The Bible is the perfect, inerrant word of God and is to be the final authority for truth in the life of the Christian believer. The way one approaches the Bible is critical to our proper understanding of God, and of how we ought to relate to Him, as well as how we relate to those around us. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the importance of several key elements of sound Bible study, interpretation, and application. The following basic rules, contrary to popular belief, in many instances can offer up an interpretation that is not considered "orthodox" in Christianity, in which case the orthodox interpretation may be seriously and legitamately called into question. However, the majority of the time, these rules tend to affirm the orthodox interpretation of scripture.
A. The importance of understanding meaning
The WRONG question to ask would be 'What does scripture mean to me?' The question that SHOULD be asked is 'What is the author's intended meaning?' The reasons that first question are wrong are two fold:
1. it allows for one to make the text mean anything at all they want it to mean, as opposed to what the author's intended meaning was.
2. It Places authority with the reader, as opposed to the author, whom is ultimately God. ( 2 Peter 1:19-21 ).
A further question one might ask is ' How does the author's intended meaning apply to my life? '. The application then becomes driven by God's authorative meaning, as this one principle meaning could, in theory, direct a variety of applications. We ARE NOT to harness God's word, but rather, we are to be harnessed by it. Without the Holy Spirit, man cannot properly understand scripture within a Biblical context. ( 2 Cor. 2:14) However, the Spirit's involvement does not eliminate our responsibility to dilligently study. ( 2 Tim. 2:15). We have to remember that the Holy Spirit inspired the structure, style, and flow of scripture, and we do well to heed these points of fact. We must also be careful not to insert our own opinions into the text, which cannot be drawn out of the text itself. The Bible counsels us sternly not to add or to take away from the word of God.
B. The importance of context
To open this point, I will first demonstrate a simple object lesson. Suppose someone says "I'm Blue!" what are the possible meanings? Among other things, (feel free to to think of some that are not listed here) this person could mean:
1. That their skin is covered in blue paint.
2. that their skin is turning blue, from a lack of oxygen, and they will soon pass out.
3. That they are depressed.
So how then, do we know what this person really meant when they said, "I'm blue!"? The answer, obviously, is from the surrounding facts (either current, historical, or a combination of the two) which tends to lend toward an essential answer. The context of the specific situation in view has significant bearing on what this person means. If this person's skin is turning blue from a lack of oxygen, then this person, may also, quite understandably, be depressed about it. However, do you think this person wants to hear you sit down and counsel him about how to feel better, or do you think they want you to get them emergency medical assistance? Though you might be able to make some other observations about him by implication from his situation, his statement has one ultimate meaning.
C. The Importance Of Observation
The Scriptures are filled with principles which are intended by God to reveal to us how we ought to think and live in truth and His design. One could think of discovering these principles as "mining for gold". The principles of Scipture are golden nuggets of truth that we must dig out from the text. Some of these nuggets are very close to the surface, like in some of the Pauline Scriptures, while others are more challanging to grasp, such as those within the old testament Scriptures, or implied by Biblical prophecy. Peter affirmed in the new testament that some things in the Scriptures are hard to understand, and are misinterpreted by many. ( 2 Pet. 3:15-16). We must be willing to give the time, patience, and commitment that it takes to mine these principles; these treasures are worth the effort. ultimately we must bathe this process in much prayer. We must ask for the Holy Spirt to empower and guide our efforts in studying the Scriptures which He has inspired and to help us be honest and fair in our handling of the text. We must also adopt standards that will protect our thoughts from going where the author of a particular passage would not want us to go, and will chanel through a careful and through process of arriving at an accurate interpretation of Scripture.
D. The Importance of Broad to Specific
"Curse God and die." This is a quote from Job 2:9. However,without understanding that this phrase is the bad advice of Job's wife to her husband who was facing great trial and suffering, one could reat this as a command for us to curse God and die. We should begin our observations from a broader scope before moving to the level of isolated sentences and phrases. The following gives a pattern for this process:
1. Is the text Old or New Testament? If the text is OT, we must understand that the original audience is Israel, and must take into account confines of Judaism. If the text is NT, we must understand that the original audience was people in the 1st Century.
2. In which Book of the Bible is the text contained? Is the author of the book identified? Are there clues in this Book or elsewhere in Scripture, or elsewhere in generally accepted History, that describe the author and the conditions under which he was writing? Does the author identify a particular adudience? Are there clues that further decribe this audience and the conditions under which they recieved the text? Are there clues pointing toward a major theme for the Book as a whole? What is the literary genre of this Book?
3. What is the content of the passage contained in the text? What is the main idea of the passage? Are there clues or sub-points that support the main idea? What other passages surround the text in view? Have you properly grouped verses to carry across the whole idea of the passage? Note that Passages may not be contained in only one Chapter, and as is the case of the four Gospels, may not even be the same account, as each account was written with a particular purpose in mind.
4. We must remember the rules of English Grammar apply with interpreting the text. This means that the reader should be familar witth the defintions of Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Peropsitions, etc., and their correct use within a sentence. Scripture is written in proper English, and IS NOT written in slang terminology, or otherwise improper grammar.
5. Transition words, such as "Therefore", "Finally", etc. indicate that one should look to the material which comes before the use of these types of words.
E. The Use of Hebrew an Greek Lexicons.
You can learn to identify key words that would be benificial to look up in the original language. The Old Testement was written primarily in Hebrew, with portions being in Aramaic, and the New Testament was written in Greek. These original texts were translated to Latin, and eventually to the Old-English of the King James Version. All of these translations have their own nuances of usage, that fall within the dialect and culture of the time and language into which they were translated. Whats more, is that the Greek language has shades of meaning, and verb tenses, that the majority of other langages do not have. Therefore, Key nouns, verbs, and any word that appears to be used in an unusal way, should be looked up in the original language of the text. You do not have to be a Greek or Hebrew scholar to accomplish this task. at www.greekbible.com, as well as on several other websites, one can bring up the English text and clik on the words to find some basic definitons. An analytical Greek to English lexicon, such as Strong's Concordance, can also be helpful for this purpose, As is googling the original word, to get a broader sense of its historical use within ancient times and cultures.
F. The Importace of Bridging The Gap
After arriving at the main point of the passage using a broader scope as well as examining the fine details, it is important to be able to bring the principles revealed by the author to his audience into our present context for application. For example, the cermonial and diatary laws given to Israel in the old testament were generally meant to teach a spiritual principle, such as Holiness. Israel was to be a people distinct from the heathern nations around them. Therefore, God gave them practices and diets that set them apart from others in a very physical and tangible way. In our context today, we may apply these principles by realising that god desires for His people to be separated from the sinful desires and practices of the rest of the world. God is the same God, has always been the same God, and always will be the same God. Therefore , there is much to learn about Him based on His interaction with israel in the old testament. We may gain much insight into his heart, the things he loves, the things he hates, his mercy, his justice, his power, and his personal nature. The same applies with the New Testament. Because we are in the age of the New Covenant today, jsut as people of the first century were, the gap between our context and theirs is much smaller, not to mention that we are much closer in time. Still, there are some historical and cultural gaps that must be considered when applying principles to our context today.