0.3 Overview of Hermeneutical Methods

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Grasping God’s Word

Step 1: Grasping the Text in Their Town

Question: What did the text mean to the biblical audience?

Examine the grammar, genre, historical and cultural context, redemptive context, etc. How would the original audience have understood this passage? Why did the biblical authors (both human and divine) include this passage in the Bible?

  Step 2: Measuring the Width of the River to Cross

Question: What are the differences between the biblical audience and us?

How is the original audience’s cultural/historical context different than ours today? Is this passage in the Old or New Testament?

  Step 3: Crossing the Principlizing Bridge

Question: What is the theological principle in this text?

What are some similarities between us and the original audience? Do we share some sinful tendencies, struggles, cultural contexts, etc.? What principle does God want us to learn?

  Step 4: Consult the Biblical Map

Question: How does our theological principle fit with the rest of the Bible?

Is your principle consistent with the rest of Scripture? Is it consistent with New Testament teaching in light of Christ’s work? Do other passages of Scripture modify or add to your principle?

  Step 5: Grasping the Text in Our Town

Question: How should individual Christians today live out the theological principles?

How can you live out this principle today? Does this principle challenge any of your beliefs, attitudes, or practices?

1 J. Scott Duvall 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), 41-46.