When you are studying a book or even a passage of the Bible, make sure to ask questions such as:
- Who is writing? To whom?
- Where is the setting? When is this taking place?
- What is being said? What commands or principles are given? Are those specific for the time and setting?
- Why is the author writing? What is his goal?
"[We] need the Holy Spirit of Truth, and we need the community of believers, but we also need to study books in their entire context. . . . We have to understand how the miniature stories fit within the larger story and then in the even-larger narrative of the whole Scripture. But just as The Jesus Storybook Bible says, 'Every story whispers His name.'"
Additionally, if you want to go deeper in God's word, and need some more guidance with keeping each passage in context, here are 6 questions to ask when reading any passage in the Bible, as taken from Puritan principles.