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Honest Hermeneutics

‘An honest exegete who can find’. The answer, thankfully, is that there are many. Praise God for extremely able godly men (and women) who handle Scripture carefully and with prayerful integrity. The church is indebted to them. My concern is those that do not. More, I am worried about the subtle pressure on all of us who study Scripture to apply less than honest criteria as we approach the Bible. This temptation may be even more acute in some of our Bible Colleges where I suspect too much credence is given to what modern scholars say and too little to what the Bible says.

There is a real danger we simply approach the Bible as a text book to study rather than coming to it as the ‘living Word of God which endures forever’. I suspect many of us study Scripture with an attitude far removed from the psalmist when he wrote:

Psalm 119:9-16, 47: How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word… I delight in your commands because I love them.

This wholehearted and single-hearted delight in God’s Word that recognises it is the very ‘bread of life’ enlightening, enlivening and enriching is easily lost in the mechanics of modern Bible study where the Bible can become a book to to be critically dissected rather than delighted in as life-imparting wisdom from God.

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About John

Hi there - I am a member of Greenview and have been for over 20 years. For a number of these years I functioned as an elder, however, indifferent health forced me to take more of a back seat. I see this as an opportunity to do a little writing, often focussing on issues that are a matter of evangelical debate today. Naturally the views expressed are my own and may not reflect the views of the elders or church at large, though differences are likely to be in the detail and not the substance.

These articles and sermons were written partly to clarify my own thoughts and partly with the intention of provoking thought in others who may read them. If you read one I hope you find it stimulating. Please feel free to give me feedback or discuss my articles in the forums.

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