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There are five points we must examine about ourselves as interpreters: faith, illumination, qualification, humility, and awareness. Which of these five do you believe has the greatest influence on you as you interpret a Bible passage? How does it help you when you interpret a passage? How does it hinder you?
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I think faith has the greatest influence on me when I interpret a Bible passage. I have faith that God’s word is infallible and without error. I also have faith that if I prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to guide my reading and interpretation that I will get the best interpretation possible.
Sometimes I forget to pray for the Holy Spirit to help me interpret a passage and I usually really mess it up. -
First of all your question is wrong because you state that there are FIVE points we must examine and then you ask which of the SIX do we believe has the greatest influence.
I feel that illumination has the greatest impact because it is Ruach Hak-Kodesh that speaks to us and tells us if we are going in the right direction or not. This can also be a hindrance if we do not listen to Ruach Hal-Kodesh or we are trying to study in an environment that has so much noise or distractions that we can not hear him.
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Humility is the factor that weighs the most on my ability to accurately interpret a passage. When I come surrendered, as a student, I anticipate that there may be conflicts with my preconceived notions. I come with the understanding that I will be taught by the Holy Spirit, led into all truth. I am better positioned to hear a “new” thing. I am better positioned to get rid of an “old” thing. When I am puffed up, I forget to pray, relying on previous successful encounters with God’s Word and thinking that practice makes perfect. While there is a role for discipline, I am consistently reminded that I have nothing that I first did not receive from Him. I have to make submission a discipline too-and in this I require His help.
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[In the “Bible Tools Exercises” section, what new insight did you receive from one particular Bible passage?] How to look at a passage, break it down to further identify the meaning and context it is written.
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[In the “Bible Tools Exercises” section, what new insight did you receive from one particular Bible passage?] I learned how to break it apart, piece by piece, to find the true meaning of the passage.