When Jesus approached His two disciples departing Jerusalem on the day of His resurrection, He...
Hermeneutics: The Art and Science of Biblical Interpretation
The Scripture Cannot be Broken: Twentieth Century Writings on the Doctrine of Inerrancy
Ever since the serpent in the Garden of Eden asked Eve, “Hath God said”, Scripture has been under...
The History of Interpretation and Current Approaches To The Bible
Biblical Interpretation through the Centuries Throughout the centuries there have been hot debates...
Preaching Christ in All of Scripture (Edmund P. Clowney)
Most of us read the Bible as if it is telling a story, one that culminates in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We get the overarching narrative of Scripture and can see that Scripture sets out to tell a story about Christ. For some reason, however, it is more...
Three Keys to Sermon Listening and Note-Taking
Going to church each Sunday and sitting under godly, loving, biblical, and practical preaching week in and week out should be enjoyed as a privilege by God’s people. While some people, like myself, learn best by sitting and listening, I know many people get more out...
The Illuminating Work of the Holy Spirit in Daily Bible Reading and Discipleship
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13) In verse 12 of chapter 16 of the Gospel of...
Reading the Bible with the Church
Bible reading, meditation, journaling, meaty theology books—they are crucial and quite individualistic. And while there is a place for your personal, passionate pursuit of God, the Bible was never meant to remain a solely singular endeavor. The Word of God was and has...
What is Bible Preaching?
One of the most penetrating series of imperatives that explode from the pages of Scripture is found in Paul’s letter to his young protégé, Timothy, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and...
Reading the Bible for Personal Devotion
So you'd like to begin spending time with God daily? It's a noble goal and one that every Christian should strive for. Perhaps you just made a personal resolution or you just had a spiritual mountaintop experience and you want to fan the flame of passion you feel for...
Reading the Bible with Family
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign...
The Bible and the Interpreter
The word interpret can be used to mean “to understand”, “to translate”, or “to explain”. These three functions of the interpretive process are also appropriate for preaching. First, we seek to understand what the text is saying. Then, we translate that information...
Collected Writings on Scripture
Ever since the time of Adam and Eve, the Word of God has been under attack. These attacks not only come from outside the walls of the church, they also seem to creep into and rear their ugly head from inside the Church as well. Thus, it is vital for believers to make...
Hermeneutics, Preaching, and the Problem of Biblical Illiteracy
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV) When it comes to understanding the Christian life, knowing and applying the Bible is a non-negotiable: one...
The Need for Word Studies
If someone were to ask you, “What does the word dog mean?” You might respond, “Well, use it in a sentence!” Most words have a range of meanings, and what a word means depends on how it is used. Doing a word study is a helpful Bible study practice; however, it involves...
The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What to Do About It
One of the biggest issues that isn’t being talked about enough is the issue of biblical illiteracy. Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: “Americans revere the Bible–but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it,...
Biblical Meditation As Experiential Reading
Perhaps one of the greatest ironies should be assigned to our current situation: we have more access to Scripture and its rich historical truths than ever before, and yet we have in our churches an ever-increasing lethargy when it comes to the exploration of said...
Walking with Jesus through His Word Discovering Christ in All the Scriptures
Luke 24 is one of the most significant and important passages in the Bible as it pertains to what is known as redemptive history. In Luke 24, Jesus sets forth how all of Scripture is about Himself. From the front cover to the last page in the Bible, Jesus is the hero....
The Five Biblical Basics of Biblical Interpretation
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) The word “interpreted” in Luke 24:27 comes from the Greek word διερμηνεύω (transliterated as diermēneuō), which means either to...
The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures
It is not that much of a stretch to declare the Word of God has been under attack since the Garden of Eden, when the Serpent questioned God’s command to Adam, up until the present day when Scripture continues to be questioned on seemingly all fronts. The desire for...
Reading Your Bible: Building a Passion for God and His Glory
One of the greatest needs for Christians, today is open their Bible’s and read it. You may have decided that this was going to be the year when you read through all the Bible. You may even have been regularly reading your Bible and be at the point where you've gotten...
Five Principles to Search The Scriptures Profitably
Today we continue our three-part series looking at John 5:39. In this series, we began with looking at three reasons we miss the message of the Bible. Yesterday we looked at three ways to find Christ in the Old Testament. Today we conclude this series by exploring...