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Lesson OneWhat is Biblical Interpretation?4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoA Short History of Interpretation4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeBasic Principles of Interpretation4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FourInterpreting Narratives or Stories4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FiveInterpreting Poetry and Wisdom4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SixInterpreting Prophecy4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SevenThe New Testament Use of the Old Testament4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson EightThe Theological Use of the Bible: Putting it All Together4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson NineContemporary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TenInterpreting the Cultural Aspects of the Bible4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ElevenWhen the Bible Doesn’t Address Our Questions4 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwelveInterpreting the Bible Devotionally4 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 236
Discussion Questions
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Do you agree with the lecturer that a person must be a born-again Christian in order to understand the Bible? Give reasons for your answer.
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I do agree. And believe that as Christians our teacher is the Holy Spirit that leads, guides, and gives us an understanding of
the Bible. -
To understand yes but to apply the general principles of the bible I don’t believe that one has to necessary be a Christian to do that. Case in point, the world for decades has monetized biblical principles and passed them off as “original thought” and use them to build world systems. Ecclesiastes 11 talks about a method of trade and diversification of assists. Sounds like financial planners of today to me. In Exodus 18 Jethro told moses to appoint able men over groups of people, sounds like corporate structure.
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Yes because the word says spiritual only can be understood spiritually
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Absolutely yes. I do see some with a lot of head knowledge, and no application. However, the Bible is God’s inspired word (2 Tim 3:16). In several places we can find where Jesus has spoken in ways that we need His understanding to interpret correctly. The parables were a great example with the apostles having to seek out meaning. In surrendering our lives to Christ, He indwells our spirit with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide and direct us (John 16:13).
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Absolutely. Scripture supports this view through Jesus’ words during His earthly ministry that only those who have ears will hear the truth of His message, a point He makes repeatedly. And we see in the account of Philip and the Ethiopian official in Acts 8, for example, where Philip interprets scripture for him, then he asks to be baptized as an outward display of his understanding and acceptance of the Gospel. Our acceptance of salvation and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit gives us hunger and means to feed ourselves spiritually by understanding how to feast on the “meat” of the Bible.
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If we all come to the biblical text with bias and previous conditioning, how can we expect to arrive at an interpretation that resembles the authoritative Word of God?
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When believers interpret a passage differently (either within a church or across denominations), how should they relate to each other in a way that promotes unity in the Body of Christ and yet continues to minister God’s Word with conviction?
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First, it’s important to acknowledge that we should approach interpretation in humility and understanding that more unites than divides us as Bible-believing Christians. There are many unknowns in this scenario – what points of different interpretation? Is this meaning or application? And, as others have mentioned, did the differing groups both adhere to the rules of hermeneutics, prayerfully going into the Scriptures seeking meaning rather than applying their contemporary to the passage in question? Is the goal to find common ground along the lines of central truths in the Bible that both groups accept and to test these interpretations against these truths to see if they align or veer away from accepted doctrine? If our goal is to seek the Lord’s will through understanding His Word and submitting to testing our own understanding against central truths of the Bible, we can agree to hold different interpretations without misaligning our fellow believers. If their interpretation goes against or negates a central truth of Scripture, we can try to guide them to these truths by sharing evidence from the Bible, but we cannot affirm what seems to go against it.
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It’s ok for Christians to disagree, but they should never be disagreeable. When differences of interpretation occur, each person must consider the alternative interpretation, and be faithful to apply the rules of hermeneutics and exegete the passage to discover why there may be a difference. Then together the two interpretations should be seen alongside the exegesis and each person must be prepared to alter their interpretation if the other’s proves a more valid interpretation.
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Believers must relate to each other in love, respect and, I feel, enough knowledge of what is divisive in doctrine and destructive in dogma in order to come to a valid interpretation that is Truth and can be put into practice the way Christ would have put it into practice- to glorify the Father.
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This is a challenging question. When believers interpret a passage differently they should do a deep study of the passage using biblical concordance, checking the biblical culture and language of the scripture. Today, the cause why there are different denominations is for this exact reason.
The main truth that will always promote unity in the Body of Christ is
John 3:16. -
Look at the Scriptures with the aid of biblical helps, I.e. Commentaries, Dictionaries or Concordances together to see what God intended the author to convey with arguing over the interpretation.
