Bible Interpretation, Student Workbook, SW05

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B I B L E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N

• The first step in employing the Three-Step Model is observing the details of the text, establishing the background of the book, its author and audience, its purpose for being written, as well as its rendering in different translations. • Finding general principles of the text or passage is the second step of the Three-Step Model , and involves finding the central messages, truths, commands, or teachings contained in the text. This step involves going from what the text meant in its original setting , to what the text now means to us in our lives today . These principles must be stated clearly, compared with teachings throughout the Scriptures, and made plain for further study and application. • After we have observed the details and drawn out principles, we go to the third step of the Three-Step Model which is our goal to apply the spiritual principles in the power of the Holy Spirit. An application is an expression of the heart to the truth of God as the Spirit leads . It demands discernment and a readiness to obey God’s will for our lives. • All biblical interpretation is given in order to strengthen our discipleship in Christ, and is essentially a variation on the common themes emphasized throughout the Scriptures. Love for God and neighbor and using our freedom to build up others and glorify God, constitute the heart of the Bible’s ethic in both the Old and New Testaments. Because the Bible is God’s word, it is vitally important to cultivate humility as we read, to foster a meditative prayerfulness as we reflect and study, to seek the help of the Holy Spirit as we try to understand and obey, to confess sin and pursue purity of heart and motive and relationships as we grow in understanding. Failure in these areas may produce scholars, but not mature Christians. Above all, we must remember that we will one day give an account to the one who says, “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word” (Isa. 66.2). Humility the Key to Interpreting Scripture

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~ Carson, Donald A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. (electronic ed. of the 4th ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997.