Highlight the text based on grammatical concepts

Summary

There's kind of three different levels of this type of Bible study. Each of them has the same goal - make sure you are paying attention to the text as written by God.

The high level version

Choose 4 different color highlighters that are distinct enough from each other. If using dark colors, maybe just underline instead of highlighting. Decide which colors will correspond to each of these concepts:

  • Commands
  • Statements of truth
  • Negative ideas or evil/sin/bad
  • Questions
  1. Start out by praying that God would reveal Himself to you as you read His Word.
  2. Start highlighting or underlining by color every phrase or sentence that is a command, statement of truth, negative idea, or question.
  3. When you covered the reading you feel God wants you to get through, go back.
  4. Pray over the commands - ask God to make clear which are for you to obey. Then figure out what your first step of obedience will be for each one.
  5. Think about the truth statements and negative statements - do you need to change your beliefs, actions, or attitudes based on this truth? How should this truth impact your relationship with God or other people? Pray over any truths that you feel resistent to and work through with God how His Word should impact you from these truths.
  6. Look at the questions. Are the questions calling for you to respond a certain way? Is there an implied truth being brought up based on the questions? Do you think rightly about the answer to the question?

The goal is just to know God more deeply as you read His Word, so don't feel like you have to find stuff that isn't there. If this approach doesn't work or you find yourself twisting the Word by overthinking about the text, then maybe try something else.

Example: John 3:16-21

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, (lest his works should be exposed.) But whoever does what is true comes to the light, (so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.)"

Obviously there aren't any questions or direct commands, but from this there is a lot of truth to think through. If you've trusted in Jesus, the truth of God's love and the reason Christ came to earth should push us toward worship and love. If you haven't believed in Christ, the truth here is a warning of your current state - you are condemned because you have so far rejected believing in Him. Then we are reminded that our life follows our focus and beliefs. If we believe in Jesus, our life should change to do what is true and right and good as we live out of our growing love for Him. Otherwise, if we see evil and darkness in our life and we continue to wallow in that and it grows - then that points us to the idea that we may not truly be believing in Jesus.