Finding GOD'S Main Point

The order of Bible study is familiar to many of you. You start by repeatedly reading a passage, chapter or book, making Observations as you go. [Identify the original author & his audience, people, places, literary genre (narrative, poetic, prophetic, wisdom, apocalyptic, gospel, parable, etc., each of which has its own rules for understanding). Establish the context of the entire book & the immediate context of the passage (where does it start/end? e.g. a question is asked; the passage has "book ends"). Determine the historical context. Identify cultural considerations. Take note of repeated ("key") words & phrases. Look up the context of any OT quotes & determine their use in your passage. Roughly outline the structure. Look for connecting words that clarify meaning [and (links ideas), but (contrast), therefore (concluding result), for/because (reason or explanation), that/in order that (purpose), that (content), etc.]

Next comes Interpretation, which good observation makes possible. What did the original author mean to convey to his original audience? Is a Principle or a Practice being taught? Exegesis is a key element here. It means breaking down the text, the flow of the argument, the meaning of words determined by their use in context, verb tenses, pronouns, main verb(s) & subject(s), direct objects, indirect objects (to/for), deciding what participles & prepositional phrases are modifying ... the actual nitty-gritty of language that gives Meaning. 

Careful time spent in these first two steps, makes the final step possible. What Universal Principles can be drawn? And once those have been identified, what are the particular Applications you need to make in your own life? What are the implications of these Universal Principles/Truths on the way you think and live? What specific changes do YOU need to make in your thinking or living/actions [put offs/put ons]?

A common error is to jump to Application before having laid the solid foundation of the first two steps. Such error is often prefaced by the words, "What this verse/passage means to me ...". Our human nature is all too quick to "look for the blessing" instead of disciplining ourselves to "look for God's meaning." That's where true blessing lies! 

In the following 4 minute video clip, Tim Keller, Don Carson & John Piper discuss the importance of careful time spent in exegesis prior to making Applications. As believers who are cautious to "rightly divide the word of truth," we want to be very sure we're making the exact same conclusions God intended us to make!


Make God's Word Your 'Thing' from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

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