The Application Semester introduces you to Interpretation – defense – reflection – conflict. These are the basic elements of Bible study and mediation. Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpreting the passages you read. Apologetics is art and science of defending the Scriptures. Reflection and meditation is the art of putting together your knowledge in one moment to understand a passage. However, we discover as we attempt to accomplish this for a particular passage, we often encounter conflicts in our understanding and conclusions. We need the help of the Holy Spirit, combined with our knowledge of the Bible and our comprehension of hermeneutics and apologetics, to arrive at a conclusion that brings us peace in our perception of God’s Word.
Jude 3 (NKJV)
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
The Greek word translated as "contend" comes from a military or athletic setting and provides the picture of a struggle or a strong effort at accomplish the victory. We get our English word "agonize" from this verb. So, we are to agonize over our faith and strongly, consciously defend it.
This semester we discuss the tools which help us to strongly contend and defend our faith. These tools are the subjects of hermeneutics or the interpretation of Scripture and apologetics, the defense of the Gospel.
Using Paul’s letter to the Colossians we will discover the meaning of these two subjects, learn about evangelism, and come to better understand how to resolve conflicts in meaning as we review in depth the topics of Slavery, the Sabbath, Women in the Church, and Warfare. This semester will help us to bring together our knowledge of the books of the Bible with an understanding of how our personalities, viewpoints, and culture attempt to reflect themselves in our application of God’s Word to our daily walk and the questions and situations we always encounter. Join us for Hermeneutics, Apologetics, Colossians, and Conflicts.
This semester does not require your attendance at any of the first three semesters of our program. However, without some biblical knowledge, much of the material we cover this semester will make little or no sense.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)
Apologetics is the ministry of defending the Gospel of Jesus from attacks against accepted doctrine. In this day and age there is a false teacher sitting upon every street corner. Our task as the true church is to defend the church against these false doctrines.
Every book of the New Testament speaks to the issue of false doctrines and teachers. If this was an important topic for the writers of the New Testament, think how much importance should attach to these issues after 2,000 years? The task of all Christians is to stand up and proclaim the truth of the Bible.
The question to ask of yourself is:
Do I have enough knowledge to defend Jesus?
The Calvary Road Bible Institute will teach you all of the knowledge needed to defend the Gospel in this post-modern age.Join us today. While we do not study Apologetics until the fourth semester, the elements of apologetics are present in every course. You will be learning to defend YOUR FAITH from the very first class.
Join us today and start to be prepeared to seek, do, and teach the Word of God.
Here comes another of those "BIG" theological words. This one is a transliteration of the Greek word into English (more or less) and means interpretation. Hermeneutics is the art of translating the Bible -- nothing more, nothing less.
If you have ever attempted to discern the meaning of a difficult passage you will realize the "nohting more, nothing less" concept becomes lost in the frustration of not knowing where to begin your interpretative efforts. In this class we will teach you the steps to follow and the order of approach which allows you to make a strong, spiritually guided attempt at discovering the meaning of any passage of Scripture. Just as there are rules for mathematics, so too, there are rules when it comes to understanding any written work, especially the Bible.
Join us as we learn these rules, then move further on by seeing how they are applied and discovering what traps await us as we attempt to find meaning in the difficult passages. We will use as one of our guides the book Slavery the Sabbath, Women in the Church, and Warfare. This work looks at four difficult areas of interpretation and guides us in formulating our own guide to hermeneutics.
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Colossians 1:9-10 (NKJV)
The letter to the Colossians is one of four letters written by Paul during the period of 60-62 A.D. while he sat in a Roman prison awaiting a trial before Caesar. During this period the Apostle penned Ephesians, Phillippians, and the letter to Philemon as well as this short epistle to the people of Colosse.
Paul was not directly responsible for the founding of this church. One of the Apostle's disciples seems to be the church planter. Paul has not even visited the city. Yet, as false doctrine and false teachers invade this local church, Paul sits in prison and takes the time to pen one of the most powerful statements of the doctrine of Christ that exists today. His explanation of the Person and Work of Jesus establishes the basis of his advice to the Colossians as to how to fight the false teachings.
In simple terms this advice is, teach, follow, and obey the truth of God.
Join us as we investigate this letter and make use of it for some of our apologetics and hermeneutics exercises.