How to Study Your Bible

by Kay Arthur

More than 400,000 adults and teens have discovered the truth of God’s Word for themselves through Kay’s inductive study tools. Now this dynamic guide has been updated to reflect the most recent edition of the NASB and sports a fresh new cover. How to Study Your Bible helps people cultivate the skills of observation, interpretation, and application—and encourages them to become active participants in God’s Word!

In 15 easy–to–understand chapters, bestselling author Kay Arthur presents a systematic approach that includes key words, context studies, comparisons and contrasts, topical studies, word meanings, and more. Interacting with God’s Word helps readers absorb more of its messages and gives God greater access to engrave His truth on their hearts and minds.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian Living, Faith, Christian Non Fiction, Religion

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 1976

About the author

Kay Lee Arthur was an American Christian author, Bible teacher, and co-founder of Precept Ministries International. Renowned for her accessible and inductive approach to Bible study, she helped millions engage deeply with Scripture. Arthur began her ministry informally, teaching teenagers in her living room alongside her second husband, Jack Arthur. Their work soon grew into a global outreach, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, under the name Precept Ministries International. She hosted the daily Bible teaching program Precepts for Life and became a respected voice in evangelical circles. Arthur authored numerous books and was a four-time winner of the ECPA Christian Book Award for titles such as A Marriage Without Regrets and The New Inductive Study Bible. Her ministry was rooted in a personal reawakening to faith in the early 1960s, following a divorce and a return to religious life. She and Jack also served briefly as missionaries in Mexico before founding their ministry. Arthur remained active in public faith-based initiatives into her later years and was known for her firm stances on social issues. She passed away on 2025 leaving behind a lasting legacy in Christian education and publishing.

Reviews

[Anne (In Search of Wonder) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Bible study method for sure. One thing about this particular book is the organization of it - I felt like it wasn't organized very well. It seemed like it should be step-by-step, but it wasn't really.

[Clark Goble · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guide by Kay Arthur is filled to the brim with good advice on how to conduct an inductive Bible study. Arthur defines an inductive study as "using the Bible itself as the primary source of information about the Bible." I've discovered that the steps outlined in this text are easy to incorporate into my daily studies. Prayer, overview, context, who, what, when, where, why, how ... these are all essential steps required before jumping to application and Arthur provides detailed instructions to navigate the process successfully.

I love Arthur's instuctions on how to complete "At a Glance" charts and find her system a wonderful way to create quick reference pages for individual books of the Bible. I have enjoyed incorporated the process into my studies. I also enjoy her tips on how to create "Observation Sheets" which is essentially a notation system for marking Scripture.

This system is intended for someone who has a genuine desire to engage the Bible and has proven to be quite time consuming in my studies. Depending on the length of the book in question I've found it takes several weeks to complete a detailed inductive study following Arthur's instructions - but I must say it is worth it. My goal is to eventually work through the entire Bible.

I highly recommend this book for all who want to get more out of their study time.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first glance, Kay Arthur's little work seems to be of little import, but, after reading it through, I was impressed by her keen ability to search the Scriptures. If more believers went through the Bible with a pen in hand and completed the exercises that she argues for, they would be confident in their knowledge of Scripture and in the Faith. Nothing in this work is novel, but the writer does a wonderful job driving believers to the Word of Truth. I would recommend this book for any Christian who struggles in Bible study - and who doesn't?

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

GUYS this book has completely changed the way I study my Bible. It has been amazing and I would highly recommend it for everyone of all ages!!

[Linda Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, this was way too detailed for me. I read it all the way through but it was tedious to the max most of the time.

Partly this could be because there was a lot of repetition for me. I've already been using the Inductive Study Bible for a few years now, so this Bible study method wasn't new to me. Also I thought many things were explained in extreme minute detail as if talking to a child who knows nothing. The chapter on outlining was a repetition of things I learned in elementary school decades ago.

Perhaps this would be good for a new Christian who wants to know details and specifics about Bible study methodology, and how to examine the Bible as literature. It might be appropriate for classroom use also.

I often wonder how Kay Arthur can deal with such strict and extreme details. I think it would be hard for me to be her. My mind doesn't work that way. I like to read the Bible freely without thinking all the time about how to analyze the literary elements.

Word studies are great, and topical studies. I've done both already so the explanations in this book were repetition for me. There were elements suggested that I may incorporate into my future Bible studies. The final chapter on structuring is useful for better comprehension of long sentences.

Sorry I couldn't give this book a better star rating.

I do love the Inductive Study Bible and follow the instructions in that, and it is really the same type of Bible study. Here's the link: The New Inductive Study Bible: Discovering the Truth For Yourself -New American Standard Version. It has instructions for study of each book with "At A Glance" charts and "Observations" pages at the end of each book. That's really worth having for anyone wanting to do the Inductive Bible Study method.

I also have bought/read some of Kay Arthur's other books, and most recommend the Lord series. I read Lord, Is It Warfare? Teach Me to Stand: A Devotional Study on Spiritual Victory with a women's Bible study group and we all got a lot out of it.

[Ana Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primer libro de los retos del #BookTubeAThon. Me pareció una excelente guía para aprender sobre el estudio bíblico, al grano y sin paja. Muy práctica y con apéndices que resumen todo el método para revisarlos cuando estés practicando.

Le puse 4.5/5 estrellas porque de repente ponía demasiada "publicidad" de los otros productos y servicios de la autora, y eso me distrajo un poco.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

since i love the precepts method of bible study, i naturally love and need this book. i recommend it to anyone serious about finding what god says to us through his divine word!

[Tori Samar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the one to read if you want to learn how to do the inductive Bible study method. I was already familiar with the key elements of inductive Bible study since my pastor has promoted the method for years, but it was still helpful to get the fleshed-out look this book offers. Although I gave the book only 4 stars, I would give the inductive Bible study method itself 5 stars. It has truly been a gamechanger for me in studying God's word on my own and has opened up the Scriptures in amazing ways.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been on a years long quest to find a Bible study method that would help the Word stick in my colander brain, so I read this to familiarize myself with the inductive method. It sounds pretty complicated, but if I can figure it out and get it down, I can see how it would give me a deeper understanding. This book goes into great detail with many helpful examples of each step of the process. The section of verse, tense and mood was also very helpful. I have never really grasped those concepts and it gave me a better understanding and will help me in teaching my kids in our homeschool.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good introduction to inductive Bible Study - but I do agree with other reviewers, some of the worksheets are so involved that I think you might miss the forest for the trees. There was a lot of repetition/redundancy for such a short book.
I also found it a bit contradictory that toward the beginning of the book the author says that all you need to study and interpret the Bible is the Bible itself - but a few chapters later, you need a Bible dictionary, a concordance, etc.
I'm glad I read this, and will take some of what I learned in the first few chapters to heart, but I don't know that I'll ever outline as thoroughly as she suggests (essentially copying down verbatim text, divided by numerals and letters) or buy any of her supplemental materials to fill out.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My small group and I used this book to teach us how to study the Bible. We worked through Colossians with it. Super easy to follow and helpful!

[Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY thorough. Almost overwhelming

[Melissa Scruggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a super detailed step by step breakdown of how to study the Bible. If you are brand new to studying the Bible this book will be very helpful, but only if you are a Type A person who enjoys following direction and organization. Thankfully, I am such a person, so I appreciated the organization. However, since I am not a new Christian and have been studying the Bible for a while, a good chunk of the information was repetitive and time consuming.

[June Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good foundation resource!

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to read this for my Bible study, but I just couldn't get into it. Read as much as possible and then gave to someone else. I hope they like it better than I did. For now, I'll just focus on reading The Bible and probably stick with Shepard's Notes.

[Margaret Metz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked a lot of what she taught. I still have a hard time marking up my Bible though. I use many of the tools she taught during study and then bought one of the Inductive study Bibles and thought that was getting some of the best of both worlds. :o)

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning the inductive Bible study method revolutionized my spiritual life. I had been a Christian for many years, but when I learned to study rather than just read the Bible, it was life-changing. This book gives the basic ideas behind IBS.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

How to study the Bible inductively. Not much new here. The charts and notes were so complicated that I think I would forget what I read by the time I made all the notes.

[Karie Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love inductive Bible studies and love the Precept Upon Precept classes, but this book is not my style of learning.

[Bruce Hammond · Rating 2 out of 5]

At times it seemed like an advertisement for the author's other works.

[MD · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes. Seems easier just to find a bible study on the given book you wish to study

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a much more in depth process than I was looking for. While I will take away some great information and tips, I cannot see myself following this process in its entirety.

[Paul Froehlich · Rating 2 out of 5]

The publisher says this books has helped hundreds of thousands of Christians "discover the truth of God’s Word for themselves through Kay’s inductive study tools." Arthur defines inductive study as using the Bible itself as the primary source of information to understand scripture. It is surely useful to examine key words, the context, and how the topic is addressed elsewhere in the good book.

Arthur's book is based upon two premises common in evangelical theology. 

1) The Bible can be understood by any reasonably intelligent person who reads it in its most obvious, literal sense.

2) The Bible has exclusive authority, inerrancy, consistency, internal harmony, self-sufficiency and universal applicability.

One problem with individuals interpreting what the the Bible means for themselves is the incredible range of interpretations this produces, also known as “pervasive interpretive pluralism." That range is reflected in the thousands of denominations (aka “massive fragmentation” of the church) that disagree about aspects of doctrine and Biblical meaning. 

When sincere believers have  incompatible views about what the Bible means, how can the Bible can be THE final, infallible authority believers purport it to be? How can contradictory positions all be the theologically right one? Which interpretation is infallible? 

The Bible is "the only place" that has the truth about God, asserts Arthur. The pervasive disagreement about interpretation, however, suggests the Bible is not as clear, consistent and authoritative as Arthur would have it. 

Different interpretations between denominations are not just about minor matters. A list compiled by Professor Christian Smith includes baptism, divorce, hell, rapture,
homosexuality, women in ministry, free will vs. predestination, the Sabbath, prosperity as a blessing, nonviolence and just war, charismatic gifts, atonement and justification, to oppose, separate from or transform the culture. and God-honoring worship.

Evangelical scholar Kenton Sparks recognizes that “Scripture does not seem to furnish use with one divine theology; it gives us numerous theologies.”

To Arthur, readers can understand the exact meanings of texts by examining the context, key words, asking questions, and getting the big picture. But the texts can make understanding difficult when there are multiple plausible meanings to choose from. That leads to more than one reasonable interpretation. 

Arthur's guidelines about interpretation are revealing.
"Scripture will never contradict Scripture," she insists. "The Bible is one revelation without contradiction." If one passage seems to contradict another, "then your interpretation of at least one passage is incomplete or wrong." 

Believe God's word, she writes, even if you can't reconcile contradictions. Her first premise admits of no error, which makes an idol of the Bible. The object of our faith is not the Scripture but Jesus Christ, of whom scriptures attest.

"Interpret Scriptire literally," she writes. "Everything that God says in His Word about any given subject is absolute truth."

So believe there was a talking donkey and a talking snake. Believe there were giants fathered by angels, and that Methuselah lived 969 years. Believe that the ark carried either two or seven of every animal species on earth. Believe that "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true.” (Titus 2:12-13) Are other ethnic slurs absolute truth, or just for the Cretans?

If the Word is to be taken literally, I  wonder if Arthur's church follows the rule that women should not be allowed to speak in church found in 1Cor. 14:34 and Tim 2:12. Or if they greet each other with a holy kiss and wash each other's feet.

Teaching Biblical infallibility, warns Christian Smith, can set up young people for disillusionment when they find that their black or white view of inerrancy isn’t sustained by scholarship.

In sum, Arthur provides a comprehensive method to analyze Scripture. She offers good advice such as "be objective," (although she operates from premises that compromise objectivity.)

On the other hand, she overstates the ease of understanding scripture even when using her method. She ignores the inevitable disagreement that comes when interpreting the gospels by letting "Scripture interpret Scripture." She denies that there are contradictions in Scripture, even though they become evident with a careful, objective study. Nor does she address how the Word of God can be inerrant when faithful Christians have incompatible views on significant matters. Each denomination claims to be right, but there should be a better approach to Christian authority and truth. -30-

[Lindsay Marino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly picked this up to point out this old and, I thought, 'off' teacher. Ended up buying it to help in my efforts to read the Bible w someone who never has- I wanted to get out of my own head and be able to see things the way they might, think through questions they might have. What a great tool!! It definitely helped point out things I do as a rule when I'm studying my Bible that I would've just taken for granted and thought everyone did. Definitely reminded me of important points and gave me simple, structured ways to share them. And Kay Arthur is not an 'off' teacher; she's a solid and bold one, who actually talked about the issue of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility in a book on how to understand your Bible yourself without going straight to everyone else's opinions on hard texts. Go Kay!! Definitely recommend to new and seasoned Bible readers!

[hannah cottrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

|| 4 ⭐️ ||

This is a great guide full of tools for enhancing your understanding of Scripture. Kay Arthur doesn’t just lay out the tools, but also goes into plenty of detail on exactly how to use them and get the most out of them. She even points out some of the common pitfalls of Bible interpretation and many ways to make sure you’re interpreting the text as accurately as possible. I was already using some of the tools she went over, but this book also reminded me of even more resources I can be using to deepen my study of the Word even more. This would be a great little book to keep on hand for referring back to.

[Ava Falzerano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had gotten this book while in a Women’s Life Group (Sunday School) at my church. We were to read weekly and then on Sundays we would do activities and watch videos. However, I was overwhelmed at the time with school so I didn’t keep up with the class. Once we weee done with it I put it up on my bookshelf and hadn’t touch it since. But I picked it up and I truly gained so much for this book. I am so excited to go through the workbook and then be able to apply the methods in the book to my Bible Study. I don’t think that it is a method I will use everyday but it is definitely a method I can’t wait to apply so that I can gain more from the Bible!

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since truth is revealed to us by God alone, the most important thing we can do when reading and studying the Bible is to pray and ask God to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us and to reveal His truth to us.

What Kay's book can do for our study of the Bible is to give us some useful tools to help us understand how to determine the context of the Scripture passages we are reading and to learn how to look at the entire Bible in order to allow Scripture only to interpret other Scripture, two important ways to make sure we are indeed interpreting the truths of God's Word properly.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let the Holy Spirit help you interpret the Scriptures for yourself.

Studying God's Word this way will open the scriptures in a whole new light!


Studying God's Word this way will open the scriptures in a whole new light

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This method of studying scripture is so detailed and well laid out. It does get repetitive at times in the book, but I think that serves to help you understand the method fully. This is a little book that packs a big punch!

[Barbara Swinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Swinney (Ozarkladie) rated it

Excellent book of Contextual Bible Study. I have used several ideas from this study book in teaching this Study method. Ideas are very clearly presented and easy to put into practice in a private Bible Study and even a group Bible Study.