Nielson Understanding God's Word

An Introduction to Interpreting the Bible
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-4335-8746-7
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 144 Seiten

Reihe: Theology Basics

An Accessible Guide to Biblical Interpretation by Pastor Jon Nielson A faithful believer will spend their lifetime interpreting God's word. But when confused by ancient and complex texts or led astray by small-group discussion, readers are at risk of making faulty conclusions and unbiblical applications. How can Christians correctly interpret and faithfully apply Scripture to their lives the way God intends? This helpful guide presents 6 hermeneutical tools and demonstrates how to use them effectively in personal or small-group Bible studies. These tools are designed to help Christians read carefully and in context, identify core themes and main points, discover Christ in each passage, and respond faithfully within their own lives. Part of the Theology Basics series, this guide by author and pastor Jon Nielson makes biblical interpretation clear, meaningful, and practical for those looking for a highly accessible guide to studying God's word.  - Clear Language and Easy-to-Follow Methods: Ideal for new Christians, students, homeschool groups, or anyone wanting a highly accessible guide to biblical interpretation; perfect for individual or group study - Practical Tools: 6 hermeneutical tools to incorporate in personal or small-group Bible studies - Part of the Theology Basics Series: A collection of books and study guides to introduce students to systematic theology, biblical theology, and biblical interpretation  - Companion Workbook and Video Series Sold Separately: Invites further interaction with the text to integrate study with application

Jon Nielson (DMin, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) serves as the senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church of Wheaton in Wheaton, Illinois. He is coeditor of the book Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry and author of the Theology Basics series. He and his wife, Jeanne, have four children.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Nielson, Jon

Leseproben

Chapter 1

Basics of Bible Study

Bible study—and good interpretation and application of the Bible—can be difficult, to say the least. You’ve probably been involved in small-group Bible studies that have gone down various rabbit trails that seemed to have very little to do with the biblical text. And you’ve probably heard people make applications from Bible passages that made you ask yourself, “Is that really what this passage is about?” Even in your personal study of the Bible, there probably have been times when you’ve wondered, “How can I be sure that I’m understanding this passage in the right way so I can hear from God and rightly apply his word to my life?”

If you’ve ever been asked to teach the Bible, perhaps in a Sunday school or small-group context, you’ve probably felt the weight of some of these questions: Am I getting it right? Is this the main point of the text? Am I applying this passage correctly to God’s people today? We want to be sure we’re getting God’s word right so that we can apply it faithfully to our lives as God intends.

All of these situations and struggles have to do with basic biblical hermeneutics—the process of understanding, interpreting, and applying the Bible. This book intends to give you some basic hermeneutical tools that you can put to use as you read the Bible on your own, study it in small groups, or perhaps even teach it in certain settings.

Each chapter in this book will introduce a different hermeneutical tool. All of these tools start with the letter C to make remembering them easier. I’ll explain each tool, tell you what hermeneutical mistakes it helps you avoid and what benefits it provides, and then give several examples of how to use it in various passages of the Bible. I believe that if you use these tools faithfully and consistently, they will help you interpret the Bible accurately and apply it well.

The six tools that we’ll learn about and apply are:

1. The context tool, which will help you notice and apply the historical, literary, and canonical context of the biblical passage you are studying.

2. The courtroom tool, which will remind you to commit to saying neither more nor less than what Scripture says.

3. The crux tool, by which you’ll make sure that you are studying any given biblical passage in light of the main theme of the book in which its contained.

4. The construction tool, which will help you discern the structure and shape that the author has intentionally given to the passage.

5. The clarity tool, by which you’ll seek to leave behind your personal perspectives and agendas, allowing the biblical text to speak for itself.

6. The cross tool, which will help you always study the Bible in light of its climax: the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Lord.

We’ll begin unpacking these six tools in the next chapter. First, however, it will be helpful to consider several foundational principles about the Bible and think about some habits we need to develop in order to study it successfully.

Foundational Principles

It’s important to remember some of the theological principles about the Bible that give us confidence that we actually can study it, understand it, and apply it to our lives. After all, if the Bible is merely a human book, there is no ultimate reason to believe that it is coherent and clear, and that it can actually change us.

Is the Bible coherent? Scriptural coherence—in the Bible as a whole and even within each individual books—would be surprising if the Bible were nothing more than a human book. After all, the Bible was composed by more than forty human authors over hundreds of years. However, we can be confident about its coherence because of the doctrine of inspiration (see 2 Tim. 3:16). All Scripture, says the apostle Paul, is “breathed out” by God, who inspired the human authors to write exactly what he intended by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. As Christians, then, we understand that we study a book that was written by dozens of human authors but ultimately by one divine author. That means we can be confident that it is coherent and consistent in the story it tells, the truths it proclaims, the message it calls us to believe, and the responses it demands.

Is the Bible clear? To affirm that the Bible is clear is not to say that it has no difficult parts. Even the best and brightest scholars and pastors still debate—and disagree about—some passages of Scripture that are notoriously difficult to understand. But the doctrine of the Bible’s clarity—or its perspicuity—reminds us that the central truths of Christianity are abundantly clear and understandable for everyone who reads it. There may be debate about the precise meaning of some passages or phrases, but the Bible does not leave us in doubt about who created the world, the sinfulness of man, the divinity of Christ, the need for repentance and faith, the substitutionary death of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead, and the reality of a coming final judgment. No one has to be a trained biblical scholar to understand these truths. One core conviction that underlies this book is that ordinary Christians can study, understand, and apply God’s word faithfully. We believe this because the Bible, God’s word, is clear.

Can the Bible change us? As I said just above, if the Bible is merely a human book, we have no reason to assume that it is either coherent or clear. We also have no reason to assume that Bible study—and teaching and preaching—should change us in any way. But the Christian conviction is that because the Bible is God’s inspired word, it is powerful.The Bible doesn’t just tell us about God—it is God’s word, and that means it holds power to change, convict, transform, and build us up in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that God’s word is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” In other words, it can “cut” us, wounding us with the painful yet healing truth of God, and call us to repentance and faith in Jesus. Christians should work to read, study, understand, and apply the Bible well because we really believe that God’s word can change us. It is his way to accomplish his saving and sanctifying work in the lives and hearts of his people.

Six Habits for Successful Bible Study

As we conclude this chapter, let’s consider Bible study—particularly Bible study that happens in a small-group setting. As I mentioned earlier, many of us have had the experience of sitting in a small-group Bible study that begins to go a bit off the rails in terms of the interpretations and applications offered by those in the group. We’ll talk more about the way the hermeneutical tools that I discuss in this book can keep us on the rails in personal study, but I want to offer a plan for small-group Bible study that can help as well.

Years ago, when I was serving in high school ministry, we offered this simple plan to our students as they learned how to lead small-group Bible studies with their peers. It consists of the cultivation of six habits that constitute a basic approach to studying any passage of Scripture. Developing these habits will help keep you on track in your study—paying attention to the text, avoiding rabbit trails, and doing everything you can to get the main point and the central application as God intended it. Let’s look at these habits.

Read carefully. Our first habit is simply careful reading. So many mistakes are made in hermeneutics (biblical interpretation) because people read too quickly through a passage, assume they understand what it’s saying, and then make a leap to something in their experience that the passage makes them think about. Carefully reading the text several times can be the first and most important step in making sure we are listening to what the Bible is actually saying. Take time to read slowly. Make observations and linger over the text. Read it silently, then out loud. And don’t forget to pray for God’s help as you listen to his word and seek to understand and apply it faithfully.

Read in context. I’ll say much more about this when we get to the context tool in chapter 2, but it’s important to understand that mistakes in the interpretation and application of the Bible often can be avoided simply by taking time to understand the context of specific verses and passages. A verse that seems to be saying one thing at first glance could actually be understood to mean the opposite when it’s read in its proper context. When we study the Bible, then, we need to pay attention to the verses directly around the passage we’re reading. We need to think about the historical situation of the original audience in order to understand what the biblical author was saying to them before we apply the passage to ourselves. And we need to make sure that we are remembering the context of the entire Bible, which tells the story of God’s creation, humanity’s fall, redemption through Christ, and the...