Trinity Pastors' College (TPC) 9-16 May, 2018, Gospels & Acts
Lecturers: William Emberley & Geoffrey Thomas
Trinity Pastors' College (TPC) March 14-21, 2018, Doctrine of Scripture
Lecturer: Keith Underhill
Outside Classroom
Classroom
New student comment on lectures
The following comes from a student who has just started the TPC, and hermeneutics was the first unit of study. He has recently been converted from a Muslim background.
Regarding the lectures on hermeneutics, I richly benefited. Learning the methods of interpretation which have been mostly widely used in the church throughout the centuries opened wide my eyes to detect and avoid false principles of interpretation and cleave on to the sound principles of interpretation. Knowing and understanding the grammatical principle, historical principle, synthesis principle (analogy of scripture and analogy of faith), literal principle, context principle, figures of speech, comparing parallel passages, interpreting types and symbols and ESPECIALLY the redemptive-historical principle richly blessed me. I remember brother Richard Barcellos taking us through the redemptive-historical principle from Genesis 3:15 and throughout the scriptures. Oh! What a blessing it was to see the glorious, eternal Son of God in every book in the scriptures. Oh! This King of Kings and Lord of Lords who emptied Himself of His glory, who was crucified, died, buried and rose again on the third day to bring the elect to God! I rejoiced seeing the glory of Christ from every text.
From the lectures, the readings and the assignments, I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that all and any calling themselves pastors MUST sit under sound teachings of hermeneutics. They MUST do that. Any faithful and sincere pastor MUST be taught hermeneutics! Ah! How on earth would one call themselves a pastor without sound knowledge of hermeneutics?! How?! It is my prayer that God in His will and providence would grant that many more pastors go through this training.
I am not dogmatic about this and I am open to correction but I think that (although I have not done the rest of the units) hermeneutics is the most basic of all units. I may be wrong. It is very clear to me now that all the heresies, errors and nonsense going on in the 'church' spring from aesogesis and erratic hermeneutics.
I can't wait to sit under the lectures on DOCTRINE OF SCRIPTURE.
May the Lord be merciful and gracious as we labour in the advancement of His Kingdom. We can't wait for that DAY, that trumpet call, Christ in his glory with all the angels. And us glorified and in His Kingdom forever.