“Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16 CSB).

If you ever attended Bible college or seminary you likely were instructed on the important distinction between “eisegesis” and “exegesis.” These explanations usually came with a sober warning about the dangers of eisegesis. The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines eisegesis as “reading meanings ‘into’ a biblical text as opposed to ‘out of’ a biblical text.” It defines exegesis as “the act of interpreting or explaining the meanings of verses or passages of Scripture.”

In short, eisegesis is imposing a meaning on a biblical text that does not derive from it. By way of contrast, in exegesis the Bible student seeks to discover the meaning of the text. The difference seems black and white, and every self-respecting pastor should avoid committing the egregious hermeneutical sin of eisegesis. Sounds pretty straightforward.

Enter postmodernism. One key tenet of postmodern thinking is that pursuing meaning is a fool’s errand. In Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, American philosopher Richard Rorty states, “The aim of this book is to undermine the reader’s confidence… in ‘knowledge’ as something about which there ought to be a ‘theory,’ and which has ‘foundations.’”¹ His bottom line is that language is relative and never corresponds to anything called reality. The postmodern assumption is that we cannot know what a text meant or means. Instead, texts just are; we impart to them whatever meaning we want.

In the cultural climate of postmodernism, the very idea of a distinction between eisegesis and exegesis is laughable. Everyone performs eisegesis every time they read anything. This begs two questions. First, “Is exegesis as traditionally defined even possible?” Second, “If so, how should we think about eisegesis?”

Is Exegesis Possible?

Contrary to postmodern hermeneutics, exegesis is still possible and should be our aim. In The Gagging of God, D.A. Carson exposes the inconsistency in the postmodern search for meaning, saying, “This is really the problem of postmodernism itself: As soon as it makes an absolute claim that all truth claims are relative, it has forged its own meta-narrative.”² Postmodernism ends up chasing its own tail: The only meaning is there is no meaning!

The gift of language is the gift of communication. Without meaning, communication would be impossible. The postmodern emphasis on how we distort meaning does not warrant the conclusion that seeking to discern meaning in a text is a waste of time. When it comes to God’s Word, it is essential that we, as pastors, impart what God has said to our churches. By listening well to the grammar, history, cultural background, and canonical content of God’s Word, we can pursue meaning with confidence.

If we abandon the pursuit of exegetical accuracy, we are waving the white flag of surrender to postmodernism. In essence, instead of saying to our churches “God has said…” we are saying “God might have said….” The difference between the two is the difference between offering our churches hope from God’s Word versus an inspirational talk. Even worse, we may be falling into the temptation of crafting a message our culture wants, even though it is not found in God’s Word. David Wells cautions us in Above All Earthly Pow’rs, “Modern consumption is about buying meaning for ourselves.”³ Is not the gospel more than a choose your own adventure spiritual teaching?

What about Eisegesis?

Even though Christians should rightly reject postmodern philosophy, it has helped us be more aware of the assumptions we bring to the biblical text. When we know what we assume as we come to a biblical text, we are better able to pursue exegesis and avoid eisegesis. For example, if I am reading in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church…,” I will read it differently if I am a husband, a wife, or single. That perspective doesn’t change the meaning, but it does help me understand that my response to this text may be different than someone else’s.

As we come to study the Word of God for preaching, counseling, and encouraging the saints, we need to be aware of how our background and current circumstances may color our conclusions. Even so, eisegesis is still a danger. To impose a meaning on the Word of God that is not accurate is to put words into God’s mouth.

Even the well-intentioned (and well-educated) pastor can fall into the trap of eisegesis rather than listening well to God’s Word. Eisegesis may look like repeating a past assumption about a text without verifying its accuracy. It may look like desperately wanting to make a point in a sermon and therefore forcing it on the text. It may look like taking shortcuts due to a busy week or laziness. Whenever we inaccurately represent the meaning of a part of God’s Word, we are putting other meaning in its place.

Francis Schaeffer helps us in The God Who Is There by reminding us that, “To say that God communicates truly does not mean that God communicates exhaustively. Even in our human relationships we never have exhaustive communication, though what we do have may be true.”⁴ As we minister the Word of God, we must never claim or act as if we have exhaustively understood it. At the same time, we can with confidence pursue and communicate the truth we find in it. As we do so, we will serve our churches well.

With this updated consideration of exegesis versus eisegesis in mind, we are equipped to ask some more practical questions. What spiritual failures lead to eisegesis? How can we protect ourselves from it in preaching, counseling, and other aspects of pastoral ministry? In part 2, we’ll consider the practical side of pastors pursuing exegesis and being careful of eisegesis in ministry.

©2023 Ryan Boys. Used with permission.

1. Richard Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1978), 7. ↩︎
2. D.A. Carson, The Gagging of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 1996), 147. ↩︎
3. David Wells, Above All Earthly Pow’rs (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), 77. ↩︎
4. Francis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1968), 100. ↩︎