The next Bible study method we will discuss is that of studying the outline of a book of the Bible. How do I get the outline of a particular book of the Bible? You can compare it to a "bird's eye view" or a "telescopic" view as opposed to the magnified detail or microscopic view of a verse explanation. The point of this study is to gain an overall understanding of the book's purpose, theme, structure and content. The NT contains 27 books, collected together in one volume, and each book is unique and contains an important message for us today. Obtaining an overview is important because only from here can you properly place the meaning of individual verses. Cults and heretics usually arise where one particularly emphasizes certain Bible verses and bases an entire theology on them separately from the rest of the Bible. We will now proceed to discuss the method.
Step 1 - Read the entire book of the Bible
Read the entire book of the Bible, consecutively if possible and in a modern easy-to-read translation (GNB, WV or NBV).
This may sound obvious, but it is not. Some Christians spend a lot of time reading books about the Bible instead of reading the Bible text itself. In the case of a long book, you can do it in two sessions. You will be surprised what you are going to see when you do this. Read at a stretch and pay no attention to chapter layouts and pericope titles. These are added later. The point is to discover the author's common thread. Each time you read through the book completely in this way, you will discover new things and the overview will become clearer and clearer. Two more comments are important for this first stage. In this phase, read mainly without comments or even your own notes. You will fall back too quickly into old patterns or other people's opinions. And secondly, read prayerfully. Ask the Lord to open your heart and eyes to understand His words and see His wonders (Ps. 119:18).
Step 2 - Take notes on what you read
Write down what your first impression is and what things stand out to you. A first impression can be on any level, such as what you think the writer's purpose is or what reading edits in yourself. In addition, note the following things:
- Key terms, which words and terms recur over and over again.
- Key verses, which verses do you think summarize the entire book.
- Literary style, does the book describe history, poetry, a (personal) letter, a sermon or a combination of these?
- Emotional tone, is the writer happy, sad, angry etc?
- What themes do you think are covered?
- Do you see a particular format in the book? which one?
- Who are the main characters in the book?
Step 3 - Background study
In this step we are going to gather information about the background of the book. To do this, we go to the the particular book in the index in the left window. Through "Introduction" we will see one or more articles. We open the article "Introduction [name of Bible book]." Under the headings "The book [name Bible book]", "The author of [name Bible book]" and "The time of [name Bible book]" you will find a short introduction about the author of the book, when and for whom it was written, why it was written and more such background information.
Step 4 - Mapping Book Layout
We are now going to augment our own notes that we made in step 2 with information from the Study Bible and specifically from the 'Introduction' to the book of the Bible. Here you will study the sections 'Keys to [name of Bible book]' and 'Overview of [name of Bible book]' and then compare them with the notes you made yourself. Next, it is important to create a compact visual summary of the book's layout. This will help you summarize the main themes of the book. Also, in this way you can see at a glance the content of the book and the connection between the main sections. In the Study Bible, such a diagram is given in the "Introduction" to the book of the Bible. You will find here a breakdown by chapters (and verses), theme, place and time. You compare these with your own notes and adjust the given diagram to your own findings, if desired.
Step 5 - Detailed layout
This step is optional, since with step 3 you can also consider the "Overview of a Book of the Bible" study completed. But you may still need a more detailed breakdown at this point, to track down main points and minor points of the author in a more detailed way. In this case, go to the "Introduction" to the book of the Bible, section "The Main Points of [name of book of the Bible]. It should be noted here, however, that there are many ways to classify a scripture and the studies of Bible scholars also tend to differ here.