Daniel 1:1-8 - Daniel purposed in his heart to not defile himself with the king’s food.

Five things we must purpose to do:

Abstain from vices

Genesis 2:7 - Our bodies and spirits have been created by God, thus they belong to God.

Keep our speech pure

James 3:1-10 - the danger posed by our speech

Colossians 4:6 - What our speech should be like.

I Peter 2:9-10 - We are to proclaim the excellence of God in our speech.

Cleave to the Lord

Acts 11:23

Work in the Lord’s vineyard

I Corinthians 15:58

Ephesians 4:11-12 - We can teach others about God.

To go to heaven

Revelation 21:23-27 - the glory of heaven

We will not get into heaven by accident!

II Samuel 7:14-15 - God said He would both correct Solomon and show him lovingkindness.

Emply a radical amount of love.

God expresses His love through action. I John 3:16-18

Employ a radical amount of discipline

Discipline grows out of love. Proverbs 27:5

Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers are to do and say whatever it takes to raise their children in the Lord.

Discipline involves instruction.

Isaiah 1:18-20 - God clearly shows His people the choice between right and wrong and the consequences of each.

Proverbs 1:8-10 - The instruction of parents is a great blessing.

Ezekiel 3:4-9 - Sometimes we need to be stubborn in our discipline.

Discipline involves punishment.

Proverbs 13:24 - Corporal punishment is approved by God.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 - A deed not soon punished encourages more wrongdoing.

We should take a passage to be figurative when:

A literal understanding contradicts another passage.

It is said to be figurative.

A literal understanding contradicts known facts/common sense.

We should not take a passage to be figurative just because it contradicts our beliefs.

Figures of speech

Types:

Pleonasm (redundancy): “When more words are used than the grammar requires” (Bullinger). Example: That is a true fact.

Hyperbole (exaggeration): “When more is said than is literally meant” (Bullinger). Example: Everybody knows that.

Metonymy (change of noun): “The change of one noun for another related noun” (Bullinger). Example: Let’s get a head count. Example: He couldn’t give up the bottle. Head for ‘person,’ bottle for ‘alcohol.’

Synecdoche (transfer): “The exchange of one idea for another associated idea” (Bullinger). “We speak of the whole by a part, or a part by using a term denoting the whole” (Dungan). Example: He’s running from the law. The word law (the whole) refers to the cop chasing him (the part).

Simile (resemblance): “A declaration that one thing resembles another” (Bullinger). Example: He was hot as a firecracker.

Metaphor (representation): “A declaration that one thing is (or represents) another” (Bullinger). Example: During the time of the judges, Israel was on a rollercoaster.

Parabola (parable, continued simile): “Comparison by continued resemblance” (Bullinger).

Not-But: “The writers of the New Testament have adopted the Hebrew manner of comparison” (MacKnight).

Examples

Luke 2:1 - hyperbole

Romans 13:4 - metonymy

John 4:39 - hyperbole

Luke 15:4 - hyperbole

I Samuel 25:37 - hyperbole, simile

Psalms 23:1 - metaphor

James 1:12 - metonymy

Psalms 34:16 - pleonasm

Matthew 9:36 - simile

Acts 5:4 - not-but

Luke 16:29 - metonymy

Matthew 5:13-14 - metaphor

Matthew 13:3 - parable

Matthew 6:19-20 - not-but

Song of Solomon 4:1 - simile

Romans 10:13 - metonymy

The Holy Spirit used figures of speech to explain heavenly things using earthly concepts. In some cases, figures of speech were used to obscure a message from those it was not intended for. In other cases, figures of speech were used to emphasize particular concepts.

Titus 2:3-5

Reverent in their behavior

I Peter 3:3-4

Not malicious gossips

Not enslaved to much wine

This does not imply that having a little wine is okay.

Teaching what is good.

Encourage the young women.

To love their husbands and children

I Kings 21:7

To be sensible

To be pure

To be workers at home

To be kind

To be subject to their own husbands

So that the word of God will not be dishonored.

I Timothy 6:1

Psalms 71:18