I want to post a couple of my thought on hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the science of interpreting a text. I am seeing a growing lack of hermeneutical discipline and I would like to remind believers of how to properly understand the Scripture.
I just listened to a sermon in
which the preacher repeated a common assertion that the first century division
between Jews and Gentiles corresponds to the racial divisions between blacks
and whites in the US. On the surface, this
seems like a fair statement if we assume the Jews and Gentiles was divided primarily
by ethnicity. What divided Jews and
Gentiles was not their family lines, but their faith. The people of God were not to intermarry with
Gentiles because it would lead to idolatry.[1] That is why Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6:14, tells
believers to not marry unbelievers. Ephesians
2:11-22 shows what divided the Jews and Gentiles. In Jesus, Gentiles are brought into the
covenant and are made fellow partakers of grace with believing Jews.
If, as the aforementioned preacher suggested, the
division between blacks and whites is parallel to the division between Jews and
Gentiles, and Ephesians 2:11-22 is true, doesn’t it follow that blacks are
outside of the covenant? The apodosis is
clearly wrong, therefore one of the protases must be wrong. Since Ephesians 2:11-22 is true, then the
division between blacks and whites is not parallel to the division between Jews
and Gentiles.
The assertion by the preacher led me to wonder, “How
could he draw that conclusion?” Today, I
am seeing a lot of common hermeneutical errors used to promote an agenda. This preacher rightly opposes racial divisions
and is working to build a multi-ethnic congregation. I think his intention is noble but he is
seeking to justify his efforts and exalt their importance by equating it to the
work of the Apostle Paul, (Ephesians 3:1-10).
The problem is that his effort at racial reconciliation has an even
higher purpose—which was really at the root of Paul’s apostleship—love. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that
you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."[2] Love is the greatest commandment and
summarizes the entire law and the prophets.
What we are doing in racial reconciliation is helping all of God’s
people to learn to love one another. We
are not trying to bring African Americans into the covenant with us.
The hermeneutical error that the preacher made is to
fail to understand the context in which the passage of scripture was
written. The exegete must first understand
how the passage was understood in the original context, then glean the
universal principle that applies to all situations, and finally apply
that principle to today’s audience. It
is too common for preachers to skip the first step and simply assert that our
situation is the same as those who first received the message from the
text. It may even be helpful to advance
our agenda. However, it is lazy and may
bring about some dangerous errors.
[1] Deuteronomy 7:3-4
"Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your
daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For
they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the
anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.”
[2] John 13:35
No comments:
Post a Comment