A Primer on Hermeneutics

Imagine for a second that you just walked into your first class at college and five minutes in you realize that you are in the wrong class. The professor is talking and you are reading the slides but it isn’t making much sense. You try your best to see if you can understand what he is saying, and you pick up on a few words or ideas, but you’re not sure if your perception of what was taught is what the professor actually means.

This situation is often similar to the way we approach studying and interpreting the Bible. Without the proper foundational building blocks, we are left aimless in our pursuit of what the Bible actually means. Hermeneutics is the method of interpreting a text, and a hermeneutical process gives us a roadmap for interpreting and applying the Bible.

I am currently taking a course on the hermeneutical process, and my hope is that what follows will serve as a guide and inspiration to help you grow in your ability to rightly divide and obey God’s Word. Who knows, maybe this post will lead you to pursue diving deeper into this topic and taking a seminary course on hermeneutics as well!

Assumptions and General Questions

It is vitally important to read God’s Word with the foundational understanding and belief that the Bible is inerrant (without error) and infallible (perfectly truthful and trustworthy) and that the entire Bible is one big story with Jesus Christ at the center of this story and present in some way in every part of the text.

With that as our foundation, we then can go to the text looking for answers to the following kinds of questions:

1. What does this text teach me about God?
2. What does this text teach me about fallen humanity?
3. How does this text point to Christ?
4. What does God want me to know?
5. What does God want me to do?

To find answers to these questions, we can follow a three-step process:

Observation – What do I See?

Observation starts by taking a good hard look at what the text actually says. It can be helpful during this step to read the Bible as if this is the first time you’ve seen the text. Read the passage thoughtfully, repeatedly (3-5 times), and patiently, studying lengthy portions in one sitting and, starting at the beginning of a passage, or chapter, or book.

As you read, make all possible observations, look for key terms and verbs, and look for grammatical and logical relationships. Look for the who, what, when, where, why, and how. It can also be very helpful to read the passage in several different translations and observe the differences you see.

Interpretation – What Does it Mean?

When interpreting the Bible, it is important to look for the author’s intending meaning. Begin by asking the Holy Spirit to open your heart and eyes to what he has for you through the reading of his holy word.

As you interpret the text, here are five rules to remember:

1.  Remember that the Bible is authoritative, and interpret scripture with scripture.
2.  Interpret difficult passages in the light of clear passages.
3.  Personal experience should be interpreted in the light of scripture and not vice   versa.
4.  Remember that scripture has one intended meaning but many applications.
5.  The true meaning is true at all times and in all places.

Application – How Should I Obey the Text?

Although there exists only one intended meaning deposited by the author of the text, there are many applications. When applying the Bible today, it is important to learn how to bridge the interpretive horizon from the biblical world to our world. When looking for application, you are looking for truth that can apply in some way to any time, place, or circumstance. Ask yourself how the truth of the author’s intended meaning is relevant to your own circumstances.

As you apply the text, ask how the truth in this text might affect your

1. Attitudes toward God, others, circumstances
2. Knowledge of God
3. Behavior
4. Relationships
5. Motives
6. Values and Priorities
7. Character

Once you know how you can obey God’s word, confess where you have fallen short and ask God to give you strength to walk in obedience to him. Through applying this process, I hope that you will become a better interpreter of God’s word, that you will grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, and that ultimately God will be glorified through you.