3. Biblical Interpretation: Step 3
9/27/2020 @ Hilltop Baptist Church
Grasping God’s Word, by Scott Duvall and Daniel Hays
Question: What is the theological principle in this text?
This is perhaps the most challenging step. In it you are looking for the theological principle or principles that are reflected in the meaning of the text you identified in Step 1. Remember that this theological principle is part of the meaning. Your task is not to create the meaning but to discover the meaning intended by the author.
Review of Step 1: Grasping the text in their town.
Review of Step 2: Measuring the width of the river to cross.
Step 3: Crossing the Principlizing Bridge
After reviewing the differences and identifying the similarities, return to the meaning for the biblical audience that you described in Step 1 and try to identify a broader theological principle reflected in the text, but also one that relates to the similarities between us and the biblical audience. In essence, the theological principle is the same as the “theological message” or the “main theological point” of the passage. (We will discuss in more detail how to develop theological principles in chapter 10.) We will use this theological principle as the principlizing bridge by which we can cross over the river of differences.