Lesson Five
The fun of surveying a book. Let’s take off the training wheels and ride the bike!
Dangers of a Detailed Study
Surveying a book is a completely different approach. Instead of looking at the details, we focus on the big picture. We always want to get an image of the whole book before we study the details, before we get analytical with the text.
Therefore, one of the most common mistakes made by people trying to study the Bible is diving into the details before understanding the big picture. This leads to taking things out of context and making the text say things that it really does not say! It also leads people to drawing false conclusions about God’s will.
The first step:
Get the historical background (date, author, original recipient, etc.) of the book before we begin reading the book.
Read the Whole Letter at Once
Reading the entire letter at once means read the whole thing at once! Don’t stop to look at the details. Read the whole letter all at once. Just read it!
Get the feel of the letter. Ask questions. What is going on? Why is he writing this letter?
Somewhat like you may read a newspaper.
This first reading is very brief.
The second reading pay more attention to discovering an outline and how the letter progresses.
Creating a Survey Chart
The sections of the chart convey the main points in the text. You are basically mapping out the text. Don’t worry about being perfect. There is no perfect survey chart and no one right way to create it.
The chart will change in time as we develop a better understanding of the entire Bible.
Practice
Let’s use 2 Peter as our text.
Historical background:
Date -
Author -
Original Recipients -
Now read the entire letter in one sitting.
Then read it over again looking for an outline and noticing how the letter progresses.
After considering the point of view of the original recipient’s answer the following questions:
What is Peter trying to tell me in the 1st chapter?
What is Peter trying to tell me in the 2nd chapter?
What is Peter trying to tell me in the 3rd chapter?
Any key words/themes that you see throughout?
Try to summarize what the entire letter is about in 1 sentence.
Now create a survey chart of 2 Peter.