TEACH ONE SEND ONE
see examples below
“Call those things that are not as though they were.” Romans 4:17 Common interpretation: “Christians should speak things into existence by faith.” Context: Paul is describing God. Romans 4:17 says Abraham believed in the God: “who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” Better understanding: The verse describes God's power, not a technique given to believers for creating outcomes through speech. Application today: Faith means trusting the God who can accomplish what appears humanly impossible. It does not mean we possess God's creative authority.
“Faith as a mustard seed can move mountains.” Matthew 17:20 Common interpretation: “If I have enough faith, I can accomplish anything.” Context: The disciples had failed to cast out a demon. Jesus was addressing their lack of faith and dependence upon God. Mountain-moving language was a vivid way of describing what appears impossible. Better understanding: The power is not found in the size or intensity of human faith. The power is found in the God in whom faith is placed. Application today: Faith is not confidence in ourselves. It is dependence upon God's ability, wisdom, and will.
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 Common interpretation: “Sit quietly, relax, meditate, and experience God's presence.” Context: Psalm 46 describes war, nations raging, kingdoms moving, and God demonstrating His sovereign power. “Be still” carries the sense of stopping, ceasing, or letting go. Better understanding: The statement is closer to: “Stop striving and recognize that I am God.” It is a declaration of God's supremacy over chaos and nations. Application today: Quiet reflection can certainly be helpful, but the passage primarily calls us to recognize God's sovereign authority when everything around us appears unstable.
“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.” Matthew 18:18 Common interpretation: “I bind Satan, demons, sickness, poverty, or anything negative.” Context: Matthew 18 is discussing sin between believers, witnesses, church accountability, discipline, forgiveness, and restoration. Better understanding: Binding and loosing language was associated with authority to make judgments concerning what was prohibited or permitted. Within Matthew 18, it is connected particularly to the community's responsibility to handle matters of accountability faithfully. Application today: This passage should not automatically become a formula for verbally binding spiritual beings.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Proverbs 18:21 Common interpretation: “My words literally create my reality. If I say something negative, I may cause it to happen.” Context: Proverbs repeatedly teaches that words have powerful consequences. Speech can destroy relationships, damage reputations, encourage people, communicate wisdom, or lead people into trouble. Better understanding: Solomon is emphasizing the enormous influence of speech, not necessarily teaching that human words possess God's creative power. Application today: Our speech matters greatly. Words can heal or wound, encourage or discourage, reconcile or divide.
“Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.” Hebrews 10:25 Common interpretation: “This verse means every Christian must attend a Sunday church service every week.” Context: Hebrews 10:19–25 emphasizes believers drawing near to God, holding firmly to their confession, considering one another, provoking one another toward love and good works, gathering together, and encouraging one another. Better understanding: The writer is concerned about believers withdrawing from Christian community and perseverance, not merely checking attendance at a weekly service. Application today: Regular Christian gathering matters. But the purpose is deeper than attendance: encouragement, mutual care, perseverance, worship, instruction, and shared life.
“God will not give you more than you can handle.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 Common interpretation: “God promises that no life situation will ever become more difficult than I can manage.” Context: Paul is specifically discussing temptation. He says God will not allow believers to be tempted beyond what they can bear without also providing a way of escape. Better understanding: This verse is not teaching that believers will never feel overwhelmed by grief, suffering, persecution, illness, or hardship. In fact, Paul elsewhere said he was burdened “beyond measure” and “above strength” (2 Corinthians 1:8). Application today: God is faithful in temptation and provides a path toward obedience. But difficult circumstances may still drive us to depend on God beyond our own strength.
Learning to Understand Scripture
Hermeneutics: Learning to Read Scripture Wisely
Don’t Just Read the Bible — Learn to Understand What It Says
The Bible was written for us, but it was not originally written to us.
Every passage of Scripture was given in a real historical setting, through a particular writer, to an original audience, for a particular purpose. Before asking, “What does this verse mean to me?” we should first ask:
“What did God communicate through this text when it was originally given?”
That is where hermeneutics helps us.
What Is Hermeneutics?
Hermeneutics is the set of principles, tools, and practices used to interpret a text so that its original meaning is understood before applying it to our lives today.
Hermeneutics is not about making Scripture complicated.
It is about slowing down long enough to hear what Scripture is actually saying.
The goal is not to make the Bible say what we want it to say.
The goal is to understand what the biblical writer communicated, how the original audience would have understood it, how that truth fits within the whole of Scripture, and then how we should faithfully live in light of it today.
Interpretation asks: What does the text mean?
Application asks: What should I do because it means that?
Application should follow interpretation, not replace it.
Why Does Hermeneutics Matter?
It is possible to quote the Bible and still misunderstand the Bible.
A verse can be true while the way we are using it is wrong.
When verses are separated from their context, we can unintentionally make Scripture support ideas the biblical writer was never teaching.
Sound interpretation helps protect us from:
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Reading our traditions into Scripture
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Building doctrine from isolated verses
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Confusing personal experience with biblical meaning
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Making every passage directly about ourselves
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Applying promises that were given in a different covenant or setting without understanding them
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Allowing church culture to determine what the Bible means
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Accepting something simply because a preacher, teacher, denomination, or respected person said it
Hermeneutics teaches us to bring our assumptions under Scripture instead of bringing Scripture under our assumptions.
A Simple Way to Read Scripture Wisely
1. PRAY
Ask God for humility, wisdom, and truth.
Before studying the Word, recognize that we are approaching God's revelation.
Prayer reminds us that Bible study is not simply an intellectual exercise.
Ask:
“Lord, help me see what iis actually here not merely what I expect to find.”
Prayer does not replace careful study.
It prepares our hearts to receive the truth discovered through careful study.
2. OBSERVE
What does the text actually say?
Before asking what, something mean to me, carefully examine what is written.
Read the passage several times.
Notice:
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Repeated words
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Commands
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Promises
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Questions
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Comparisons
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Contrasts
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Cause and effect
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People
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Places
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Actions
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Connecting words such as therefore, because, but, if, and so that
Ask:
What do I see in the text before I begin explaining the text?
Observation helps us avoid jumping immediately to conclusions.
3. CHECK THE CONTEXT
Never isolate a verse from its surroundings.
Every verse belongs to a paragraph.
Every paragraph belongs to a larger section.
Every section belongs to a biblical book.
And every biblical book belongs within the larger story of Scripture.
Ask questions such as:
Who is speaking or writing?
Is it Jesus?
Paul?
Moses?
David?
A prophet?
A narrator describing an event?
Who is the original audience?
Israel?
The disciples?
A local church?
A particular individual?
People living under the Old Covenant?
Believers living after Christ's resurrection?
Why was this written?
Was the writer:
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Correcting something?
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Encouraging believers?
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Warning someone?
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Teaching doctrine?
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Describing history?
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Giving commands?
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Explaining the gospel?
What happened before and after this passage?
Sometimes the verses surrounding the passage answer questions that disappear when we read only one verse.
Context is one of the greatest protections against misinterpretation.
4. INTERPRET
What did this passage mean then?
Now begin asking what the author intended to communicate to the original audience.
This is one of the most important questions in Bible study:
What did this mean to them before asking what it means for me?
Consider several things.
Historical Context
What was happening historically?
What customs, political realities, religious practices, or social conditions would the original readers have understood?
Literary Context
What kind of writing am I reading?
The Bible contains different literary genres, including:
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Historical narrative
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Poetry
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Wisdom literature
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Prophecy
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Gospel
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Parable
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Letters
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Apocalyptic literature
We should not interpret poetry exactly like historical narrative or a proverb exactly like a promise.
Biblical Context
How does this passage relate to the rest of Scripture?
Clearer passages can help us understand more difficult ones.
No interpretation should contradict the broader teaching of Scripture.
This is sometimes described as:
Scripture interpreting Scripture.
5. APPLY
How should this truth shape my life now?
Only after observing, examining context, and interpreting should we move toward application.
Ask:
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Is there a truth about God I should believe?
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Is there a command I should obey?
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Is there a sin I should avoid?
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Is there an attitude that should change?
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Is there an example worth following?
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Is there a warning I should take seriously?
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Is there someone I should love, serve, forgive, encourage, teach, or help?
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How should this truth affect the way I live among other believers?
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How should this truth affect the way I live before the world?
Biblical study should eventually produce biblical living.
Jesus did not merely call people to know His words.
He called people to obey them.
Four Questions to Carry Into Every Bible Study
When reading Scripture, learn to consistently ask:
1. What did this passage mean to the original audience?
Before placing yourself into the passage, understand the people who first received it.
2. What is the historical and literary context?
Understand what was happening and what type of literature you are reading.
3. How does this passage fit within the whole of Scripture?
One verse should not become disconnected from the Bible's larger message.
4. What truth carries from their world into ours?
Cultures and circumstances may change.
God's truth does not.
Our task is to identify the biblical principle and faithfully live it in our present circumstances.
An Important Difference: Meaning vs. Application
A passage normally has an intended meaning, but that truth may have many legitimate applications.
For example:
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…” — Ephesians 4:32
Paul originally wrote this to believers within the Christian community.
The meaning does not change every time someone reads it.
But the applications can be numerous.
It may mean:
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Forgiving your spouse
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Reconciling with another believer
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Responding graciously to someone who offended you
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Refusing bitterness
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Showing compassion to someone struggling
One meaning can produce many faithful applications.
We should never create an application that contradicts the original meaning.
Description Is Not Always Prescription
Another important principle is learning the difference between what Scripture describes and what Scripture commands.
The Bible records many things people did.
That does not automatically mean God commands every believer to repeat everything they did.
For example, Acts tells us many things that happened in the early church.
When studying Acts, we should ask:
Is Luke simply describing what happened, or is this presented as a pattern or command believers should follow?
This prevents us from turning every biblical event into a universal rule.
Be Careful With “The Bible Says…”
Before saying “The Bible says…”, we should be willing to ask:
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Where does it say it?
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Who said it?
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Who were they speaking to?
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What was happening?
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What comes before and after it?
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Is this a command, promise, principle, description, proverb, prophecy, or narrative?
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Does my interpretation agree with the rest of Scripture?
Those questions do not weaken our confidence in the Bible.
They help us handle the Bible more faithfully.
You Do Not Have to Be a Scholar
Hermeneutics is not reserved for pastors, professors, theologians, or people with seminary degrees.
Every believer who opens the Bible is interpreting Scripture.
The question is not whether we will interpret.
The question is whether we will interpret carefully.
You can begin with something as simple as:
Pray.
Observe.
Check Context.
Interpret.
Apply.
Slow down.
Ask questions.
Read entire passages.
Compare translations.
Look at the surrounding chapters.
Learn the historical setting.
Allow Scripture to challenge what you already believe.
And never be afraid to say:
“I need to study this more before deciding what it means.”
That is not weakness.
That is humility.
Scripture Is the Authority
Hermeneutics does not give us authority over Scripture.
It helps us submit ourselves to Scripture.
Our traditions are not the final authority.
Our experiences are not the final authority.
Church culture is not the final authority.
Our favorite teacher is not the final authority.
Our denomination is not the final authority.
Even our long-held understanding must remain open to correction.
God's Word remains the authority.
As Paul told Timothy:
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
From Reading to Living
The purpose of studying Scripture is not merely collecting information. Knowledge should lead toward transformation.
We study so that we might:
Know what God has revealed.
Understand what He has said.
Believe what is true.
Obey what He commands.
Live what we have learned.
Teach others to do the same.
That is where hermeneutics and discipleship meet.
We learn the Word correctly so that we can live the Word faithfully and help someone else do the same.
TOSO — Teach One Send One
Learn it. Live it. Teach it. Send it.