Reading Scripture Covenantally (Lesson 1)

Introduction

During the Second Missionary Journey, the Apostle Paul and Silas stayed briefly in the city of Berea, having fled persecution in Thessalonica after having been there for only a few weeks.  Luke, writing the account of the stay, singles out the Bereans for particular commendation, saying: “These [Bereans] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).  Paul’s commendation is not just that the Bereans were receptive to the Gospel, which they were, but that they evaluated his claims by searching the Scriptures.  This is serious dedication to being “Bible believing.”

A key hallmarks of historic Protestantism is a commitment to the preeminent authority of the Bible.  However, many—perhaps most—people, if they read the Bible at all, read it devotionally: a few verses or a short passage with some inspirational thoughts by the devotional writer.  Such an approach reveals more about the mind of the devotion writer than that of the Lord, who inspired all Scripture.  If we are to be truly “Bible believing,” then we need an approach that understands the Bible comprehensively and holistically.

Books explaining how to study the Bible typically focus on two things: exegesis and hermeneutics.  Exegesis looks where a passage is situated in the overall context of a book, analyzes the logical organization and flow, and observes key words in the passage.  Knowing the original languages can be an asset in this regard.  Exegesis aims to understand what a text is saying.  Hermeneutics tries to get at what a text means.  Hermeneutics includes understanding the historical context behind the passage, assessing what the author intended, what the original readers understood it to mean, and what it can mean to us today.  Exegesis and hermeneutics go together.  Most books on how to study the Bible, however, do not go beyond this, and as a result, Christians are left to fend for themselves in reckoning how different parts of the Bible relate to one another. What Christians need is a framework to see how the Bible fits together.

(For a fuller discussion of this issue, see the attached file)