Primary Authors & Sources
Joining Reformed interpretive method with the history of reading Scripture and the working tools of textual criticism, students learn how the church has read and weighed the text. Louis Berkhof’s Principles of Biblical Interpretation states sacred hermeneutics for the Reformed classroom: grammatical-historical reading, the analogy of faith, and resistance to speculative method. E. P. Barrows’s Companion to the Bible situates interpretation inside the whole library of Scripture—canon, languages, and the student’s desk tools. Frederic George Kenyon’s Handbook to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament teaches how manuscripts, versions, and evidence are weighed without treating criticism as hostility to the text. F. W. Farrar’s History of Interpretation surveys how the church has actually read the Bible across the centuries, so method is learned against living tradition rather than invented afresh. Brooke Foss Westcott’s Introduction to the Study of the Gospels models careful historical and exegetical approach to the Evangelists. Together they serve faithful exegesis for preaching and teaching.
What You Will Study
Students study Reformed hermeneutical principles for interpreting Scripture according to its literary genre, historical context, and canonical unity in Christ. The course covers grammatical-historical exegesis, the analogy of faith, the distinction between Law and Gospel, and responsible application from text to contemporary church life. Readings include classic hermeneutics from Augustine through Calvin, Owen, and modern Reformed scholars, alongside introductions to textual criticism and biblical theology. Students practice exegetical method on assigned passages from Old and New Testaments, documenting observations, interpretation, and theological application in structured papers. The course rejects allegorical excess, reader-response subjectivism, and speculative eisegesis while affirming the Spirit's illumination through the church's grammatical and confessional discipline.
Course Objectives
Objectives include applying a consistent exegetical method to diverse biblical genres, distinguishing exegesis from eisegesis in sample interpretations, evaluating popular Bible study approaches against Reformed hermeneutical standards, and writing exegesis papers with observation, interpretation, and application sections. Students will explain the role of textual criticism without treating it as undermining providential preservation of Scripture. The course cultivates humility before the text and resistance to imposing modern agendas on ancient authors. Students will articulate how Christ-centered reading honors the Old Testament's own intent while recognizing fulfillment in the New. Assessments require students to critique flawed interpretations and propose sound alternatives with grammatical and theological support.
Ministry & Life Application
Sound hermeneutics protects congregations from error and equips teachers to divide the Word of truth rightly in house church and pastoral settings. Ministers trained in Reformed exegesis preach with confidence that their applications arise from Scripture's own meaning rather than personal preference or cultural fashion. Across the Florida Keys, where believers encounter diverse teaching online and in person, hermeneutical discipline provides a tested standard for evaluating claims about what the Bible teaches. This course undergirds every biblical and theological subject at Bible College of the Florida Keys. Pastoral ministry flourishes when elders can open any passage with method, reverence, and Christ-centered fidelity to the text.