An old proverb says, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.ā Too often, believers do not know how to fish, that is, how to study the Bible themselves. As a result, they settle for the fish given to them, that is, what they know about the Bible is what others have told them or what some prooftext seems to say. No greater need exists around the world than to teach believers how to understand the Bible themselves. Not only will that help them understand the great story God has given us in His word, but it will help them process what they hear or what they think they know.
In Hermeneutics for Everyone, Daniel Goepfrich has provided an excellent resource to teach a man to fish, that is, to teach anyone willing to do the work how to study the Bible in a way that leads to a correct interpretation of theĀ Scripture. His ACTSĀ model (read the book!) parallels the traditional evangelical model of āObservationāInterpretationāApplicationā but is worded in an easy-to-understand way and expanded to challenge the reader to test his or her conclusions along the way.
Goepfrich provides an excellent summary of the nature of the Scriptures and the need to study them correctly. He isĀ technically solid yet writes in a way that noĀ reader will get lost in the details or the verbiage. He provides many opportunities for the reader to practice what he or she reads through āDo It Yourselfā questions. This is an excellent tool for individual use or group studies. It will certainly be one I use!
— Dr. Roger Fankhauser (Former President, Free Grace Alliance, and retired pastor)
