Breaking the Fast Food Bible Study Habit

[00:00:00] And I would encourage you, be equally curious about the Bible. What's going on? Ask it questions. Ask who, what, where, when, why, how.

[00:00:13] And by the way, I actually find for me personally, in a way this gets harder the longer you've been teaching the Bible.

[00:00:19] So if anyone's new and you feel intimidated, oh, I don't know as much as so-and-so, honestly, you actually have advantages, believe me.

[00:00:25] Because part of the problem with knowing the Bible really well and teaching it a million times, you begin to assume people know what you know.

[00:00:33] But if you're going to preach the word to people who don't know the word, that's exactly what you can't be doing.

[00:00:39] So ironically, if you're new to teaching the Bible, if you're new, you know, that actually could be an advantage for you.

[00:00:46] Hey, welcome to the Expositors Collective Podcast, episode 356.

[00:00:51] I'm your host, Mike Neglia, and the voice that you heard is our guest.

[00:00:57] This is Mike Chaddick, talking to us about the inductive Bible study method.

[00:01:03] Well, it should be said that Expositors Collective, we're actually so much more than a podcast.

[00:01:10] We are an equipping ministry that travels around over the past six years,

[00:01:17] and we've been honored to travel and to put on preacher training events across the U.S. and Europe,

[00:01:25] and recently in the continent of Africa.

[00:01:28] Today's episode was recorded back in October 23 in Indianapolis, Indiana,

[00:01:35] during an event that we put on there.

[00:01:38] Over the next couple of weeks, you're going to be hearing more of the main sessions

[00:01:44] from our time together in the Hoosier State.

[00:01:47] So you'll hear more coming up.

[00:01:50] But as I mentioned, this episode, we're joined by Pastor Mike Chaddick

[00:01:55] of Image Church in San Juan Capistrano, California.

[00:02:01] Mike draws from his extensive ministry experience and theological training

[00:02:07] to challenge the fast food approach to sermon prep and delivery

[00:02:13] in favor of like the far more nutrient-dense and nourishing method

[00:02:20] of the inductive Bible study method.

[00:02:22] He talks through the steps of observation, interpretation, and application.

[00:02:27] Some of you may have heard of those terms and steps before.

[00:02:32] This could be an introduction for others,

[00:02:34] but it's something that is worth paying attention to.

[00:02:37] And internalizing in your preparation process.

[00:02:41] Towards the middle, he talks about the concentric circles of interpretation

[00:02:46] that I loved.

[00:02:49] And hopefully you'll be taking notes

[00:02:52] as he speaks about those concentric circles of interpretation.

[00:02:57] All right, let's dive in.

[00:03:08] A number of you probably work multiple jobs, am I right?

[00:03:11] I know myself, married, six kids.

[00:03:15] I'm in school again.

[00:03:17] And I'm bivocational.

[00:03:19] I'm actually a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach

[00:03:22] with the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

[00:03:25] And when I first take on a client,

[00:03:27] and my favorite clients to work with are out-of-shape middle-aged men.

[00:03:31] And you might ask, yeah, there we go, there we go.

[00:03:33] And you might ask why?

[00:03:35] Because I was an out-of-shape middle-aged man.

[00:03:37] So I readily identify with them.

[00:03:39] And you might think the first thing I say when I begin with a client is,

[00:03:44] here's the dumbbell, start working out, do this and that.

[00:03:47] Actually, no.

[00:03:48] One of the first things I do is try to help them understand

[00:03:51] how they got where they are.

[00:03:54] Because if you don't understand how it happened,

[00:03:57] you can't change how you think,

[00:03:59] how you look at the world, at food, your body, and health.

[00:04:03] So one of the first things I say to them is,

[00:04:06] we live in a fast food culture.

[00:04:09] And what that means is,

[00:04:12] much, perhaps most, of the food available to modern Americans today

[00:04:16] is calorically dense, but nutritionally deficient.

[00:04:22] Put another way, it is very tasty and very bad.

[00:04:27] Which conversely, there's an opposite effect, isn't there?

[00:04:31] That conversely means healthy food tastes bad to people.

[00:04:38] Healthy food begins to taste bad.

[00:04:41] I want to begin my inductive Bible study session this afternoon

[00:04:45] by suggesting that we, you and I, in America today,

[00:04:49] are likewise living in an increasingly fast food sermon Bible study culture.

[00:04:56] Which means most people in America have been trained to expect

[00:05:00] immediately gratifying sermons,

[00:05:03] often to the neglect of true spiritual nourishment.

[00:05:08] And while we do want the spiritual meals

[00:05:13] we are preparing for our small groups and our churches

[00:05:15] to be as desirable to the palate as possible,

[00:05:18] so it's not holy to make terrible, bland-tasting sermons, right?

[00:05:23] We want it to be palatable, and part of the training you'll receive

[00:05:26] will help you to do that.

[00:05:28] But my chief concern here, in the next 15 minutes or so,

[00:05:32] is to help you better prepare nutritious, spiritual meals

[00:05:37] to feed to your small groups and congregations.

[00:05:42] Now, we're going to do this in three steps.

[00:05:44] These are standard fare.

[00:05:46] I didn't invent them.

[00:05:47] What I have to offer is simply some subcategories

[00:05:52] that might be unique.

[00:05:54] They might be new to you.

[00:05:56] Some of them, maybe simply the order,

[00:05:58] the arrangement of it might be different.

[00:05:59] And so I want you to pay attention.

[00:06:01] Here's the three steps.

[00:06:03] I'll just state them up front.

[00:06:04] For your notes, you'll want to leave some space under these steps

[00:06:07] and kind of jot down whatever comes to you.

[00:06:10] And again, no pressure.

[00:06:11] Nobody feel bad if you're busy.

[00:06:12] And you're like, oh my gosh,

[00:06:13] Bible studies way more time than I have.

[00:06:15] Or please, this is depressing.

[00:06:17] Again, this is simply kind of,

[00:06:18] even if you're not a Top Gun fan,

[00:06:20] this is the maverick flyby, right?

[00:06:21] Like I'm just buzzing the tower.

[00:06:23] Jot down what stands out to you.

[00:06:25] So here's what we're going to do.

[00:06:27] Three steps.

[00:06:28] Number one, observation,

[00:06:30] which means what does the text say?

[00:06:35] Number two, interpretation.

[00:06:38] What does the text mean?

[00:06:40] And number three, application.

[00:06:44] How should we respond to the text?

[00:06:48] So number one, observation.

[00:06:50] What does the text say?

[00:06:52] I like to begin with language and grammar.

[00:06:56] That should seem fairly straightforward,

[00:06:59] but remarkably, it isn't.

[00:07:00] And in case you think I'm immediately talking about

[00:07:03] original languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek,

[00:07:05] not necessarily.

[00:07:07] If you have facility in the original languages,

[00:07:09] that's wonderful.

[00:07:11] But I'm even speaking to a English-only speaking audience.

[00:07:16] One of the ways you can kind of get at

[00:07:18] the background of the original

[00:07:20] is to utilize multiple translations

[00:07:23] in your preparation.

[00:07:25] Now, probably most of you have kind of

[00:07:26] a standard translation that you preach from,

[00:07:28] but I know we think about the context we live in.

[00:07:31] Pretty much, I mean, I guess it might be different

[00:07:32] in the Midwest, I don't know.

[00:07:34] But out in Southern California,

[00:07:36] when you come to a small group Bible study,

[00:07:37] if we sit around with 10 men and we say,

[00:07:40] hey, read John chapter three,

[00:07:42] I'm gonna get like NLT, message, NIV, ESV,

[00:07:47] NKJV, KJV only.

[00:07:48] You know, it's like we'll go around, right?

[00:07:51] And everybody, so it's kind of like,

[00:07:53] we're gonna have to kind of get at

[00:07:55] the meaning behind all of these

[00:07:57] in order for people to understand

[00:07:59] it's the one God speaking through the one text.

[00:08:03] Now, I went to an Assemblies of God

[00:08:05] undergraduate school, really fun.

[00:08:07] They were actually scholarly,

[00:08:09] but with a charismatic Pentecostal vein.

[00:08:12] And one of the things our sermon preparation course did

[00:08:16] was taught us to use at least,

[00:08:19] I know this sounds a little laborious,

[00:08:21] at least 10 different English translations

[00:08:23] in your preparation, at least 10.

[00:08:24] It was just a rule.

[00:08:25] You can make it three, you can make it five,

[00:08:28] you can do 15 if you wanna be an overachiever.

[00:08:30] But here was the goal.

[00:08:32] Read the text that you're gonna be teaching on

[00:08:34] in those 10 translations

[00:08:37] and note any significant differences.

[00:08:41] Note any, if there's anything,

[00:08:42] you don't, you know what I mean?

[00:08:43] If there's anything where it's not just worded differently,

[00:08:46] it's saying something different.

[00:08:48] Those are two different things.

[00:08:49] If you notice, hey, wait a minute,

[00:08:52] this could actually, like,

[00:08:53] you might live differently

[00:08:54] if this translation's right and that one's not.

[00:08:56] You might believe something differently

[00:08:58] if this translation's right or this one's not.

[00:09:00] And you'll wanna note those

[00:09:01] and make sure you go to text critical commentaries

[00:09:05] that are gonna give you insight

[00:09:07] what is going on there.

[00:09:09] Why is that the case?

[00:09:11] So I like to begin with language and grammar.

[00:09:15] And again, let me emphasize this

[00:09:17] because if you're a good preacher,

[00:09:19] you've probably been taught,

[00:09:20] don't ever bring up Hebrew and Greek

[00:09:21] and you alienate people.

[00:09:23] That's probably true.

[00:09:24] So here's why I'm saying this.

[00:09:26] I'm saying this so that you don't say in English

[00:09:29] what is not supported by the original.

[00:09:32] Has nothing to do with making yourself sound smart

[00:09:35] using Greek and Hebrew.

[00:09:36] No, quite the opposite.

[00:09:37] You're making sure you're getting back to the original

[00:09:40] in order you don't make a claim

[00:09:42] that the original doesn't support, right?

[00:09:46] Because ultimately, where is the authority?

[00:09:48] It's in God.

[00:09:50] And it's in God's voice, not our own.

[00:09:52] So we wanna get back to that voice as much as we can.

[00:09:55] Language, grammar.

[00:09:56] Secondly, genre.

[00:09:58] It's important.

[00:09:59] You could go to history and culture next.

[00:10:01] I tend to prefer a genre

[00:10:03] because what I actually don't have in front of me

[00:10:05] is the history and cultural background.

[00:10:07] I have the language of the text.

[00:10:09] That's literally what I have.

[00:10:10] It's the remnant of the past in front of me

[00:10:13] that God has inspired.

[00:10:14] And so I wanna look at the genre.

[00:10:17] So the standard genres,

[00:10:19] and I'm sure you're all familiar,

[00:10:21] and even if you're not,

[00:10:21] there's law, history, wisdom, poetry,

[00:10:26] narrative, epistles, prophecy,

[00:10:29] and apocalyptic literature.

[00:10:31] And it makes a difference what it is.

[00:10:34] It can make a tremendous difference.

[00:10:36] I know, I probably can't count how many parents,

[00:10:39] Christian parents, loving their kids,

[00:10:42] praying for their kids,

[00:10:44] teaching them the Bible,

[00:10:45] putting them in Christian school,

[00:10:46] taking their devices away from them at night

[00:10:48] so they can't look at bad stuff.

[00:10:50] And then they think that

[00:10:52] because someone told them

[00:10:53] a proverb is the same thing as a prophecy,

[00:10:56] if you raise your children, right?

[00:10:59] If you train up your child

[00:11:00] in the way you should go when they're old,

[00:11:01] oh, it's a prophecy.

[00:11:04] It's a prophecy.

[00:11:05] If I just do everything right,

[00:11:07] God will force them to be saved.

[00:11:11] But wait a minute.

[00:11:12] If I pay attention to genre,

[00:11:13] what do I say about that claim?

[00:11:16] Is it a prophecy or a proverb?

[00:11:19] It is a wisdom text.

[00:11:20] It's not a promise.

[00:11:21] What it's saying is,

[00:11:22] this is how a wise parent would live.

[00:11:26] Train a child in this way.

[00:11:28] At the end of the day,

[00:11:30] they may or may not be saved,

[00:11:31] but this is what you do.

[00:11:32] And again, genre would make all the difference

[00:11:35] in that instance.

[00:11:37] So identify the genre

[00:11:38] of the text you're working with.

[00:11:41] Thirdly, history and culture.

[00:11:43] This, of course, does matter.

[00:11:46] Taking a look,

[00:11:47] obviously in narrative portions of the Bible,

[00:11:50] it's a little more upfront and obvious

[00:11:52] what the history and culture is,

[00:11:54] like what's going on, for example,

[00:11:56] dietary laws, religious ceremonies, customs.

[00:11:59] The particular scruples of people

[00:12:01] are often displayed in the text.

[00:12:03] But what about a didactic text?

[00:12:05] What if you're dealing with Corinthians

[00:12:07] and head coverings and all that kind of stuff?

[00:12:09] Like, that's not fully explained there.

[00:12:11] I'm like, what in the world?

[00:12:12] You know, modern person.

[00:12:13] I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about.

[00:12:15] So you are gonna need to look into the history

[00:12:18] and the culture in the background.

[00:12:20] I do caution people with this personally,

[00:12:23] because even those historical cultural references,

[00:12:26] this is how I look at it,

[00:12:28] those are not divinely inspired.

[00:12:30] So they can be very helpful,

[00:12:31] but I don't ever wanna consult

[00:12:33] a historical cultural resource

[00:12:35] that gives me a meaning,

[00:12:37] a background that doesn't fit well

[00:12:40] into the text of scripture.

[00:12:42] And we see this actually happening a lot

[00:12:44] in biblical studies in various circles,

[00:12:47] taking foreign cultural meanings

[00:12:49] and trying to shove them into the text.

[00:12:51] So even if they claim to be an expert

[00:12:53] in history or culture,

[00:12:54] it needs to fit well with what the text is saying.

[00:12:58] But it helps to realize

[00:13:00] that the Bible is dealing with real times,

[00:13:02] real people, real places, real problems.

[00:13:06] I put it to you this way.

[00:13:07] Be a missionary in your reading.

[00:13:09] The goal of being a missional reader of the Bible

[00:13:13] is to set down as best you can

[00:13:15] your own cultural baggage

[00:13:18] and to pick up as much as possible

[00:13:21] the cultural baggage of the original audience.

[00:13:24] So picture that.

[00:13:25] Become self-aware.

[00:13:27] And obviously when we visit different countries,

[00:13:30] we go to different backgrounds,

[00:13:31] we interact with people from different cultures,

[00:13:34] we start to get a sense of our own.

[00:13:36] That's one of the most beautiful things about it.

[00:13:37] It's not only do we get to know other people,

[00:13:39] I actually get to know myself better.

[00:13:41] I get to see the little idiosyncrasies

[00:13:43] of my country, our culture, this group, that group.

[00:13:47] But one of the things that can help us do

[00:13:48] as modern people is see

[00:13:49] what are our shared modern assumptions.

[00:13:52] And as much as possible,

[00:13:54] not saying right or wrong,

[00:13:55] suspending moral judgment for a moment,

[00:13:57] simply set it aside

[00:13:59] and try to really enter into the world of the text,

[00:14:03] the world of the writer,

[00:14:04] the world of the original audience of scripture.

[00:14:08] Walk around in it.

[00:14:09] Get a feel for what's going on.

[00:14:12] Again, one of the great things about the Bible,

[00:14:14] real times, real people, real places, real problems.

[00:14:18] Lastly, a word of advice with respect to observation.

[00:14:21] Question the text.

[00:14:24] Question the text.

[00:14:25] I don't mean question the authority.

[00:14:27] Interview, like Mike does on Expositors Collective.

[00:14:30] We were just talking about what a brilliant job he does

[00:14:33] at being curious.

[00:14:35] And I would encourage you,

[00:14:37] be equally curious about the Bible.

[00:14:40] What's going on?

[00:14:41] Ask it questions.

[00:14:44] Ask who, what, where, when, why, how.

[00:14:49] And by the way, I actually find for me personally,

[00:14:52] in a way this gets harder the longer you've been teaching the Bible.

[00:14:56] So if anyone's new and you feel intimidated,

[00:14:57] oh, I don't know as much as so-and-so,

[00:14:59] honestly, you actually have advantages.

[00:15:00] Believe me.

[00:15:01] Because part of the problem with knowing the Bible really well

[00:15:04] and teaching it a million times,

[00:15:05] you begin to assume people know what you know.

[00:15:10] But if you're going to preach the word to people who don't know the word,

[00:15:14] that's exactly what you can't be doing.

[00:15:16] So ironically, if you're new to teaching the Bible,

[00:15:19] if you're new, you know,

[00:15:20] that actually could be an advantage for you.

[00:15:24] So try to look for others at the text.

[00:15:29] Try to speak for others.

[00:15:31] Try to ask, what would my congregation know?

[00:15:33] When you read about all the Pharisees and Sadducees were arguing,

[00:15:36] you're like, oh yeah, I know who they are

[00:15:37] and I know where they came from

[00:15:38] and I know they're not mentioned at all in the Old Testament.

[00:15:40] All of a sudden, boom, magically, they're on the New Testament.

[00:15:42] I know the intertestamental.

[00:15:43] Okay.

[00:15:43] Okay.

[00:15:44] Does everyone else know that?

[00:15:47] Or do you need to ask for them?

[00:15:49] What's going on?

[00:15:50] So really be like a child in your curiosity.

[00:15:55] Ask the text.

[00:15:56] I would rather kind of be guilty on that.

[00:15:57] Like ask too many questions.

[00:16:00] Ask everything.

[00:16:01] And then you can sift through later,

[00:16:02] hey, what were the ones I think were most valuable

[00:16:04] or pertinent to my audience?

[00:16:07] Now the second step, interpretation.

[00:16:09] What does the text mean?

[00:16:11] Now this is not the same thing as what does the text say.

[00:16:16] You could actually do step one very well.

[00:16:19] You could observe the text.

[00:16:20] You could look at the language and the grammar,

[00:16:22] the genre, the history, the culture.

[00:16:23] You could ask who, what, where, when, why, how.

[00:16:25] And you could still make a wrong interpretation

[00:16:30] because context matters.

[00:16:32] And there are actually circles of context.

[00:16:36] Now what are those circles?

[00:16:38] Again, these could be in different orders.

[00:16:39] And I'm not saying you have to consciously think

[00:16:42] through all of these all the time.

[00:16:43] I think you should be aware of them.

[00:16:45] At minimum, whatever you get in observation

[00:16:48] should be checked against each of these.

[00:16:50] So let me run through them briefly.

[00:16:52] Number one, canonical.

[00:16:55] What does canonical mean?

[00:16:56] It means, so let's say you taught John 3, 16.

[00:16:59] Right, that's your verse.

[00:17:00] You taught one verse that Wednesday night,

[00:17:02] Thursday, small group, whatever.

[00:17:06] What you are about to say about John 3, 16,

[00:17:08] does it ring true with the rest of the Bible as a whole?

[00:17:14] Because though John might be a different writer than Paul

[00:17:16] and Paul's different than Daniel,

[00:17:18] Daniel different than Isaiah or Moses,

[00:17:20] yet it's one book, right?

[00:17:22] One divine author speaking through

[00:17:24] the many different human authors.

[00:17:26] And so whatever God says in one place,

[00:17:29] it can't contradict another.

[00:17:32] I'm not an Anglican,

[00:17:33] but my Anglican friends would be proud of me

[00:17:35] when I quote one of my favorite lines

[00:17:37] from the 39 articles.

[00:17:39] It's article 20.

[00:17:39] Listen to this.

[00:17:40] I love this line.

[00:17:41] It is not lawful for the church to ordain

[00:17:43] anything that is contrary to God's word written.

[00:17:46] Here it is.

[00:17:46] Neither may it so expound one place of scripture

[00:17:50] that it be repugnant to another.

[00:17:54] You can come up with meaning in a verse

[00:17:56] that sounds good,

[00:17:57] meets the observational criteria I laid down,

[00:18:00] and yet if you were to compare that

[00:18:02] to somewhere else in the Bible,

[00:18:04] doesn't fit.

[00:18:05] This is what cults do with scripture,

[00:18:07] do they not?

[00:18:09] They can come up with an interpretation

[00:18:11] that actually,

[00:18:12] if you notice this,

[00:18:13] let's be fair to them,

[00:18:14] it works sometimes.

[00:18:17] The whole idea of the Trinity,

[00:18:19] it's not like it was an easy concept

[00:18:21] for the early church to come up with,

[00:18:22] but it made the best sense

[00:18:24] out of just one random passage of scripture

[00:18:27] or all of what the Bible had to say

[00:18:29] about the one God,

[00:18:31] covenantal monotheism of Israel

[00:18:34] revealing himself in the person

[00:18:35] of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[00:18:38] And the Trinity made sense.

[00:18:40] So whatever you're gonna say about Christ,

[00:18:41] the nature of Christ,

[00:18:42] the Father, the Spirit,

[00:18:43] it has to all accord with the canon.

[00:18:46] So the canon means the whole book,

[00:18:49] the whole Bible.

[00:18:50] Now this won't be like a weekly thing for much,

[00:18:52] but this is why even when you're not

[00:18:54] preparing a sermon,

[00:18:55] just be in the Word.

[00:18:56] Read the Bible.

[00:18:57] Plow through the Bible.

[00:18:58] Just go over and over and over

[00:19:00] and over and over again.

[00:19:02] You will be a more canonical man or woman,

[00:19:05] a more canonical teacher

[00:19:06] as you simply go through the Bible

[00:19:07] on your own all the time,

[00:19:09] never quit.

[00:19:11] Number two, redemptive historical.

[00:19:14] I'll break that down simply.

[00:19:15] I'm talking about the narrative structure

[00:19:17] of the Bible,

[00:19:18] the way the story flows.

[00:19:19] And practically speaking,

[00:19:21] when you're interpreting a text,

[00:19:22] it's important to ask,

[00:19:24] where in the story am I?

[00:19:28] Where in the story are they?

[00:19:30] I don't know if you've had this experience,

[00:19:32] but I've been in churches,

[00:19:33] wonderful Christian churches.

[00:19:34] They were teaching through the Old Testament,

[00:19:36] often for eight out of 10 years.

[00:19:39] And as they're spending time

[00:19:41] in the Old Testament,

[00:19:42] they're teaching the Old Testament

[00:19:44] to a modern congregation

[00:19:45] like we're still under the Mosaic law.

[00:19:49] And they've justified it.

[00:19:51] Well, we're in the Old Testament.

[00:19:52] That's why I'm teaching them

[00:19:54] to obey the Mosaic.

[00:19:57] Redemptive historical.

[00:19:58] That's great.

[00:19:58] You're going through the Old Testament.

[00:19:59] You ought to.

[00:20:00] But you have to ask

[00:20:02] the redemptive historical narrative question.

[00:20:04] Where are we in the story?

[00:20:06] You've got to update us.

[00:20:07] When you're teaching the Old Testament,

[00:20:08] you have to say,

[00:20:09] yes, but Christ fulfilled us.

[00:20:12] We are no longer under the Old Covenant.

[00:20:14] We are under the New Covenant.

[00:20:15] And you have to teach that way.

[00:20:17] You can't just simply comment

[00:20:19] on the Old Testament and say,

[00:20:20] and it applies to you in this way.

[00:20:23] Thirdly, doctrinal.

[00:20:25] And by doctrinal,

[00:20:26] fancy term, systematic theology,

[00:20:29] categorical teaching.

[00:20:30] What does the Bible as a whole say

[00:20:32] about a particular subject?

[00:20:33] Doctrine of God.

[00:20:34] Doctrine of Christ.

[00:20:35] Doctrine of sin.

[00:20:36] Doctrine of salvation.

[00:20:37] Doctrine of the church.

[00:20:38] Doctrine of last things.

[00:20:40] Be thinking categorically

[00:20:42] about these things.

[00:20:44] Fourth, ecclesiastical.

[00:20:46] By that, I mean reading with the church.

[00:20:49] We shouldn't be autonomous interpreters.

[00:20:52] We should be reading with the church.

[00:20:55] And when I say reading with the church,

[00:20:57] I mean both present and past.

[00:21:00] Now, we've got people

[00:21:01] from different backgrounds.

[00:21:02] So whether you're Southern Baptist,

[00:21:05] American Baptist, Presbyterian,

[00:21:06] Calvary Chapel, non-denom, CMA,

[00:21:08] it doesn't matter.

[00:21:09] I respect where you come from.

[00:21:11] And what I would say is,

[00:21:13] if you've got a confession,

[00:21:15] if you've got a statement,

[00:21:15] if you've got core values,

[00:21:17] reflect on those

[00:21:18] as you're teaching the text.

[00:21:20] If you're a Baptist

[00:21:20] and you sign onto the Baptist faith,

[00:21:23] like think about that.

[00:21:24] How does this reflect and support?

[00:21:26] And again, I'm a believer in that.

[00:21:28] I'm a believer in the local church.

[00:21:29] Even if I might be on this side over here,

[00:21:32] on this thing,

[00:21:33] I believe that's actually valuable, important.

[00:21:36] I also think we should think of

[00:21:37] reading what the church is reading in the past.

[00:21:41] Read from those who have come before you.

[00:21:43] If nothing else,

[00:21:45] and I believe you will get much more,

[00:21:47] but if nothing else,

[00:21:48] you will be hearing from those

[00:21:50] reading the same Bible

[00:21:51] from an entirely different perspective.

[00:21:54] So Reformation commentary,

[00:21:56] reading what the Reformers have to say,

[00:21:59] whether it's the ancient church

[00:22:00] or even the church out in the broader world,

[00:22:03] in various cultures and places in the world,

[00:22:06] read with the church.

[00:22:07] And I'm not saying you're gonna subscribe

[00:22:09] to everything you find there,

[00:22:10] but I believe it is a part of our discipline

[00:22:13] as interpreters submitting

[00:22:14] to the work of God in the church universal.

[00:22:20] Lastly, gospel, right?

[00:22:22] And this certainly isn't last,

[00:22:24] but you'll notice,

[00:22:24] it's the thing that enfolds everything else.

[00:22:27] At the center of the Bible,

[00:22:29] there is a gravitational pull

[00:22:31] towards what is called the kerugma,

[00:22:33] the kerugma,

[00:22:34] the irreducible core of apostolic preaching,

[00:22:38] which says Jesus Christ is Lord.

[00:22:42] That's the center of the Bible.

[00:22:44] You could teach true things about the Bible

[00:22:48] and not teach the essence of Scripture

[00:22:52] and expounding what it means to say

[00:22:55] Jesus Christ is Lord,

[00:22:57] how you're saved by grace,

[00:22:58] how you're saved through faith,

[00:23:00] to the glory of God alone,

[00:23:02] Scripture alone, right?

[00:23:04] Pointing to the center of what it is

[00:23:05] and coming back to that

[00:23:07] and reflecting on it

[00:23:08] because that is the basis of our salvation.

[00:23:11] And if that's not there,

[00:23:13] then again,

[00:23:13] we immediately fall into a works-based mentality.

[00:23:17] I'm somehow going to build my stairway to heaven

[00:23:20] through the five points the pastor just shared.

[00:23:22] So everything is enfolded in the gospel.

[00:23:26] And lastly, number three,

[00:23:29] application.

[00:23:30] How should we respond to the text?

[00:23:34] Number one,

[00:23:35] you're exegeting your congregation.

[00:23:38] It's important to know your people

[00:23:40] and know your context.

[00:23:42] If you're a guest speaker,

[00:23:43] obviously you're very limited oftentimes

[00:23:45] in how you can do that.

[00:23:46] But as much as possible,

[00:23:49] exegete, interpret, understand,

[00:23:52] dwell within the community to whom you are preaching

[00:23:55] so that you can apply the text in a faithful manner.

[00:23:59] We see that the New Testament writings

[00:24:01] are very contextual themselves.

[00:24:04] Some people are wrestling with a Gnostic gospel, right?

[00:24:09] Denying that Jesus was fully human.

[00:24:12] But then others are denying that he's fully God.

[00:24:14] And does it help to know which particular error

[00:24:16] they're coming from

[00:24:17] in order you can speak to that?

[00:24:20] So exegete the congregation.

[00:24:21] And lastly,

[00:24:23] you're helping people become like Christ.

[00:24:26] And I use the classic two-fold division

[00:24:28] of his person and his work.

[00:24:31] You're wanting to show how the text enables them

[00:24:34] to become like Christ and his character.

[00:24:37] We are to become like Jesus.

[00:24:39] We are to imitate Christ.

[00:24:42] Christ.

[00:24:42] And Christ has given us meaningful work to do

[00:24:44] else we would not be here.

[00:24:46] We would not be alive.

[00:24:48] He would have just taken us up to heaven

[00:24:49] immediately upon salvation.

[00:24:51] That's it.

[00:24:51] No, you're here

[00:24:52] because you've been given work to do.

[00:24:54] So how does this text,

[00:24:55] and my brother began with 2 Timothy 3.16,

[00:24:59] all scripture is inspired,

[00:25:00] given by inspiration of God,

[00:25:01] profitable for doctrine,

[00:25:02] reproof, for correction,

[00:25:03] for instruction in righteousness,

[00:25:05] that the person,

[00:25:06] anthropos,

[00:25:06] man of God,

[00:25:07] woman of God,

[00:25:08] person of God,

[00:25:09] may be thoroughly equipped

[00:25:11] for every good work,

[00:25:13] becoming like Christ.

[00:25:16] And that is the inductive Bible study method.

[00:25:18] And I am out of time,

[00:25:19] so we got the no frills cut off here.

[00:25:22] So, Mike.

[00:25:25] Hey, thanks for listening all the way to the end.

[00:25:27] Really appreciate Mike's contribution

[00:25:30] to this conversation

[00:25:32] about the inductive Bible study method.

[00:25:34] For those of you that listen to this podcast regularly

[00:25:37] or those of you that have attended

[00:25:39] one of our in-person events,

[00:25:41] you know that the inductive Bible study method

[00:25:44] is one of our core modules.

[00:25:46] We make sure to include it

[00:25:49] in every training event that we do.

[00:25:52] And also, every couple of months,

[00:25:54] we have an episode about this on the podcast

[00:25:56] because we believe it's really important.

[00:25:58] At the core of Expositors Collective,

[00:26:01] we don't want to just help you

[00:26:02] to communicate better

[00:26:04] and be better public speakers.

[00:26:06] We want to make sure

[00:26:07] you have something worth saying.

[00:26:08] And a study method

[00:26:11] that puts your nose in the book

[00:26:13] that really causes you

[00:26:15] to examine and query the text

[00:26:19] to notice things

[00:26:21] ensures that when you speak in public,

[00:26:24] you'll have something worth saying

[00:26:26] from God's Word.

[00:26:27] We speak about how our goal

[00:26:29] at Expositors Collective

[00:26:30] is to help you grow

[00:26:32] in your personal study

[00:26:33] and your public proclamation

[00:26:35] of God's Word.

[00:26:36] So episodes like this

[00:26:38] are really important to us

[00:26:39] to make sure that we're focusing

[00:26:40] on that personal study.

[00:26:43] Also, last thought before we finish,

[00:26:46] I have a bit of a confession to make.

[00:26:48] I, when I was listening to this

[00:26:51] to prepare it for being broadcast,

[00:26:54] I was freshly convicted

[00:26:56] by what Mike was saying

[00:26:59] a few minutes ago

[00:27:00] about the importance

[00:27:01] of being curious

[00:27:03] on behalf of others.

[00:27:06] That there's certain things

[00:27:08] that those of us

[00:27:08] that have been Bible students

[00:27:10] or Bible teachers

[00:27:11] for a long time,

[00:27:12] things that we take for granted,

[00:27:14] we need to realize

[00:27:15] that for our hearers,

[00:27:17] it might be brand new to them.

[00:27:19] So last Sunday,

[00:27:21] I was talking about

[00:27:22] the conflicts

[00:27:24] that Jesus was having

[00:27:25] with the Pharisees

[00:27:27] and the Sadducees.

[00:27:28] I spent a few minutes

[00:27:30] summarizing the difference

[00:27:32] between what the Pharisees believe

[00:27:34] and what the Sadducees believe.

[00:27:36] And in my preparation,

[00:27:39] I remembered the phrase

[00:27:41] that I heard a lot

[00:27:42] as a kid in youth group,

[00:27:46] that the Sadducees don't believe

[00:27:48] in the bodily resurrection,

[00:27:50] and that's why

[00:27:51] they were so sad, you see.

[00:27:53] And I heard that a lot

[00:27:55] as a teenager.

[00:27:56] I heard that a lot

[00:27:57] even in Bible college.

[00:27:59] And I kind of said like,

[00:28:00] you know what?

[00:28:00] That's such a cheesy saying.

[00:28:02] I don't want to say it

[00:28:03] on Sunday morning.

[00:28:05] And so I didn't say it.

[00:28:08] Then afterwards,

[00:28:09] someone came up to me

[00:28:10] and asked why I didn't say that.

[00:28:12] And I said,

[00:28:13] it's so cliche.

[00:28:14] And this older,

[00:28:15] wiser Christian

[00:28:16] in my church,

[00:28:17] he said,

[00:28:18] you know what?

[00:28:18] I know that phrase.

[00:28:20] You know that phrase.

[00:28:21] And then he gestured

[00:28:22] towards the people

[00:28:25] that were milling around

[00:28:25] having coffee

[00:28:26] and chatting after service,

[00:28:27] many of whom

[00:28:29] have come from rough lives,

[00:28:31] many of whom

[00:28:32] are only sober

[00:28:33] for a number of months,

[00:28:35] most of whom

[00:28:36] have not grown up

[00:28:37] in youth group

[00:28:38] and they never went

[00:28:39] to Bible college.

[00:28:40] And he pointed towards them

[00:28:42] and said,

[00:28:42] you know, Mike,

[00:28:43] but they've never heard

[00:28:44] that before.

[00:28:45] And you don't want to withhold

[00:28:46] something that's helpful.

[00:28:48] Even if it sounds cheesy to you,

[00:28:50] it can be helpful to others.

[00:28:53] And so that was a gentle rebuke

[00:28:54] from Mervyn

[00:28:55] at church on Sunday.

[00:28:57] And then listening

[00:28:59] even to this content,

[00:29:01] Mike Chaddick kind of reminded me

[00:29:02] of the importance

[00:29:03] of being curious,

[00:29:05] not reading things

[00:29:06] as a man

[00:29:08] who's been teaching

[00:29:08] the Bible for 20 years,

[00:29:10] who's been reading it seriously

[00:29:11] for 35 years,

[00:29:13] who's been aware of it

[00:29:14] for 41 years.

[00:29:15] I need to come at this

[00:29:17] with the curiosity,

[00:29:18] reading it

[00:29:19] through the eyes

[00:29:20] of people

[00:29:22] that are brand new

[00:29:23] to all of this.

[00:29:24] So anyway,

[00:29:25] thanks Mike.

[00:29:26] And thanks to you,

[00:29:28] the listener,

[00:29:28] for listening

[00:29:29] all the way

[00:29:30] to the end.

[00:29:31] I hope that this episode

[00:29:33] and this

[00:29:34] prolonged outro

[00:29:36] help you to grow

[00:29:37] in your personal study

[00:29:37] and your public proclamation

[00:29:39] of God's word.

[00:29:40] We're on YouTube,

[00:29:42] we're on Twitter,

[00:29:43] we're on Instagram.

[00:29:44] We have a private

[00:29:46] Facebook community.

[00:29:47] If you want to stay connected,

[00:29:49] if you want to see

[00:29:49] some visuals,

[00:29:51] if you want to meet

[00:29:52] other people

[00:29:53] that are trying to grow

[00:29:54] as Bible teachers,

[00:29:56] well then do connect

[00:29:57] with us on any

[00:29:58] or all of those platforms.

[00:30:00] God bless you

[00:30:01] and we'll see you

[00:30:01] next Tuesday.

[00:30:03] This podcast

[00:30:03] is a part of CGN Media,

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[00:30:07] We are supported

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[00:30:14] Thank you.