Biblical Hermeneutics

To hear the voice of God speak into my life is at present my highest priority but only after understanding the position I hold in God’s family, I am a son of the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is now entitled to call out to my heavenly Father in assurance knowing that I will be heard is most certainly a great comfort. To be known by God and numbered amongst the saint is of great privilege and to think it is only all because of God’s grace and His mercy. In spite of my pitiful character I have found rescue in Him, praise His name now and forever more, Amen!  

With that established what I really need now is to clearly hear the voice of God from here on in. “Noise” must be stripped from the equation for better results within our relationship and obviously it’s me that needs help. How can I be of more effectual service to my brothers and sisters in Christ without superficial confusion getting in the way is the pressing question?

If and when I want to remove background noise from an audio file I must evaluate the entire track in order to know what I need to deal. I could evaluate the track in sections and pull out the clutter as I progress but that would be a lengthy exercise. I recommend that we evaluate the problem openly and honestly and to the best of our abilities looking into a mirror.

So how do I hear the voice of God speak clearly into my life; firstly I need to remove any obstacle that stands in the way of His words reaching my ears. I need to remove the clutter. What then is the clutter? This is where the mirror of self-reflection is needed, not the mirror in your bathroom but the Word of God, the Bible is our mirror with God the Holy Spirit leading us into all truth. Its His Word through the pages of scripture that speaks into out lives.

Scholars teach us that we need to appropriate certain criteria to differing scriptures and this is known as biblical hermeneutics. I believe there is great value to their influence and yet I see some areas that may cause the clutter as our intellect looks to overrule the work of the Spirit. IT GETS IN THE WAY!

Paul instructs Timothy and it goes without saying that we should follow suit with our intent; "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) – We must make every effort to understand what the author’s intention was in his delivery, grammatically and contextually, which is helpful when unpacking certain truths from scripture. They encourage historical references to culture and the like which most certainly has its place but at times can cause a lot of “noise” when trying to understand the correct interpretation of the authors intent. Do not overshadow tradition and historical cultures over the simple meaning of the text. In my opinion this at times has hindered us from hearing the voice of God. They do however encourage us to understand different portions of scripture and apply different techniques to understanding them, the scholar says we must interpret a prophecy differently to a psalm or a proverb which should be understood and applied differently from a law. They say applying these techniques will aid in helping us to interpret, understand and apply the Bible. I agree with it in principle! However when I then hear some background “noise” is intellect overshadowing the work of the Spirit? Did you know that God does not depend upon the degrees or a scholars intellect to further His gospel? We have been saved by grace through faith and that's not a work of ours or even the work or the brilliance of the man who leads us to salvation, it is a gift from God. The working of God by the Holy Spirit will never share His glory with another, and why would He? He is God and has commissioned Him to function under His Production (the unfolding of life with the earth and its inhabitants as key figures in His creation). So when we stand in the way of the Spirit’s work we hinder our progress and the progress of those around us. Not that we could actually hinder His work; we stun our own growth, failing to remove the wax from our ears! Here is what God the Spirit does in our lives according to scripture; everyone would agree that we receive Him as a gift after becoming a Christian, in other words He takes up His abode in us, He is involved in helping us understand God’s will for our lives. Therefore it is time to get out of the way and “let God”!  We only see “sin” as our enemy when in fact anything carnal is the enemy. Just in case there be some resistance to that statement here is the proof; “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8)

God the Holy Spirit has great influence within a believer’s life whether you are aware of it or not; I can say with confidence that I am aware of certain areas in my life where He influences me; when certain scriptures are brought back to my remembrance without any effort on my part, it is obvious He lives. I do not learn memory verses to try and heighten my intellect. I just read and study the Bible and He does the rest; He brings verses back to my remembrance through any given circumstance where and when required. For this I am truly grateful! The Apostle Paul commissions us not to grieve the Holy Spirit for our salvation has been sealed by Him until the day of our redemption (see Ephesians 4:30) – He influences how we should lives. He is the unseen hero in our salvation! There is a lot more I could say about His functions, but time does not permit…      

With that established, this does not mean we go off at a tangent ignoring the author’s intent behind the text in scripture. That would be gross error and many are privy to such false interpretations. The hyper charismatics are guilty as charged! It’s all about their bellies and what they can get for themselves at the expense of others.

We must always stick to the text with literal Bible interpretation. I agree with the scholar’s most important law of biblical hermeneutics, which is that the Bible should be interpreted literally. Literal Bible interpretation means we understand the Bible in plain language. The Bible says what it means and means what it says. Mistakes are made when individuals try to read between the lines and come up with meanings for Scriptures that are not truly in the text. The prayer of Jabez a typical example of the many errors some fall privy to; Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!" And God granted what he asked.” (1Chronicals 4:10) – It was a request from a particular man that God honoured. However for someone to now jump to the conclusion and write a book teaching all that they are entitled to a similar claim from that one verse is a stretch of delusional imagination. This is a case in study which would prove the value of biblical hermeneutics.

There are however some verses that can be applied to all because they position all for the call; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13) – And another; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – Here are verses that has been extended to all “everyone” and “whoever”. It is an open invitation to all, do you see the difference?

The goal of biblical hermeneutics is to point us to the correct interpretation which the Holy Spirit has already enthused into the text. The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to protect us from unfittingly applying a Scripture to a particular situation. Biblical hermeneutics points us to the true meaning and application of Scripture; "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) – A correct understanding of Biblical hermeneutics helps when we remove our carnalities from it from getting in the way, which in turn will keep the sword sharp!

There is much more that could be said on this topic, however in conclusion, we must learn to be sensitive to the work of God the Holy Spirit in our lives and we must absorb a confidence in His leading through our application of faith toward God with a correct tender of overarching Biblical Hermeneutics to our understanding of what God is teaching us. We must rely on His work in our lives to bring about God’s will. And only then will our ears be truly free from any “noise” in our daily Christian walks.

Signing off

Tyrone