Finding the Main Point

Crux Tool - Jon Nielson “Understanding God’s Word”

Why is it important to know the main point—or the big idea—of a whole book as you read and study it?

If you were writing a book, what are some ways that you would help your reader know your main point?

Would you state it very openly and obviously? Would you weave it into your story? Would you keep it hidden from the reader until the very end of the story?

The Tool

As we read God’s Word it is very easy to get lost in the immensity of it all. There is just so much there. In a way we feel the weight of it just as John did in John 21:25 “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” Therefore, as we read the Bible we can either get lost in it or we can break it down into more manageable parts so that they make the whole easier to understand. To do this we need to know what was the human authors main purpose for writing the book as a whole. Jon Nielson in his book “Understanding God’s Word” calls this the CRUX tool, meaning that we are getting to the crux of the book so that we can understand it’s parts better.

The Crux tool: What was the human authors main purpose for writing the book as a whole.

Purpose Statement

The crux tool begins by looking for a purpose statement. A concise declaration of why something exists, its core reason for being, its impact, and its guiding principles.

It answers the Why:

The fundamental reason for existence of the passage, the bigger picture or why it is placed here in the Bible as a whole.

It looks for the Who:

The audience or people the passage is about or to.

It seeks out the How/Impact:

The positive effect or value created.

It provides the Action:

Inspires and directs behavior and goals.

Beginning and Ending

As we are seeking out this purpose statement we need to recognize that sometimes the information will be right up front, but we should neglect to look further on. Our own teachers told us that a good way to end an essay or project was to restate the purpose statement at the end to make sure that your readers not only knows it but so that you make sure that it was well stated and flowed well though out the rest of your writing. Therefore:

Look for a purpose statement of the Biblical Author at the Beginning and and the End of the book.

Repetition

Look for repetition in Words, Phrases, or Ideas.

Now the problem with this is that in order to find these repeated word, phrases, and ideas is that you must read through the book in order to see them. That is a problem that isn’t a problem for the more you read God’s Word the more equipped and ready you will be to find the main theme and you will be ready to apply what you have learned to your life.

Problems Avoided

Not getting lost in the reading.

If you have ever been reading along and all of a sudden you are wondering why the author just said what they said because it seems to not flow with the rest of what has been said then you are probably missing the crux of the passage. If you are reading along through 1 Corinthians 2 you will read this at the start: 1 Corinthians 2:1–5 “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Verse 3 seems out of place with the rest, but when you realize that Paul was not writing to the Corinthians to give them his credentials, or even what is the best way to preach God’s Word. The main theme of 1 Corinthians is for the people of God to use the gifts that God has given in order to further the Gospel. Therefore, verse 3 is simply stating that Paul understands their weakness, fear and trembling in doing this task so that their faith is not in themselves but in the power of God.

Failing to see the Application.

As we begin to know only understand the scripture better our next step should be to apply the scripture. If we have failed to understand the main point of the scripture it is then really easy to misapply it to our lives. Take the scripture we looked at a couple of weeks ago as we determined context. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” We can simply look at the verse before it to understand that it doesn’t exactly mean what the verse appears to mean but on a broader spectrum we can know that Jeremiah was not in the business of placating his readers with good news from God. Instead Obedience and heeding the warning of coming disaster is a part of the overall theme of Jeremiah so we must take that into account before we throw this verse up on our wall.

Missing the Point.

We can easily miss the point of a book because we have missed what the author’s intent was. I think this is the case that we see with the great reformer Martin Luther and his distain for the Book of James. Martin Luther called the Book of James an "epistle of straw" primarily because he felt it contradicted his doctrine of justification by faith alone, emphasizing good works as essential for faith, and because it lacked direct focus on Christ, appearing to promote salvation through works rather than grace, which Luther saw as undermining the core Gospel message. However, as we read the book of James the theme is not directed toward the unsaved but toward the saved and how they should be working out their faith.

Benefits Received

Hearing the Melody.

Jon Nielson, “In musical pieces, there is almost always a main melody that is repeated throughout. There are pieces of harmony that are combined with this melody, but the melody serves as the main musical theme for the entire piece. Books of the Bible can be much like this. There are often many elements of harmony that combine with the main theme, and there are different variations of the big idea that the author is trying to get across. But ultimately there is one main melody that the book really centers on—its main message. The crux tool is ideal for helping Bible students find their way to that main melody so that they will keep their focus on the main point of the biblical author.”

Understanding the Intention.

When we understand why the author wrote what they wrote, and we can determine the themes and applications we are able apply the words to our lives better as well as understand the writer and the original audience better. This allows us to interpret the passage and apply the passage and those are of utmost importance in deepening our relationship with God.

Connecting individual passages.

Jon Nielson, “Perhaps the greatest benefit of using the crux tool well is that, when the big idea of a book is located, it helps you connect the biblical passages in the book to one another because you can see how they are all relating to—or expanding on—the overall theme of the book. Passages in a biblical book change from being random stories, arguments, or poems to being important pieces in the overall point that the book is making for its audience. In other words, the crux tool can help bring a good, grounded perspective on every part of the book, which will help you in your study of each individual section.”

Putting it to Use

Read the Book of Jude:

Does there seem to be a purpose statement in this letter? If so, what is that statement?

Does Jude repeat any words or themes throughout his letter? If so, why are these important?

Are there any similar words used in the beginning and end of this letter?

How might these guide the way you apply the book to your life as a follower of Jesus today?

Read John 20:30–31

From what you already know about the Gospel of John, what do you think that the crux might be?

If you do not have time to read an entire book of the Bible, what are some shortcuts that you might take in order to begin finding your way to the big idea of that book?

What are some elements of John’s purpose statement (John 20:30–31) that you should expect to find in the overall crux of the book?

What does John tell you about his intentional focus as he writes his Gospel?

Read Luke 1:1-4, Luke 15, Luke 24:44-49

Does there seem to be a purpose statement in this Gospel? If so, what is that statement?

Does Luke repeat any words or themes throughout his Gospel? If so, why are these important?

Are there any similar words used in the beginning and end of this Gospel?

What does Luke tell you about his intentional focus as he writes his Gospel?

Read Matthew 1:1-17, Matthew 7:28-29, Matthew 28:16-20

From what you already know about the four Gospels, how would you expect Matthew’s focus or big idea to be different from both Luke’s and John’s?

Why is it good to acknowledge that different Gospels can have different themes, even if we firmly believe that they are all about Jesus Christ—his life, death, and resurrection?

What common theme (or themes) do you see in the three passages referenced above?

How might that theme (or those themes) help you find your way to the crux of the book of Matthew? How would you summarize the crux of the book?