Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 2 | BIBLE INTERPRETATION: THE THREE-STEP MODEL / 113

2. Refuse to jump to conclusions without checking them against the Scriptures.

3. Orient yourself to patiently pray and discuss, in your search, for principles in the Word of God.

D. Steps to discover principles

1. Expect to find God’s practical wisdom in your study of the Word of God, 2 Tim. 3.16.

2. When analyzing individual texts, always be on the lookout for larger patterns, structures, principles, and connections in the text to other Scripture.

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3. Do not be hasty in declaring one of your proverbs a universal principle: test your findings against Scripture.

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

a. 1 Thess. 5.21

b. Prov. 23.23

c. Phil. 4.8

d. 2 Thess. 2.15

4. Acid test of principle formation : if your proverb is true, you ought to be able to find cases in life where the truth of your proverb is easily observed to be true.