A Problem Passage Interpretation Plan
By Gary DeLashmutt and Dennis McCallum
- Identify the problem(s) in the passage and show the opposing views which make it a problem.
- List the realistic alternative interpretations (omitting the obviously unrealistic interpretations). Add alternatives, if you discover any later.
- Write out the thought development of the entire book, if the book is short. With long books, trace the thought development from two chapters before the problem passage through two chapters after it.
- Check the historical background of the book for any information which might shed light on the passage.
- Identify key words and perform word studies on them, if necessary.
- Find the definition of the word in Vine's Expository Dictionary or Colin Brown's A Dictionary of New Testament Theology.
- Using an analytical concordance:
- Check the uses of the word in the same book;
- Check the uses of the word in other books by the same author (if any); and
- Check the uses of the word in the rest of the New Testament;
- Using the following resources, identify and examine helpful parallel passages:
- Marginal references in your Bible;
- Analytical concordances and/or Bible dictionaries; and
- Special cross-referencing resources (Nave's Topical Bible, Treasury of Bible Knowledge, chain-reference Bibles, etc.).
- List the pro and con evidence for each interpretation.
- Evaluate the relative weight and value of each piece of evidence.
- Decide which interpretation best fits the weightiest and most valuable evidence.
- Spell out the application for the original audience.
- Spell out the application for the universal audience.
- Spell out the application for your personal life and ministry.