Interpretation – Part Three: The Main Point
Have you ever been to one of those fancy restaurants that provides a full three or four-course meal? In those places, the waiters will bring out each course at a time, beginning with some Hors d’oeuvres (whatever that means), maybe a salad, followed by an appetizer or two, then finally the main course, and dessert to conclude. The few times in my life in which I have enjoyed a meal from one of these establishments, I always find myself saying early on, “Okay… let’s just get to the point. Bring on the main course!” Salads are nice, appetizers are nice, but they are merely wetting my appetite for the real thing. I’m sure that is a shallow view of such an exquisite meal, but what can I say?
Well, if you have been following along as we’ve discussed reading the Bible, you might feel this way. Maybe you are saying, “Alright already, get to the point!” We have discussed at length observing the text and we have begun the process of interpreting the text by asking the right questions and answering those questions. All of those things are the Hors d’oeuvres, not just for taste, but nutrition. We need those things in order to really get the main course. Today, we finally get to the main point. That is, in fact, what we are after when we are studying a biblical passage: what is the main point the author is conveying to us?
In order to summarize the main point, we have to take all of our observations and interpretive questions and ask the big question: why? Why is this author telling his audience these things in this way? Let’s take a verse and think about this question. Here is 1 John 2:28, “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.” Let’s assume we have made all of our observations about this text and have begun asking our interpretive questions. Now, we ask: why is John telling us this? What is his main point?
To answer that, we actually need to look back at two things again:
First, remember the context. When we began observations, we started with a book overview. That told us the context of the whole book. If you have done this step with 1 John, you know John is concerned that his audience has some certainty that they are, in fact, children of God. Some have left the church and are attempting to deceive them. So, John wants to encourage the church in how to find some assurance for the Christian life. Keep this in mind to answer our why question.
Second, remember the structure. How did John get to this verse? If you look at the verses surrounding verse 28, you begin to realize that John has been circling around the theme of abiding in God and he has been addressing those who are trying to deceive the church. So, the structure and theme helps us to put the final pieces together in order to get to the main point of this verse.
So, why did John write 1 John 2:28? What is his main point? I think we might say something like: In the face of pressures and doubts regarding their salvation, John’s readers can find confidence for judgment day by abiding (or remaining) in Christ today.
Once we have summarized the author’s main point for a verse or passage or chapter, we have all but completed the interpretation process. Praise the Lord! We are reading Scripture as it is meant to be read.
One final note: after we have a main point for the passage, we do want to ask how this passage either points us to Jesus and the gospel or how this passage is built off of the gospel. We could do a whole other blog series on this topic (and we may someday), but for now, always remember that Scripture is always leading us to our Savior. If we interpret a passage but ignore Jesus, we haven’t done much at all.
Pastor Mark