The belt and the sword -- hermeneutics 101

In Ephesians 6, we are told to put on the belt of truth and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. In keeping with what I had to share with you in the post, "A matter of life and death", I just wanted to offer a tool that I pray will be helpful for you as you move forward in your faith-walk with Christ.

On our last term overseas, I ran across a book by a man named RC Sproul. It's called Knowing God's Word (formerly called "Knowing Scripture"). The following is taken from his work in regard to the basics of Biblical hermeneutics, or the "science" of interpreting the Bible:

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p.46 - "If a given verse is capable of two renditions or variant interpretations and tone of those interpretations goes against the rest of Scripture while the other is in harmony with it, then the latter interpretation must be used." God's Word, the Bible, is consistent and coherent.


p.48. "The Bible should be interpreted according to its literal sense ie., as literature: the natural meaning is to be interpreted according to the normal rules of of grammar, speech, syntax, and context"

p.49 - Literary analysis/genre analysis: figures of speech, style, hyperbole (exaggeration, "overshooting", etc.) Is this section of Scripture poetry? Fable? Or historical narrative? Personification?

Metaphor: Jesus said, "I am the door"

p. 51 - "If the Bible claims something actually happened, we have no right to 'explain it away' by calling it personification"

p. 53 - "We must be careful to note the difference between discerning what the Bible is actually saying and the question of whether what it is saying is true or not"

Think about: What is the plain sense of the Scripture?

Scripture has a unified meaning (one, clear meaning) but can have multiple, rich, varied applications.

MAJOR PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION (TOP 3 ARE MARKED***)

I. **The ANALOGY OF FAITH - The primary rule of hermeneutics is that Scripture is to interpret Scripture..."no part of Scripture can be interpreted in such a way as to render it in conflict with what is clearly taught elsewhere in Scripture"... THIS PRINCIPLE KEEPS THE WHOLE BIBLE IN VIEW.

II. **THE LITERAL SENSE OF SCRIPTURE - What is the natural meaning? The clear, literal sense? THIS PRINCIPLE OFFERS RESTRAINT FROM LETTING OUR IMAGINATION RUN AWAY WITH US.

III. **THE GRAMMATICO-HISTORICAL METHOD -- Attention is gocused on "grammatical constructions and historical contexts out of which the Scriptures were written. THIS FOCUSES OUR ATTENTION ON ORIGINAL MEANING OF THE TEXT, KEEPING US ON EXEGESIS (drawing truth/meaning from the Scripture), NOT EISEGESIS (bringing meaning from the outside and putting it into the Scripture).

IV. SOURCE CRITICISM - By these methods you can isolate materials common to particular writers (Ex: Mark was the first Gospel writer... Matthew and Luke have Mark as they wrote.... knowing why an author writes what he writes helps us to understand what he writes.)

V. AUTHORSHIP AND DATING


HOW DO WE APPLY THESE PRINCIPLES?

1. Rule 1: The Bible is to be read like any other book (it is not "magical")
2. Rule 2: Read the Bible existentially (ie., get passionately and personally involved in what we read... NOTE: John Piper said regarding sermon message preparation that you should ask two questions: "Is is TRUE?" and "Do I have a passion about this?"
3. Rule 3: Historical narratives are to be interpreted by the didactic (teaching)passages of Scripture
4. Rule 4: The implicit is to be interpreted by the explicit
5. Rule 5: Determine carefully the meaning of words (etymology, origins of words and word usage)
6. Rule 6: Note the presence of parallelisms in the Bible -- Note Proverbs.
7. Rule 7: Note the difference between proverb and law
8. Rule 8: Observe the difference between the spirit and the letter of the law.
9. Rule 9: Be careful with parables (best: look for one, basic central point in each parable, not as "allegory")
10. Rule 10: Be careful with predictive prophecy (as opposed to prophecy which is simply the forth-telling of Biblical truth).


CULTURE AND THE BIBLE: (1) Examine the Bible itself for apparent areas of custom. (2) Allow for Christian distinctives in the 1st century (3) The Creation ordinances are indicators of the trans-cultural principle: "If any Biblical principles transcend local customary limits, they are appeals drawn from creation" pg.110 - ie., they reflect stipulations a covenant God makes with man qua man (ex. Matthew 19:4-6 references to Genesis regarding marriage) (4) In areas of uncertainty, use the principle of humility - Ex" Biblical mandate whose nature remains uncertain (is it "custom", or "principle"?).
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Okay, I have to say on point 3 of "Culture and the Bible" that I would have to look again at what Sproul was saying. I think his book did not further elaborate.

I am thinking especially of my children now as I write. I pray you will seek the truth of God's Word. Whatever I or anyone else may teach you, always examine what you hear in the light of Scripture. God's Word is your final authority.