Final Principles Series

Final Principles

Video Bumper (Bible)

OKAY MGCC…

This is our final conversation in our series, ‘Understanding The Bible…’ Week number 10!

MAN – it has been a fun, challenging and rewarding time of study.

NOW – let me give you a heads up on where we will be heading in the coming weeks…

Just a four week series…

9/09 – The Power of Words

9/16 – Out of the Over flow

9/30 – Speak life

10/07 - Truth in love

LIKE – I said this week is the final conversation in our series ‘Understanding The Bible.’

NOW – let me remind you of the goals we set as we launched out on this journey back in June…

Goal #1 – To take a look at the overwhelming evidence that demonstrates (contrary to the onslaughts of modern culture) that The Bible is not just another book or mere ink on paper, but that it really is from God, the Maker of heaven and earth.

AND – this goal was accomplish as we spend 5 weeks talking about things like….

• Canonization

• Transmission of the text, and

As we saw that the bible is – unique, accurate (historically and it’s text) supernatural (knows stuff only God could know… future events and pre-scientific knowledge)

AND HOW DESPITE – being written over a period of 1500 years, by 40+ people, living on 3 continents and in 3 languages

IT STILL – has one single, unifying theme throughout

The Coming Christ

Goal #2 – Motivate, encourage, challenge and inspire people to read the Bible like never before… because it is from God and because in this series they will be given tools and principles that will equip them to understand it better.

AND – we have been attacking this 2nd goal since July 29th by unpacking several principles of Hermeneutics.

AND MGCC – I gotta tell how encouraging it has been for me to see how hungry some of your for understanding the word of God better.

NOW - so for we have talk about…

• The Principle Of A.I.M.

Your aim in studying the bible is to figure out the author’s intended meaning

• The Principle Of Context

AND B/S – when it comes to hermeneutics,

Context is what? KING

And as KING is must rule over our understanding of any passage.

• The Principle Of Observation

This principle is about is about approaching a biblical text like a detective… with a notebook in our hands asking lots of questions and looking for clues to the passages meaning.

• The Principle Of Genre

The bible is full of many different types of genre…

(wisdom, poetry, historical narrative, prophecy, law…etc)

And we must interpret our passage in light of the genre it was written in or we may get it wrong.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me… - Ps 51:5

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. – Proverbs 15:1

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. – Pr 16:3

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. – Pr 22:16

AGAIN – these are found in the genre of proverbs, not prophecy (thus says the Lord)…

OKAY – this is where we have been….

AND THIS MORNING – in a conversation I am calling…

“Final Principles…”

AND – what I intend on unpacking today are the following principles…

• The principle of consistency

• The principle of figurative language

• The principle of progressive revelation

• The principle of caution

• The principle of priority

• The principle of application and

• The principle of obedience

Alright B/S - let’s do this…

I. The Principle Of Consistency

AND THIS – is where you ask yourself if your understanding of a particular passage is consistent with what the rest of Scripture teaches.

AND LISTEN – when it comes to the principle of consistency there are…

2 things to keep in mind

#1 – If your interpretation of a verse (especially an obscure one) contradicts clear teaching else where then your interpretation is most likely wrong.

UNDERSTAND – obscure or unclear texts are to be interpreted in the light of clearer texts on the same subject.

AND WHEN - there is no other text to which an obscure text can be compared, you should generally try to put the simplest possible meaning on the words.

AND NOTE ALSO – that it is unwise to build core doctrines based on your interpretation an obscure text… Again especially when those doctrines contradict clearer teaching found elsewhere.

FOR EXAMPLE - some have built an elaborate doctrine based on this obscure and hard to interpret text found in 1 Corinthians 15