A brief explanation on how to interpret the Books of the Bible.
Because the Holy Scriptures have been inspired and superintended by the Holy Spirit they command our attention. As God’s Word they are worthy of serious study and exegesis.
As we study the Scriptures we must allow them to speak for themselves. Hence, the task of biblical exegesis is to draw out the meaning of the text; by contrast eisegesis is to read into the text our own meaning and assumptions. Unfortunately, the latter occurs all too often and is the cause of much confusion and damage within the Christian movement.
Using the normal laws of grammar and language, these studies therefore will apply the hermeneutical (i.e. interpretive) principle of context so as to accurately exegete – draw out – the meaning of the text. The principle of context moves out from the passage context to the book context, to the covenant context, and to the whole of Scripture context. While taking into account cultural and historical context, the tenor of Scripture – that is, all the biblical data on a given subject – must be the final authority. Additionally, we belong to an interpretive community – the historic Christian movement – and so, due respect must be paid to biblically orthodox scholarship of past and present.
