Living By The Book

Living By The Book
by Howard Hendricks, William Hendricks

Living By The Book
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Book Summary Information

Author: Howard Hendricks, William Hendricks
Foreword: Charles R. Swindoll
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-07-22
ISBN: 0802408168
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Moody Publishers

Book Reviews of Living By The Book

Book Review: Helps beginners have quality Bible study
Summary: 4 Stars

This is an easy reading book, in 45 fun little chapters, to help people gain the basic Biblical interpretation skills they need to transform their lives. The Hendricks' show us how proper interpretation of scripture is used to fuel our minds for improved prayer/meditation based on God's principles. These principles are to be applied in our daily lives to change us and consequently change our corner of the world. The overall approach is the same used by most Bible study methods; that is, "inductive" Bible study - observe, interpret, apply.

The authors stress honest observation of the Biblical text without the influence of a pretense or agenda to affect the interpretation. An extremely detailed and systematic observation of the text being studied is stressed as the most crucial aspect of interpretation. Proper interpretation is unlikely without the foundation of an extremely thorough observation of the text itself. About half the book is used to fully explore the questions and forms of textual observation.

The book is loaded with practical ways to assist in interpretation during your Bible study. For example, transporting your senses into the story to help relate to David in a cave or Paul in prison. Clever tools like the fingers of your hand can be used to remember 5 things to look for when interpreting a passage. Another easy-to-remember idea is to ask the 6 w's - who, what, where, when, why and wherefore (wherefore is the "so what?" part of life application).

The authors encourage the application of Biblical principles in our lives. The final section of the book presents a set of questions and motivations for applying the Bible in everyday life. There are many lists to derive life application points: is there a command to obey, an example to follow, a doctrine to be believed, etc.? A recurring theme is the Biblical understanding of Godly knowledge that is summarized as `knowing without doing isn't knowing at all.'

I like this book overall but there are a few things I don't care for. I think it is too long and redundant on some points. 150 pages on every conceivable aspect/permutation of observing a text is excessive. Chapter 7, for example, talks about general reading skills. This is good information to mention but I don't think it deserved a chapter. You can get value from the book by selectively reading most of the chapters and omitting some like 7,13,14,20 (about 7% of the book). This is definitely not the author's intent, but it is how I recommend the book to people who don't have much reading time.

Another way to improve this book would be more coverage about literary genre (parable, poetry, history, letter, etc.). Chapter 29 covers this somewhat, but with a book this size, I would expect more on this important area for interpreting a text. How To Read the Bible for All its Worth, (Fee) and Effective Bible Teaching (Wilhoit) cover genre very well and are better choices if you don't need something as basic as "Living by the Book".

Living by the Book is a good choice for adult beginners, including high school students, to get started into productive Bible study.

Summary of Living By The Book

Principles and procedures that will make your personal Bible study more fruitful and productive. You'll be challenged to read more closely and probe more deeply, and you'll learn how to make key observations that will bring fresh application to your life.

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