What is the RANSOM Bible Study Method?

The RANSOM Bible Study method, developed by Joe Thorn and Jimmy Fowler of Doctrine and Devotion, like S.O.A.P., is built on a series of steps, in this case six steps, that are each referred to in an easy to remember acronym. In many of the other study methods, the focus is largely on internalizing the passage you read, and figuring out how it uniquely applies to you. RANSOM is much more focused on understanding the passage for the sake of understanding, under the idea that the more we understand it, the easier it becomes to apply it. It is much more geared towards a theological study of Scripture first, and then how to apply it personally.

Let’s look at this method by walking through Psalm 119:1-16 together.

Read

Probably the simplest step of all of the methods we’ll look at. Whatever passage of scripture you are studying, read it. Read it thoroughly. Read it several times at a slow pace. If you are studying a large section of Scripture or an entire book, it’s a good idea to read through it entirely once or twice first so you can get the main theme(s) of the passage. Now read through it again to focus on the smaller details. In this step you might find it helpful to write down some of what you’re reading, you might find value in memorizing a verse or two from your reading, or you may just want to make a note at the top of your page on what you’re reading. The main goal of this step is to focus on reading and getting familiar with the passage you’re studying.

For our example, you may have noted that this passage shows the Psalmist’s reverence for God’s word, and the importance of keeping His commandments. It discusses how keeping God’s commandments is profitable for believers, and how His Word builds us up, and helps keep us pure.

Ask

Your next step is to spend some time asking questions of scripture. If that sounds pretty vague, that's because it is. In this section you want to think through some of the questions you have in your reading. Some examples you can start with:

What does this passage reveal about God’s nature?

What does this passage reveal about the Gospel?

What commands does this passage give?

What does this passage reveal about people/human nature?

The goal here is really just to understand, at its root, what message(s) the passage contains.

For our passage, some examples could be:

What commands does this passage give?

This passage emphasizes the importance of Scripture memory for believers. It puts on display why we should care about Scripture and what that does for us.

What does this passage reveal about us?

We are prone to wander. Over and over, this passage reiterates that keeping God’s commands is what keeps us upright and blameless. We must keep our eyes focused on God’s commandments and He will guide us and guard us.

Note

At this point you should begin writing down observations about the text. The intention is for you to write down what you observe in the text, and why you think it might be important. At this point you’ll be finding and making note of a lot of the answers to the questions you’ve been asking in the previous step. Make note of important details like the main idea of the passage, repeated words or ideas, or commands given. Think of this step like you’re gathering supporting details for a research paper.

In this passage, David repeatedly says “I will” which is a great indicator of our responsibility as believers to stay faithful to God’s word. Uprightness and purity is a common theme throughout the passage, as well as the answer for how to be pure: live according to the Word of God. The Psalmist discusses the importance of meditating or holding Scripture at the front of his mind. Do I keep Scripture a central part of my every thought?

Summarize

This one is as simple as it sounds. The idea is simple anyway. The actual practice of summarization can often be difficult, but if studying the Bible were easy, it wouldn’t be called a discipline. Here your focus is to come up with a short, one to two sentence summary of the passage you read. Believe me, I know how hard this can be. I am the world's worst when it comes to brevity. But the importance of this step lies in its difficulty. Coming up with a very brief summary of a long or complex passage of Scripture not only takes a lot of thought, it takes a lot of understanding of what you’ve read.

So to complete this step ensures that you have thoroughly thought through the other four previous steps. Don’t be afraid to begin the section by just writing down your best first effort at a summary, but don’t stop there. Keep working through your summary until it is as concise and impactful as possible. This step can and should take some time to work through.

A simple summary for our passage might be: When I keep my eyes on Scripture, this leads to purity and righteousness. A result of this purity and righteousness is sincere praise and worship of the father.

Obey

Now that we’ve taken the time to study and fully understand this passage, we can turn our eyes to how it applies to our life. In this step you will focus on understanding how Scripture is seeking to transform you. The Bible was not given to us just as a collection of stories, rules, and church history. It was given to us to change us, to transform us, to get a glimpse of the nature of God so we can better understand how to live for and serve Him. Here you should be asking yourself questions about the passage’s specific application in your life. You should be focused on internalizing what you’ve read, and seeking to be transformed by it.

I would encourage you to be specific in how you see God calling you to obey—specific goals are far more likely to be completed.

When I see the reverence and diligence the Psalmist has for Scripture, I’m convicted about my own attention to the Word. What can I trim away from my busy schedule to put more attention on Scripture and worshiping God? If I cancel a streaming service, I can fill that time with prayer and Scripture and meditation.

Meditate

This sixth and final step is one that I believe should really be a part of any method that you use. Whether it’s part of your study system, or just a habit you get into post-study, it’s important to spend time throughout the day thinking about and reflecting on the truths that God has revealed to you through His word.

As you go through your work day, take a few minutes on your break to pull out your Bible or you Bible app and read back through the passage. As you’re stuck in traffic, spend some time praying about what you read. As you nestle into bed for the evening, take a few minutes to look back over your notes and refresh yourself on what you studied. You’ll find that committing yourself to not only studying Scripture, but also keeping it fresh on your heart and mind throughout the day can not only help you better retain the information and lessons you learned, but it can really help you through your day in general. God’s word has a very unique way of comforting His believers.

Understand and Apply

God’s word is deep and rich and completely packed full of every piece of information and instruction that we as believers will ever need. The intent of RANSOM is to help us read Scripture thoughtfully, apply it personally, and interpret it theologically. In other words, we want to intentionally keep Scripture in our minds and thoughts, we want it to be active in our everyday, personal lives, and we want to make accurate interpretations that reveal truths of God to us.

The structure of RANSOM helps you to work through each of these ideas and objectives in a practical, memorable way. The more we understand Scripture—what it says and why it says it—the better we can apply these deep truths to our lives.