Smoky Mountain Bible Institute
(Est. 2009) Lesson #97
As promised last month, here is our
discussion of the ministerial hermeneutical method. I cite a lot of texts in
this article, so you may want to have a Bible handy. The main method in this
category is called the “Historical Grammatical” method. This method also
employs human reason, but only as far as we finite beings are able
(acknowledging that we cannot fully comprehend the infinite) and lets God's
word have the final say especially when it says things that are illogical to
us. This method acknowledges that God is all-powerful and can reveal his truth
to us in any way he chooses, and that happens to be his inerrant written word,
clearly defined through history and grammar, the Bible. As such, this method
produces interpretations that are clear confessions of biblical truth. If your
ultimate authority is God's word, then you will acknowledge that all human life
is created in his image and is intrinsically valuable. All races, locations,
sizes, and conditions of humans are therefore worthy of the highest respect and
protection we can provide. We also have the freedom to function within the
gifted order of his creation. He put “norms” in place for our benefit and we
let his word have the final say no matter how politically incorrect or
illogical it may sound.
God gives men and women different
roles, like mother, father, husband, wife, or pastor. Scripture attaches gender
to each of these roles (see 1 Tim 3:1-13, Titus 1:6-9, 1 Cor 14:33-35, Eph
5:21-26, Col 3:18-19, 1 Tim 2:9-13, 1 Cor 11:3-10, and 1 Peter 3:1-5). History
and grammar can help us better understand these things but we cannot redefine
what the words mean. To be a pastor, one must be male, rightly called, and
ordained. Marriage is defined for us in Genesis as being between one man and
one woman. Other scriptural mandates are chastity for all, celibacy for the
unmarried, and monogamy and fidelity for the married. These are the gifts of a
loving God to us all regardless of our fallen sinful condition.
To say that only God can forgive sins is most
certainly correct, and he can do so however he wishes. To that end, he has
established means through which forgiveness can be given, including through
words spoken in his stead, by his command following confession (see John
20:22-23).
Baptism is
a gift from God, even if it does not seem logical. Water and word certainly
cannot normally save and give faith miraculously, but scripture tells us that
God’s word combined with water does just that (see Matt 28:19; Mark 15:16; 1
Peter 3:21; Acts 2:38-39; 22:16; 1 Cor 6:11; 12:13; Eph 5:26; Titus 3:5-6; Heb
10:22; John 3:5; Rom 6:3-6; Col 2:11-12, and Gal 3:27-29).
The
Lord’s Supper is a gift from God, even if it does not seem logical. Bread and
wine normally cannot also be flesh and blood and give forgiveness when
consumed, but scripture tells us that they can, and they do (see Matt 26, Mark
14 Luke 22, and 1 Cor 11).
As you can
see, the “leaves” on these two hermeneutic trees are very different. So, the
next time you are sharing your faith with someone and they argue against your
“interpretation”, you can politely tell them “yes, and it is also the
confession of the universal, historic, Christian faith, so your disagreement is
not with me, but with the plain, clear, historic, apostolic exposition of God's
truth”. Or perhaps you could just say, “your disagreement is not with me, but
God's word”; that might be simpler.
There are
much more thorough treatments of this topic available, but this will help
define the two main schools of thought which will appear in our discussion of
American Trinitarian Christian church bodies. Next month we will begin
discussion of the “three ladders” or the “three ditches” we often find
ourselves falling into, regardless of our church’s confession. We all struggle
with these, but some church bodies have them as part of their public confession
of faith.
In Christ,
Pastor Portier
