How easy is the EASY Bible Study Method?
Let’s start this Quest!
Kia Ora, whanau!
Today we are looking at the EASY Bible study method from Ashley over at Coffee and Bible Time.
Now, this is a great Bible Study Method for those just starting out
in reading and studying their Bible.
Now, this study assumes you’ve already got a passage to study,
so we’ll start ours with Romans 8:5-8:
For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires;
but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is
life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law,
nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
So, the first step is E
Enter into the original context.
By using either Biblical commentaries or encyclopaedias, or study Bibles can
help you get this extra context to the passage you are reading.
The book of Romans was written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome.
Now, Paul's letter presents a complete and detailed statement
of the message of Salvation to those in a far off country.
He's also sending this letter to a church that is comprised of both Jews and gentiles.
Paul addresses the internal tension between groups in his writing,
obliterating the human boundaries of race and culture, and instead pointing out the
true differences of life in being a life with God and a life without God.
Our passage picks up here.
A is Access the main idea or theme of the passage.
This could be looking for repeating words or
phrases or themes that are common throughout what you have just read.
Some repetitions that I noticed were:
Living according to the flesh or living according to the spirit
Focusing on what the flesh desires vs what the spirit desires
Or being governed by the flesh or governed by the spirit
Now, if I take all of these statements that we found in the passage and set them on two
sides of a coin, we can see the results of living with God, and the results of living without God.
Living by the Flesh is driven by worldly desires, leading to self-indulgence,
hostility and rebellion towards God, and eventually (eternal) death.
Living by the Spirit is driven by heavenly desires,
leading to self-sacrifice, love and submission to God, (eternal) life and peace.
I won’t delve into it this video, but this is a great place to start looking
at Bible dictionaries and lexicons at the meanings of these original words.
They’re not always what you'd think they are!
S is for Seek God and His Character
See how the themes inform us through this passage about God or Christ and His character.
Some of the things that I noticed were that God desires that we live truly an abundant life,
and remain at peace rather than in an eternal internal war.
God is also the unchanging eternal force,
either we align ourselves with Him or we align ourselves against Him.
We cannot walk both fleshly and spiritually simultaneously.
Y is for Yearn
Yearn for a heart change and a deepening intimacy with Jesus.
This final step of the study is taking the time to pray to God, talking to Jesus
about what you’ve read, voicing things you find challenging, asking for His help and guidance.
Regardless what you want to say or ask,
it’s important to take time to connect with God during and after your study.
A big thank's to Ashley and crew over at Coffee and Bible Time, this is a great
method and I’ll link both their original video and downloadable PDF in the description below.
and I’ll see you in the next quest.