Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Hermeneutics

Here is a copy of a downloadable one page pdf from the NA blog that will greatly help you interpret the Bible. If God has given us his Word we should work hard to know how to understand it. Print it off and place in your Bible for easy reference.

Hermeneutics (hur-muh-noo-tiks) n. [Grk.]: the craft of interpreting Scripture

7 Questions to Ask Every Passage

1. Who is the author and who is his audience?

2. Why is the author writing and what is his burden for his audience?

3. How does this verse connect to the rest of the chapter and the book the whole storyline of the Bible?

4. What does the language of the passage highlight and draw attention to?
(e.g., parallels, word pictures, speciļ¬c details, repetitive words/phrases)

5. What does this reveal about the nature of God and the nature of mankind?

6. How does this passage reveal our need for a Savior and God's disposition to provide a Savior?

7. What response or action does this passage call for?



A Starter Bibliography: For Further Study


Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul: Short and sweet. Start here.
The Message of the Old Testament & The Message of the New
Testament
by Mark Dever: One chapter for each book of the Bible.
God's Big Picture by Vaughn Roberts: A helpful introduction to
storyline of the Bible.
•The ESV Study Bible: Our favorite study Bible (or it will be when it
releases this fall).
•Your Pastor's Sermon's: Every week your pastor helps you interpret
Scripture and apply it. Listen closely. Hermeneutics 101


1 comment:

GUNNY said...

That's a nice little list there.

Thanks for sharing.

I find that #5 dominates my sermon construction.