Principle #7 – Check your conclusions by using reliable commentaries
Analytical commentaries are better than devotional commentaries for inductive Bible study. Use commentaries that examine the text with integrity and give explanations and comments that are in keeping with the context. Make sure you use commentaries written be scholars who believe in the inerrancy of the Word. If possible, check out more than one commentary on the book you are studying so you can weigh the various interpretations against your own conclusions. No one person has a corner on all the truth. Always double check to make sure any commentator is handling the text correctly.
Don’t take as fact everything someone else says or writes just because they are called an “expert”. Some commentators simply borrow from others and don’t do the basics of inductive study themselves. Compare what you have discovered with what others say. Be wary if in your study you find something no one has seen before. God probably would not blind godly men to the truth for almost 2,000 years and suddenly reveal it to you. Use the following checklist when drawing conclusions from you interpretations:
1. Do not contradict the context of the book, chapter, or passage you are studying. Context is always king in interpretation; it rules. A text out of context is a pretext.
2. Do not violate the general theme of the book you are studying.
3. Check to see if your conclusions are in accordance or agreement with what others have said on the same subject.
4. Make sure your conclusions do not violate other biblical truths.
5. Make sure your conclusions are not “prejudiced” to one particular doctrine or school of theology, as this often distorts one’s interpretation.