Russell Haffner
God’s desire is for His people to understand the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15-18). In order to properly apply God's word to our lives we must seek the true meaning of the biblical text. This is the concept of exegesis – "rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Exegesis is the explanation of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word exegesis literally means "to lead out of." That means we lead out conclusions based only on the biblical text.
However, there is a common problem in the religious world today of distorting the Scriptures by means of forcing a meaning into a passage that is not original with the text. This hostile takeover of the text is known as eisegesis. Eisegesis is the mistake of reading meaning into a text rather than drawing meaning from it. It may also be stated as reading into the text meaning that one wants to get out of it. Eisegesis is interpreting a text, or portion of a text, in such a way that we introduce our own presuppositions, agendas or biases into the text.
The point is: eisegesis is the exact opposite of a faithful interpretation of the biblical text. The distortion of the Scriptures is clearly condemned by God (Galatians 1:6-9). D.R. Dungan once wrote, "The Bible is not a book with which to prove doctrines; it is doctrine itself." Eisegesis involves assuming a doctrine and then twisting the Bible text to make it look like it supports it (2 Peter 3:14-16). We must not overlook the importance of patiently studying the Scriptures in order to faithfully find the true meaning of the text. To state it another way, we must never impose our "theology" over what the Scriptures actually teach. Such a behavior prevents us from finding the truth and we cannot obey the truth if we cannot find it.
In the end, let us remember that eisegesis is a dangerous handling of the Scriptures. Obviously, only exegesis does justice to the text. An honest student of the Bible will be an exegete, allowing the text to speak for itself. Of course, exegesis takes more time than eisegesis. But if we are to be those unashamed workmen who rightly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), then we must take the time to truly understand the text. Exegesis is the only correct approach to the Scriptures. May we always be submissive to His word (Psalm 119:18).
The WVBS Online Bible School has no statement of faith, creed book or religious manual. The only statement of a Christian's faith which is needed is the Bible. If a statement of faith says less than the Bible it has left something out. If a statement of faith says more than the Bible it has added to God's word (Revelation 22:18-19). Let us abandon the opinions of men and seek to practice and teach only that which is found in God's word. The staff of the school is composed of Christians seeking to teach others about the Bible. The material produced is designed to be used by anybody seeking a greater understanding of God's word.
The goal of the school is to serve God and His people by doing His will to the best of our ability. We have a genuine desire to glorify the Father, His beloved Son, His word and His blood-bought church and not to glorify ourselves or any other men.