Page 23 - Homiletics I Student Textbook

main clauses and try to follow the flow of the author’s thoughts. View the passage through
the eyes of God, the divine author, the human authors who conveyed the message, and the
initial recipients of the message.

Synthesis

Summarize the author’s message based on the findings in Step 5.
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The principle stated

Organize and state the author’s main thoughts as past actions and then summarize
them into a single statement with both a subject and a complement. This is the time-
bound principle that is discovered by traveling to their town. This is the main idea of the
text, the single meaning intended by the author. This statement forms the basis for an
exegetical outline as you begin to move from the text to the sermon.

The principle implied

This is the timeless principle that is derived from the stated meaning that was not only
true for the original audience then but is also true for all people of all time. It too should
be a statement with both a subject and a complement. As you cross this principlizing
bridge this statement forms the basis for a theological outline as you continue to move
from the text to the sermon.

The principle extrapolated

This is the timely principle that is applicable to people living today in our town. Beyond
mere application, it carries with it the weight of the authoritative Word of God. It should
also be a statement with both a subject and a complement. As such, it forms the basis
for a homiletical outline as you being to finalize your process of moving from the text to
the sermon.

The more thorough one’s exegetical method, the more accurate his interpretation will be. As
Paul said to Timothy, Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who
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has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

3. Application answers the question, “How does it work?”

It is difficult to lay out a process for determining specific applications of a biblical text. The following
excerpt from Duvall’s and Hayes’ book, Grasping God’s Word, puts this discipline into proper
perspective.

Perhaps the best way to make your applications specific is by creating real-world
scenarios. These scenarios function as illustrations or examples of how a person might
put the biblical principles into practice. They help us move beyond abstract principles to
capture the color and emotion of the biblical principle. We are quick to admit that these

35 Gordon H. Lovik, Hemeneutics Syllabus, (Lansdale, Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary, 1996), 46-47.
36 2 Timothy 2:15
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