Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Welcome back to our class.

Let’s pray, then begin.

Pray

We are in Week 10 of our class on the Bible.

We have talked about the doctrine of the Bible, then in our past 2 classes, we talked about the history of the Bible (first with Martin Luther, and then with a history on the English translations).

Now we are down to our final three classes, and we are going to spend these last sessions talking about how to study the Bible.

Now this is a big topic.

I taught an adult Sunday School class on this a few years back, and that was a study that took 3 months.

That’s about 13 hours of teaching how to study the Bible, and I still didn’t cover everything I could have.

At Lancaster Bible College, I took a Bible study course – which was required for all students – that lasted a whole year.

It was called Biblical Hermeneutics (meaning, how to study the Bible), and the book of notes was about 2 inches thick.

show Hermeneutics notes

So, in all honesty, there is no way that I can fit all of that into 3 sessions.

But I would like to do my best to give you the essentials that you need to study the Bible well.

So here’s what we’ll do:

We’ll start with some basic definitions and principles that will guide us in our interpretation.

Then we will give an overview of a basic method on how to study the Bible.

We will then practice the steps that I give you in this method.

This will take us through the next 2 weeks.

Finally, we will look at some of the best resources that are available to you (both in print and online), for you to use going forward.

(That will likely be the last class, on Nov 26).

So let’s begin with some definitions

Definitions:

Hermeneutics - the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible.

Exegesis - the process of discovering or ‘drawing out’ the author’s original meaning in a biblical text, by means of careful, objective analysis.

The word exegesis literally means “to lead out of.”

That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text.

Eisegesis - the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective, non-analytical reading.

The word eisegesis literally means “to lead into,” which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants.

This is bad.

For example, when I was at Lancaster Bible College, I once saw a sign that was placed on one of the cafeteria tables.

It was a double-sided sign, and on one sign it said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

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Then, on the other side, it said, “Just think: For want of vision, the Christian also perishes!”

Example of

General Rules of Interpreting the Bible

Scripture can be understood.

Scripture contains all the truth we need for godly living.

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We need the Holy Spirit to properly understand the Scripture.

(, , )

Scripture interprets Scripture.

Scripture never contradicts itself.

The Bible tells one story, not a collection of unrelated stories.

Therefore there is one metanarrative that flows throughout the whole Bible.

5. Scripture only has __1___ meaning in a given passage

(though it can have many applications).

When we interpret Scripture, we are seeking to know the author’s intent (the human author’s/God’s intended meaning, which are one and the same), and not ‘what this passage means to me.’

The meaning of a passage comes from the author, not the listener/reader.

When we study the Bible, we want to ___draw out_______ the meaning from the text, and not ___read in___ our own interpretations onto the Bible.

Nevertheless,

When we study the Bible, we want to draw out the meaning from the text, and not read in our own interpretations onto the Bible.

Scripture must be interpreted in context.

The meaning of a passage is genre-dependent.

There are many different types of literary genres in the Bible, such as psalms, proverbs, letters, historical narrative, prophecy, etc.

Each of these has certain rules of interpretation.

For example, says, "And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth.

And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.

One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.”

It is important to know that this is not a historical narrative, but a prophecy.

Or, if you are studying a parable of Jesus - like the parable of the Good Samaritan in - you aren’t looking to figure out the background information about the city that this story takes place, but rather, are looking for the spiritual point that Jesus is making in the parable.

The purpose of Scripture is to change lives not just to fill your head.

(Lk 6:46)

We read the Bible according to the HGRT (Historical, Grammatical, Rhetorical, and Theological) method.

(Expound the HGRT)

A Basic Method of Studying the Bible - O.I.C.A.

One Method for Studying the Bible - O.I.C.A.

I’m going to give you a detailed method on how to study the Bible.

But first, let me give you a quick version.

Simple Bible study handout

That’s one way to do it.

Though it is not very complete.

If you have time to get more in depth, then I can recommend an even more thorough way.

Now its good to keep in mind that studying the Bible is both a science and an art.

It’s a science, because there are some solid steps you should follow.

But it’s an art because sometimes, interpreting a passage correctly cannot be accomplished simply by following certain steps.

Sometimes, it is hard to know what a passages is saying.

Sometimes there can be many different options, and it takes wisdom to know which one to choose.

But with that said, these are the four simple steps of studying the Bible.

O-Observation

I-Interpretation

C-Correlation

A-Application

O – OBSERVATION – Notice what the text says and I - INTERPRETATION – decipher what it means

**(These two often go together)

Set the limits of your study.

Define the extent of your passage.

a. Define the extent of your passage

i. Don’t just study a sentence.

Don’t just study a sentence.

Instead, consider a pericope (per-ih-coe-pee) as the most important unit of thought.

ii.

Instead, consider a pericope (per-ih-coe-pee) as the most important unit of thought.

A pericope is just a fancy word for a section of text (one paragraph or a collection of paragraphs) that is related in its subject matter.

1.

A pericope is just a fancy word for a section of text (one paragraph or a collection of paragraphs) that is related in its subject matter.

Determine what your pericope is by looking at the chapters surrounding your passage, and marking where it starts and ends.

2. Determine what your pericope is by looking at the chapters surrounding your passage, and marking where it starts and ends.

Determine the relationship of your pericope to what surrounds it.

b.

Determine the relationship of your pericope to what surrounds it.

Determine the limits of the pericopes before and after yours.

i. Determine the limits of the pericopes before and after yours.