Synopsis "I Wish I Knew the Bible Better: Determining What God Means by What He has Said"
Since God is the author of language it is my conviction that every word that He revealed to us was specifically intended; that is, He did not make any mistakes communicating His revelation through the writers of the Bible to us. The language: the words, historical setting, cultural setting, context and other linguistic implications are precise. Furthermore, every 'jot and tittle' was precisely planned. So, what are the implications of this premise? As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." We, therefore, are responsible to determine what God meant by what He revealed. We call the study of understanding God's Word Hermeneutics. It is the science and art of understanding what God meant by what He said. For any minister of the Gospel, there is no more important study. Why?-The Jehovah Witness says that Jesus is a god, not God (John 1:1) either His is or He is not, which is it?-In that the patriarchs practiced polygamy we may practice it, after all, it is in the Bible-The Mormon or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches that the Bible is not the sole authority for faith and practice: If this is true what does the Bible teach about the revelation of God's word to us today. Are we still receiving revelation from God or is it complete as seen in the Bible?-Everything we know about God and Christ comes from His Word. If you do not understand it, or if you interpret it incorrectly, then you will mislead yourself as well as others-Some say there are apostles in the church today, how can we know what the Bible teaches about this?-What is wrong with two people loving each other? .....when they are homosexual? After all the entire Bible doesn't say much on the question of same-sex marriage. It doesn't directly use the words, 'two people of the same gender can't marry', and therefore God must approve of same-sex marriage.-Or, since God has granted us the privilege of procreation we can circumvent the creation process through birth control or abortion. It is within our authority according to the book of Genesis.This class will introduce you to the basics of determining what God meant by what He said. Unequivocally there is but one interpretation of any text in the Bible. We will not seek to understand what you think the Bible means or what I think the Bible means. We will seek to determine what God meant by what He said and there are not many interpretations of what He said. There is but one, the one He meant.
