Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible

Just as a rock climber’s handhold enables him to master the mountain, a firm grasp on God’s Word empowers us to traverse the challenging, risky slopes of life. Grasping God’s Word helps college students, beginning seminary students, and other serious readers get a grip on the solid rock of Scripture—how to read it, how to interpret it, and how to apply it. Filling the gap between approaches that are too simple and others that are too technical, this book starts by equipping readers with general principles of interpretation, then moves on to apply those principles to specific genres and contexts. Features include: • Proven in classrooms across the country • Hands-on exercises to guide students through the interpretation process • Emphasis on real-life application • Supplemented by a website for professors providing extensive teaching materials • Accompanying workbook (sold separately) This third edition includes updated illustrations, appendices, bibliography, and assignments, and has been rearranged for clarity. In order to emphasize the redemptive narrative arc of the Bible and provide greater canonical correlation, the authors have modified the steps of the Interpretive Journey to include a fifth step throughout the book: 1. Grasp the text in their town. What did the text mean to the biblical audience? 2. Measure the width of the river to cross. What are the differences between the biblical audience and us? 3. Cross the principlizing bridge. What is the theological principle in this text? 4. Cross into the rest of Scripture. Does the rest of the canon’s teaching modify or qualify this principle? 5. Grasp the text in our town. How should Christians today apply the theological principle in their lives? Grasping God’s Word progresses through the following five sections: 1. How to Read the Book—Basic Tools 2. Contexts—Now and Then 3. Meaning and Application 4. The Interpretive Journey—New Testament 5. The Interpretive Journey—Old Testament