A Missing step
Lots of preachers and speakers know what “homiletics” is all about; the art of sermon construction. But it seems few understand the subject of biblical “hermeneutics;”which is the study of the principles of biblical interpretation.
Bible interpretation has a number of distinct laws; laws of interpretation such as:
- The law of first mention – when a word or concept is first used in scripture God indicates in the first mention of a subject the truth with which that subject stands connected in His mind. For instance the first time “house of God” is mentioned in Genesis the connection is with “... how awesome is this place!”
- The Agreement Principle: The truthfulness and faithfulness of God become the guarantee that he will not set forth any passage in his word that contradicts any other passage. In our evangelical statements of faith we declare the Bible is inspired and infallible and without contradiction; it would be good if our preaching followed this principle too.
There has been a recent trend the last decade of new preachers not necessarily having to attend traditional bible colleges but learn on the go in the local church. This trend both excites me and concerns me. It excites me because many new preachers are finding their voices and not being dislocated from local churches. However, the trend concerns me because it seems to me that many have missed out of on learning the foundations of theology; of which hermeneutics is an important and vital subject.
There seems to be a missing step in the process for some; that missing step is subjects like hermeneutics. Without good principles for biblical interpretation there is the chance of and the likelihood of faulty interpretation and unscriptural applications. It may make for exciting communications even a humorous delivery but if we believe that the word of God changes our lives then there is a great burden upon us to accurately deliver God’s word.
2 Corinthians 4:2-3, “... we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.”
It is vital we understand the principles of interpretation to accurately “set forth the truth plainly.” Personal development is vital and to meet this need I want to suggest that those speakers who have missed the tradition of bible school to make sure they study this subject and make themselves aware of the principles of interpretation to accurately handle the word of God.
Book recommendation:
Principles of Biblical Interpretation by Louis Berkhof
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Tom, I think you hit the nail on the head with this little blog. It seems to me that there is a bit of a false dichotomy working in some circles. They think that we are either going to be theological OR innovative. I think the right way is to do both. I love the fact that many young men are being raised up within churches, as this produces a healthy organic dynamic for the church. I would hate to see this happen at the expense of good theological education. My thought is that senior leaders must see this as one of their responsibility. It is not necessary for every pastor to go for intense theological training in a seminary, but I think it is necessary for them to have the information they need to preach the bible within the context of the historic Christian faith. We can't just raise up good leaders, we must also raise up people who are theologically sharp and have the potential to lead the church through a convoluted culture. We need brilliant innovation in regards to our methods along with strong, historically accurate, hermeneutically sound preaching. It not either or, it's both. Thanks for writing those thoughts Tom,
Posted by Ryan Cook on August 20, 2010 5:46 PM