Truth Magazine

By Chris Reeves

Hermeneutics, D.R. Dungan, $11.50 hardback, $9.50 paper.

Solomon tells us that there are many books written by men, but the “words of the wise” are the important words that provide guidance for all mankind.’ The “words of the wise” are God’s words contained in the inspired Scriptures, the Bible. There is no substitute for the book of books, the Bible. This special issue of Guardian of Truth reviews some good books for young preachers to have in their library. But keep in mind that no book, no matter how good, can take the place of the Bible.

The book reviewed and recommended in this article is Hermeneutics: A Textbook, by D.R. Dungan.’ David Roberts Dungan was born in Noble County, Indiana, May 15, 1837.3 He was baptized into Christ on March 31, 1858 and preached his first sermon one year later. He preached regularly thereafter throughout Nebraska and Iowa, teaching school during the week to support him-self. He was politically active in these two states, he found time to debate the cause of Christ with various denominations, and he was also well published with a number of tracts and books. A biographical sketch of Dungan writ-ten in 1884 said: “He does solid work only. His style is plain, scriptural and argumentative. His manner is that of a teacher, rather than what is known as a pulpit orator.” It is no wonder that Dungan would go on to write on the subject of Bible interpretation in 1888. His work was used as a textbook at Drake University, where he taught in the Bible Department 0 Hermeneutics: A Textbook, is certainly a good book for a young preacher to have in his library because it teaches him how to develop good Bible study habits.

God’s workman must know how to use his main tool, the Bible. Paul thought it necessary to remind the young preacher Timothy about the value of sound Bible study and interpretation.’ In a similar way, Dungan’s Hermeneutics, written many years ago, but still useful today, reminds the young preacher of the value of sound Bible study and interpretation. Hermeneutics simply means “the science of interpretation.” God’s word must be inter-preted,’ and sound principles of interpretation must be used by each Bible student in order to avoid twisting the Scriptures to his own destruction.’ In an age where a person can get many things quickly, conveniently and without any work, the young preacher needs to be reminded that good Bible study and interpretation cannot be gotten at the “drive through” or “quick stop.” Good Bible study habits and sound Bible interpretation are built on long hours of hard work.

Young preachers need to be reminded of the value of sound Bible interpretation. Dungan introduces his book with a discussion of the meaning of hermeneutics, and the possibility of each Bible student rightly understanding and interpreting God’s word (Chapter 1). The Bible is inspired  God breathed  but our interpretation of it is not, so we need to be very careful in our Bible study. Faulty interpretation can cause many problems, three of which are: religious division, supposed contradictions, and a lack of hope. The Bible is not at fault. Man’s interpretation of the Bible is to blame for the present religious division among denominations (and the Lord’s body), the supposed contradictions offered by skeptics, and the doubt and uncertainty in people who don’t know whether or not they are saved, or what to do to be saved. Proper Bible study, understanding, interpretation and teaching will remove these problems. A young preacher must take heed to his study so as not to cause one of these problems.

Young preachers need to be rereminded of the value of a proper attitude toward Bible study. Dungan begins his work on hermeneutics with a helpful reminder about attitudes which either help or hinder proper Bible interpretation (Chapters 2 and 3). A young, inexperienced preacher may forget a good attitude, or bring a bad attitude into his Bible study. Even Jesus spoke of our attitude toward Bible study.’ Attitudes actually help our Bible interpretation. Common sense, faith in the divinely inspired word, mental industry, a desire to know, understand and practice the truth, and, spiritual purity all help toward proper Bible interpretation.9 In addition, a good Bible translation, a good knowledge of Bible backgrounds,10 and prayer to God for wisdom” are also helpful. On the other hand, there are bad attitudes which hinder a correct interpretation. A desire to please the world, a clergy-only Bible, proof texting, mysticism, mere curiosity, reading without intending to understand and obey, personal gain or prejudice, self-exaltation, and, at-tempting to harmonize science with the Bible are attitudes that hinder interpretation. A young preacher may sit down with careless and indifferent thoughts toward his Bible lesson. This is wrong. He may also be tempted to look for some quick fix solution or short cut to Bible study. There is none.

Young preachers need to be reminded of the value of using a correct Bible study method. Dungan moves from a discussion of attitudes to one of methods (Chapter 4). A Bible study method12 is fundamental. All of God’s word is laid down in an orderly arrangement, so the study of it must also be done with some kind of order. Dungan provides a helpful discussion of wrong methods,13 and then a true, Bible-based method.14 Some preachers have no method of study at all, others use improper methods. “What Bible study method will I use?” should be one the first questions each young preacher asks when he sits down to his study.

Young preachers need to be reminded of the value of rightly dividing the word of God. Dungan moves forward to the subject of God’s many covenants and the need for discriminating between them (Chapter 5). Dungan begins Chapter 5 this way: “No one can understand his duty with-out knowing to what law he is amenable.” God has made many covenants, to many people, over many years.16 Some are similar, others very different. There is a great need to-day for people to be taught what their duties are before God, and a great challenge faces the young preacher to rightly divide the word of God so as not to misapply some text in the 66 books of the Bible.

Young preachers need to be reminded of the value of studying the background of each Bible text. Dungan lists some very important background questions that each Bible student should ask before he begins his study (Chapter 6). These questions have sometimes been called “the five w’s and h.”16 Who was the writer, and to whom was it written? Who are spoken of in the book? What kind of writing is it? When was it written? Why was it written? Where was it written? The young preacher must not be too anxious to jump into a passage and offer his interpretation without first answering these preliminary background questions so necessary for a proper interpretation of the passage.

Young preachers need to be reminded of the value of rules used to interpret the words and sentences of Scripture. Dungan outlines the basic rules for interpreting words and sentences (Chapter 7). The Bible has 66 books. These books are made up of “chapters,” and the “chapters” contain paragraphs, which in turn have sentences full of words. If a young preacher is to understand an entire book, he is eventually going to have to tackle the job of understandingeach word in the book. There are several rules to keep in mind. Let me list four important ones:

Recognize the main purpose(s) of the author,” observe the context,’s let the Bible harmonize with itself, and let the Bible define its own words when possible. A young preacher must learn early on that there is no short cut to good Bible study. Word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter, book by book, he must make his way slowly through the Bible mining the scriptures for God’s eternal truths. The young preacher’s understanding and teaching of each Bible book is only as strong as his interpretation of each word in the book.

Young preachers need to be reminded of the value of recognizing the different types of Bible language. Dungan devotes the last half of his work to a study of the various types of language used in the Bible, and the many rules for interpreting them (Chapters 8 through 11). Dungan includes the following types of Bible language in his study: figurative, figures of speech,19 figures of thought,20 and prophecy. It becomes very clear after studying the many rules that the Bible student cannot simply say, “It means what it says, and says what it means.” We cannot interpret passages the same way in all places of the Bible. The Bible is not literal all the time, neither is it figurative all the time. A young preacher must not only learn to “speak where the Bible speaks,” but he must also learn to “speak like the Bible speaks.”

Hermeneutics: A Textbook, by D.R. Dungan certainly does not cover all areas of Bible interpretation. There are other good books on Bible interpretation that should be consulted. But Dungan’s work is a good place to start. You may want to locate other older books on hermeneutics by brethren.21 One older work that is recommended was writ-ten near the turn of the century: Principles of Interpretation, by Clinton Lockhart.22 Lockhart takes a similar, conservative approach to Bible interpretation and covers the same type of material. Both works by Dungan and Lockhart are still in print. Pick them up for your library, but don’t just let them collect dust on the shelf. Learn them. Apply them. The young preacher, and all of us, should strive to be “a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Tim.2: 15).

Endnotes

‘1Eccl. 12:11-12.

2 D.R. Dungan, Hermeneutics: A Textbook, Reprint (Delight, AR: Gospel Light Publishing Co., n.d.).

3J.H. Painter, ed., The Iowa Pulpit of the Church of Christ, Its Aim and Work (St. Louis, MO: John Bums Publishing Co., 1884). A special thanks to Curtis Pope at Florida College for locating this information and sending it to the author.4 Barry Jones, “Hermeneutics” in Rightly Dividing the Word, Vold (Pensacola, FL: Firm Foundation Publishing House, 1990).

5 1 Tim. 4:13-16; 2 Tim. 1:13; 2:15; and 3:14-17.

6 Seven Greek words, three verbs and four nouns, are used in the NT and translated “interpretation.” For example, the word “interpreted” (ASV) or “expounded” (KJV) in Lk.24:27, is translated from the Greek verb hermenuo from which we get the word “hermeneutics.” The particular Greek form used in Lk. 24:27 means “to interpret fully, to explain.” For more in-formation on hermeneutics as it is used in the Bible, and how some today in the Lord’s church want to change it into a “new hermeneutic,” see the work by Chris Reeves entitled Out With the Old and In With the New, Revised (Temple Terrace, FL: Florida College Bookstore, 1993).

7 2 Pet. 3:16.

8 Mark 4:22 and Luke 8: 18. Both “what you hear” and “how you hear” are important.

9 Mark 12:37; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Acts 17:11; Eph. 3:3-4; and 2 Thess.2:11-12.

10 Bible languages, history, lands, peoples, customs, etc. “

11 Jas. 1:5.

12 Dungan uses “method” in the sense of “orderly arrangement, procedure or process.”

13 According to Dungan, the following Bible study methods have these problems: mystical, allegorical, spiritual, hierarchical, rationalistic, apologetic, dogmatic and literal.

14 Dungan suggests that the best method of Bible study is the inductive approach; i.e., gather all the facts before drawing a conclusion or forming an interpretation.

15 God made covenants with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Israel and Christ.

16 Who, what, when, why, where, and how.

17 The purpose(s) of the author can be found by answering the background questions in Chapter 6 of Dungan’s work.

18 There is an immediate and remote context for each Bible passage.

19 Dungan covers the following figures of speech: parable, fable, simile, similitude, metaphor, allegory, metonymy (cause, effect, the subject, the adjunct), synecdoche, proverb, irony, sarcasm, hyperbole, apostrophe, personification, interrogation, prolepsis and parallelism (synonymous, antithetic and synthetic).

20 Dungan covers the following figures of thought: antithesis, symbols (miraculous, material and visual) and typology (persons, things, institutions, offices, conduct, events and places).

21You may be able to find the following works on hermeneutics as reprints or photocopies: Alexander Campbell, The Christian System, Reprint (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate, 1956); I.B. Grubbs, Biblical Hermeneutics (Lexington, KY: unpublished class notes, n.d.); Carroll Kendrick, Rules of Bible Study, Reprint (Kansas City, MO: The Old Paths Books Club, 1946); J.S. Lamar, The Organon of Scripture (Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott and Co., 1859); J.W. McGarvey, Sacred Didactics (Murfreesboro, TN: Dehoff Publications, 1954); and Robert Milligan, Reason and Revelation.

22 Clinton Lockhart, Principles of Interpretation, 2nd ed. (Delight, AR: Gospel Light Publishing Co., 1915).

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 23, p. 20-22
December 5, 1996

By Norman E. Sewell

Perhaps it’s just that I’m getting older, but life truly seems to get busier every year. My children are grown and on their own so if my life is busy, then the lives of those with children at home and in school must really be chaotic. There is so much to do and so little time to get it all done and some things just have to be put off until tomorrow. Our lives are filled with legitimate concerns that we wrestle with each day often leaving little time for thinking of spiritual things, and that is precisely the problem.

Because every person has a different set of priorities it’s difficult to place these concerns in any order of priority. God demands that we work with our hands in order to provide for ourselves and for the needs of others (1 Thess. 4:11-12; Eph. 4:28). And Paul told Timothy that “if any-one does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8). Then there is the raising of our children; not only being sure that they have clean clothes and good food, but bringing them up “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Sometimes we fathers neglect this part expecting our wives to handle it, but the instruction is directed to us! This is a serious job that cannot be put off until tomorrow. And beside this most of us sometimes need a break from work to simply relax or get some kind of recreation  just have fun. All of these things take up our time and somehow we must find time to give to each thing in keeping with its importance.

One of the problems that develops is that we over-react to these legitimate concerns. Rather than trusting in God to keep his word we begin to be anxious and worried about material things. We suddenly realize that we have such a few years left to work and earn and provide for retirement and we begin to take the earning of money as our highest goal becoming covetous to earn more and more to the detriment of our families or our spiritual lives. Or we are so caught up in sports that there is never any time for family or for the Lord. And some are so family oriented that everything else comes second compared to our idea of the importance of family. What was a God-given responsibility and a legitimate concern just became a problem because we haven’t learned to set our priorities properly.

Think with me for a moment about an incident in which Jesus came to the home of Martha and Mary. While Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening, the text says, “but Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40-42). Was it wrong of Martha to want to serve Jesus a good meal in comfort-able surroundings? Surely none of us thinks that. Thousands of sisters do this with great regularity when guests come, or when the visiting preacher is invited. What better way to show hospitality than to open your home and provide the comforts of your house and kitchen to your guests? Martha was doing a good thing. But what Mary was doing was even better! Somehow we must all learn to fulfill all of our areas of responsibility by putting each thing in its proper place of priority.

Some things are just not as important as others. And yet many consistently set their work or their family obligation on a higher level than gathering with the saints to worship God. How many have stayed home on Sunday morning because the weather was bad, but the same weather or worse on Monday morning did not keep them from going to work? How many have forbidden their children to watch any TV or go outside to play until their homework from school is done, but think little of making them study their Bible lesson? How many let the children stay up too late on Saturday night so they are just too tired to get up and go to worship on the Lord’s day? How many have moved their family hundreds of miles to a new job only to discover after they have moved there, there is no assembly of faithful Christians in that town? Are these the right priorities?

I believe Jesus was serious when he said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). God does not expect more from you than you are able to do. He does expect you to be a good father or mother, husband or wife, a good employee or employer, a good citizen in your community, and still put him first in all things. And when that balance gets messed up, things that are good things, in and of themselves, become stumbling blocks for us and our hope of an eternal home in heaven. Take a look at your life and what your highest priorities are. Are you putting Jesus first? Or does any little thing that comes along distract you and hinder your service to him? At least be honest with yourself, and if your priorities are set wrong then have the courage to reset them in keeping with God’s word.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 24, p. 18-19
December 19, 1996

By Kenneth D. Sits

Do you think there is an American alive who has not yet heard of our newest national hero? Of course, I am talking about the small framed, 18 year-old Olympic gymnast named Kerri Strug. Her name has been “vaulted” to Olympic immortality with her gutsy performance in the women’s team competition last July in Atlanta. For the first time in history, the United States captured the “gold medal” in this event which snapped a streak of about forty years of Russian dominance.

Newspapers, not only in America, but across the globe have now etched Kern’s picture into our minds. Kerri was the last American to compete in the event in which the American team had a slim lead over the Russian girls. To ensure the “gold medal,” Kerri needed a score over 9.4 out of 10, and the event she was to compete in was “the vault” in which she would be given two attempts and the best score from the two would be her final score. With her first attempt, she landed awkwardly on her ankle and failed to obtain her 9.4 score. Kerri then limped back to the starting position, made her second attempt, “stuck” the landing, and scored a 9.7. After she “stuck” the landing, it was obvious to all that she severely injured her ankle this time and was carried off the floor on a stretcher. At the podium after the competition, the Woman’s American Gymnastics Team was all assembled to receive their gold medals, and Kerri was among them with her leg in a makeshift splint. To get back and forth to the platform, her coach carried her, beaming with great joy and pride. If you were watching this grand spectacle, admit it; you had to wipe a tear or two.

Friends, Kern Strug’s performance, in many ways, illustrates the point that Paul was attempting to make to the Corinthians about running for the greatest prize of all  our imperishable crown we shall receive in Heaven. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27,

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Consider three observations from this athlete which would help us as we compete spiritually for the great prize of eternal joy.

Kern “brought her body into subjection” in order to make her second attempt. If you watched her first attempt, it was noticeable that she twisted or hurt her ankle. Did she quit? Did she give up? “Give up” wasn’t in her vocabulary. Yes, she was suffering, but there wasn’t a hint of “I can’t do it” in her mind. She shook off her pain the best she could and off she went to give it her best again. And the best is what we saw! The apostle Paul was just like this. When he suffered, when he was threatened, when he was humiliated for the faith of Christ, he just kept giving his best. There wasn’t any quit in his work for Jesus. No set back could stop his run for God’s golden city. Sadly, not all Christians have this mentality. In explaining the parable of the sower Jesus said, “But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a time and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke. 8:13). Regardless of the dilemma, whether it be physical or spiritual, we cannot afford to quit, we can never leave our Lord. Jesus has the answers to help us fight our problems, or at the very least, manage and endure our problems. Even if everyone for-sakes us, Jesus has promised to be there to help us fight again (2 Tim. 4:16-17). So, our resolve should be: get up, shake it off and run with all our might the race God has set before us. Our eternal future depends on it.

The second lesson we should learn from Kerri was her focus for the sake of the team. Kerri was a team player and she was determined not to let her team, her coach and her country down at “crunch” time. This is how every Christian should view his individual effort among a congregation. Paul reminded the brethren in Ephesus of their need to work by saying, “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, ac-cording to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16). In far too many congregations across the land, Christians look to the leaders among the congregation to fulfill their own religious needs, just like the denominational groups. The teaching of Christ encourages us to see ourselves like Kerri: you are part of the team and the congregation needs your efforts for the cause, it needs your work, it needs what you are able to supply for the growth of the body of Christ. Don’t wait for some member of the congregation to appease your desires religiously. Be a team player and work hard to fulfill the share of the load God expects of you! This is what promotes spiritually healthy churches of Christ.

The last lesson for our discussion may be the most important. Kern Strug is a small girl. Her height is 4′ 9″ and her weight is 88 pounds. The feat before her under the circumstances was gigantic. To win, she had to stick this landing on a painful ankle with millions of eyes glued to her every step and if she failed, America would lose. Do you know what she did right before she attempted her second vault? She prayed! She asked God to help her! I have no idea what Kern’s religious affiliation is, but she made it known to all the world that she needed God for this one. When our times of trial and trouble come around, we need to be like Kerri. We need to remember that God is for us, that he will listen to our most urgent requests and he is a very present help in time of trouble. After Paul exhorted Christians to take on the armor of God, he went on to say we should be, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6: 18). Oh, we need to be a people of prayer for our God can change the night to day.

In America’s collective heart, Kern Strug is a hero. If Christians would apply these three spiritual lessons we have learned from Kern in our “fighting the good fight of faith,” God will reward us with eternal gold. Are you running? Are you a team player? Is your work for Jesus covered in prayer? We all can be heroes for the cause of Jesus Christ. Will you be a hero?

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 24, p. 14-15
December 19, 1996

By Steven Brownfield

At first glance, Esther appears to be a thoroughly secular work, unconcerned with spiritual things. It tells the intriguing story of how the exiled Jews avoided annihilation through the courage and tact of the Persian queen, who was herself secretly a Jew. In ages past, many of the Jewish Rabbis refused to accept the divine inspiration of the book of Esther. This may have been for many reasons. Part of the cause for a partial repudiation of this God-breathed book may have had to do with the woman hero for which the book is named, but mostly, some did not accept the book as being inspired because it never mentions Jehovah God. In fact, there is no mention of the supernatural at all. Some may have wondered why this book, which seems to have nothing to do with God at all, should be included in the Canon of scripture.

Obviously, Esther won out in the Canon debate, for the obvious reason that God wanted us to have it. His reason for inspiring this work is clear. Esther, more than any other Old Testament book, shows how God’s divine providence works in the everyday world of regular people.

First Esther shows how that God’s power, though unmarked by mortal men, rules over the affairs of the nations to effect his will on the earth. The author never mentions God for this very reason. The hand of God is an unobtrusive thing. Many expect God to work in their lives in some spectacular fashion. The modern charismatic movement has much of this element in it. They desire a miraculous, sensationalistic experience with the Almighty and are not satisfied when the Holy Ghost uses the more mundane vehicle of his word to effect salvation. Contrast that with how the story of Esther describes the way ordinary men and women, through the courage of their convictions bring about God’s will, and further the course of his kingdom.

Secondly, Esther shows how God’s particular providence for his special people is enacted through the ordinary day to day affairs of this world. God’s will is not always accomplished with the splitting of oceans, or the rumbling of mountains or the working of marvelous signs. God’s providence is carried out through the laws of nature, through the currents of history, with the hands of people. The author tells us how the Jew’s deliverance is assured, with Esther’s help or without it.

Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4. 13-14).

The implication is clear. God will deliver his people. No miracle will be essential, no marvelous sign given. God will use the faithful to enact his will. This same principle is demonstrated in the New Testament in Acts 5. Gamaliel, counseling moderate treatment of the newly arisen church, reminds his fellows of recent history and previous splinter groups that came to nothing because God was not with them. He says in verse 38: “And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.”

No man can spite God. We can rebel against his will, refuse to further the cause of his Kingdom, and enslave our selves to sin, but Jehovah’s will cannot be withstood. We may refuse ourselves to be his servants and enter his kingdom, but he will find others who will obey. Make sure you are part of his program.

Finally, Esther is a valuable book not in spite of its lack of divine references, but because of it. Esther does not need to directly allude to God to teach about his providence. It implies it on every page. In so many ways, the Bible teaches us not by its direct statements, but by its implications. Many brethren today are denying this. I have had men who are elders in the Lord’s church stand in the very meeting house of churches that claim to be sound and stood against institutionalism and rail against me for preaching the apostle’s hermeneutics. Direct command, approved example, and necessary implication are the rules of men, they say. Those things will split the church, they say. That kind of old time preaching is for another time, long past, and to insist on the principles of Bible authority is Pharisaism and legal-ism, they say. I’m not talking about so called “liberals” either. These are men who are preachers in a “conservative church.” Necessary inference is not the invention of men. When God implies something in his word, we must infer it. Esther is a case in point. Even had the author mentioned God in every line, he could not have made a more emphatic case for divine providence than he does with Mordecai’s appeal to Esther that implies God will deliver.

Let us marvel at the manifold providence of God, who through the intercession of his Son atoned for us, through the preaching of the Spirit’s gospel regenerated us, who through the illumination of his doctrine edifies us. Let us listen carefully to everything the Bible has to say whether by direct statement or divine implications.

Guardian of Truth XL: No. 24, p. 13-14
December 19, 1996