Page 16 - Homiletics I Student Textbook

Study Section 3: Definitions and Basics of Bible Interpretation

3.1 Connect
Imagine a small Bible study group meeting in the living room of a nice home every
Thursday evening. The group has no designated leaders other than the host and hostess.
Each week they study a passage in the book of Romans…As they come to a difficult verse
or group of verses, they each give their opinion on what it means. Their views differ and
even conflict with each other. Having no way of determining which view is correct, they
move on to another passage in the chapter, and again voice differing ideas. The so-called
Bible study concludes with each having shared varied opinions but with no sense of whether the
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verses mean all those things shared, one of them, or none of them.

The scenario presented in the paragraph above is as much a tragedy as it is a reality. Whether it be a
home Bible study group, a casual discussion at work, or a message from a church pulpit, opinions on
what the Bible says, and means are just that – opinions! Opinions are one thing. Understanding what
the Bible says and means is another (cf.Ac.8:26-31). Such type of Bible study is nothing more than
“shared ignorance.” If we’re going to stand up to preach God’s Word, we had better be sure of what it
says.

3.2 Objectives
1. The student should be able to define the word, “hermeneutics.”

2. The student should be able to explain some of the basic principles and methods of Bible
interpretation.

3. The student should be able to explain the process of Bible study.

3.3 Definitions and Basics of Bible Interpretation

The principles and methods used to interpret the Bible is referred to as Hermeneutics.

Definitions

Biblical hermeneutics is best understood when compared with other disciplines.

One cannot communicate (exposition) the scriptures accurately in a preaching (homiletics) or teaching
(pedagogy) setting unless he is first a good student of the Word (exegesis). Biblical hermeneutics
provides him with the tools he needs to be that good student.

17 Roy B. Zuck, Rightly Divided,(Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1996), 5.
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