.                            PREFACE

Dear Reader,                                                                   

.   Some  Family Radio  School of  the Bible  students expressed a 
desire to  know how to study  the bible on their  own.  Their need 
provided the motivation to write this booklet.
.   Perhaps you  have a  method of  studying the  Bible that works 
well  for you.  In that  case I humbly submit  this booklet in the 
hope that there may be a few ideas you might  use to make your own 
personal study  of God's Word  more effective and  meaningful.  If 
you are new to Bible study, I welcome you to a wonderful adventure 
that will last your whole life.
.   You will notice that most of the scripture references were not 
written  out.  I  expect you  to open  your Bible  and look up the 
verses to  see if  they support  the points  made in this booklet.  
This  leads to  the most  important point  we could possibly make.  
The Bible  is preeminent.  Nothing, this  booklet included, should 
take the place of spending your own  time and effort in the Bible.  
The purpose  and objective of  this booklet is  to motivate you to 
study  the Bible  for yourself.   Study guides,  Bible courses and 
other helps  have some value.  But there  is no substitute for the 
cultivation  and nurture  of your  own walk  with God based upon a 
personal confrontation  with His  Word.  It  is my  hope that this 
booklet  will  equip  you  with  a  few  of the tools necessary to 
conduct your own independent study of the Bible.  
.   It  is my  prayer that  God will  make His  Word dwell  in you 
richly, to the praise of His glory and the salvation of many.  May 
an accurate and faithful study of the  Bible encourage you to walk 
more  trustingly  and  obediently.  I  wish you the Lord's richest 
blessing. 

.                                             Sincerely in Christ,
.                                             Thomas A. Schaff



.                         INTRODUCTION

.   How  the contents of  this booklet will  help you depends upon 
your prior experience in Bible  study and your goals.  If you have 
studied for years, you may wish  to just read it through once, put 
it  aside, and  then go  back to  your own  Bible study armed with 
whatever you  found helpful.  Or  you may want  to read it slowly, 
stop at the end of each main part, and turn to a book of the Bible 
to see if  you can apply what you learned.  If  you are new to the 
Bible and have never studied it, you may be eager to get going and 
are not interested in wading through a lot of instructions.  Maybe 
your  immediate goal  is just  to know  enough to get started.  In 
that case  we suggest you read  item A and item  E of "II Analysis 
and  Inductive  Reasoning",  as  well  as the illustrations in "IV 
Illustrations." Once you have spent a little time in the Bible for 
yourself, you  may want to  look over the  rest of the  booklet in 
order to obtain  a more complete  perspective on how  to study the 
Bible.  
.   This booklet is not an exhaustive treatment of the subject  of 
how to study the Bible; but thought was given to many ideas which, 
if carefully  applied, should lead you to  a mature and serious in 
depth study of the Bible.  Whether you are a veteran Bible student 
or a novice, this  booklet is offered as  a source of ideas  which 
you can adopt as you think best.

(You may receive this booklet - free of charge - simply by leaving 
your name and address.)

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