Page 17 - Homiletics Student Textbook

In this step one must seek to determine what the passage is saying to all people of all time.
Having discovered the single meaning by grasping the text in their town and the differences
that exist between the two audiences by measuring the width of the river to cross, the task of
the interpreter is now to express that single meaning in the form of a timeless universal truth.
In other words, what principle was true not only for the biblical audience, but also for all
audiences of all time? This theological principle should be consistent with the rest of scripture.
The time-bound statement formed earlier is here
refined into a timeless principle, also with a subject
and a complement, in the present tense.

Crossing the Principlizing Bridge
What is the timeless theological principle in this text?
What does the text mean for all people of all time?
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D. Grasping the Text in Our Town

Finally, one must now wrestle with what kind of response the text demands from him. The
abstract theological principle carried across the principlizing bridge must now be applied to his
personal current life setting. While the theological principle remains constant, applications of
that principle may vary depending on each individual interpreter’s situation in life. This is
normal. Sadly, many today are more concerned about their personal applications of theological
principles rather than the careful process of discovering the theological principle itself.

Grasping the Text in Our Town
What is the timely homiletical principle in this text?
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What does the text mean for people living today?

This is the journey the careful student of the scriptures
must take. These principles and methods must govern
one’s approach to every verse, paragraph, chapter,
book, and testament of the Bible. When considered and
applied consistently they will prove their worth in
discovering the intended meaning placed in the text by the author.

II. The Process of Bible Study

Most scholars reduce this method of Bible study down to a simple three-step process, that of
observation, interpretation, and application.
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A. Observation answers the question, “What do I see?”

If you want to dig out real gold from the Bible – if you desire to pull out of God’s Word some of
the serious “meat” that he has placed there for us to sink our teeth into – you have to exert
considerable effort. It takes work – hard work! And you, the reader, have to decide whether you

26 Duvall & Hays, 23.
27 Duvall & Hays, 24.
28 Hendricks & Hendricks, 35.
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