The Interpretive Journey

• IntroductionIntroduction– Grasping God’s Word is for people who want to

understand the Bible at a deeper level.

– Why do we have to interpret the Bible?¹

– The process of interpreting and applying the Bible may be compared to taking a journey.

– There is a river of differences separating us from the biblical audience—culture, language, time, situation, and covenant.

How can we cross the river?

Intuitive

or

“feels-right”

approach

How can we cross the river?

Spiritualizing

approach

How can we cross the river?

Get discouraged and

give up

Basics of the Journey

Basics of the Journey

Completing Step 1

•Read the text carefully and make observations.

•Study the historical and literary context.

•Synthesize the meaning of the passage for the biblical audience.

Basics of the Journey

Step 2: Measuring the Width of the River to Cross

Question: What are the differences between the biblical audience and us?

Basics of the Journey

Completing Step 2

•Account for common differences: culture, language situation, time and covenant.

•Focus on the unique differences found in a specific text.

•If you are studying an Old Testament passage, you must account for the life and work of Jesus Christ.

Basics of the Journey

Completing Step 3•Recall the differences identified in Step 2.•Identify any similarities between the biblical audience and contemporary life.•Holding the differences and similarities together, identify a broad theological principle.•Write out the theological principle, using present tense verbs.

Basics of the Journey

A theological principle should…•be reflected in the text.•be timeless and not tied to a specific situation.•not be culturally bound.•correspond to the teaching of the rest of Scripture.•be relevant to both the biblical and contemporary audience.

Basics of the Journey

Step 4: Consult the Biblical Map

Question: How does our theological principle fit with the rest of the Bible?

Basics of the Journey

Completing Step 4

•Does this principle correlate with the rest of the Bible?

•If in the Old Testament, run your theological principle through the grid of the New Testament.

Basics of the Journey

Step 5: Grasping the Text in Our Town

Question: How should individual Christians today live out the theological principles?

Basics of the Journey

Basics of the Journey

Completing Step 5

•Apply the theological principle to the specific situation of a contemporary Christian.

•There are numerous applicational possibilities, because Christians today find themselves in a variety of situations.

• Basics of the Journey Basics of the Journey

– Assumptions:

• The Bible is God’s communication of himself and his will to us.¹

• We do not create meaning; rather, we seek to discover the meaning that is already in the Bible.²

• Theological principles revealed in specific passages of the Bible are applicable to both the biblical audience and to Christians today.³

• We can use the principilizing bridge to cross the river of differences.