Sermon Tone Analysis

Interpreting the OT & NT.

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts

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Pray

Introduction

Good morning!

We are in week four of our class and over the last few weeks we’ve considered some of the basics of bible study.

In week one we discussed how we can know the Bible is reliable.

In weeks two and three, we walked through the inductive bible study method—observation, interpretation, and application or what does it say?

What does it mean?

What does it mean to me?.

This morning we are going to consider some of the unique things you need to know in order to faithfully interpret both the Old and New Testaments.

Some principles to have in your mind as you study the OT and NT.

These principals or “lens” will serve as “interpretational guardrails” that will keep you on the right path to correct interpretation.

If you are interested in a fuller overview of the OT and NT, we have an entire core seminar track on both testaments.

I. Interpreting the Old Testament

It’s been said that interpreting the Old Testament is a bit like being watched while you carve a chicken.

It’s fairly easy to start well, but you quickly have to make some tricky decisions (about which everyone has an opinion), and it’s very easy to end up in a sticky mess with lots of parts left over that no one knows what to do with.[1]

Nevertheless, despite the challenges of interpreting the Old Testament, it remains God’s Word.

In fact, most of our Bible is made up of the Old Testament.

So let’s walk through five “interpretive lenses” to help us humbly examine and rightly interpret Old Testament texts.

Now, some of these “lenses” can and should also be applied when interpreting the New Testament.

But these “lens” are particularly useful when interpreting the Old Testament.

As a bonus to help you remember, these five interpretive lenses all begin with the letter “C”:

1. Context

2. Covenant

3. Canon

4. Character of God

5. Christ

1. Context

Context is the first interpretive lens through which to examine and understand any Old Testament text.

We talked about context during the last 2 weeks as we discussed in the inductive bible study method and we will spend a whole class on purpose and context in the coming weeks, so I won’t go into depth here.

I will say that understanding any biblical text (OT or NT) begins by reading it carefully in context.

Most errors interpreting a text come from a misunderstanding of the context.

Ask yourself: author?, audience?, date?, author’s intent?

What genre are you in? Historical narrative?

Prophesy?

Wisdom literature?

Look at the verses, chapters before and after the passage you are studying.

2. Covenant

Another key concept to understand is the progressive unfolding of God’s plan in the Bible through covenants.

Theologians use the phrase “progressive revelation”.

What does that mean?

(have the class answer) Progressive revelation is what we observe as we read the bible.

God’s plan of salvation is revealed progressively culminating with Jesus Christ.

The way God reveals this plan develops sort of like a seed growing into a tree.

God’s plan starts out as a meager seed (Eve’s seed in fact!) but eventually blossoms into the beautiful flower of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

These progressions of God’s plan for his people are marked out by covenants.

A covenant is a formal agreement between two or more persons, usually involving requirements, promises, and stipulations that had to be kept if the covenant were to remain firm.

(x2) When we read the OT, we should ask ourself, what covenant am I in?

The biblical covenants include:

▪ the Adamic (; ), - work and tend the garden, don’t touch the tree, a promise to crush the serpent

▪ the Noahic (), a reset after massive sin – a promise never to destroy the earth like the flood

▪ the Abrahamic (; ; ), a holy nation called out, a promise of wide spread blessing

▪ the Mosaic (), the law is given, blessing promised for obedience, judgment for disobedience

▪ the Davidic (), God promises a kingdom in David’s line that would last forever!

▪ and the New Covenant (; ; ).

God says - I will do it for you.

Stare at your passage through the lens of covenant.

There are 2 other patterns that help us understand covenants and this concept of progressive revelation.

The first pattern we see in the covenants is:

Creation → Fall → Redemption → New Creation.

The events of Scripture follow this pattern.

Adam is created, then falls, but a promise is made and children are born.

The nation of Israel is establish, but they sin and are judged, but a new leader comes and resets their affection for God.

That happens over and over.

Ask where your passage is according to this progression.

The 2nd pattern we continue to see as we read our bibles is:

God’s people,

in God’s place,

under God’s rule (Graeme Goldsworthy)

The who and the where and the nature of the rule all change as we move from Genesis to revelation.

So as you read the OT, as who are God’s people?

Where is God’s special place of rule?

What are the terms and conditions of God’s rule?

For example, how do we interpret and apply , “You shall not… wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material”?

We can’t move directly from the text and apply it to our lives for the simple reason that we don’t live under the Mosaic covenant law concerning apparel.

This law was given under the Mosaic covenant and applied to Israel for the purpose of setting them apart as a holy and separate people.

This command is part of a group of commands in that call Israel to conform to God’s holiness by emulating the divisions in God’s creation and by keeping separate from the pagan practices of the surrounding nations.

Christ has come and perfectly fulfilled the Mosaic law and inaugurated the New Covenant through his sacrificial death and resurrection.

The church, like Israel, is called to be a holy people even as God is holy.

Bu under the New Covenant, we are marked off as God’s chosen people, not by clothes, but by the Holy Spirit, by being pure and blameless in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

So, when you interpret an Old Testament text ask the question: Where is this passage within the covenantal biblical story line?

3. Canon

The next OT interpretive lens is the lens of canon.

Canon is term used for the collection of books of the OT/NT and the bible.

If you’ve ever read through the OT from Genesis to Malachi, did you notice that the Old Testament is full of itself?

By that, I mean the later Old Testament writers frequently allude to, echo, or refer readers back to previous passages in the Old Testament canon.

The Old Testament is full of itself.

So, for example, the Psalms often refer to events recorded in the Pentateuch (ex.

“do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness”).

The latter portion of the book of Daniel () is a vision that Daniel received that helps interpret a prophecy given originally to Jeremiah.

(; ).

So when you are reading any Old Testament text, ask yourself: What, if any, connections are made to the rest of the canon?

One of the keys to making these connections is using a Bible that has a good cross-reference system.

So check these cross-references and use them to help get a grasp of what the passage means in the context of the entire canon.

When you’re interpreting an Old Testament text that is quoted in the New Testament, by all means, follow the New Testament’s lead!

Ask yourself, “How does the NT author’s understanding of this passage impact my interpretation?”

Check out the handout with all of the NT references to the OT.

The book of Hebrews is one big guide to interpreting the OT.

Jesus helps us understand the point of the 10 commandments in the sermon on the mount.

Christ declares all previously forbidden food clean ().