HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

Welcome back to the Discipleship blog series. If you haven’t read the previous posts, you can find them here.

Last weeks post was about Spiritual Breathing. We breathe in when we interact with God in His word and we breathe out when we obey what we learn and share it with others. But how do we interact with God in His word? What does that look like?

Jesus said -- “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all I that I commanded…”
If every follower of Jesus is going to obey all that Jesus commanded, then they need to know what Jesus commands.

The Great Commandment and The Great Commission are a great summary of what God has to say to us, but if a follower is going to grow into the full measure of what God created them to be, then they need to know and obey even more.
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The SOAPS Bible Study is a method of interacting with God in His word with a view to obedience; or being doers of the word and not simply hearers.

SOAPS stands for

• Scripture
• Observation
• Application
• Prayer
• Sharing

It’s a simple way to learn and remember an effective Bible study method that any follower of Jesus can use. Let’s look at each section a little more.
When you read or listen to the Bible:
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• Scripture: Write out one or more verses from your reading that are particularly meaningful to you, today.
• Observation: Rewrite those verses or key points from those scriptures in your own words to help you better understand the meaning.
• Application: Think about what it means to obey these commands or concepts in your own life. What would you have to do? What would you have to do differently? Write these down.
• Prayer: Write out a prayer that tells God what you’ve read in His word and what you understand about obeying His commands and putting what you’ve learned to work.

• Sharing: Ask God who He wants you to share with about what you’ve learned and how you’re applying it.

So let’s put SOAPS to work:

• Scripture - The Bible says -- “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
  
  
• Observation - As a human, I’m limited in what I know and what I know how to do. God is not limited in any way. He sees and knows everything. He can do anything.
  
  
• Application - Since God knows everything and His ways are best, I’ll have much more success in life if I follow Him instead of relying on my way of doing things.
  
  
• Prayer - Lord, I don’t know how to live a good life that pleases you and helps others. My ways lead to mistakes. My thoughts lead to hurt. Please teach me Your ways and Your thoughts, instead. Let Your Holy Spirit guide me as I follow You.
  
  
• Sharing - I will share these verses and this application with my friend, Steve, who is going through a difficult time and needs direction for important decisions he’s facing.
  
  

SOAPS Bible Study. One of the simple tools to help you make disciples who make disciples.

Try the SOAPS Bible Study and post it to social media with the hashtag #soapsbiblestudy