Basic Hermeneutics Part 2

Steven’s Scribbles
“Basic Hermeneutics Part 2”
Eph. 4:14-15
    
    When someone is growing up in all aspects into Christ, that means they (we) have to learn to master the scriptures just as Jesus had mastery over the scriptures (Eph. 4:14-15; Matt. 7:28-29). For far too long, Christians have neglected their obligation for personal evangelism (Matt. 28:18-20) and have used phrases like, “Well, I teach through my actions.” If we only taught through our actions, and not with words, the Ethiopian eunuch would never have obeyed the Gospel (Acts 8:25-40). Phillip had to understand the scriptures, both old and new, in order to teach the eunuch. Last week, I wrote about some basic hermeneutical practices that would help anyone wanting to understand anything in written form. Another one to add to that list, concerning the hermeneutics of the bible, is the use of a concordance. If a topic is in question, simply open an exhaustive concordance and look at every scripture concerning the topic to gain a fuller understanding. When looking at baptism, many people will hold onto Rom. 3:27-28 and Eph. 2:8-9, without ever actually looking objectively, at the scriptures concerning baptism. A concordance would tell an individual that there is only one saving baptism (Eph. 4:4; Matt. 28:19), baptism is a burial and not a sprinkling (Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12), baptism now saves you (1 Peter 3:21), baptism is required for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), an individual is baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27), baptism is a work of God, not man and is a matter of faith (Col. 2:12), and that baptism is the medium used by the Lord to admit us into His church (1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 2:38-47). Certainly, an individual could not read those verses, let alone the rest of them, and come to the conclusion that baptism is not essential for salvation.

In His service,
Steven Hugley