Imperishable Inheritance

The Bible is laid out in such a way that we should interpret every passage in its place along the scheme of redemptive history. For instance, the sacrificial commands of the Mosaic Covenant were at one time pivotal to God's people, but with the advent of Christ they have been fulfilled (Heb 10:1-21). We see that God gave them as a lesson to His people at one point along the line of history. When we taking into consideration these factors we are using the redemptive-historical hermenuetic.

The Redemptive-Historical Hermeneutic and Biblical Theology

Unnecessary jargon aside, this refers to a methodology of interpreting the Scriptures (which is what the study of hermeneutics is). It seeks to uncover the "big picture" in God's working in time and space with His creation. The redemptive aspect focuses on the truth that God, since the fall, has engaged His people in a redemptive context. The historical aspect focuses on the truth that this plan does take place in time and space and is open to modification (or further expansion/fulfillment) in later revelation.

This methodology is most aptly used in Biblical Theology. This is one branch of theology alongside practical, systematic, and historical theology. It strives to focus on unifying themes throughout the Scriptures. A lot of confusion exists between the practices of systematic and biblical theology; they are organically related but seek to understand different things. I realized that, by starting with systematic theology, that I was learning theology backwards.

I tend to think that biblical theology (BT) should precede systematic theology (ST) insofar as it attempts to let each book, author, etc. speak on its own terms. One of the great dangers of ST is the possibility of flattening out distinctive contributions for the sake of a clean way of organizing the "data," not to mention the danger of ignoring the narrative shape of God's revelation of himself in Scripture. This is not to say that God does not reveal himself in "propositional" truth, but rather to acknowledge that he reveals himself in other ways as well in Scripture.

On the other hand, one of the dangers of BT is the tendency of some to so emphasize the distinctive contributions of each part of the canon that they fail to pursue its larger coherence. Also, there are some theological conclusions that BT probably cannot achieve without ST, such as the Trinity. (Source)

That quote does a good job at illustrating that there is a balance to be maintained. I can tell you that studying biblical theology is one of the most rewarding, stimulating, and spiritual exercises I believe any human can engage. Learning how the Bible fits together organically helped me understand in particular the Gospels and Jesus' teachings.

Redemptive Historical Themes

This is a list that I hope to expand upon at a later point, but I wanted to list them and maybe get feedback on any that I may be missing. If you have questions, please ask.

• The Kingdom of God (Garden - Canaan - Heaven)
• The People of God (Ethnic People - Spiritual People)
• The Presence of God (Tabernacle/Temple - Messiah - Church)
• Rest (Sabbath - Messianic Rest)
• Creation (Original Creation - New Creation)
• Exodus (Physical Exodus - Spiritual Exodus)
• Atonement (Typological Atonement - Final Atonement)
• Abrahamic Blessing
• Federal Headship (Adam - Christ)
• Prophet, Priest, King
• Covenant
• Glory of God
• Law (Natural Law - Mosaic Law - Law of Christ)

Any others?