Basic Hermeneutics

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling word of truth (2Timothy 2:15).

The underlined phrase was the theme for a seminar titled Basic Hermeneutics I spoke at. In the text before us, Paul writes to young Timothy instructing him on several doctrinal issues in his role as a pastor and particularly in this verse; Timothy is instructed on rightly handling the word of truth. Now though a pastoral letter, the charge nonetheless holds true for every believer. As Christians, we are all called upon to engage in a right handling of the word of truth. The question therefore is what is the meaning of rightly handling the word of truth? The Greek word ὀρθοτομοῦντα (orthotomounta) translated as rightly handing the word of truth comes from the field of engineering which simply means to cut straight. The idea therefore means cutting straight the word of God that is, accurately teaching the word of God. And before we can teach the word of God accurately, we obviously have to interpret it accurately. So correct interpretation and correct teaching go together. Charles Spurgeon in a sermon on this text noted that:

Timothy was neither to mutilate, nor twist, nor torture, nor break in pieces the Word of God, nor keep on the outside of it, as those do who never touch the soul of a text, but rightly to divide it, as one taught of God to teach others.

Now many of the false doctrines in Christianity are simply problems of wrong interpretations and we will do well to grasp some basics of proper interpretation.

Hermeneutics

When we speak of hermeneutics, we are simply speaking of the science of the correct interpretation of any document or literature. So it is a big word with a straight forward meaning: correct interpretation. The purpose of hermeneutics, according to Sproul “is to establish guidelines and rules for interpretation…Any written document is subject to misinterpretation, and thus we have developed rules to safeguard us from such misunderstanding” Before I say anything further. Let’s establish a few things about the Bible that will guide us in our interpretation of it. These are presuppositions we must come to the Bible with. Without them we are not going to get any far with Scripture

1. The Bible is the Word of God.
2. The Bible is inerrant; that is, it contains no errors in what it teaches
3. The Bible has authority over our lives.

If the Bible is the word of God and it is, then you and I have a responsibility not to misinterpret God’s word. If the Bible is inerrant in all it teaches, then you and I can trust it. If the Bible has authority over us, then you and I must allow it to correct us and not way correct the Bible.

Interpretation is hard work

The phrase “Do your best” in the text gives us a picture of effort, preparation and diligence. Prior to vs 15 of 2 Timothy, Paul had drawn certain analogies from the life of a soldier (v.4), athlete (v.5) and farmer (6). These analogies help us understand well the phrase “Do your best”. The soldier seeks to please his superiors, the athlete competes according to the rules and a farmer works hard. According to John MacArthur “The phrase “Do Your Best”, in the Greek–Spoudaźo, speaks of zeal or being zealous. To “Do your best” therefore speaks of zeal in presenting ourselves as one approved–that is people who please God. And one of the many ways in pleasing God is handling His word accurately.

Rightly Handling The Word

If Paul says : “rightly handling the word”, it means the word can be wrongly handled. Suppose you are to engage the services of any professional, what will be your standard for selection? For example, if you are to engage the services of a tailor/seamstress ( fashion designer), would you engage one who cuts clothes indiscriminately without precision and accuracy? Would you engage an architect whose drawings are inaccurate. And who would live in a house that tilts to its side? I doubt if anyone would. But if these are important, why do people leave their lives and eternal destiny into the hands of people who “wrongly handle the word of truth” and teach their followers same? “Rightly handling the word of truth” speaks of accuracy, precision, exactness and straightness.

Precision and accuracy are required in biblical interpretation, beyond all other enterprises, because the interpreter is handling God’s Word. Anything less is shameful [3]

At this point we will consider Exegesis and Eisegesis. These two words almost sound the same but they are different words both in spelling and pronunciation.

Exegesis.

Exegesis is the correct way of handling a text or interpreting a text. It simply means bringing an understanding of a text out of the text itself. So in exegesis we look at the text, its immediate context and the larger context of the bible to bring an understanding. The meaning that comes out of the text must be true to the whole teachings of Scripture. You cannot bring from a text what is not there. We are to bring out only what is true in a text. In engaging in exegesis, you look at all there is in the text.

Eisegesis

Have you ever encountered someone say this to you about a biblical text? “That’s your opinion” “I have my own opinion”. “That’s how you choose to interpret the text, I choose to interpret it differently”. You probably may have spoken those words yourself to someone who disagreed with you on a biblical text. In a world of subjectivity, this might sound appealing. The problem however is that the bible is not left to our subjective interpretation and “opinionising”. The Bible has an objective meaning in its context.

Though it is God’s word, it is written in human language and all the rules of reading, comprehension and interpretation of literature or any written document applies.
When we speak of Eisegesis, we are simply speaking of reading meaning into a text, that is, a meaning that is not there.

Now let’s attempt to answer “how can we handle the word of truth with accuracy and precision?” I will offer some points here.

Read Your Bible

First and foremost you must read the Bible if you will come any close to rightly handling the word of truth. Many believers don’t know what the Bible teaches simply because they don’t read it. They believe the Bible is God’s word, but they can’t even tell of the last time they read the Bible. Writing about why people don’t study their Bible, R.C. Sproul in his book Knowing Scripture nailed it to one reason–laziness: “We fail in our duty to study God’s Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy” [4]

Read It Orderly

“…it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught”(Luke 1:3-4)

Luke tells us something about his gospel account which is true of every book of the Bible. The Bible is an “orderly account” of events. It is not a disorderly, haphazard, magical words appearing on a paper.

Study Your Bible

Reading and studying are two different things. “There is a great deal of difference between reading and studying. Reading is something we can do in a leisurely way, something that can be done strictly for entertainment in a casual manner. But study suggests labor, serious and diligent work“[4].
There is a level of seriousness that comes with studying that is not required of reading. Again we turn to Luke’s gospel. He said to Theophilus:
…having followed all things closely.
This statement indicates an attention to detail and facts concerning gospel truth. This same disposition of mind is required in studying the Bible. Luke poured over– examined, investigated, scrutinised, paid attention, analysed and engaged–the facts of what was handed over by the eye witnesses of Christ’s life, i.e. the apostles (Luke 1:2).

As believers, our regenerated minds have been empowered with the capacity to “spiritually discern” God’s word in contrast to the unregenerated man who can’t discern or receive spiritual things. So dear believer, do just that! Engage the text! Take note of phrases, meaning of words, figurative expressions, grammatical constructions and pray the Holy Spirit to illuminate your mind.

Present Yourself To God As one Approved

As believers we need to grow in sanctification and mature in holiness. Our effort in cooperation with the Spirit of God towards sanctification as believers is not what secures our salvation, yet it is necessary for our spiritual growth and usefulness. See the result or the objective Luke hoped to achieve with his orderly presentation of his gospel to Theophilus: “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught”.

This is important for us Bible readers. An orderly presentation of truth brings clarity. It gives roots to faith. It solidifies ones beliefs. Paul tells Timothy something similar to the impact Luke hopes his gospel would have on Theophilus (2Timothy 3:14-15).
When we rightly handle the word, it makes us wise in our faith walk and saves us from error of false teachers: But avoid irreverent babble , for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”(2Timothy 2:16- 18).

Basic Tools Of Hermeneutics

To rightly handle the word of truth we need tools to help us. At this point I will share three basic tools of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics “…is the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible…The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to help us to know how to properly interpret, understand, and apply the Bible” .

Analogy Of Faith/Synthesis Principle
This rule holds that Scripture is its own interpreter: “Sacra Scriptura sui interpres“. What this teaches basically is that no interpretation of a Scripture or Scriptures must contradict any other Scripture. Since God doesn’t contradict Himself, we must expect His word to also be in harmony as a whole. Biblical interpretation therefore must be approached with the whole body of biblical revelation in mind. When we interpret a Scripture, we must be sure that our interpretation agrees with other Scriptures rather than contradict. Where a Scripture is contradicting another, we must solve the contradiction or throw away our interpretation.

Literal Interpretation

It has been said already that the Bible is a book and as such must be read as a book. When we are told to read the Bible literally, what is being spoken of here is that we must “…interpret the Bible literally… as literature. That is, the natural meaning of a passage is to be interpreted according to the normal rules of grammar, speech, syntax and context” . So the next time you approach the Bible, take notice of the words you are reading

Genre Analysis

Bible is a Greek word biblio which means book. So the Bible is a book. It is not only a book but a book made up of different collection of books of different genres. The genres of the Bible includes historical narratives, wisdom literature, Psalms, Letters (epistles), Gospel, Prophetic writings, Apocalyptic writings and each of these genre must be identified and read with the rules governing a particular genre. Now genre analysis involves the study of figures of speech and style, literary devices and any other literature forms. This tool goes hand in hand with literal translation. So in genre analysis, we consider the literary style of every particular genre and how to interpret it.

Grammatical-Historical Principle

The Bible is written in human words and we must not read beyond the meaning of words. Linking this to the Literal interpretation, we must not spiritualise where there is no spiritualisation. We must also consider the history of the bible when interpreting.