Indenting as a Study Aid for Reading the Bible

A few years ago, I stumbled upon an article that demonstrated a technique of understanding scripture called Block Diagramming. The original article still exist, and I would like to extend my personal thanks to Steve Brandon, a pastor at Rockford Christian High School, for this information. This study technique has become such a rich and powerful tool for grasping the complex sentence structures of the New Testament, I naturally found myself wonderfully excited about it. It’s very easy … and I intend to demonstrate just how easy it is in this article. 

Before I began … I would like to preach to the choir so to speak, (i.e. myself included) concerning how to respectfully approach the study of God’s Word. It is not an ordinary book … it is not to be studied like an ordinary book. It is living and powerful, it discerns the intents of our heart … it declares God to us. Since we will be looking at a method to analyze scripture, let me share something I was reading a bit ago that stuck in my mind. It seems highly appropriate to mention it here. I was reading an article by Justin Taylor, reviewing John Piper’s results of “burying himself in Romans 9:1–23” for eight months in order to write a book: The Justification of God. During that writing sabbatical, Piper employed the arcing method of analyzing scripture. But night after night, his “analysis emerged into worship”. After all that analysis, Piper was overwhelmed with feelings and passions for desiring peoples lives to be transformed. He was filled with awe for God’s glory. It was as if was as if God were saying:

I will not simply be analyzed; I will be adored.
I will not simply be pondered; I will be proclaimed.
My sovereignty is not simply to be scrutinized; it is to be heralded.

So, these statements serve us well in reminding us that Christianity is a matter of the heart, not a matter of intellect, or a collection of knowledge. This method does help a seeking heart to have a richer experience in reading the Bible, but ultimately it is the Holy Spirit that guides our minds in spiritual understanding. (Jn 16:13; | 1 Cor 2:14; | 1 Jn 2:27)

Let’s get started! Consider the first sentence of Romans.

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Step One: Place “minimal word groups” on a separate line.

I’ve found this is easy to do on a computer in an editor. Just copy and paste a passage of interest into notepad, or some other favorite editor. ( I love UltraEdit, which has some unique features.)

Their really is no set rule for deciding what a “minimal-word-group” is. The fact that you have to slow down and decide for yourself forces greater understanding of the passage. Starting out, here are some basic guidelines:

• conjunctions — and, or, nor, therefore, so, but, but also,
• prepositions — for the gospel, through the prophets, beloved of God,
• verbs

Once you’re happy separating your “minimal-word-phrases”, you’re ready for the next step.

Tags: Bible Bible Diagram study method