As a student at Dallas Theological Seminary, I was taught how to begin with Scripture in the original text and end with a sermon that grew naturally out of my study of the text. This involved translating, analyzing, and organizing the material in order to communicate the message of the author in a way that was relevant and clear. This approach to study has proven a powerful tool and an effective practice for Bible expositing preachers around the world. Herb Bateman has encapsulated the six semesters of training into a single book, using the General Epistles from which to draw examples.
Dr. Bateman begins this fine work discussing Greco-Roman letter writing. This chapter is an excellent resource for those unfamiliar with the subject. Additionally, he provides a helpful discussion of pseudonymity and the use of an amanuensis to defend the apostolic authorships of Peter, James, and Jude.
His discussion of background information (Chapter 2) is helpful to see the broad picture of the history and cultural developments in Judea as they might impact the New Testament writers and audiences. He is balanced in his approach toward the use of historical background in understanding the General Epistles. For example, though he notes similarities between James and Qumran’s wisdom literature, he rejects the idea of James being influenced by the Essenes, and suggests rather that both spoke from the larger context of a Jewish understanding of wisdom characteristic of their society and evident in the literature from every area of Judaism (73-79). He places the biblical theology of the General Epistles under the rubric of “God’s twofold strategic program,” “to reestablish his kingdom rule on earth and to redeem a people to enter into that kingdom” (91, italics his). He provides an excellent discussion of the various Old Testament covenants and their relationship to Israel and the Church. Their fulfillment has been “inaugurated” in the church age, but their ultimate fulfillment awaits Jesus’ return (95-116). He says that the General Epistles affirm that “the redemptive portion of his [God’s] program has been achieved in the humanity of Jesus” (106) and that God’s “strategic plan” will be “consummated” in the Millennial kingdom (113). Thus he is a consistent dispensationalist in his interpretive approach to the Old Testament.
As he moves toward the practical aspects of study and sermon preparation, he first discusses the specific biblical theologies of each of the General Epistles. He does excellent work in synthesizing their major contributions and summarizing the details of the theology of each epistle. Though one might not agree with every detail of his interpretations in this section, he explains his views clearly and concisely in such a way as to be very helpful.
The strength of this book is the process it provides for the exegete. Dr. Bateman accomplishes this by describing a nine-step process for studying the General Epistles (Chapters 4-6). Though the General Epistles remains his focus when illustrating each step, this process is just as applicable for the study of any other literature in the Bible. His nine steps are:
- Translate your passage from the Greek text.
- Find the interpretive issues in your passage.
- Identify major textual problems, whether it is noted in an English or Greek text.
- Interpret its structure.
- Interpreting style, syntax, and semantics.
- Interpreting words.
- Making an exegetical outline.
- Identifying the central idea of a passage in order to communicate it.
- The sermon itself (last step).
Some of the most helpful material from these sections included his discussion of structural outlines, chiasms and inclusions, the exegetical outline, and the subject-complement statement. His definition of a structural outline and explanation of its purpose are both clear and helpful (173). His discussion of chiasms and inclusions is clear and convincing that these are important literary structures to look for in large passages as well as sentences (187-91). He provides examples that are helpful is seeing the process and product of an exegetical outline. And he explains a subject-complement approach to summarizing the author’s message that shows its usefulness to the exegete (231-32). In all of this he provides excellent examples from his own practice that are easy to understand and appreciate the point he is making.
This is a very practical book, well written, and a valuable resource that will not just sit on the shelf. For the experienced preacher or Bible teacher, it provides great reminders and new insights into the study and communication of Scripture. For the student who wants to develop exegetical skills that will provide a solid foundation from which to preach or teach, this is a great instructional manual.
I commend this work and appreciate the contribution is can make to all who study it.
