This short post discusses ARTICLE VII, which reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWe affirm that the meaning expressed in each biblical text is single, definite and fixed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Geisler\u2019s comments about ARTICLE VII are below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe Affirmation here is directed at those who claim a “double” or “deeper” meaning to Scripture than that expressed by the authors. It stresses the unity and fixity of meaning as opposed to those who find multiple and pliable meanings. What a passage means is fixed by the author and is not subject to change by readers. This does not imply that further revelation on the subject cannot help one come to a fuller understanding, but simply that the meaning given in a text is not changed because additional truth is revealed subsequently.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nMeaning is also definite in that there are defined limits by virtue of the author’s expressed meaning in the given linguistic form and cultural context. Meaning is determined by an author; it is discovered by the readers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The preceptaustin.org website (link: Inductive Bible Study: Interpretation | Precept Austin<\/a>) says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMilton S. Terry<\/strong> who authored the classic text Biblical Hermeneutics laid down a basic hermeneutical principle of single meaning writing that “A fundamental principle in grammatico-historical<\/strong> exposition is that the words and sentences can have but one significance in one and the same connection. The moment we neglect this principle we drift out upon a sea of uncertainty and conjecture.” Robert Thomas<\/strong> adds that “Bernard Ramm<\/strong> advocated the same principle in different words: \u201cBut here we must remember the old adage: \u2018Interpretation is one, application is many.\u2019 This means that there is only one meaning to a passage of Scripture which is determined by careful study.\u201d Summit II of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (see related Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and also on Biblical Hermeneutics) concurred with this principle: \u201cWe affirm that the meaning expressed in each biblical text is single, definite and fixed. We deny that the recognition of this single meaning eliminates the variety of its application.\u201d (from The Principle of Single Meaning by Robert Thomas scroll down to page 7. As an aside Thomas has an interesting article on “Promises to Israel in the Apocalypse” on page 91).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nThomas goes on to quote Terry – We may readily admit that the Scriptures are capable of manifold practical applications; otherwise they would not be so useful for doctrine, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. iii, 16). But the moment we admit the principle that portions of Scripture contain an occult or double sense we introduce an element of uncertainty in the sacred volume, and unsettle all scientific interpretation. \u201cIf the Scripture has more than one meaning,\u201d says Dr. Owen, \u201cit has no meaning at all.\u201d \u201cI hold,\u201d says Ryle, \u201cthat the words of Scripture were intended to have one definite sense, and that our first object should be to discover that sense, and adhere rigidly to it. . . . To say that words do mean a thing merely because they can be tortured into meaning it is a most dishonorable and dangerous way of handling Scripture…..We have already seen that the Bible has its riddles, enigmas, and dark sayings, but whenever they are given the context clearly advises us of the fact. To assume, in the absence of any hint, that we have an enigma, and in the face of explicit statements to the contrary, that any specific prophecy has a double sense, a primary and a secondary meaning, a near and a remote fulfilment, must necessarily introduce an element of uncertainty and confusion into biblical interpretation.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
My goal will be to make sure I arrive at the \u201csingle, definite and fixed\u201d meaning of the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Application should not be confused with interpretation. Please keep in mind that many applications can stem from the text’s \u201csingle, definite and fixed\u201d meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preceptaustin.org (Inductive Bible Study: Application | Precept Austin<\/a>) describes the application step of the inductive Bible study method:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIn Bible study, application<\/strong> is putting truth you’ve discovered (through observation and interpretation) to use in your life with the ultimate goal of transformation or life change. Bible study is meant not merely to inform but to transform and renew our mind. (Ro 12:2<\/a>–note<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nApplication<\/strong> answers the question, <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nHow does the truth of this passage apply<\/a> to my life?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nNote that the question is not <\/strong>“Is this truth relevant to my life?” The truth of God’s Word is always relevant to our life. The more honest question is “Am I ready and willing believe this truth and to apply it in my life?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nApplication<\/strong> is the most neglected yet the most needed stage in the process. Too much Bible study begins and ends in the wrong place…with interpretation. Interpretation should build on observation<\/strong> and then lead into interpretation<\/strong>. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself. As someone has blunted phrased it “Interpretation without application is abortion.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\nThe goal of Bible study is not simply to determine what it says<\/strong> and what it means<\/strong>, but in the final analysis to apply it to one’s life. If we fail to apply the Scriptures, we cut short the entire process and have not finished what God wants us to do.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT YOUR SALVATION<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you are unsure about your salvation, you need to check out my book The Salvation Meter: Biblical Self-Diagnostic Tests to Examine Your Salvation and Spiritual Growth<\/strong><\/em> (book link at Xulon Press: https:\/\/www.xulonpress.com\/bookstore\/bookdetail.php?PB_ISBN=9781662828638<\/a> ). At Amazon the book link is https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Salavation-Meter-Biblical-Self-Diagnostic-Spiritual\/dp\/1662828632<\/a> . I also have website in which I am updating the content in the book. The link to my website for the book is https:\/\/thesalvationmeter.com<\/a> .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IF YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 please (1) read through \u201cGod\u2019s Plan of Salvation\u201d so you can understand what God did for you through His only unique Son, Jesus Christ, and (2), from the bottom of your heart, pray the \u201cSinner\u2019s Prayer\u201d meaning every word. If you do, you will be reconciled to God \u2013 saved – through Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
God\u2019s Plan of Salvation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the beginning, God, who is holy, created the entire universe. As a part of His creative actions, He made humans in His image to know Him. For a while, everything was right between God and our ancestors, Adam and Eve. But Adam sinned, and his sin was passed down to all of humankind whereby we became separated from God. Nothing we could do on our own could bridge that separation so that without God\u2019s intervention, hell would be our eternal destination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately for us, in His great love and mercy God provided humankind with the only means of salvation, which is through Jesus Christ who is God\u2019s only unique Son. While retaining His deity, God the Son became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law Himself and taking on Himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever repent and trust in Him for their salvation. Jesus rose from the dead, showing that God the Father accepted Christ\u2019s sacrifice and that God\u2019s wrath against us has been exhausted. He now calls us to repent of our sins and trust alone in what Christ did to save us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we repent of our sins and completely trust in Christ alone that He died for our sins and rose to life from the dead, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture References: Genesis 1:1, 27, 31; Habakkuk 1:13; Genesis 2:7, 18, 21-25; Genesis 3:1-7, 23-24; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:19-20, 23; 5:17-19; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 John 4:10; John 3:16-18; Mark 1:15; Romans 1:4; 4:25; John 3:5-8; 1 Peter 1:3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSinner\u2019s Prayer\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lord, Jesus Christ, the only unique Son of God, thank You for Your free gift of eternal life. I know I\u2019m a sinner who cannot save myself no matter what I do, and I deserve to spend eternity in hell. But, I know that because You loved me so much, You voluntarily died on the cross for me taking my sins upon Yourself, and You physically bodily rose from the grave showing that Your sacrificial death was sufficient payment to give me eternal life in Heaven. I now repent of my sins and trust alone in what You did for my eternal salvation. Please take control of my life as I now receive You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You so much for saving me. I am now Yours forever!<\/em> (Scripture references: John 1:1-4, 11-14; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:21-26; Isaiah 53:4-6; Mark 1:15; Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10, 13; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; John 10:27-29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upon your salvation, you must find a spiritually solid Bible-believing church that (1) teaches that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, (2) believes in the doctrine of the Trinity, which means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons \u2014 the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit \u2013 and each Person is fully God, and (3) teaches that salvation is by grace through faith and not by works (e.g., water baptism by immersion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ONE CAUTIONARY POINT. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that once you become a Christian, your life will become easy. Most likely, it will become more difficult. God\u2019s blessing of salvation and life’s difficulties are not mutually exclusive. Jesus told His disciples, \u201cIf the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.\u201d John 15:18 (NLT). Always keep in mind that you have an eternal home in heaven waiting for you per John 14:2\u20134 (NLT):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2<\/sup> There is more than enough room in my Father\u2019s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3<\/sup> When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4<\/sup> And you know the way to where I am going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NOTICE OF PERMISSIONS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am mindful of and respect the rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works. I thus try my best to not violate any copyright rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works. The below copyright permission statement is the result of my best efforts to understand that limited usage or “fair use” is available and\/or to secure direct permission for specific works. The quotations from commentaries are considered to be “fair use.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture quotations marked “ESV” are from the ESV\u00ae Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture marked \u201cNASB95\u201d are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE\u00ae, Copyright \u00a9 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture marked “NCV” is taken from the New Century Version. Copyright \u00a9 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Scriptures marked “NET” are quoted are from the NET Bible\u00ae http:\/\/netbible.com copyright \u00a91996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright \u00a9 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture marked “GW” is taken from the God’s Word Bible that is a copyrighted work of God’s Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This short post discusses ARTICLE VII, which reads: We affirm that the meaning expressed in each biblical text is single, definite and fixed. Dr. Geisler\u2019s comments about ARTICLE VII are below: The Affirmation here is directed at those who claim a “double” or “deeper” meaning to Scripture than that expressed by the authors. It stresses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[320],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baptism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1316"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2094,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1316\/revisions\/2094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}