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BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION:

An explanation or establishment of the meaning or significance of something. A particular meaning.

"And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation." [2 Peter 1:19,20 NAS]

We can't have a "sure word" about the meaning of Scripture (or anything else) unless we have a sure method to interpret the words.

The following eight rules are the center of all grammatical interpretation. They have been accepted and used by scholars from Socrates to the present. While my hope is that they will be used to "rightly divide the word of truth" of the Holy Bible, they are equally applicable to legal, historical, and other such language.

Since the Bible teaches that God is not the author of confusion [1 Cor. 14:33], how can the many disagreements today between Christians and the proliferation of the cults be explained since all, or nearly all, claim to use the Bible as the basis of their doctrines?

Nearly all false doctrines taught today by Christians and cultists alike can be traced to the distortion of the meaning of Biblical words.

"When two interpretations are claimed for a Scripture, the construction most in agreement with all the facts of the case should be adopted. When all the facts of an interpretation are in agreement they sound together in harmony, like notes in a chord.

Biblical interpretation is more than knowing a set of rules, but it cannot be done without the rules. So, learn the rules, and rightly apply them

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Here are the rules:

1. 1The rule of DEFINITION:

What does the word mean? Any study of Scripture must begin with a study of words. Define your terms and then keep to the terms defined.

The interpreter should conscientiously abide by the plain meaning of the words. This quite often may require using a Hebrew/English or Greek/English lexicon in order

to make sure that the sense of the English translation is understood.

2. The rule of USAGE:

It must be remembered that the Old Testament was written originally by, to and for Jews. The words and idioms must have been intelligible to them - just as the words of Christ when talking to them must have been.

The majority of the New Testament likewise was written in a environment of Greco-Roman (and to a lesser extent Jewish) culture and it is important to not impose our modern usage into our interpretation.

It is not worth much to interpret a great many phrases and histories if one's interpretations are shaded by pre-conceived notions and cultural biases, thereby rendering an inaccurate and ineffectual lesson.

3. The rule of CONTEXT:

The meaning must be gathered from the context. Every word you read must be understood in the light of the words that come before and after it. Many passages will not be understood at all, or understood incorrectly, without the help afforded by the context.

A good example of this is the Mormon practice of using 1 Cor. 8:5b: "...for there be gods many and lords many..." as a "proof text" of their doctrine of polytheism. However, a simple reading of the whole verse in the context of the whole chapter (e.g. where Paul calls these gods "so-called"), plainly demonstrates that Paul is not teaching polytheism.

4. The rule of HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

The interpreter must have some awareness of the life and society of the times in which the Scripture was written.

The spiritual principle will be timeless but often can't be properly appreciated without some knowledge of the background.

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If the interpreter can have in his mind what the writer had in his mind when he wrote - without adding any excess baggage from the interpreter's own culture or society - then the true thought of the Scripture can be captured resulting in an accurate interpretation.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Our only interest in the past is for the light it throws upon the present."

5. The rule of LOGIC:

Interpretation is merely logical reasoning. When interpreting Scripture, the use of reason is everywhere to be assumed.

Does the interpretation make sense? The Bible was given to us in the form of human language and therefore appeals to human reason - it invites investigation.

It is to be interpreted as we would any other volume: applying the laws of language and grammatical analysis. As Bernard Ramm said:

"What is the control we use to weed out false theological speculation? Certainly the control is logic and evidence... interpreters who have not had the sharpening experience of logic...may have improper notions of implication and evidence. Too frequently such a person uses a basis of appeal that is a notorious violation of the laws of logic and evidence." (Protestant Biblical Interpretation, Boston: W. A. Wilde, 1956)

6. The rule of PRECEDENT: (pattern)

We must not violate the known usage of a word and invent another for which there is no precedent.

Just as a judge's chief occupation is the study of previous cases, so must the interpreter use precedents in order to determine whether they really support an alleged doctrine.

Consider the Bereans in Acts 17:10-12 who were called "noble" because they searched the Scriptures to determine if what Paul taught them was true.

7. The rule of UNITY:

The parts of Scripture being interpreted must be construed with reference to the significance of the whole.

An interpretation must be consistent with the rest of Scripture. An excellent example of this is the doctrine of the Trinity. No single passage teaches it, but it is

consistent with the teaching of the whole of Scripture (e.g. the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are referred to individually as God; yet the Scriptures elsewhere teach there is only one God).

8. The rule of INFERENCE:

An inference is a fact reasonably implied from another fact. It is a logical consequence. It derives a conclusion from a given fact or premise. It is the deduction of one proposition from another proposition. Such inferential facts or propositions are sufficiently binding when their truth is established by

competent and satisfactory evidence. Competent evidence means such evidence as the nature of the thing to be proved admits. Satisfactory evidence means that amount of proof which would ordinarily satisfy an

unprejudiced mind beyond a reasonable doubt. Jesus used this rule when he proved the resurrection of the dead to the unbelieving Sadducees in Matt. 22:23-33.

Learning these eight rules and properly applying them will help keep any interpreter from making errors and will hopefully alleviate many of the disagreements unfortunately present in

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Christianity today. However, these eight principles are no substitute for the Holy Spirit which will, if you let Him, guide you in the truth [John 14:26].

"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: to understand a proverb, and the interpretation." [Prov. 1:5,6]

BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

In case you are not familiar with this terminology, what I mean by canon is the standard or rule that writings are measured against for inclusion in what we refer to as the inspired Word of God (commonly known as “the Bible”). In order to be included in the Bible, writings had to live up to some pretty strict standards. And needless to say, there has always been some controversy over what should and should not be included.

http://bibledude.net/bible-interpretation-canon-essays/

http://trinitypastor.wordpress.com/category/christian-theology/help-me-read-the-bible/

HOMILETICS: THE SCIENCE AND ART OF PREACHING THE MEETING OF THE TEXT

EXEGESIS: THE APPLICATION (ART) OF THE PRINCIPLES OF HERMENEUTICS.

HERMENEUTICS: THE SCIENCE (PRINCIPLES) BY WHICH THE MEANING OF THE BIBICAL TEXT IS DETERMINED.

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Principles of biblical interpretation A primary purpose of this blog is demonstrate a theologically sound process for interpreting and then applying the truths of Holy Scripture understood in the light of the historic/orthodox, Trinitarian, incarnational Christian faith. The process used here is grounded in the following principles:

Scripture & Gospel

We view the Holy Bible as the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal, through the apostolic word of God (the Apostle's testimony of the Gospel), the truth concerning the Living Word of God (Jesus Christ, see John 5:39-40).

JesusWe believe that Scripture is rightly interpreted in the light of the answer to a key question: Who is Jesus? Scripture answers that Jesus is fully God (the doctrine of the Trinity) and fully human (the doctrine of the Incarnation). Through his representative - substitutionary life, death,

resurrection and ascension, Jesus has united all humanity to God (the doctrine of the Atonement). Accurate understanding of Scripture occurs as we prayerfully conform our thinking to this revelation of the person and work of Jesus.

Universal & personal Accurate interpretation of New Testament passages often necessitates discerning between two "realities." One is God's reality - the truth of the universal (objective) inclusion of all humanity in God's love and life in Jesus. The other is human reality - the personal (subjective) experience of people as they either embrace God's reality or reject it (or, as is often the case, are simply unaware of it). Some passages testify to God's reality (and invite people to receive it - e.g. Col 1:15-20), while others testify to the results of not believing (and warn of continuing to live in the darkness of unbelief with its fallen distortion of God's reality - e.g. Col 1:21).

Context & language Careful interpretation also involves accounting for the historical, cultural, and literary context of each passage. In addition, because the richness and subtleties of the original text are sometimes lost in translation, it is important to check alternative translations and consult lexicons or other translation helps. For more on this issue, see Elements of

Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers by Michael Gorman

(Hendrickson, 2009). Http://thesurprisinggodblog.gci.org/p/principles-of-biblical-

interpretation.html Ken Silva pastor-teacher on May 25, 2011 in Bibliology, Current

Issues, Features, Quotes

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Now the task of hermeneutics is to realize, first of all, that there is a God given meaning in Scripture, apart from you or me or anybody else.  Scripture means something if means nothing to me, understood? It means something if it means nothing to you.  It means something if it means nothing to anybody.  It means something in itself, and that meaning is determined by God, the Author, not by one who is going through some kind of mystical experience.

The interpreter’s task then is to discern that meaning.  To discover the meaning of the text in its proper setting, to draw the meaning out of the Scripture, rather than to read one’s meaning into it.  The importance of careful, Biblical interpretation can hardly be overstated.

We spend three or four years at the master seminary trying to teach men how to do this because it is the heart and soul of effective ministry.  In fact, I would go so far as to say misinterpreting the Bible is ultimately no better than disbelieving it.  So what do you mean by that? Well, what good does it do to believe that the Bible is God’s final and complete word if you misinterpret it?  Either way you miss the truth, right?  It is equally serious along with disbelieving the Bible to misinterpret it.  Interpreting Scripture to make it say what it was never intended to say is a sure road to division, to error, to heresy and to apostasy.  In spite of all of the dangers of misinterpreting the Scripture, today we have these casual people who approach the Scripture whimsically without any understanding of the science of interpretation and make it say whatever they would like it to say.

Perhaps you’ve been in one those Bible studies where you go around the room and everybody tells you what they think the verse means?  Or worse than that, “Well, to me this verse means,” so-and-so.  In the end, what you get is a pooling of ignorance, unless somebody knows what it means apart from them.  The truth is it doesn’t matter what a verse means to me, it doesn’t matter what it means to you, it doesn’t matter what it means to anybody else, it doesn’t matter if it means anything to anybody else.  All that matters is what does it mean?  What did God intend to say?  Every verse has intrinsic meaning apart from any of us and the task of Bible study is to discern the true meaning of Scripture.  That’s why I can come to you week after week, month after month, year after year and explain to you the meaning of the Word of God, apart from any personal experience I’m having.  That’s irrelevant.

The task of the interpreter is to discern the meaning of Scripture.  In 2 Timothy 2:15 it says, “Be diligent,” or study, “present yourself approved to God as a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed because he’s handling accurately the Word of Truth.”  If you don’t handle it accurately, you oughta be ashamed of yourself.  And if you’re gonna handle it accurately, you have to be diligent, you have to

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work hard at it.  Clearly handling Scripture involves both of those things, hard work and diligence. It must be interpreted accurately, and those who fail to do that have reason to be ashamed…

God has not hidden His truth from us, but its meaning is not always instantly clear.  It demands hard work.  That’s why in 1 Timothy 5:17 it says that, “Those elders who labor in the Word and doctrine are worth of double honor,” because it’s hard work.  That’s why God has given teachers to the church so that we can work hard and understanding God’s Word correctly, instructing people in the Scriptures through persistent, conscientious labor in the Word.

Now, today we have, frankly, a lack of respect for the work of gifted theologians, a lack of respect for the hard work of gifted expositors who have spent years studying and interpreting Scripture.  In fact, that lack of respect tends to be somewhat charismatically characteristic.  They tend to sort of look at all of us that way.  I think I read you of the letter from the lady who said, “Your problem is you’re too much into the Bible.  Throw away your Bible,” remember that, “and stop studying.”  You see, Charismatics place more emphasis on letting people in the congregation say whatever they think Jesus is telling them the verse means, and to listen to what one writer calls, “Airy fairy theologians.”  There’s a vast difference, by the way, between the whimsical kitchen table interpretations of laymen, the teaching of skilled men who work very hard to rightly divide the Word.

I heard a radio interview with a Charismatic woman pastor.  She was asked how she got her sermons up?  She replied, “I don’t get ‘em up, I get ‘em down.  God delivers them to me.”  That’s an all too familiar thing.  I can promise you that God has never delivered one to me.  I haven’t gotten them down.  I’ve had to ‘em up.  Some people even believe it’s unspiritual to study.  After all, some say, taking another verse out of context, didn’t Jesus say, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you and that very hour what you want to say,” so you just go into the pulpit and whatever comes into your mind, you say?  And that’s why they invent their theology as

they speak because they have no idea what’s going to be said until they hear it.  We should be greatly concerned about this ad lib approach.  You never ever make a point true or false at the price of a proper interpretation.  Otherwise, you are the final authority and not the Word of God.

Secondly, don’t spiritualize or allegorize the text.  Some people think the Bible is a fable to teach whatever you wanna get across.  A myriad of illustrations of this.  I remember back when Jerry Mitchell was on our staff and a young couple came into him for counseling, marriage counseling.  He began to talk with them and after about 30 minutes, he said he’d been married only six months and you’re already on the edge of a divorce?  Why did you ever get married?  You’re miles apart.  “Oh,” said the husband, “it was a sermon the pastor preached in our church.”  “What was the sermon?”  “Well, he preached on the walls of Jericho.”  “Jericho?  What does that have to do with marriage?”  “Well,” he said, “God’s people claimed the city marched around it seven times and the walls fell down.”  And he said, “If a young man believed God had given him a certain girl, he could claim her, march around her seven times and the walls of her hear would fall down.  That’s what I did and we got married.”  “That can’t be true,” he said.  “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”  I remember him sayin’ that.  “You gotta be kidding.”  “No, it’s true.  And there were many other couples that got married because of the same sermon.”  Some people believe their marriages were made in Heaven.  That was made in an allegory and a bad one at that.  That’s the kind of interpretation that has gone on since the early days of the church, continues today, especially in the Charismatic movement.

Remember listening to a series on the book of Nehemiah.  The whole purpose of the book of Nehemiah by this Charismatic preacher was to teach Charismatic doctrine.  Jerusalem’s walls were in ruin and that was representative of the broken down walls of human personality.  Nehemiah was the Holy Spirit, the king’s pool was the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the mortar between the bricks was tongues.  And what Nehemiah’s teaching is the Holy Spirit

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wants to come rebuild your broken walls through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.  I had an opportunity to talk to that preacher about that and we had an interesting conversation.  I tried to show him that that was nothing but the invention of his own imagination, read from the New Testament back into the Old, but never the intention of Nehemiah, to which he agreed.  That kind of preaching is a form of hucksterism, and as I said, “You may come up with the truth that you teach, but if you spiritualize the text to do it, then you legitimize spiritualization of any text which leaves you with any fanciful conclusion.”

Well, the correct approach you probably need to go to Jesus and remember that when He was walking on the road to Emmaus, He said, Luke did, the beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in the Scriptures.  The Word explained is hermeneual from which we get hermeneutics.  He carefully interpreted the Old Testament.  He used hermeneutics.  He’s a model of a teacher, used sound interpretive methods.

So, when we teach the Word of God, when we come to the conclusions that we come to, we wanna be certain that we don’t make severe errors, one, by making points at the price of proper interpretation, two, by somehow

concocting or spiritualizing something that isn’t there, and three, and I’ve already talked about this, by superficial study.  Superficial study is equally disastrous.  But I’ve said enough about that not to have to say more. (Online source)

John MacArthur

http://apprising.org/2011/05/25/proper-biblical-interpretation/