Getting Schooled by a Theologian - 26
An eye-opening lesson
For fair and accurate interpretation we must strive to keep the writer’s entire thought in front of us. We break with fairness and go astray when we take his word’s out of their context. We change the meaning of them and God does not permit that.
This was brought home to me when I attended that Committee on Biblical Exposition (C.O.B.E.) conference in Illinois. A theologian by the name of Earl D. Radmacher1 spoke on Matthew 18:15-35 with an emphasis on verse twenty, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
But before he spoke, he gave us this handout:
He read the passage and we followed along. Then he asked us to put checkmarks alongside of the subjects we felt could be taught from the text. Give it a try! Read all of Matthew 18: 15-35 and then put mental check next to all the subjects you think the text teaches.
In the next post I will tell you what happened. It was an eye-opener for me.
1 Radmacher, now deceased, was the president of Western Seminary in Portland Oregon.