How to Do a Topical Bible Study

It can be the most profitable ways to study the Bible--a topical Bible study. In such a study, you will study everything you can find in the Bible about one word, topic, or subject. The world famous evangelist, Dwight Moody, once spent several days studying the word grace in the Bible, and when he was done, he felt compelled to talk with the first man he saw on the street about the things he had learned in his Bible study about God's grace.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Bible (a Topical Bible is best for this kind of study)
• Exhaustive concordance
• Internet
• Bible handbook
• Bible dictionary

1. Write down a list of things you would like to study in the Bible, for example: love; salvation; saved; heaven; hell; death; war; abortion; capital punishment. It would be good to write down some things you think you already know about, and those you don't. Also, when you are doing a regular Bible study, take notes, and write down words or topics you would like to do a topical Bible study of.
2. Be as aware as possible of the meanings of words and how the words may have had a different meaning when they were written they do today (for example conversation in the New Testament refers to living, life, or lifestyle, not communication through talking). Also know that two similar words may have exact or at least somewhat different meanings. If you need to, look up the meaning of a particular word in a Bible Dictionary you own, or an online Bible Dictionary.
3. Look up the words or topics in the resource books you are using: a concordance, Bible Dictionary, Bible Handbook, or your topical Bible. Find and read every reference. Ask God to help you learn everything you can from the study, and especially how it applies to you. Take notes.
4. Search the Internet for topical Bible studies. You will find many sites with many topical Bible studies on them. You may find just the subject you were wanting to study.

Tips & Warnings

• When doing a topical Bible study, arrange the topics you write down neatly.
• You can divide some subjects up further, for example: if studying prayer, you could create subdivisions of when to pray, why to pray, and Whom to pray to.
• Your study could be more profitable by asking such questions as: who is the passage about; why was this written; how was this done, and what is the main subject in this passage.
• Don't forget to pray and to ask God how the passages apply to you.