What is Hermeneutics?

Good evening. We are back with a new semester and sovereign grace Academy this semester this term rather we are going to be looking at an introduction to hermeneutics and Hopefully all of you know what that means, but if you don't you will in due time.

We're going to discuss what hermeneutics is and how we are going to be learning about it in just a few moments. But before we do that, let's begin with a word of prayer. Our father and our God we so thank you for this opportunity to come together and to study together.

I pray Lord that you would bless those who are here Lord that you would bless them with Diligence and their study diligence and their work Father most of all that we would draw closer to you through a better understanding of your word.

Pray Lord that we would also Just be honest about our own failings when it comes to scripture and study. For oftentimes this is an area where so many of us Give it a backseat to other areas of life that we find to Prioritize in front of and Lord.

I pray that this this time of study might help us to reprioritize Where the scripture is in our life and give it its first place as it is due. Pray all this Lord in Jesus name and for his sake. Amen. All right.

Well again, I want to welcome you all. This is a little smaller first night normally on the first night we have more folks, but. And here's what normally happens. We start out with a bigger group and then it whittles down.

And by the time we ended the last class we ended with only I think. Like eight or ten in the last the last class that just happens it's just natural. As the work as the weeks go on the work gets harder and folks tend to drop out.

But I'm hoping you guys will stick with this whole course of all the the eight core Subjects that we deal with in Sovereign Grace Academy. I would say this is the most foundational. That's why we put it in the first place.

This is the starting of a new year. And by that I mean it's not a starting of a new year. From a calendar perspective, but we are a two-year program and we just finished last term. The end of the two-year program.

So this starts the new year the new program over the new two years. And so this eight weeks, this is the reason why we put this first is because this is this is foundational its primary and. So this is an important class and I'm glad that you're here.

Course Syllabus and Required Materials

Let me give you an idea what we're going to do tonight up on the board here. You'll see on my screen I've got the outline and this is the outline of what we're going to do. We're going to the title of tonight's class is what is hermeneutics?

We're going to first discuss the syllabus if you don't have a copy. I have copies over here. Please grab one that way you'll be able to walk through it with me. After that, we're going to ask the question why people are we're going to look at the subject of why people do not study.

Then we're going to ask the question. Why should we study the Bible and Then we're going to take our break. We always take a break at the hour mark for you guys to Get a sip of water use restroom, whatever and then at the hour mark after we take the break.

We'll come back and we're going to overview the process. So the last 20 minutes of tonight will be very important because that last 20 minutes Will be where we overview what we're going to do for the next seven weeks after tonight.

So with the syllabus in hand everybody got it. All right, let's look at the syllabus together. Our overview and objections are simple. This course will aid the student in building a solid foundation for proper Bible study.

It will cover methods for observing and Investigating a text of scripture applying Appropriate hermeneutical and exegetical principles. You will you will learn the definitions of those words tonight if you don't already know them.

You will be applying the appropriate hermeneutical and exegetical principles and arriving at a correct Understanding and application of the text. What you are required to have as a student. You are required to have a copy of the Bible with you.

A digital copy is allowed. So if you have a digital Bible that is okay. You're required to have a copy of living by the book the art and science of reading the Bible by dr. Howard Hendricks and Again, if you have a digital copy as long as you can read it.

I don't care. But make sure you have your book now the workbook living by the book workbook is Would be harder to have a digital copy. You can do it, but you have to write your notes on a notepad. So this is what I did.

I took my workbook and I cut it out cut the binding off and I put it in a three-hole binder that way I can lay it flat and Write in it because a book that has a binding sometimes it's hard to write in so if you Want to do something like this you're welcome to do that depending on how you want to handle it.

But everybody needs to have written work for your workbook. Don't just come in and and tell me what you thought of the workbook. I want to see it. I want to see what you wrote so however you do it whether you have the digital copy and you write on a notepad.

Whatever you need to keep a copy of what you do from the workbook and each week is different. Some weeks is heavy on the workbook some weeks heavy on the textbook, so it's it's going to be different every week.

It's in the syllabus what you're going to do. The other book that is not on the syllabus, but I just want to mention it is This book by Robert Plummer. It's called 40 questions about interpreting the Bible.

This is just an additional resource if you are interested. He digs into things like how to interpret Psalms how to interpret Proverbs things like that a little more Specific than then than what we're doing kind of getting into the nitty-gritty, and this is a little a little step beyond the Textbook, but it certainly would be a good book and and brother Mike Collier also has a book that he recommended I don't remember the name right off, and I don't have the copy, but I'll have that for you.

Remind me after the break. I'll look it up during the break, and there's one other book that you can you could look up if you're interested. I Don't sell. I don't sell it you have to order it on Amazon, but I'll put it right here, so during the break.

You're welcome to Take a picture of it or whatever. Yeah, I got I bought it off Amazon. I think it was like 15 bucks. Yeah, that one actually I think is used at Southern Seminary that they have a series of books called 40 question books like 40 questions On God's law.

40 questions on this 40 questions on that. So that's part of a series of 40 questions books that are available and are all very good. Okay I'm not going to read everything on the syllabus. I just want to mention your academic character.

Please do not cheat especially on your paper. It is it is something that is I'm encouraging you now to Not plagiarize. Write your own work. Do your own work. Your reading assignments are 25 of your grade.

How do I know you did them well? We're going to have discussions in class. That's typically how I know. Notebook assignment is 25 what that means is and that this time will include your workbook. Whatever writing you do at the end of the semester if you want credit I just walk around and I do a notebook check.

I just look and see what you make sure you did it. The most important thing is your research project. That's 50 of your grade. The research project will be assigned during the last class and you will have one month to complete it.

Some of you are still working. On the one from last semester because you had. We still got three more weeks before that one's due. This is the assignment for this class each student is going to be provided a section of scripture.

Which you will receive at the last class you're going to be required to give a hermeneutical analysis of it. You'll understand what that means further in the class. So you'll be given a passage to do a study on and and that'll be your your research project.

Look at the back page for me. Very quickly you'll notice in the course schedule. For today's date the assigned reading there was an assigned reading for tonight's class. But I did post on the sovereign grace page.

I said it's excused because many of you don't already have your books. So if you did not do the reading for tonight, please add it to the reading for next week it's not a lot, but just just include it for the reading for next week and.

Last time we did this course, which is almost two years ago I asked everybody to bring in ten observations from Romans 12 1 2 and. That would. What did you do it? If you've are if you did it great, we're going to talk about it after the break.

We're going to talk about it. Yeah. Well, here's the thing I wanted 10 tonight because by the end of the course I want 20 more. Yeah, so so so if you got 24 only give me 10 because you're gonna want to hold those others for later.

Yeah, so that is you're going to find that in this course almost the entire course focuses on the art of observation how to observe and draw out of a text what is there and. We'll talk more about that later, but that's that is we'll talk about the ten observations after the break.

But as you see the outline the outline that's in the syllabus will be the outline that's on the board every week. Like tonight why why people don't study? Why study the Bible and then overview of the process every week?

That's going to be the same so if you if you want to know what we're doing in class. Just look at the syllabus. It's right there. I stick to this that I write it so I stick to it very very very specifically.

All right that good any questions on the syllabus. All right, let's move on let's go to our introduction. What is hermeneutics? Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpretation. The name hermeneutics comes from the name Hermes.

Hermes was the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. Now sometimes when I tell people that they get if they get upset because they say wait a minute. Are you are you bringing Greek mythology into our faith?

No not at all. It's just where the term comes from the Greek term Hermes. Was it was the name of the God who brought the message from the gods to the people. Therefore the term hermeneutics? simply means the Bringing of the message and Hermeneutics is about this.

This is the key number two or the second dot on the board. Hermeneutics is about relaying the message of the author to the audience. That's what we want to do. We want to know what God Says in his word, and we want to have that message go from him to us and and understand it properly.

Some people and I Hate to even say this. Some people don't really care if They get God's message across they want to put their message across and they want to find a Bible verse that agrees with them.

You get you know I'm saying right. People want to they want to have an opinion and find a Bible verse to go with it. That is the opposite of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is about getting the message from the author to the audience getting the message from God to us.

Not. Getting our opinions affirmed by the Bible which is what a lot of people want to do. Biblical hermeneutics is an application of 2nd Timothy 2 15. You don't have to open your Bible. I'll put it on the screen for you.

I like the King James translation of this because it begins with the word study. But in a lot of other translations such as the English Standard Version or the New American Standard Version it begins with the phrase do your Best which is what the idea of study is but the King James Version begins with the idea study to show thyself approved unto God a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.

This is the heart of this whole series. This is the heart of the whole Hermeneutical class. Our goal is to do that last line right there. Our goal is to rightly divide the word of truth and here's the thing about this passage.

I remember one of my professors because this was actually printed above the door of our Seminary when I when I was in seminary it was it was it was embossed in like a brass plate and Screwed above the door.

So when you were walking you saw it. Study to show thyself approved unto God. A workman that need that needeth not to be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth. And what? Dr. Stanford Cruz one of my professors would say to us often He said if it can be rightly divided it can be wrongly divided.

If it can be if it can be understood correctly, it could be understood incorrectly and many men and women are Dreadfully responsible for wrongly dividing the word. Our job as Christians and Bible students is to rightly divide the word.

You understand the great Responsibility that you have. Most people like to talk about their rights. But they don't like to talk about the responsibilities that go with those rights like it's my right to drive a car down the road.

But it's my responsibility to make sure I drive that car safely, and I don't hurt anyone else. It's my right to own a firearm but it's also my Responsibility that I keep that firearm safe. And I don't it doesn't fall into the hands of a child or to a person that might hurt someone right.

So I have a right. And a responsibility well when it comes to the Word of God I have a right the right to own a Bible. That's something that not every Christian in history has had. Just yesterday We celebrated the death of William Tyndale.

William Tyndale was called God's outlaw. Do you know what his crime was? Publishing the Bible in English translating it in English so that the English-speaking world could read the Bible. So we are a blessed generation.

We have the right to own a Bible. We have a right to study the Bible, but we have a responsibility to do it correctly. If I don't be careful, I'll start preaching so you guys get that's the heart of this class this verse.

Is the heart of what we're doing to seek to rightly divide the Word of God. All right, so part one. Why don't people study? Why don't people study the Bible well if you have? Read this week's reading and I know as I said you're excused if you didn't but if you had the opportunity to get the book.

And read this week's reading you will recognize that I'm pulling this right out of the book because this is how dr. Hendricks starts the book. He asked the question why don't people study and he gives five Reasons why people don't study now?

He does this a lot longer than I'm going to and if you haven't read it. I encourage you go back. He'll flush out some some of this that I'm not going to get to talk about. But here are the things that he says that are very common reasons people don't study the Bible number one.

He says a failure to recognize the relevance of the Bible. Is that true? That people don't don't understand why it matters. I mean if you were going to be a welder you would understand the relevance of reading your manuals and going to class and studying.

If you were going to be a Doctor you would understand the importance of going to medical school and getting your degree and doing all that. People understand the relevance of what they're doing if it matters to them.

But oftentimes you say why aren't you studying your Bible, and they say well. They won't say it this way, but at the end of the day. It's real. It just doesn't seem like it matters. It doesn't seem relevant now.

They want again. I don't might be say it that that. Abruptly it doesn't matter, but they don't see why it matters. They don't see that and this is what people say. I need something that works. They don't understand how powerful the Bible is and how important it is.

Remember one time in my family. We Had a family member who was Struggling with a problem, and it was a pretty serious problem want to go too far into it but I remember saying this person needs the gospel this person needs to be saved and.

And one of my family members said no we need to take care of their problem first they can do religion later. That was their answer. They said no we need to deal with the problem. Then they can get they can get right with God later.

They can get religion later. See they didn't understand the relevance to the condition of the person. They didn't understand the relevance of the word to that person. No they can do that later. How dangerous thinking that is that's often what we do that.

I'll get to that later. I'll be a Bible student when I retire. Because right now. I'm just tired. So I'll be a good Bible student when I When the kids move out or I'll be a good Bible student you know all these different things right we come up with reasons.

And we you know these are our reasonings whatever. So the relevance of the Bible, that's that's that's important number two feeling inadequate. How many people I mean how many of how many of us have said you know what I'm just I don't know Greek and Hebrew.

I I mean who am I to get out there and do this. I just listened to the preacher. He seems to know all that stuff. I'll let him tell me what to think. Now you guys might think that's crazy talk, but I'm telling us what people think.

People say I don't need why do I need to study the Bible? He's gonna. Tell me what it says every week, or they'll say I just don't know how to do it. Again that's a reason why people say I I just I'm inadequate for the task number three.

They fear too much time. Is going to need to be invested? This past week was g3. G3 is a big Christian conference that goes on in Atlanta. Paul Washer John MacArthur James White you know the the heavy hitters the voddie bockham all those guys were there and and Paul Washer said something that nailed everybody to the wall.

During his sermon, I mean he does that a lot. Paul's got a way about him, and he said compare your screen time to your prayer time. Say compare your screen, and I and everybody went dope yeah, everybody kind of sat back because that's the truth.

Most of us have much more time than we realize if we eliminated the things that don't matter. And if we prioritize the things that do. All right, and and that's everybody that's not just you know me or you it's everybody if we if we took the Importance of what this is that we're dealing with.

Seriously, we would we would certainly find the time number four. Some people find the difficulties of the Bible to be too problematic and by that What dr. Hendricks is saying some people have some real struggles with what the Bible says so it's hard for them to dig in because they don't know how to they don't they just don't know how to deal with things like burning bushes and Parting seas and and Raising men from the dead they just they have some difficulty with their faith.

And one of the things that the Bible does it confronts our unbelief doesn't it I? Mean my one of my favorite passages is in the gospel of Mark where that man brought a son to Jesus and Jesus said you know.

He said can you heal my son? And he said you know if you believe and he says I believe what help might help my unbelief. Right and when we go to the Bible oftentimes We're confronted face to face with things that are hard too hard to deal with.

You know the truth of the matter is this is in this is in dr. Howard Hendricks book. But it's also I've heard this for years, and I believe it's true. It says sin will keep us from the Bible or the Bible will keep us from sin.

I think I said that backwards the Bible will keep us from sin or sin will keep us from the Bible and That's the truth when I'm when I'm When I'm struggling to want to be in the Bible. It's usually because there's stuff there.

I don't want to see stuff. I don't really want to be confronted with. I mean it is. So finding the difficulties of the Bible problematic and number five. Forgetting that the experience should be joyful.

And he tells a story in the book about his wife. When they were dating I think it's in the same chapter as this portion. He says that when they were dating she would send him love letters. And he never once Said oh man another love letter.

I can't I and you know what I'm gonna Do. I'm gonna read I'm gonna read a sentence, and I'm gonna put it down. And I'll read another sentence tomorrow, and then and I'll wait, and he said no. Devoured the whole letter.

Right then because they lived apart they were far apart, and that was all he had you know they didn't have Facebook and Instagram. So they had these letters. And he would read because he loved her and he devoured it.

And he said and it was a joy said sometimes he would fold it up put it under his pillow at night. So that if he woke up in the middle of night he could pull the letter out and read it you know. Reading the Bible should be a joy.

And it can be a joy but oftentimes We we make it out to be a chore. Putting it on the list of things that just has to get done like brushing our teeth and feeding the dog. Yeah, what are some other reasons that y 'all can think of that that people don't study the Bible?

Anything off top of your head. Some people don't like to read III you know what I think that's a pretty fair observation. Observation. Daisy some people just don't like to read, okay, I Don't have a good answer for that one other than.

One of the things we're going to talk about in this class is how to be a better reader. Because that's actually part of observation is learning to read better. We'll learn about that starting more next week, but that's a good.

That's a good one anybody else.

Sometimes people start off with like the little hardback King James Bible. It's in the pew small print no notes or nothing and they're trying to dive into something difficult. And they have you know the language of the Bible the bees and mouths and they come to a difficult passage.

And there's nothing to explain the historical context you know what's funny is he actually talks in the book. About choosing a Bible. He says it's it's important to choose a Bible with letters big enough that you can read that you don't feel like you're having to fight to read it and you know margins big enough to make notes in it and and a translation that is useful or not useful, but a translation that is.

It works for you. You know and we and we're going to talk later in this class about the fact that there are better translations than others. You know there are translations that are more literal there are some translations that are very Paraphrastic and little almost kind of way out there, but at the same time you're right if somebody if somebody only picked up The King James Bible, and it was a little one with little tiny writing and they were like oh I got it.

I got to spend my life devoted to this it'd be really tough. So. Some of its more difficult, yeah. Yeah, where do most people where do most people in their Bible reading for the year. At the. At the begats I always joke I said to begats get a lot of people out of the Bible because they get to like Genesis 5 Genesis 11 this one begat that one and they can't even say the name so they're sitting there.

You know. Read in it and it does it can throw them off so for sure. Now. Now that I am I am a big fan of audible, I'm our Audio audio audio Bibles, and I do think that they can be useful for sure. Any other I have two more, but I'm gonna add two to his anybody else have any before I do.

Sometimes. Like yeah, I think that kind of almost kind of goes with number four like I was saying something's keeping us from it. You know something becomes problematic. Maybe something that reached into our life and made it harder.

Yeah, I can see that. Yeah, I think yeah, that's what we go going back to number two. Yeah, they feel inadequate. They don't get it. What do you think Ross? From work. Yeah. And I and I do want to make a point and this is not in any in any well I say and not in any way to Diminish what you guys are talking about.

But notice we're talking to kind of about two different things because you guys are done about reading the Bible. I'm done about studying the Bible and there is a difference. Because a lot of people read devotionally like I do I read devotionally every day of it every day I read a certain amount of chapters, and I do those same chapters every day for a month right now I'm doing Revelation 1 to 7 every day I wake up Revelation 1 to 7 and I do that for 30 days the next month I'll do Revelation 8 to 14 and I'll do that through the book.

And it's just a way to to it because repetition is the key to learning. So so I just do the same chapters every day for seven days. I've been for 30 days. Then I turn around and do that it takes about five years to go through the whole Bible that way.

But if you do that you'll have been through the Bible 30 times in five years. So you just do it over and over kind of pick seven eight chapters a day and do that. So it's a but but even that's not really what I would say is study.

Good yeah. Yeah, because a lot of people they have like something like our daily bread which I call our daily crumb. Because because it's just it's just One verse and then a little story to go with it, and it's really not studying the passage.

It's just using the passage almost like a springboard to some other. To something else you know so so so just to keep in mind. There are many reasons why people say I can't study don't want to study or don't have time to study.

But here's the two that I think that a lot of people don't think about. Number one is we have seen a rise in the last 30 years, and what's called easy believism. Easy believism is the idea that the only thing it takes to be a Christian is to raise your hand walk the aisle get baptized.

Whatever your church does to get you in you get your ticket punched your your non Hell ticket is punched, and that's all and that's all it means to be a Christian. Maybe show up around Christmas and Easter you know you got your CEOs Christmas Easter only people folks.

They only come to church a couple times a year because it doesn't matter so there's a. This rise in easy believism because everybody saved just in case you don't know it just go to a funeral. Everybody saved.

I posted this on Facebook yesterday. It was a picture of a person standing next to a grave. Oh, they're in a better place, and then underneath it. They were in hell. I was like not not always. They're not always in a better place.

We're always convinced they are. But they're not. Yeah, it does. It makes us feel a lot better. But this rise in easy believism has given rise to the second one to an anti intellectualism. We have in the church an anti intellectualism.

We're more concerned with how we feel than what we think we're more concerned with how we feel than what the Bible says and the feelings have overrun the facts and It really has changed the way people look at the Bible because as I just said talking about our daily bread.

What do people do people look to the Bible as if it's a fortune cookie? I? Want to find a line or I want to find a sentence that gives me? Some kind of motivation. I want I want Jesus to be my Tony Robbins.

If you don't know who Tony Robbins is he's a big Motivational speaker, and I want the Apostle Paul to be Tony Robbins. I want him to be a motivational speaker, so I'm gonna pull out you know Philippians 4.

I Can do all things through Christ, and I don't know anything about the context. But I'm gonna that's gonna be my verse right. And I'm gonna put that on my whatever and I'm gonna or ask for me in my house.

We will serve the Lord nothing wrong with that verse and my mom has it in her house, so don't think I'm Necessarily giving it a hard time that you would do something like that, but the point is those things become more like slogans than scripture and We treat the scripture as like I said like a fortune cookie rather than a Book that is worthy to be studied, and and I'll say this about anti-intellectual ism anti-intellectual ism is Relatively recent in church history the church was once the source for art for literature and even scientific inquiry.

But now we engage in the massive Dumbing down of our material, and if you don't believe it just go look at Sunday school material especially stuff produced for women. And I and I say that ladies the stuff that's produced for women in Sunday school.

It's it's very trite. I know that's good talking my wife the stuff that's usually produced and is out there is not very good at all because it's it's all Emotionalism there's no theology in it. It's it's typically hot garbage and yet we devour it.

We give our kids. Here's I wrote this. I said the same teenagers who we expect to learn calculus in high school. We expect them to color pictures of Noah's Ark in Sunday school. That's part of the problem is we have removed Intellectual ism from the faith and what we've done is created a massive dumbing down of the faith.

Therefore why study doesn't matter. I don't need to study. I got Jesus in my heart, but he's in your brain. See a lot of you ever heard the whole 18-inch difference. People say he's in your mind, but not in your heart.

I think we've gone the other way. Everybody's got Jesus in their heart, but nobody knows nothing and it's impossible to worship a God. You don't know Romans chapter 12. This will be the passage we look at later, and we will come back later and look at it.

But for now Romans chapter 12 before we do the ten observations. I want you to just look at one thing. I've got it underlined. I Appeal to you therefore brethren by the mercies of God present your bodies a living sacrifice Holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship.

Terrible translation. I hate the word spiritual worship should be reasonable service, but we'll talk about that later. Do not be conformed to this world. But be transformed by the renewal of your what? mind.

That by testing you may discern. What is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect? What is the title of R .C. Sproul's radio show? Renewing your mind comes right from this verse. What was R .C. Sproul might mainly known for in Christian teaching a High bar of intellectualism.

He didn't dumb it down now. He made it understandable, but he didn't dumb it down. Sometimes understandable. That's that has always been my goal as a teacher. To never ever dumb anything down. But to make things that are hard to understand as as easy to understand as possible, but not dumb it down.

Not to feed God's children baby food. Good for you, that's our that's the goal. It should be the goal. Well praise God. I think you I think. Thank you for saying that but it's it's just that's the goal right and I and I learned it from men like MacArthur Sproul guys.

Like that because they never did they never dumbed it down. They preach the truth the hard truth and the whole truth. So that's you know when people don't study I think there's a lot of reasons why but the most of why they just it at the end of the day.

It's not necessary. I got Jesus in my heart, you know. It's not it's not a priority. So we've asked why people don't study now. Let's look at the next part. Why study? Why study the Bible? Well, there's a lot of reasons, but I'm gonna we're gonna look at the three from the book then we'll ask.

Maybe have you guys do some input as well the first two from the book sort of go together. But so you'll see they sort of some overlap on these but there's three Bible verses if you want to. If you want to I don't have them on the board for you.

So you'll have to look these up. In fact James look up first Peter 2 to Charlie look up Hebrews. Is it Charles? Chuck I'm sorry Chuck Chuck Hebrews 5 11 to 14 if you would and Ross do 2nd Timothy 3 16 17 that one many people can probably quote.

Sorry Chuck my bad. Yeah, that's what made me think I know your name. I just it threw me off. All right. So the three reasons why we need to study number one. It is essential to our spiritual growth. James read first Peter 2 to.

Yep, thank you. That's it like newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk. It's interesting because Peter uses a different analogy than Paul. Paul talks about milk being for children and meat being for adults.

And so with Paul milk is somewhat of a negative thing. But in Peter's analogy, he's using milk as that pure spiritual milk that we should long for to grow. How does a child grow? He grows by imbibing the pure spirit of the Spirit of the Spirit.

You know what if you take a child and you don't give them the milk the mother's milk the child's not going to grow. Eventually, he's going to die so he's got to get that milk to grow and and so if you've got a if you if you're a Christian and You've been in the church for any length of time and you don't feel yourself growing.

If they may have people come to me sometimes, you know, I just don't feel like I'm growing in the Lord. My first question to them is how is your Bible study? How is your prayer life? If you don't feel like you're growing in the Lord, let's talk about why that is.

Where are you in the word? Where are you in? Your your closet with the Lord and so. One of the first the first reason why we should study is because there's no other way to grow. You're not going to grow by osmosis.