EXEGESIS AND HERMENEUTICS

© 2016, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved

GIVENS:
1) The Bible is for all Christians, not for a magisterium (1 Peter 2:1; Mark 13:14; 1 Thessalonians
5:27; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1,13)

2) There is a role for leadership to teach and defend sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3,10; 4:13,16,
Titus 1:9; 2:7, 10) BUT they do not define doctrine authoritatively (Acts 17:11; 20:30; Isaiah
8:20; Mark 7:6-9).

“Bishops who teach in communion with the Roman Pontiff are to be revered by all as
witnesses of divine and Catholic truth; the faithful, for their part, are obliged to submit to
their bishops' decision, made in the name of Christ, in matters of faith and morals, and to
adhere to it with a ready and respectful allegiance of mind. This loyal submission of the will
and intellect must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the
Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra in such wise, indeed, that his
supreme teaching authority be acknowledged...” (Dogmatic Constitution On The Church -
Lumen Gentium 3.25)

BUT:

“Our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also
in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are SOME THINGS HARD TO
UNDERSTAND, which IGNORANT AND UNSTABLE PEOPLE TWIST TO THEIR OWN
DESTRUCTION, as they do also the rest of the SCRIPTURES.” (2 Peter 3:15b-16)

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

σπούδασον σεαυτὸν δόκιμον παραστῆσαι τῷ θεῷ ἐργάτην ἀνεπαίσχυντον ὀρθοτομοῦντα

τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας

σπουδάζω – to be especially conscientious in discharging an obligation; be zealous/eager;

take pains; make every effort; be conscientious

ὀρθοτομέω – guide the word of truth along a straight path (like a road that goes straight to
its goal)

3) The Bible is the word of God (Matthew 4:4), God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), written by men
but authored by God (2 Peter 1:20-21) [Verbal and plenary inspiration] and is completely
true (Psalm 119:160a, John 10:35) [Inerrancy]

4) The Bible is sufficient and all we need for life and Godliness (2 Timothy 3:17) [Sufficiency of
Scripture] BUT see Deuteronomy 29:29

5) The Bible can be understood (Habakkuk 2:2; 2 Corinthians 1:13) BUT there are difficult parts
(2 Peter 3:16, Hebrews 5:12-14) [Perspicuity of Scripture]

6) The Bible cannot be set against itself (Mark 3:24-26), so any true understanding must align
with ALL that Scripture says on a given topic.
RULES: WHAT TO DO:

1) Get rid of presuppositions and pulpit theology (e.g. Romans 11:19-22)

2) A correct understanding must align with all that the Bible says on a topic, so look at all the
Bible says on that topic BEFORE formulating your doctrine; do not formulate a doctrine on
the basis of one verse or a few verses (and especially when reading into them) and then try
to hammer dissenting passages into your doctrine (e.g. Romans 9, John 12:32, 1 John 2:2).

3) Words have meanings, and syntax determines meaning. There is one right interpretation.
Do away with “Yes, that’s right, too” and “What does this mean to you?” and “That’s just
your interpretation.”

4) Interpret according to the genre. Note that it must be according to the actual genre; genre
determines interpretation, not vice versa (e.g. Genesis 1).

5) Interpret according to the placement in salvation history (e.g. Mark 10:2-9).

6) Use the original language if possible; NEVER try to make an exegetical point on the basis of a
fine shade of meaning of an English word.

7) If it is not possible to use the original language, use the most accurate LITERAL translation(s)
available, and compare them. Note the limitations of various languages.

8) The Bible is sufficient unto itself. Background material can be helpful but it is not essential
(e.g. Hosea 3:1)

9) Authorial intent: Remember that the primary author is God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21;
many other examples e.g. Luke 1:70, Acts 1:16). Prophets could “write better than they
knew” (1 Peter 1:10-12; Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 9:10; 1 Corinthians 10:11)

10) Understand in light of the context (immediate, book, writer, testament, Bible). Extra-Biblical
context cannot override the plain meaning of the text.

11) Distinguish between what the Bible says and what the Bible says was said (e.g. Mark 3:22).

12) Historical examples do not override didactic statements (e.g. Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-18,
26:1-16)

13) Interpret the difficult in light of the clear, not vice versa (and especially not in light of
personal preferences)

14) Word Studies: See how words and expressions are used in other places (e.g. Genesis 3:16b,
4:6-7)

15) Give the Bible the benefit of a doubt when it comes to potential discrepancies (and
remember: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence)

16) Be aware of textual variants, and use the correct text.

17) Have a basic understanding of how logic and critical thinking work, and ask questions!
RULES: WHAT NOT TO DO:

1) Do not decide a priori what you are going to find, based on personal preference.

2) Beware of eisegesis. Consider exactly what is said in the passage, and do not go beyond that
or add in or assume facts not in evidence (1 Corinthians 4:6) e.g. regulative principle of
worship.

3) Parables are stories told to teach a lesson (and sometimes more than one); they are not
allegories, and should not be used to determine doctrine beyond the lesson(s).

4) Beware of using one point to define a teaching, then trying to make everything else fit.
Doctrine should be based on all that is said in Scripture about a given topic, and should align
with all other doctrines that are legitimately drawn from Scripture.

5) Remember that Scripture does not contradict itself, so do not try to override the plain
meaning of one passage by setting another against it. Any such approach, and any doctrine
requiring such a defence, is necessarily wrong.

6) The Holy Spirit does not contradict the written word that He Himself inspired. The written
word is objective and clear, unlike personal feelings, and so trump them.

7) Descriptive does not equal “prescriptive.” Didactic statements are determinative; historical
examples are illustrative.

8) The fact that a point may not be emphasized does not mean that it is trivial. Remember that
“Dog bites man” is not news (e.g. Genesis 1:1).

9) Note the use of italics in good translations (e.g. NKJV) to indicate words that have been
added to the English for flow that are not there in the original Greek or Hebrew. This can be
important (e.g. John 12:32).

10) Note that there was no punctuation in the original languages (e.g. Psalm 60:6-8/108:7-9).

11) Some passages may be hard to understand. Live that, rather than forcing an interpretation
on it.

12) Be careful about cultural contextualization. Cultural claims can elucidate Scripture but
cannot overturn it. (Remember also that (a) we know less about ancient cultures than we
may think (and a lot of people lie about it), and (b) our culture is not necessarily right.)

13) Use appropriate tools: concordance, atlas, dictionary, cross-references, apologetics books,
original language tools, etc. Do be aware that commentaries are informed opinions and may
not be right (as is evident by comparing commentaries).
WHY NOT JUST TRUST THE BIBLE?
As one who is competent to discuss the scientific evidence, I can assure you that there is no scientific
evidence that shows the Earth is billions of years old. The evidence we have must be combined with
old-earth ASSUMPTIONS before it "shows" the Earth to be billions of years old.

But the real issue here is this: Why do so many Christians allow the indirect inferences of secular
scientists to trump the clear word of God?

How is it that we blithely believe the Bible on such crucial things as salvation and eternal life while
flippantly accepting that it is wrong about the age of the Earth?

Jesus said, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you
heavenly things?" (John 3:12). Just so; if we cannot trust Him on earthly things (such as the age of
the Earth), why should we trust Him on heavenly things (such as salvation and eternal life)?

Those Christians who think that by accommodating the Bible to deep time they are making the
Gospel believable to non-Christians may, per John 3:12, be doing the opposite, eliciting the
response, "Why should I believe your Bible, when YOU obviously don't?" or "If YOU can pick and
choose the parts that you don't believe, so can I, and I don't believe that resurrection stuff."