Opening Salvo One of my joys as a pastor and preacher is to help the church read the Bible. My methods of teaching and preaching are an attempt to model what I want others to practice in their Bible reading. Before getting into the nitty-gritty I want to offer a few opening thoughts. First, as a general practice, Redemption Hill Church is encouraged to stand when the Word of God is read before the sermon. There is nothing magical in the act of standing, but standing is a sign of reverence before God’s Word. I do not know many churches that remain standing, but the practice helps place a focus on what God has said instead of what the preacher is about to say. Standing is not a principle for reading the Bible, but reverence is a disposition of the heart that every Christian should have when reading the Bible.

Second, because I preach expositional sermons, the church is learning to have its nose in the Bible at all times. I do not attempt to tell many stories. I do not use props. I do not “co-preach.” I do not tell jokes for effect. I will admit that my preaching is vanilla. I am not looking to become a celebrity pastor or star preacher. If I share a story, it supplements a point from the Bible. A goal I have every Sunday morning is not to be a distraction from the Word of God. But I want hearts and minds to be focused on God’s Word.

My approach to preaching the Bible is to trace the logic or thought process from the primary passage on Sunday. I do not want to invent a point or take away from what is emphasized. God is always the focus.

Hermeneutics Principles of biblical interpretation are called hermeneutics. In academia, the field is called hermeneutics. It’s a large field in academia. For example, when you approach a painting, you attempt to interpret the meaning of the painting. When there is a major cultural event, the goal is to interpret the event to understand its meaning. In this sense, all people are engaged in hermeneutics.

When a person reads the Bible the goal is to interpret what is written. The goal is to learn the meaning of the text. The question becomes how do you interpret a passage in the Bible? What any reader of the Bible needs to do is employ several interpretive principles to discover the meaning of the text.

The following are six basic principles for interpreting the Bible. There are additional principles but if you use these I am confident you will understand what God is saying through his Word.

Principle #1: Literary Context The surrounding literary context is key. Context is king! When I took a hermeneutics class in Bible college, my professor used real estate as an analogy. A real estate agent knows that location is the most critical factor for selling a home. You will hear Location! Location! Location! The same principle is true for reading the Bible. Context! Context! Context! A good Bible reader is aware of the surrounding literary context. For example, you will see this verse hanging on the wall in some Christian homes.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

– Philippians 4:13

Good Christian people quote this verse for various reasons. Yes, it’s a verse that can bring comfort for the person going through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). However, this verse is often used out of context. Ask yourself this question. Can you do anything because of the strength that comes from Christ? Can you bench press 400lbs? Most likely, you cannot, no matter how many times you quote Philippians 4:13. So, you can’t do all things. What is this verse about? When you read Philippians 4:13 with the lit