Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 2 | BIBLE INTERPRETATION: THE THREE-STEP MODEL / 111

4. Acquire and learn to use the proper Bible study tools that will help recreate for you the original situation.

E. Example: the Passover, 1 Corinthians 5.7, 8

III. Step Two: Discover and Draw Out General Principles

A. Why do we need to discover general principles?

1. “Facts are dumb things”: biblical facts require interpretation , and interpretation leads to understanding .

2. Without principles we are left with pieces and no mosaics: we confront thousands of unconnected facts in the Bible.

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3. General principles allow us to draw out wisdom from the experience of others: the power of biblical case studies, Prov. 24.30-34.

B i b l i ca l S tud i e s

a. Careful personal observation of a particular situation

b. Reflection and consideration of the meaning of those facts

c. The formation of a principle ( proverb ) that can be applied to a number of different but related situations

4. General principles allow us to predict with accuracy what will occur if certain conditions are met , drawing clear conclusions from universal truth.