Rules For Using This Website

• You must use your Bible to verify references and context.

• Understand that the Scripture is clear. The perspicuity of Scripture is a necessary idea in God’s revelation to man.

• Allow the Scripture to change, adjust or nuance your views on Theology.

• Prayerfully consider the text before putting on your theological glasses.

• Feel free to ask questions of the editor.

• Make comments about Biblical points and not about attacking character.

• Pointing out inconsistencies and invalid lines of reasoning is permitted.

• Ephesians 4:29-32 is applicable to this website: Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Interpretation Guidelines

All doctrine must be built on sound principles of interpretation; otherwise, the doctrine must be changed. These are the general principles of hermeneutics.

Interpret grammatically. There is no more basic rule of interpretation than this. The interpreter must begin his work by studying the grammatical sense of the text, determining the exact meaning of the words according to linguistic usage and connection. A word is the vehicle of a thought; therefore, the meaning of any passage must be determined by a study of the words therein with the relationship sustained in the sentence. This is a natural corollary to the belief in the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture, for if one holds that the words of the text were inspired of God, then one must interpret those very words. A true exegesis is demanded.

Interpret according to the context. The Bible is not a book of words or verses put together without any relation to one another. Therefore, the context, which includes both the immediate context and the wider scope of the section or book, must be studied in order to see the relation that each verse sustains to that which precedes and to that which follows. Nothing is better than to have an author explain himself, and the study of the context is one of the most trustworthy resources at the command of the interpreter. Sometimes the immediate context does not give all the needed light on a certain passage, and so the wider context, even the scope of the book itself, must be considered. The purpose of the writing, the people addressed, and the general theme of the book are all important factors.…………….

Compare Scripture with Scripture. This principle of interpretation, which was not employed until the Reformation, places hermeneutics on a true and solid foundation. It not only uses parallel passages in Scripture but also regulates the interpretation of each passage in conformity with the whole tenor of revealed truth. It brings low those who claim to receive the Bible as the Word of God, and who reject specific revelations in it because they do not fit into the framework of their preconceived theology. It is a great inconsistency to admit a positive revelation and then to reject things positively revealed. The application of this principle of hermeneutics means the harmonization of all the Bible. An obscure or seemingly contradictory passage cannot invalidate a doctrine clearly supported by this principle of the analogy of faith.

Charles C. Ryrie, The Basis of the Premillennial Faith (Dubuque, IA: ECS Ministries, 2005), 33–34.