in·duc·tive, in·duk'tiv, v.t. [L. induco, inductum.] out of; inducing principles; to introduce from; to initiate; logic: in inferring conclusions or principles from facts; the act of reasoning based on evidence in facts, to come to logical conclusions; the act of persuasion by inference from particulars; Diverse from deductive reasoning in that it doesn't begin with an hypothesis, but starts with specifics rather than premise.

    To some degree, what you are told inductive Bible study means will depend upon which theologian you are asking. But fundamentally it is a term of logic which means, interpreting scripture with no pre-judgment, by the text itself, through analyzing the evidence and drawing out of it logical conclusions. Biblical Induction literally means 'out of,' or introduced from the Bible.' The Bible being the source of specifics from which general evidence (and thus doctrine) is derived.

Though not known by this title, this is how 'faithful' Christians have gleaned truth from scripture since Bible study began. For it is by God's use of repeated examples in scripture that He shows His servants true interpretation that they may (by comparing scripture with scripture) come to sound conclusions based upon those received Biblical examples. By the Spirit, through the Word, and using inductive reasoning, we can and should come to consistently defensible and trustworthy interpretations. Though many claim the Bible is perplexing, it is not the Word which is confusing, it is man who doesn't rightly divide, or righteously judge the Word that he is reading. And this because of his own wicked nature which hardens his heart to distasteful doctrines, that he won't understand them.

1st Corinthians 14:31-33

• "For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
• And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
• For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."

Indeed we may reasonably define it as the operation of the mind of Christ in us, by which through this system we infer from that which is known true (the Word of God), upon that which to us is an unknown (what the scripture means), to come to sound conclusions. That is Biblical induction. And this is how we come to very dependable judgments about the evidence of scripture. It is not unlike a court of law where a juror would take in and examine the evidence from the scene, careful to make mental notes, that he would come to a righteous conclusion based upon induction of that evidence.

True inductive Bible study never starts with an hypothesis. And it has only one presupposition, which is:

'..the Word of God alone is innerrant, authoritative over all ideas, and informative in faith, practice and doctrine. Thus it is the only qualified source of interpretation of scripture.'

Genesis 40:8

• "And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you."

Proverbs 15:5

• "A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent."

Part of the logic and rationale in Biblical induction is to find specific consistent examples, and to use them as standards, criteria, or evidences of law. e.g., by Christ revealed in scripture as the good Shepherd, we better understand sheep representing His servants. Or by poisonous serpents representing those of Satan, we better understand why God's servants are given power that these cannot harm them (Matthew 23:13; Luke 10:19; Mark 16). The understanding of these truths are all based upon Biblical induction, or the gleaning general truths out of the source for truth, which is the Bible. We are thus learning what is the true God breathed interpretation by these repeated models or examples found in scripture.

1st Corinthians 10:9-11

• "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
• Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
• Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

Another example can be seen in how scripture prophesied that a sin bearer would come, and the iniquity of His people would be laid upon Him (Isaiah 53). From many scriptures (all taken as true and compared in harmony with each other), we conclude by the myriad of evidences, that Christ was that sin bearer and that He fulfilled that prophecy of the coming Messiah. We know that this is true not by hypothesis, guesswork, or conjecture, but by sound inductive Bible study, using Biblical facts as the source, and applying evidences so that scripture interprets itself. This system will explicitly point to this correct Biblical conclusion. That is inductive reasoning where the truth of interpretation is induced by the Biblical facts of the old and new testament scriptures. As contrasted with deductive Bible study (which is reading an interpretation into the Bible text by assumption), inductive Study is drawing an interpretation 'out of' the Bible text. Thus it didn't come from you, but from the Word of God itself. The frame below gives a few simple examples of the process in 'rudimentary' Biblical induction.

This illustrates the use of Biblical facts and Biblical evidence to come to conclusions consistent with the facts in the 'whole' of God's Word. This illustration is simplistic, but the more evidences you add to the equation, the more sure you can be that you have come to God's truth, and not your own interpretation. For example, in that first illustration of Christ, we could continue to induce from scripture that (evidence #2) God is the Alpha and Omega, and beside Him there is no other Saviour, and (evidence #3) Christ also said that He was Alpha and Omega and was the Saviour, and (evidence #4) God said Christ is the Creator of heaven and earth and all that was therein, and (evidence #5) also says that God was the Creator of heaven and earth and all that was made. We could continue evidence after evidence, and by Biblical induction, we see that all of these infallible proofs of law should lead us to the same inescapable conclusion that we saw in that first simplistic illustration. Namely, that Jesus is God.

Of course I say 'should,' because if any professed Christian is of a mind not to hear what the scriptures say, then the system of interpretation is all a moot point. Nobility or honesty that we do not handle the scriptures deceitfully is a gift of God. And without that gift, no amount of scripture references are enough to convince anyone of anything that they do not wish to believe.

Acts 17:11-12

• "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
• Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few."

When Christians ask why there are so many different interpretations in the Church, the answers are as varied as the Churches. Vain Church traditions or habits, sloppy exegesis, laziness, these are all reasons, but the lack of the Spirit of truth which would lead one to sound conclusions cannot be ruled out. Because without the Spirit working within us, we can pridefully (deceitfully) declare that scripture means anything we will.

Jeremiah 17:9

• "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Ezekiel 11:19

• "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:"

The goal in inductive Bible study is to approach the scriptures with an earnestness that we not only read it, but are spiritually taught by it. Because if we are simply reading our preconceived ideas into scripture, or looking for justification of doctrines which we already hold, we are not seeking truth. We are merely seeking justification. True inductive reasoning in Bible study will eliminate this by having the starting point be one where the student confesses that, 'he knows nothing but the Biblical facts, and is willing to be taught out of those facts.' Thus we can get a legitimate God breathed interpretation of Scripture, rather than vainly reading our own personal beliefs into it.

Many theologians claim that the Bible is not a book of logic, however I believe that the Bible is the most rational logical book on the face of the earth. Not in man's definition of logic, science, or rational thinking, but in God's understanding of system, logic and rational thinking. The foolishness of man is the wisdom of God and the wisdom of man the foolishness of God. Indeed, how could a book be inspired penned by so many different prophets, whose lives are separated by so many years where they have no knowledge of one another, and yet have every word and teaching be in total consistency with every other prophets' words and teachings. How could such a unique, ordered and congruous book be without logic? It makes no sense. To come to such a conclusion would in itself be illogical and irrational.

Real logic and rational thinking is in understanding that if the Bible is the inspired and infallible Word from the mind of God (a Christian given), then it can only be interpreted by the author, God. And this is the 'key' to understanding Canon.

Isaiah 55:8-9

• "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith 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."

• Secular history (no matter how allegedly trustworthy) can neither define nor interpret scripture. Scripture in fact both defines and interprets history. Secular history and the presuppositions thereby, must be subordinate to Scripture.
• The Bible (thee inspired Word of God) is the final arbiter for Christian doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Man's ideas, whether scientific, historical, or archaeological, must in all areas be subject to the Word of God.
• Rightly dividing the Word means taking things both in context, and by the examples shown in comparing scripture with scripture. It is by the use of Biblical precepts and models that we discern what God means by any given passage.
• Besides being it's own interpreter, the Bible, compared with itself, can be used as it's own dictionary. Words can be defined by searching through the scripture to see how God uses the same words in other passages. With prayer and supplication seeking wisdom and understanding, we can set forth the meaning by the use and context.
• The Holy Spirit is the true teacher of what Scripture means, and by Grace of God it works within us to humility, and moves us to surrender to it's authority. It is by this working that we 'receive' what God has inspired written, and are persuaded to look honestly at scripture.
• Our conclusions are induced only from the Biblical facts and evidences of what we find in Scripture. Never by politics, culture, traditions habit, Church leaders or other outside influences.
• There is often a deeper spiritual meaning to scripture underlying the literal, which is only discerned by a careful and measured exegesis. A thorough examination of like-examples, in context, is a good sound basis for coming to correct conclusions concerning spiritual with spiritual.

2nd Timothy 2:15

• "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

1st Corinthians 2:12-14

• "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
• Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
• But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

In closing, let me say that there are many contemporary Theologians today who are purporting inductive Bible study, but who lean towards the historical, experiential, or the emotional rather than a textual analysis. I do not shrink from declaring that 'this is folly.' We must never give way to experience, secular history, science, archeology, or the self serving attempts of modernist theologians to place themselves into the shoes of the Biblical participants in order to glean what they were thinking (as if we could). The fact is, they didn't 'think' the scriptures, God did. We must instead follow the text religiously and without outside influences which lead to deviations from doctrine and understanding. It is this solid Biblical analysis of text which characterizes sound inductive Bible study. The key word here being 'sound,' because anyone can claim to study the Bible in an inductive fashion, but the proof is in the examples and evidences presented.

When we study Biblically, we take in or glean solid evidence from the scripture (the specific source), that we then have legitimate basis to come to Biblical truth. In other words, conclusions based upon our study and observations of the evidences and laws. This is the only real way to come to truth, and has been done for years without the fancy name of an 'inductive Bible Study.' The true strength of sound inductive study is that it interprets the Bible not by man's idea of what it means, but by the Biblical evidence. It is a vehicle to help Christians to both grow in Grace, and to uncover the meaning of difficult texts for themselves. In doing so, it inherently shows the foolishness of depending upon Church leaders, pastors, teachers, or any man for absolute truth. The Bible is the written evidence that interpretations indeed do belong to God.

    We pray that the Lord who is rich in mercy and Gracious above all, guide you into the magnificent truths of His Holy Word.

Amen!