Understanding God's Word E-Book

Jon Nielson

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Theology Basics
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 210

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

An Accessible Guide to Biblical Interpretation by Pastor Jon Nielson A faithful believer will spend their lifetime interpreting God's word. But when confused by ancient and complex texts or led astray by small-group discussion, readers are at risk of making faulty conclusions and unbiblical applications. How can Christians correctly interpret and faithfully apply Scripture to their lives the way God intends? This helpful guide presents 6 hermeneutical tools and demonstrates how to use them effectively in personal or small-group Bible studies. These tools are designed to help Christians read carefully and in context, identify core themes and main points, discover Christ in each passage, and respond faithfully within their own lives. Part of the Theology Basics series, this guide by author and pastor Jon Nielson makes biblical interpretation clear, meaningful, and practical for those looking for a highly accessible guide to studying God's word.  - Clear Language and Easy-to-Follow Methods: Ideal for new Christians, students, homeschool groups, or anyone wanting a highly accessible guide to biblical interpretation; perfect for individual or group study - Practical Tools: 6 hermeneutical tools to incorporate in personal or small-group Bible studies - Part of the Theology Basics Series: A collection of books and study guides to introduce students to systematic theology, biblical theology, and biblical interpretation  - Companion Workbook and Video Series Sold Separately: Invites further interaction with the text to integrate study with application

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“I’m so grateful to finally have a clear, informative, and helpful introductory resource to help God’s people faithfully interpret Scripture. In Understanding God’s Word, Jon Nielson provides six “tools” that give contours to hermeneutical application for the pastor and layperson alike. This volume will undoubtedly be my go-to recommendation for anybody wanting to rightly and accurately interpret the Bible!”

Brian Cosby, Senior Pastor, Wayside Presbyterian Church, Signal Mountain, Tennessee; Adjunct Professor of Historical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Atlanta

“These principles have transformed the way I personally read, understand, and teach God’s word. I have been using them for over a decade and cannot recommend them highly enough. Jon clearly explains each principle using language we can all understand, working through multiple examples so we can practice and develop our own muscles. At the end of each chapter, I find myself confident and excited to keep trying. I pray this book will encourage many to dig into God’s word, producing fruit and life transformation. I can’t wait to use this in our church. What a fantastic resource!”

Abi Byrd, Ministry Associate, McLean Bible Church, Arlington, Virginia; Women’s Instructor, The Charles Simeon Trust; author, You Stand in Grace: Devotions for Walking in Faith (forthcoming)

“What a clear and useful book! It will help anyone who reads the Bible. And for those who teach the Bible—study leaders, children’s class volunteers, parents training their kids—this book is a must-read. Give it to every teacher in your church. It’s easy to follow and full of wisdom.”

Jack Klumpenhower, author, Show Them Jesus

“This is the book I wish I’d had twenty years ago! Jon Nielson has written an accessible guidebook to learning how to soundly interpret the Bible. The six interpretation tools and the opportunities to practice using them are invaluable and set this book apart. As one who teaches others how to study and teach the Bible, I cannot wait to recommend this book and add it to my library.”

Colleen D. Searcy, Bible teacher; speaker; creator, Meet Me in the Bible resources

“The third volume in Jon Nielson’s excellent series Theology Basics lives up to the same standard set in the earlier books. This time Nielson aims to help the reader properly understand the Scriptures. What a vital subject for the church! Understanding God’s Word is a master class on how to make the complexity of proper biblical hermeneutics accessible to a wide readership. Here is a toolbox that serves to equip Christians to read and understand the Bible on its terms. Nielson takes up and explains the classic categories for proper biblical interpretation, such as identifying the passage’s context, its core emphasis, and its relation to Christ. This is a book suited both for individual and group study, with each section accompanied by suggested verses for memory and guides for praying. Like the first two volumes in this series, I will be enthusiastically commending Understanding God’s Word to the men and women I serve as pastor.”

Todd Pruitt, Pastor, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Harrisonburg, Virginia; Cohost, Mortification of Spin

“In Understanding God’s Word, Jon Nielson provides a thoughtful and practical introduction to rightly handling the Bible. Written with great clarity, each chapter introduces a tool that will stir up the reader to make progress in reading, understanding, and applying the Bible. This book gives needed training that will help Bible readers feast on God’s word for a lifetime.”

Ben Panner, Director of Workshops, The Charles Simeon Trust, Chicago

Understanding God’s Word

The Theology Basics Series by Jon Nielson

Knowing God’s Truth: An Introduction to Systematic Theology

Knowing God’s Truth Workbook: An Introduction to Systematic Theology

Tracing God’s Story: An Introduction to Biblical Theology

Tracing God’s Story Workbook: An Introduction to Biblical Theology

Understanding God’s Word: An Introduction to Interpreting the Bible

Understanding God’s Word Workbook: An Introduction to Interpreting the Bible

Understanding God’s Word

An Introduction to Interpreting the Bible

Jon Nielson

Understanding God’s Word: An Introduction to Interpreting the Bible

© 2025 by Jon Nielson

Published by Crossway 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Zach DeYoung

First printing 2025

Printed in Colombia

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-8743-6 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-8746-7 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-8744-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Nielson, Jon, 1983- author.  

Title: Understanding God’s word: an introduction to interpreting the Bible / Jon Nielson.  

Description: Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2025. | Series: Theology basics series | Includes index. | Summary: “This book will serve to introduce teens (and perhaps laypeople) to basic tools and principles for studying the Bible and understanding it rightly—in its original context and with proper application for today. Its goal will be to equip young believers to approach God’s word as faithful students—both to study and begin to communicate its truth clearly.”—Provided by publisher.  

Identifiers: LCCN 2024005050 (print) | LCCN 2024005051 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433587436 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781433587443 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433587467 (epub)  

Subjects: LCSH: Bible—Study and teaching—Juvenile literature. 

Classification: LCC BS546 .N65 2025 (print) | LCC BS546 (ebook) | DDC 220.6/1—dc23/eng/20240708 

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024005050

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024005051

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2024-11-08 02:55:27 PM

For my daughters,

Adelyn, Averie, Emilie, and Lucy.

May you know, believe, and obey

the good word

of our great God.

Contents

Introduction

1  Basics of Bible Study

2  The Context Tool

3  The Courtroom Tool

4  The Crux Tool

5  The Construction Tool

6  The Clarity Tool

7  The Cross Tool

Conclusion

General Index

Scripture Index

Introduction

For many years, Pastor Dick Lucas (St. Helen’s Bishopsgate Church in London) taught pastors his “Lucas Lessons”—principles for exposition that are foundational for studying God’s word, finding the correct main point and main application, and preaching the text faithfully to God’s people. I’m proud to say that I have a binder full of these Lucas Lessons, passed down to me from my father, who sat under some of Pastor Lucas’s lessons along with the rest of the College Church pastoral staff in the late 1990s. Several of the most important lessons serve as the launching points for the “tools” that I’ll explain and apply throughout this book. This training ministry of Pastor Lucas ultimately launched the Proclamation Trust, which still provides wonderful word training to men and women in London for the good of the local church around the world.

Pastor David Helm (Christ Church Chicago), who founded the Charles Simeon Trust (an organization that trains preachers worldwide in expository word ministry), adapted several of the Lucas Lessons into what CST instructors now teach as “principles of exposition.” I had the great privilege of working under David at the Charles Simeon Trust, and I have served as an instructor at several of their national workshops. The CST principles of exposition also undergird and shape the tools that, in the following pages, I seek to explain and apply for laypeople in their study of Scripture. I’m grateful to say that I shared the vision for this book with David several months before working on the manuscript, and he enthusiastically offered his support for my adaptation of the CST principles for this purpose. Men and women who read this book after attending CST workshops around the world will certainly hear familiar emphases and instructions.

Those familiar with other organizations that have been influenced by the word training of Dick Lucas, the Proclamation Trust, and the Charles Simeon Trust will hear many echoes of their principles for faithful preaching, which I'm now applying more broadly to Bible study, interpretation, and application.

All of this is to say that the tools that make up the content of this book are part of a wonderful tradition of pastoral training—from Pastor Dick Lucas and his Lucas Lessons to Pastor David Helm and the Charles Simeon Trust to the training work of many organizations and ministries all over the world. It’s my delight to adapt and utilize these wonderful tools to aid young and growing Christians in their interpretation and application of God’s word. These tools have been incredibly helpful to me, and I hope they will help you as well.

Before we begin, let me say a word about the organization of the chapters. Here’s what you should be ready for:

Near the beginning of each chapter, you’ll find suggested verses for you to memorize. These memory sections are marked by the word “Remember!” Whether or not you memorize these verses is up to you, but doing so would be a great way to intentionally hide God’s word in your heart as you learn more about how to understand it.Chapters 2–7 each include a large section titled “Applying This Tool,” where I show you how the tool we’re examining in that chapter can be applied to selected passages of Scripture. In several places in each of these chapters, you’ll be instructed to “Read!” a biblical passage. After each one, you’ll find an explanation of how the tool for that chapter should be used to interpret that passage. These sections will make the most sense (and be most beneficial to you) if you take time to read the passages.At the end of each chapter, you’ll find a quick recap of the chapter’s main points. Then you’ll see a “Pray!” section. This is an opportunity for you to talk to God about what you’ve just learned. I encourage you to make these prayer times a priority.

I hope that Understanding God’s Word will help you do just what the title suggests—better understand the Bible—so that you can benefit from and live by its timeless truths.

Chapter 1

Basics of Bible Study

Bible study—and good interpretation and application of the Bible—can be difficult, to say the least. You’ve probably been involved in small-group Bible studies that have gone down various rabbit trails that seemed to have very little to do with the biblical text. And you’ve probably heard people make applications from Bible passages that made you ask yourself, “Is that really what this passage is about?” Even in your personal study of the Bible, there probably have been times when you’ve wondered, “How can I be sure that I’m understanding this passage in the right way so I can hear from God and rightly apply his word to my life?”

If you’ve ever been asked to teach the Bible, perhaps in a Sunday school or small-group context, you’ve probably felt the weight of some of these questions: Am I getting it right? Is this the main point of the text? Am I applying this passage correctly to God’s people today? We want to be sure we’re getting God’s word right so that we can apply it faithfully to our lives as God intends.

All of these situations and struggles have to do with basic biblical hermeneutics—the process of understanding, interpreting, and applying the Bible. This book intends to give you some basic hermeneutical tools that you can put to use as you read the Bible on your own, study it in small groups, or perhaps even teach it in certain settings.

Each chapter in this book will introduce a different hermeneutical tool. All of these tools start with the letter C to make remembering them easier. I’ll explain each tool, tell you what hermeneutical mistakes it helps you avoid and what benefits it provides, and then give several examples of how to use it in various passages of the Bible. I believe that if you use these tools faithfully and consistently, they will help you interpret the Bible accurately and apply it well.

The six tools that we’ll learn about and apply are:

1. The context tool, which will help you notice and apply the historical, literary, and canonical context of the biblical passage you are studying.

2. The courtroom tool, which will remind you to commit to saying neither more nor less than what Scripture says.

3. The crux tool, by which you’ll make sure that you are studying any given biblical passage in light of the main theme of the book in which its contained.

4. The construction tool, which will help you discern the structure and shape that the author has intentionally given to the passage.

5. The clarity tool, by which you’ll seek to leave behind your personal perspectives and agendas, allowing the biblical text to speak for itself.

6. The cross tool, which will help you always study the Bible in light of its climax: the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Lord.

We’ll begin unpacking these six tools in the next chapter. First, however, it will be helpful to consider several foundational principles about the Bible and think about some habits we need to develop in order to study it successfully.

Foundational Principles

It’s important to remember some of the theological principles about the Bible that give us confidence that we actually can study it, understand it, and apply it to our lives. After all, if the Bible is merely a human book, there is no ultimate reason to believe that it is coherent and clear, and that it can actually change us.

Is the Bible coherent? Scriptural coherence—in the Bible as a whole and even within each individual books—would be surprising if the Bible were nothing more than a human book. After all, the Bible was composed by more than forty human authors over hundreds of years. However, we can be confident about its coherence because of the doctrine of inspiration (see 2 Tim. 3:16). All Scripture, says the apostle Paul, is “breathed out” by God, who inspired the human authors to write exactly what he intended by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. As Christians, then, we understand that we study a book that was written by dozens of human authors but ultimately by one divine author. That means we can be confident that it is coherent and consistent in the story it tells, the truths it proclaims, the message it calls us to believe, and the responses it demands.

Is the Bible clear? To affirm that the Bible is clear is not to say that it has no difficult parts. Even the best and brightest scholars and pastors still debate—and disagree about—some passages of Scripture that are notoriously difficult to understand. But the doctrine of the Bible’s clarity—or its perspicuity—reminds us that the central truths of Christianity are abundantly clear and understandable for everyone who reads it. There may be debate about the precise meaning of some passages or phrases, but the Bible does not leave us in doubt about who created the world, the sinfulness of man, the divinity of Christ, the need for repentance and faith, the substitutionary death of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead, and the reality of a coming final judgment. No one has to be a trained biblical scholar to understand these truths. One core conviction that underlies this book is that ordinary Christians can study, understand, and apply God’s word faithfully. We believe this because the Bible, God’s word, is clear.

Can the Bible change us? As I said just above, if the Bible is merely a human book, we have no reason to assume that it is either coherent or clear. We also have no reason to assume that Bible study—and teaching and preaching—should change us in any way. But the Christian conviction is that because the Bible is God’s inspired word, it is powerful. The Bible doesn’t just tell us about God—it is God’s word, and that means it holds power to change, convict, transform, and build us up in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that God’s word is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” In other words, it can “cut” us, wounding us with the painful yet healing truth of God, and call us to repentance and faith in Jesus. Christians should work to read, study, understand, and apply the Bible well because we really believe that God’s word can change us. It is his way to accomplish his saving and sanctifying work in the lives and hearts of his people.

Six Habits for Successful Bible Study

As we conclude this chapter, let’s consider Bible study—particularly Bible study that happens in a small-group setting. As I mentioned earlier, many of us have had the experience of sitting in a small-group Bible study that begins to go a bit off the rails in terms of the interpretations and applications offered by those in the group. We’ll talk more about the way the hermeneutical tools that I discuss in this book can keep us on the rails in personal study, but I want to offer a plan for small-group Bible study that can help as well.

Years ago, when I was serving in high school ministry, we offered this simple plan to our students as they learned how to lead small-group Bible studies with their peers. It consists of the cultivation of six habits that constitute a basic approach to studying any passage of Scripture. Developing these habits will help keep you on track in your study—paying attention to the text, avoiding rabbit trails, and doing everything you can to get the main point and the central application as God intended it. Let’s look at these habits.

Read carefully. Our first habit is simply careful reading. So many mistakes are made in hermeneutics (biblical interpretation) because people read too quickly through a passage, assume they understand what it’s saying, and then make a leap to something in their experience that the passage makes them think about. Carefully reading the text several times can be the first and most important step in making sure we are listening to what the Bible is actually saying. Take time to read slowly. Make observations and linger over the text. Read it silently, then out loud. And don’t forget to pray for God’s help as you listen to his word and seek to understand and apply it faithfully.

Read in context. I’ll say much more about this when we get to the context tool in chapter 2, but it’s important to understand that mistakes in the interpretation and application of the Bible often can be avoided simply by taking time to understand the context of specific verses and passages. A verse that seems to be saying one thing at first glance could actually be understood to mean the opposite when it’s read in its proper context. When we study the Bible, then, we need to pay attention to the verses directly around the passage we’re reading. We need to think about the historical situation of the original audience in order to understand what the biblical author was saying to them before we apply the passage to ourselves. And we need to make sure that we are remembering the context of the entire Bible, which tells the story of God’s creation, humanity’s fall, redemption through Christ, and the promise of resurrected life in God’s new creation. Reading every Bible passage—and every Bible verse—in its proper context is vital for proper understanding and application of God’s word.

Identify core terms. Next, we must look for core words or phrases in a passage of Scripture. As we study a Bible passage, we must ask, “What words or phrases are repeated? Are there ideas that keep coming up again and again in the passage? Is there a particular point that the author makes—perhaps at both the beginning and the end of a story or section of Scripture?” This habit is designed to help us get closer to the crux (main point) of the text (see the next habit) by identifying repeated emphases employed by the biblical author. When we tell a story or give a speech, we almost always repeat or emphasize the points that are most important to us. It’s no different with the biblical text, so paying careful attention to repeated words often can be a helpful way to capture what God’s word is saying to us.

Identify the main point. This habit can help pinpoint the theme of a passage of Scripture, which can be defined as the timeless theological truth that the passage is teaching. The theme of any biblical passage is just as true today as it was when the passage was written. It may be a truth about the character of God, humanity, sin, salvation, or our fallen world. Whatever it may be, an important discipline in Bible study is to work hard to capture that main point. Try to put this theme into just one sentence—something like “The main point of this passage is _______.” Taking this step in Bible study doesn’t mean you’ll always get the main point exactly right, but it will help you discipline yourself to not only study a passage of Scripture verse by verse, but also to see a chunk of Scripture as a whole, seeking to discern the overall main point that the biblical author, as inspired by God the Holy Spirit, was making to his original audience (and is making to us, God’s people today).

See Christ in the text. We’ll spend a chapter later in this book considering faithful paths to the gospel that we can take in our study of any passage of Scripture (see chap. 7). The simple conviction behind this habit of Bible study is that the Scriptures ultimately are about God’s redemption of sinners—and all of creation—through the life, death, resurrection, and final return of his Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible’s climax is the saving work of God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. So it’s appropriate for us to ask, when studying any passage of Scripture, “How does this passage relate to Jesus and the gospel?” Of course, it’s important to remember that different passages of Scripture point to Jesus and the gospel in different ways. Some Old Testament passages offer direct prophetic words about the coming of Jesus, while others simply display the need for Jesus, the Messiah, to come and save sinners. Some New Testament passages explain Jesus’s work on the cross in detail; others apply his saving work or hold him out as an example for Christians to follow. Whatever the case may be, it’s important—and valid—for Christians to seek to connect every passage in the Bible to the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of all who believe.

Answer God’s call. This is where the rubber meets the road. Here we ask that all-important question, “What does the truth of this passage mean for the way I think, act, and speak?” We are asking ourselves, “What is the central call of this passage to me as a follower of Jesus Christ?” We’re talking, of course, about application. If the Bible is true—and if Jesus indeed is our Savior and Lord, who invites us to follow and obey him—then every passage of Scripture should have a real impact on our lives. If we do not practice this final habit of Bible study, there is a very real danger that while we may engage in some cerebral or academic study of Scripture, we will not allow the Bible to challenge and change us. God’s word is living and active (Heb. 4:12); our Lord intends for us to obey it and to be constantly changed by it as it calls us to deeper obedience, sanctification, and growth in Christ. When we study the Bible, then, we are trying to discover what it means, but also what it means for the way we live as faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

These six habits can be extremely helpful as a basic plan for studying any passage of the Bible (on your own or in a small group of Christians—or non-Christians).

Now let’s dive into learning the tools for biblical interpretation and application that make up the bulk of this book.

Chapter 2

The Context Tool

The first tool we’ll learn about and then apply to the study of the biblical text is the context tool.