For those who want to understand or teach the Bible well, we need to learn how to be skilful in biblical hermeneutics, or the art of Bible interpretation. The three basic laws of hermeneutics are:

Law #1: As much as possible, Scriptures should be interpreted literally.

Law #2: Scriptures must be interpreted historically, grammatically, and contextually.

Law #3: Scripture is always the best interpreter of Scripture.

Some Christians avoid good hermeneutics because they mistakenly believe that it will prevent them from receiving fresh illumination or prophetic insight from the Holy Spirit. This cannot be so, because the source of every revelation, illumination, and prophecy is the same Spirit of God, and He is not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33). The purpose of hermeneutics is to protect us from misapplying or distorting Scripture. Because God is truth and His Word is truth (Deut 32:4; Jn 17:17), we want to know the truth and live in the truth, to the best that we can. This is why biblical hermeneutics is vital.