LIVING BIBLICALLY SOUND LIVES
Have you ever read something in the Bible that seems to contradict what another Christian believes? Sure you have, we all have. How can we know what we believe is sound Christian doctrine? The really good news is there is a science for determining meaning and intent of the scriptures. That science is called Hermeneutics. Biblical hermeneutics is the method of interpreting Scripture so we can bridge the gaps between modern-day readers of the Bible, its original audiences, and God as its ultimate author.
In order to understand co-hearently what God was saying to the original audience we need to do some exegesis work. Exegesis means using the words of the text in Scripture, through the lens of their original context, to determine their intent. When Jesus said:
“Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” -
-Matthew 19:23,24
does that mean people who are wealthy are evil or without hope and why would Jesus compare it to a camel and a sowing needle. Immediately we think of a sewing needle and how difficult it would be to thread that needle and it would be absurd to think a camel could even get one eye lash through a sewing needle.
Careful research of the times, the audience and the words of Jesus reveal the actual meaning of His words. The entrance into the cities gates were small and the camels often burdened down with supplies. The camel owners would command their beasts of burden to kneel down to fit into those entrances that locals called “the eye of the needle”. The people of Jesus day would have immediately understood what Jesus was saying about wealth. Any, who were pursuing wealth as a singular focus were burdening themselves with the cares of life and the material possessions of life that will all perish one day. Such dedicated focus to worship riches would make it impossible to get through the “eye of the needle” and into Kingdom of God.
“Our world view should be shaped by truth over feelings. ”
There is a real danger in not doing proper exegetical work as we study the scriptures. Our world view should be shaped by truth over feelings. I don’t read the Bible to validate my feelings about events of my day. I read the Bible to hear God’s Truth irrespective of my feelings. What I want God to say and what He is actually saying can be two different things. It is very important that I do not add to scripture or take away from scripture in order to make it match what I want to believe.
The practice of gathering a few scriptures that seem to support what we want to believe and take them out of their original context is the practice of making truth into a lie. We are warned about this in Romans 1:25
“They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”
EXEGESIS VS. EISEGESIS
If one analyzes Scripture exegetically, they won’t come to the text with any conclusions. They let the text itself reveal what the writer is revealing to the reader. By doing this, we don’t read anything into Scripture that wasn’t there before, and we study the meaning of the passage that was intended for a specific audience.
Eisegesis, on the other hand, means reading into the text with a preconceived notion we may have. This can often mean coming to the Scripture with a biased cultural lens that didn’t exist during the time the Bible was written. Eisegesis can be used to twist Scripture to assert a certain belief. Politicians or other leaders may take a Bible verse out of context and interpret it using their own biased perspective to justify implementing a policy.
Biblical Hermeneutics goes somewhat hand in hand with exegesis. Hermeneutics is more concerned about how you interpret a passage (if you choose to do one process versus another), and exegesis means actually researching and discovering the meaning behind the text. Usually, theologians pair hermeneutics with exegesis because you cannot have one without the other. Hermeneutics would be concerned with capturing the complete context of the passage or verse. That would sometimes mean reading through the entire chapter before and after the paragraph or verse your are studying in order to fully understand context. It may in some cases mean reading through other sections of the Bible that address the same issue.
God has given us a companion to help us with the work we need to do in the study of God’s Word. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” -Jn. 16:13- The Holy Spirit is here referred to as the “Spirit of Truth”. As we study the Word of God the Holy Spirit is there with us to reveal the truth.