Exegesis involves work. Many of us probably cringe at the very word but the importance of due diligence in understanding what the Bible actually says cannot be overstated for one simple reason—because it is the very word of God. That is to say, Scripture does not merely contain the words of God but as Paul tells us—Scripture is theopneustos, God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16). Because of this we must recognize that we have been entrusted with something special from God. We attempt to engage in clarity because we are handling divine truth. Mankind finds himself in the unique position that he has the opportunity to hear the voice of God through the text of Scripture. The nature of canon alone should give us a hunger and thirst for the God-breathed words so that we may know exactly what the Lord has revealed to us.

Furthermore, exegesis is important in that it allows God to speak to us and not the other way around. So often the tendency is to inject our own emotions and biases into what we think the Scripture should teach that we fail to verify whether our beliefs are in harmony with what God has actually revealed. What might seem logically consistent or rational to us might in fact be in direct opposition to the truth. All of us have the tendency to read Scripture through our theological paradigms, which sometimes can cause us to violate the rules of proper exegesis. Or put another way, instead of testing our doctrines in light of Scripture we often are guilty of the precise opposite. And in so doing, there might be occasions where we force doctrines that are foreign to the Bible and substitute purity of the gospel message for man-made traditions.

That reality, for me, was crystallized in a recent discussion with a co-worker concerning the authority of the Bible as the sole rule of faith. What began as a seemingly innocent dialogue touching upon the nature of canon turned out to be an outright assault on the complete authority of the God-breathed Scriptures.

I was directed to 2 Thessalonians 2:15 as "definite proof" against the idea that divine revelation is to be found only in the Bible. Not only was my position abiblical, I was told, it was unbiblical. And then the charge went one step further, that is, I refused to obey the clear command of Paul to accept "tradition."

Alas, as with so many discussions over theological disagreements, proper exegesis was not utilized—nor was it preferred—in determining the true meaning of the text. If my co-worker had much interest in finding out what exactly Paul meant by "tradition," then he probably would have been surprised to learn that the apostle was not advocating some nebulous principal that denies the sufficiency of Scripture as our sole, infallible rule of faith, but that he was in fact reminding the Thessalonians to stand firm in the faith. That is to say, Paul was commanding his readers to hold tenaciously to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I found this personal incident to be symptomatic of many groups who come in the name of authority to attack the sufficiency of the Bible. Once we allow for the possibility that something other than the Holy Spirit is necessary to guide us into truth, then the fundamentals of sound exegesis are no longer necessary, since we are then told what the Scriptures actually say. Exegesis, therefore, is then relegated to a subservient role to sound hermeneutical principles.

I would submit to you that the reality is we must all learn from the Bereans who were more noble-minded than the Thessalonicans for their commitment to searching the Scriptures diligently. They did not rely upon what some authority to guide them into truth, but they went directly to the God-breathed Scriptures to discover His will. May each and every one of us practice this principle as we press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14).