HOW TO READ THE BIBLE FOR ALL ITS WORTH

An Overview of the book byGordon Fee and Douglas Stuart

Rommel Casis & Peter ZaballaQuezon City Central Region, MMCC

“ All Scipture is GOD-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of GOD may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

INTRODUCTION

“ Do your best to present yourself to GOD as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth”. - 2 Timothy 2:15

we cannot accept …laxity in the interpretation of Scripture. We are dealing with God’s thoughts: we are obligated to take the greatest pains to understand them truly and to explain them clearly. [D.A. Carson]

• Why do we need to interpret the Bible?

FUNDAMENTALS

• How can we interpret it correctly?

• What tools do we need in interpreting the Bible?

Nature of the reader

As a reader, we bring into the text all that we are

What we read is a translation

dual nature of the scripturedual nature of the scripture

Why interpret the Bible?

Nature of the Scripture

dual nature of the scripturedual nature of the scripture

Divine Human-eternal relevance - historical

particularity

- GOD has to use almost every kind of human communication: narrative history, genealogies, chronicles, poetry, etc.

- Time and culture of the author and his readers

TWO LEVELS OF INTERPRETATION

Exegesis (“then and there”)

Hermeneutics (“here and now”)

How to interpret it correctly?

Historical Context

- Occasion and purpose of each biblical book and/or various parts

Literary Context- Words only have meaning in sentences; biblical sentences for the most part only have clear meaning in relation to preceding sentences- Rules that apply to each literary form

- Contemporary relevance of ancient text

- a text cannot mean what it never meant

What tools do we need?

• good Bible translation

• good commentaries

• good Bible dictionary

SCIENCE OF TRANSLATION

Good Bible Translation

TEXT LANGUAGE

Problems

Resolution

- No handwritten original

Textual criticism

- what exist are thousands of copies produced by hand and copied repeatedly- later manuscripts differ significantly from the earlier copies and translations

1. External evidence- Character and quality of manuscripts

2. Internal evidence- Mistakes copyist are susceptible

- language barrier; historical distance- ‘theory of translation’

• Formal equivalence – literal translation• Functional equivalence – dynamic equivalent or thought for thought translation• Free translation - paraphrased

Good Bible Translation

EXAMPLE:

Ang tamad magbasa ng Bibliya ay walang utang Ang tamad magbasa ng Bibliya ay walang utang na loob sa Diyos.na loob sa Diyos.

The lazy to read the Bible is no debt inside to God.The lazy to read the Bible is no debt inside to God.

Those who are too lazy to read the Bible have Those who are too lazy to read the Bible have no gratitude to God.no gratitude to God.

IF you have not time to read the Bible you IF you have not time to read the Bible you are an ingrate!are an ingrate!

Formal

Functional

Free

“ My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom…and if you look for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the lord and find the knowledge of GOD”. - Proverbs 2: 1-5

The aim of good interpretation is not uniqueness…but to get the plain meaning of the text.

Primary purpose of the Bible is to change our lives, not to increase our knowledge.

CLOSING REMARKS