The Importance of Good Exegesis (Critical Analysis) of God’s Word

Rev. Roderick Heck, M.T.S., M.Div., Pastor Theologian

Why engage in good exegesis of God’s word?

The Bible commands it.

2 Tim 2:15 “. . . Present yourself to God a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The fact of its authorship requires it.

The Bible is Sola Fidei regula (the only rule of faith).  If we are to believe God’s word, we must know God’s word.  If we believe it has “God for its author” then there is no book more important for us to understand.

The nature of the Bible demands it.

1)   Peter tells us himself that Paul’s letters “contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).

2)   Other parts of the Bible are hard to understand also.

Misunderstanding the Bible can be damaging.

1)   to your own faith.

2)   to the people you minister to.

3)   to everyone who is influenced by your ministry directly or indirectly.

The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit does not eliminate the need for human effort to understand the Bible. Instead, it undergirds it.

1)   In the Bible, God sent people to learn from others, even though He could have taught them directly. (Paul learned from Ananias; Cornelius heard the gospel from Peter; Timothy learned from his mother and grandmother—and from Paul.)

2)   Those who think they don’t need to work hard to study the Bible well, or who think they don’t need any human help in learning God’s Word, cannot expect people to listen closely to their preaching/teaching, and they cannot expect to see lives changed through their ministry. 

We must overcome the following subjective factors influencing our understanding of the Bible:

1)        Our own religious heritage and background,

2)        Our own psychological needs,

3)        Our own philosophical background and convictions,

4)   The larger culture in which we live, which influences us in ways we sometimes don’t even recognize.

Why study God’s Word deeply?

Different interpretations, even among those who affirm inerrancy, require that we engage in critical analysis of God’s Word.  Few scholars will give poor reasons for interpreting the Bible in a certain way.  How will you judge between differing interpretations that are both well defended, if you have not studied God’s word very deeply yourself?

Believing that God’s word is true is not the same thing as knowing those truths.  Sound exegesis of God’s word will help keep you from false doctrine.

God Bless.

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