stands for,

• Read. Read. Read.
• Background and Believe
• Experience

That’s it. These three simple steps will help you experience the Bible in a way that you encounter God, no matter where you are in your relationship with Him. And you can use Real Bible Experience to remember the acronym.

Step One: Read. Read. Read.

The first step of the RBE Bible Study Method is to read, read, read. Once you’ve selected a passage of Scripture to study, whether its a few verses or an entire chapter, you will want to read it multiple times. The RBE Bible study method encourages you to read it at least three times.

The first time you read it, you’ll read it normally. That is, just like you would read anything else.

The second time you read, you’ll want to look for repeated words or even key words as you read.

The third time you read, you’ll want to make an outline of the chapter or the flow of thought of the Bible passage.

Here’s why the RBE Bible method encourages you to read the passage multiple times. The more you read it the more familiar you become with it. Every time you read the passage you can get more out of it, you’ll see more connections, and give the Holy Spirit more opportunity to speak to you through God’s word.

Like I said, this Bible study method is very flexible. So, you can read it many more times if you want. The first time I did it, I read through it three times at the start. Then I found myself reading through it again at later steps.

Now, that we’ve covered the first step, let’s move on to the second step.

Step Two: Background and Believe

The second step of the RBE Bible study method is Background and Believe. There are two parts to this step learning basic background information, and discovering a belief to hold.

Background

The first part of this second step is to learn basic background information. In Bible study, context is king. It is context that helps the most when it comes to learning what a passage means. So, take in this step you’ll take some time to learn the background of the passage you are studying.

This doesn’t have to be difficult. Remember, the RBE Method is adaptable and flexible. So, this could be as simple as reading the Book introduction in your study Bible, or simply reading the surrounding context and googling any questions you may have.

That said, I want to urge caution when using Google to look up background information for passages. There are many places that are good and helpful, but many more are not helpful or offer wrong information. So, please use highly reputable, Biblically sound places. Some great places to go include,

• Overview Bible–Nice selection of easy to read and understand book summaries and overviews.
• Blue Letter Bible–Book Introductions from well known study Bible’s or Christian scholars.
• Bible Project–Nice overview videos of each book of the Bible. Great for visual learners.
• Got Questions–Perfect place to go for more in-depth questions. Also has book summaries and a nice search feature.

That said, if you have lots of Bible study resources at your disposal, then feel free to use them. Dig into the background context as much or as little as you like.

Overall, the best place to discover the Background context of the passage you are studying is the Bible itself. Read or skim the passages before and after the one you are studying. Ask yourself, what’s going on? Who wrote it? Why? Etc.

Believe

The second part of this second step is: Believe. Here we ask ourselves, “What do we come to believe based on this passage?” This can be about ourselves, sin, the world, God, it doesn’t matter. What do we come to believe, what do we learn from this passage? That’s the question.

But here’s the thing. Don’t think that this has to be some profound insight. Or even something new to you. It doesn’t have to be profound.

Personally, in life and in Bible study, I’ve found that it is the simple truths that we most often need to be reminded of. Why? Because it’s the simple truths that we most often forget in practice. We may know them to be true in our mind, but we don’t always believe or live like they are true.

Some examples may include: Sin has consequences, God is faithful, God always keeps His promises, The gospel changes us, etc.

We can discover what we come to believe by asking ourselves, “How does this change how I view things?” Ususally, that is what we come to believe when reading the passage.

Now that we’ve finished step two, let’s move on to step three.

Step Three: Experience

The third and last step in the RBE Bible study Method is experience. Here we take what we’ve come to believe and apply it to our lives. We learn to experience it in our daily lives, day in and day out. This can take many different practical forms including,

• Prayer and reflection
• Journaling
• Worship
• Acts of Service
• etc.

The point of this step is to take our Bible study further than just time with God, and into our everyday life. We learn bit by bit to live Biblically. So, how does the belief we discovered earlier change the way you live? How does it change your experience of God? Your circumstances?

Let’s look at an example of the RBE Bible study method to get a better idea of how it works.

An Example of the RBE Bible Study Method

So, now that we’ve covered how the RBE Bible study method works, let’s look at an example to see it in practice. The first time I used the RBE Bible study method, it took eight minutes total. So, let’s see how that went.

Step One: Read. Read. Read.

The passage I decided to study for this example was Psalm 15. Which you can read with me here,

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
    Who may live on your holy mountain?

The one whose walk is blameless,
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;
whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
who despises a vile person
    but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
 who lends money to the poor without interest;
    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.

Psalm 15, NIV

The first read through was pretty simple. I just read it.

The second read through I was looking for repeated or key words. I noticed the repetition of “who ___”. There was a lot of “doing” verbs. The key words that stood out to me were “walk is blameless” and “honor those who fear the Lord.” What about you? What did you notice?

The third reading I kind of followed the structure of the Psalm.

• The first part asked a question, “Who may dwell in your tent?”
• The second part answered the question, “The one whose walk is blameless…speaks the truth from their heart.”
• The third part further describes the answer to the questions.
• The last part is the conclusion and result, “Whoever does these things will never be shaken.”

Step Two: Background and Believe

Background: The preface to this Psalm said that it was a “Psalm of David.” So, I went to the book introduction to see what it said about David. The Bible says that David was a king of Israel.

If you are familiar with his story, then you’ll know he killed a giant, was chased around by the previous king, and got caught in adultery. You’ll also know the Bible describes David as a man after God’s own heart.

In short, David is a lot like most Christians today. A person who loves God, desires to be close to God, and still struggles with sin.

I also took a brief moment to discover what this sacred tent and holy mountain were. They were references to the Tabernacle and Temple. The place where God resided among His people. With all this in mind, I moved on to the Believe part of the second step.

Believe: Remember, here we ask ourselves, “What do we come to believe, based upon this passage?” Here was my answer. If we follow God, then He will help us walk blamelessly and we will have sure footing knowing that we can and will and do live with Him.

Step Three: Experience

So, how does knowing that change the way we live. For me, right now, that looks like surrendering to what God has called me to do in life. Trusting him, no matter how scary it feels. Why? Because He is there to help me and help me do it right.

It also gives me the confidence to look for opportunities to do good and help others. Opportunities to be a doer of the word and not a hearer only (James 1:22).

Then I took a couple of minutes and prayed. Asking God to help me do what is right, no matter the circumstances I’m in, because some of the circumstances described in Psalm 15 didn’t sound particularly fun to experience.

I also thanked him for Jesus and acknowledged that it’s through Jesus that we are able to walk blamelessly. I asked for help in growing closer to Him, following Him, fearing Him, that I may live more like Him and be in a deeper relationship with Him.

Listen, just because the RBE Bible study method works for some, doesn’t mean it is ideal for everyone. So, here are some other Bible study methods to consider, when looking for a Bible study method.

The Most Practical Bible Study Method

Perhaps, the most practical Bible study method is the SOAP Bible study method. Like the RBE Bible study method, the SOAP method is easy to use and requires little to no resources. SOAP stands for,

• Scripture: Choose a passage/verse of Scripture to study.
• Observation: Make key observations about what it says.
• Application: Apply what the verse says to your specific circumstances.
• Prayer: Pray and thank God for what you’ve learned.

That’s it. That’s the SOAP Bible Study Method. You can see how easy it is to adapt to fit into your lifestyle. You can choose one or two verses or a whole chapter. You can make observations however you like, and apply it to your specific situations in life.

For a detailed walkthrough of the SOAP Bible study method, check out this article. It will walk you through each step with an example, showing you exactly how to do the SOAP Bible study method.

If you want to dive even deeper into the SOAP Bible study method, then this is the article for you. It offers even more examples, shows the benefits of SOAP Bible study and explains why SOAP may not be ideal for everyone.

If you feel neither of these Bible study methods are ideal for you, then you can check out these great alternatives to SOAP Bible study, or keep reading to discover the most in-depth and most devotional Bible study methods.

The Most In Depth Bible Study Method

The most in depth Bible study method is the Inductive Bible study Method. The inductive Bible study method is a method that seeks to understand the Bible in its original context, find meaning, and carry that meaning into every day life today. The Inductive Bible Study method answers three big questions:

1. What does the text say?

2. What does the text mean?

3. How do I apply what I’ve learned?

In order to answer these questions the inductive Bible study method takes an in-depth look at a particular passage of Scripture. Thus, you spend time looking at different versions, making observations, and exploring the history, culture, and literary structure of a passage.

Doing this well takes time and requires a little bit of research on your part. Thus, the Inductive Bible study method is more time consuming than other methods and is a more academic approach to Bible study.

Does this academic approach appeal to you? Then check out this article that will walk you through the inductive Bible study method, step by step, showing you exactly how to do it. There are even free worksheets at the end that you can use anytime you like.

The Most Devotional Bible Study Method

The most devotional Bible study method is called Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is an ancient method of studying the Bible that seeks to bring you closer to God by a prayerful reading of Scriptures. There are four steps to Lectio Divina:

• · Lectio (Read)
• · Meditatio (Meditate)
• · Oratio (Speak/Pray)
• · Contemplatio (Rest)

Though this method was originally developed by Catholic monks, it is not just for them. Lectio Divina can be used by anyone who longs for a personal, unique, and intimate time with the Lord.

This more meditative approach to studying Scripture is perfect for quiet times or morning/evening devotionals. And can be a supplement to more in-depth studies.

Interested in this more meditative approach to studying the Bible? Then check out this article that explains how to do Lectio Divina step by step.