Joy to the World “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven and nature sing!” (Isaac Watts) The hymn writer’s words, of course, echo Luke’s ominous remarks that at the… Read More
Urgent Priority: Studying God’s Word
In 2 Timothy 2:15, the apostle Paul writes to young Timothy, “Study to show yourself approved, handling accurately the word of truth.” Other translations vary, rendering the Greek term underlying “Study” as “Be diligent” or the like. However, in the original Greek, the force of the expression conveys great urgency. Used literally, the word means… Read More
How Should You Apply Scripture?
So you have followed the first two steps in interpretation, “Observation” and “Interpretation.” You have sought to determine what the text “meant” in its original context, to its original readers, as intended by the original author, exploring what some call the “first horizon” of biblical interpretation. You have studied difficult words, outlined your passage as… Read More