Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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Insufficient Interpretive Approaches
The “Whatever Strikes Me” method
Probably the most common method used by Bible-believing Christians
Highly subjective
Fails to account for culture differences between original audience and current reader
Occasionally gets it right
The “What this passage means to me” method
“There is no such thing as objective truth.”
“It’s up for interpretation.”
“The reader determines meaning.”
This method completely casts aside the authority of Scripture and puts the reader in complete control.
You can make Scripture say whatever you want with this method.
The “Literal” method
“I just take the Bible literally.”
Really?
Even the figurative passages?
If you did this, you’d end up in jail and you would not be a Christian.
No one really does this with all of Scripture.
But in the absence of any good guidance, the reader is left to arbitrarily decide which passages he/she will interpret “literally” and which ones he/she won’t.
Interpreting the Bible is like building a house.
There is no single “right” methodology which guarantees success, even if you’re working from the same blueprint.
Some builders prefer to use a nailgun, others like to hand nail
Each builder is going to have his own preference for the precise order of construction and which tools he’s going to use
Each Bible interpreter is going to have their favorite tools and use a methodology which makes sense to them
But, there are many wrong ways to do it.
There may not be one particular right method to build a house, but there are some striking similarities in the approaches used by good home builders.
(i.e., they all start with the foundation, set studs on 16” centers, etc.)
And you can usually tell when a builder deviates from these principles too much; it produces shoddy workmanship
Good Bible interpretation has some fundamental principles which, if not followed, can derail the process and produce flawed interpretations
My goal is to teach you how to build the house (aka, “interpret the Bible”).
I’m going to show you a couple different approaches so you can see their strengths and weaknesses
I’ll point you to various tools
And we’ll practice along the way so that you get to try out your new tools and newly learned skills.
The Seven Arrows approach, by Matt Rogers and Donny Mathis
Rogers, Matt and Donny Mathis.
Seven Arrows: Aiming Bible Readers in the Right Direction.
Rainer Publishing.
Spring Hill, TN: 2017.
Arrow 1: What does this passage say?
Summarize the passage in past tense and third person.
Consider Genres in this step
Arrow 2: What did this passage mean to its original audience?
Make use of Bible study tools to gain a better understanding of how this passage would have impacted its original readers.
Bible Dictionaries, Atlases, Study Bibles, Commentaries, etc.
Arrow 3: What does this passage tell us about God?
The Bible is primarily a story about God.
What does this passage reveal about his character?
Arrow 4: What does this passage tell us about man?
The Bible is about God, but it was written for mankind.
What does this passage reveal about humans?
Consider Fallen Condition Focus (FCF) in this step
Arrow 5: What does this passage demand of me?
What effect should this passage have on my daily life, attitudes, or beliefs?
Should I begin doing something or stop doing something?
Arrow 6: How does this passage change the way I relate to people?
Sin has broken our relationships with other people, as well.
How does this passage affect how I relate to others?
Arrow 7: How does this passage prompt me to pray to God?
Is there a sin I need to confess?
Do I need to ask God for help applying some truth to my life?
Grasping God’s Word, by Scott Duvall and Daniel Hays
Duvall, J. Scott, and J. Daniel Hays.
Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible.
Third Edition.
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012.
Step 1: Grasping the text in their town.
Question: “What did the text mean to the biblical audience?”
The first part of Step 1 is to read the text carefully and observe it.
In Step 1, try to see as much as possible in the text.
Look, look, and look again, observing all that you can.
Scrutinize the grammar and analyze all significant words.
Likewise, study the historical and literary contexts.
How does your passage relate to those that precede it and those that follow it?
After completing all of this study, synthesize the meaning of the passage for the biblical audience into one or two sentences.
That is, write out what the passage meant for the biblical audience.
Use past-tense verbs and refer to the biblical audience.
For example:
God commanded the Israelites in Joshua 1 to …
Paul exhorted the Ephesians to …
Jesus encouraged his disciples by …
Be specific.
Do not generalize or try to develop theological principles yet.
Step 2: Measuring the width of the river to cross.
Question: “What are the differences between the biblical audience and us?”
As mentioned above, the Christian today is separated from the biblical audience by differences in culture, language, situation, time, and often covenant.
These differences form a river that hinders us from moving straight from meaning in their context to meaning in ours.
The width of the river, however, varies from passage to passage.
Sometimes it is extremely wide, requiring a long, substantial bridge for crossing.
Other times, however, it is a narrow creek that we can easily hop over.
It is obviously important to know just how wide the river is before we start trying to construct a principlizing bridge across it.
In Step 2 you will take a good hard look at the river and determine just how wide it is for the passage you are studying.
In this step you look for significant differences between our situation today and the situation of the biblical audience.
If you are studying an Old Testament passage, also be sure to identify those significant theological differences that came as a result of the life and work of Jesus Christ.
In addition, whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, try to identify any unique aspects of the situation of your passage.
For example, in Joshua 1:1–9, the people of Israel are preparing to enter the Promised Land.
Moses has just died and Joshua has been appointed to take his place.
In this passage God speaks to Joshua to encourage him to be strong and faithful in the upcoming conquest of the land.
What are the differences?
We are not entering or conquering the Promised Land.
We are not the new leaders of the nation of Israel.
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