“HOW CAN WE CORRECTLY
INTERPRET THE BIBLE?”
A SOLEMN TASK
It is a grave and serious matter to attempt
to teach God’s Word. James gives a sober warning: “Not many of you should
become teachers, my brothers; for you know that we who teach will be judged
with greater strictness.” (James 3:1) Why is judgment stricter for those who
teach the Bible? In the context James emphasizes the universal weakness of
misusing the tongue. All of us say things we shouldn’t. But when teaching the
Bible, we are dealing with the sacred inspired text. How we handle it is
eternally consequential, both in what we say and the way that we say it. Our
faithfulness in interpretation can determine the eternal destiny of precious
souls that believe and follow what we teach.
Another reason for care in the study and
presentation of the Scriptures is the impact it will have on the teacher’s own
soul. Paul told the young preacher, Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself
to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly
handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) How I handle the word of God as a
preacher or teacher has a direct impact on my acceptability or rejection by
God. Paul told the Galatians, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should
preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be
accursed.” (Galatians 1:8)
Before and after the personal challenge to
Timothy to make sure that he handled the word of God rightly, Paul noted negative
examples of incorrectly interpreting the word of God. He exhorted his young son
in the faith, “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to
quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers…But avoid
irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and
their talk will spread like gangrene.” (1 Timothy 2:14, 16) His warning became
specific when he identified two culprits: “Among them are Hymenaeus and
Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has
already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.” (V 17)
Another picture of false interpretation is
found in the book of Revelation where an entire church in Thyatira was
negatively affected by a woman Jesus called, “Jezebel”. This was likely not her
actual name, but her actions reminded the Lord of one of the most wicked women
of the Old Testament, who led God’s people into Baal worship. He said of this
Jezebel that she, “…calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my
servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols…”
(Revelation 2:20) Apparently, she had twisted God’s true teaching on moral
purity and advocated the false doctrine of Gnosticism, misinterpreting inspired
truth to allow for fleshly passions and sins. By her false teaching, she had infected
an entire church with her poisonous, ungodly message.
But it is not only the teacher that needs
to take pains, but also the hearer of the message and those who search the
scriptures on their own to find what God’s word says. I love the description of
Jews in
A NECESSARY TASK
Our goal and task should be the same as
that of Ezra the great scribe of
Dr. Stafford North wrote,
If
God has revealed His will to us, He must have revealed it so we can learn what
He wants us to do. If His revelation is to direct our lives, then He must
expect us to use our mental abilities to understand His language and to make
application to our lives. (“Hermeneutics 101,” Gospel Advocate, May l996, page 26)
A METICULOUS TASK
Our first question should
never be, “What does scholarship say?” but rather, “What does the text mean?”
Scholarship should be consulted only after we have done our own homework and
have a handle on the text. Then when scholarship is consulted always ask the
question, “Does this human commentary contradict clear divine truth?” If so, it
must always be rejected. It is only then that what others have said will
broaden and enhance our understanding instead of corrupting it.
Before we can begin the
process of actually examining the Scriptures, there are a number of
considerations that must be taken into account that will organize our search
for truth. On what should we focus as we study the Bible?
u We must look at the
historical and cultural setting of the text.
Is there anything in the text that is
strictly applicable to the culture at the time it was written? Remember! Just
saying something is cultural, or buying into a cultural argument just because
we like the teacher or respect his academic credentials does not make it so.
Too many times, modern cultural expectations cause some, with a desire to be
accepted, to reject clear biblical teaching by declaring it to be limited to
the time of its writing. That may be true of some things, but certainly not of
all. It is sad when a desire for the approval of man supercedes one’s
commitment to seek and accept God’s truth.
We should never interpret scripture with
the presupposition, “What method of interpretation will help us bridge gaps
with our denominational friends and make us more acceptable to the evangelical
community?” On the contrary, we should allow the bible and the bible alone to
determine our method of interpretation. If we do so, we may not find fellowship
with the evangelical world, but we will maintain fellowship with God.
v
We must consider the type of literature in the text.
Are we studying a historical event or story? Is the
text a proverb or parable?
Is the scripture under
consideration poetry or prophecy? Is it law or instruction by letter? This does
not change the requirements or applications contained in the literature. But
understanding the type of literature with its subsequent characteristics may
give us insight into the meaning.
For example:
·
Prophetic
literature often uses symbols and cataclysmic images that are not always to be
taken literally, but are to be interpreted symbolically.
·
Proverbs
contain great principles but not always hard and fast rules.
·
Old Testament
prophets, David and the other writers of the Psalms often wrote statements that
had both an immediate meaning and a future one related to the coming of Christ
the Messiah.
Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning with Moses and
all the Prophets, he (Jesus) interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the
things concerning himself.” Jesus said
later in this same chapter, “…everything written about me in the Law of Moses
and the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (V 44)
Ž
We must be constantly aware of the context.
Context always moves from the general to the
specific, not the other way around. The sixty-six books that compose the Bible
have their own contexts, and each portion of the individual books has an immediate
context that applies to a broader context. It is vital to the correct
understanding of a specific text that we first
determine the context. Otherwise, as one preacher said, we lift the text
out of context and make it a pretext for what we want to believe.
There is an overall context to the Bible:
God’s desire to bring man back into fellowship with him. From beginning to the end, the Bible reveals
both the justice and the justification of God. The Bible is a book by God and
about God, telling man who he is and how to be in a right relationship with
him.
Another factor that may confuse context is
allowing ourselves to be bound by verse designations and chapter endings. These
are not inspired and are placed there to aid our study by the translators.
However, sometimes chapters may end in the wrong place, and a thought does not
necessarily end within a numbered verse.
Paul gave us insight into this concept when
he said in Romans
The Hebrew writer devoted the entire eleventh
chapter to this great theme of obedient faith. He cites numerous examples of
great Old Testament men and women who did God’s will by faith. He ended the
chapter with the direct application to the Christians to whom he wrote his
letter. Verse six could be considered a thesis statement: “And without faith it
is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe
that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Ź
We must learn what the key words mean and identify
the grammatical structure.
Every passage of scripture has key words, that when
understood in their original meaning will help us to correctly interpret the
scriptures. The Bible is a book of words from God. Paul said, “Now we have
received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we
might understand the things that are freely given us by God. And we impart this
in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting
spiritual truths to those who are spiritual (or “in spiritual language”). (1
Corinthians 2:12, 13)
y
We must examine the parallel statements in scripture.
For example:
·
Paul wrote to
both Timothy and Titus about the qualifications of elders. (1 Timothy 3:1-7;
Titus 1:5-9)
·
Jesus teaching
about marriage and divorce is recorded in several places (Matthew
·
Ephesians and
Colossians have parallel sections dealing with instructions for husbands and
wives, children and parents, slaves and masters. (Ephesians 5:22-6:9; Colossians
3:18-4:1)
As we study, we should always seek
cross-references that will shed light on the passage under consideration. These
parallel passages serve as the best commentary on the scriptures we can find.
When it is possible, we should always let scripture enlighten scripture.
‘
We must understand the meaning of covenant.
The Bible is a book about covenants made by God with
certain individuals and groups.
·
God made spoken
covenants with men like Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
·
God made a
written covenant with a special people,
·
God made a new
universal covenant dedicated with the blood of Christ (Hebrews
Neither was the patriarch Abraham, nor any
other previous or contemporary patriarch, bound by the covenant made by God
with
We are not bound by the old Jewish covenant
given at
Covenant has always had two aspects:
Blessings and curses—Blessings for compliance with the stipulations of covenant
and curses when rebellion takes place. (Deuteronomy 28) Paul used covenant
language in Romans 11:22 when he said, “Note then the kindness and the severity
of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you,
provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.” Paul
said earlier, “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who
by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will
give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the
truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.” (Romans 2:6-8)
There is a clearly implied truth in these
verses: We must seek to know what the will of God is and obey it. That truth
can only be discovered by correct interpretation of the conditions of God’s
covenant for us found in the New Testament.
{
We must search scripture as a pattern.
In
the Old Testament the pattern principle was repeatedly mentioned:
In the New Testament, we are instructed to
seek God’s pattern of teaching for Christian living and the organization and
work of the church. Paul commanded Timothy, “Follow the pattern of the sound
words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ
Jesus. By the Holy Spirit guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy
1:13) That pattern was not simply for Timothy but was to be perpetuated: “…what
you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful
men, who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
The pattern principle of interpretation is
further validated when the Hebrew writer referred to God’s instructions to
Moses to follow the pattern for the tabernacle, and directly applied that
principle to the “true tabernacle,” the church! (Hebrews 8:5)
It is this concept of pattern
interpretation that demands respect for the silence of scripture.
Silence is prohibitive to the extent that
an act or thought is specified. It is permissive to the extent that no act or
thought is specified. Dr. Stafford North illustrated the principle quite well:
If
my wife sends me to the grocery store, she is very careful with the level of specificity.
She never says, “Go get groceries.” That would allow me to choose any food in
the store. She might say, “Get some soft drinks.” This would be far more
specific, but it still would leave me the option of regular or diet,
caffeinated or decaffeinated, cans or bottles. More likely she would say, “Get
two 2-liter bottles of regular cola, and don’t pay more than $1.75.” The level
of specificity tells me that anything above the level specified is excluded,
while I am free with options below the level specified. (“Hermeneutics 101,” Gospel
Advocate, May 1996, pg 26)
But someone might say, “What’s the big
deal? Don’t you know that God’s grace is going to cover things like that
anyway?” What does inspiration say about that statement? Listen to Paul:
…do
you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not
knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your
hard and impenitent heart you are storing up for yourself wrath on the day of
wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:5)
ETERNAL TASK
Our task of interpreting the Bible is solemn
and meticulous because we will one day give an account to God for the way that
we have handled his Word! If I go against the ideas of man, I will merely feel
the sting of human rejection and exclusion, but if I go against the truth of
God’s will, I will suffer the anathema of the God for eternity.
In Jeremiah 35, the Lord told the prophet
to go to a particular family called the Rechabites,
bring them into God’s house, bring out pitchers full of wine, and tell them to
drink it. The response was quite interesting. They said the following in verses
6-10:
We
will drink no wine, for Jonadab the Son of Recab, our father, commanded us, “You shall not drink wine,
neither you nor your sons forever. You shall not build a house; you shall not
sow see; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents
all your days, that you may live many days in the land
where you sojourn.” We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab
the son of Recab, our father, in all that he
commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or
our daughters, and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or
field or seed, but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
The Lord then made the following application
in verses 14 to his people in
Because of their failure to comply with the
law of God the Lord declared in verse 17, “Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and
Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have
spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have
not answered.”