Hello Friends!
Welcome Back! Let’s continue our with our series titled
“How to Study the Bible”
for our Christian walk with our Lord Jesus Christ…
How to Study the Bible (Part 4)
Interpreting the Bible ~ Important Things to
Avoid!
Here are a few very crucial points to consider when interpreting
the Biblical text…
Important Things to
Avoid!
1) Do not make a point at the cost of
proper Biblical interpretation!
In other words, we don't want to make the Bible say what
we want it to say by finding verses to support our preconceived
ideas. This man-centered approach to Biblical interpretation is known
as “cherry-picking” from the Scripture and is very popular in today’s
evangelical environment.
A
well-worn, anecdotal story used by many preachers over the years
humorously demonstrates the fallacy of randomly stringing together
unrelated Bible verses.
It involves a fellow who opens his Bible seeking spiritual guidance
and the first verse he reads tells how Judas went out and hanged himself.
Discouraged by this depressing word, he randomly flips to another verse
where Jesus Christ says, “Go
and do likewise.”
Reading the Bible as a random series of instructions can certainly lead to a
dead end! Instead of being like our misguided friend, we
should strive to read God's Word in the natural way that both the human
author and the Holy Spirit intended.
When we try to
make
a passage fit
out of context, we will end up forcing the Bible to fit our misunderstanding of the true meaning of the text. But if we try to truly comprehend a passage, a
proper understanding and application will flow out of our Bible studies, resulting in a life-style of
obedience to Jesus Christ and His Word!
The Apostle Paul says:
For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God – 2 Corinthians 2:17
The Greek word translated "peddling"
is kapeleuo
which is referred to
selling something deceitfully in the marketplace – something that wasn't what it
claimed to be. We must not force the Bible to illustrate our preconceived notions. Be careful not to interpret the Bible at the cost of its
true meaning!
2) Avoid
superficial Bible study!
Sadly, to the detriment of God’s Word, many Bible
studies consist of nothing more than person's saying something like: "I guess this verse means..." or "What does this verse mean to you?" Basically that's nothing more than a pooling of ignorance – people admitting what they
don't know about the verse!
To have a successful Bible study, someone must
study the passage beforehand to find out what it really means. Only then can you discuss it intelligently and thus correctly
apply it in your life in obedience to the Lord. Proper interpretation requires serious work!
Don't take the easy way out and just simply believe what everyone tells
you the Bible says. Check out the facts for yourself. Don't assume
there are
many interpretations of a biblical passage. There may be many applications, but there is only
one true interpretation. God's Word is precise. The Bible is
not ambiguous and its contents are “spiritually discerned.”
In fact,
God has given the believer the ability to discover the true meaning of the Scriptures:
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned – 1 Corinthians 2:14
3) Don't
spiritualize the text!
For a light-hearted example of this next point,
let’s consider the following brief testimony…
The first sermon Pastor John MacArthur ever preached was as
he recalls – “really bad!” Mr. MacArthur’s text was "The angel rolled the stone away"
taken from Matthew 28 and he entitled his sermon, "Rolling Away the Stones
in Your Life." The then young and energetic “twenty-something” Pastor talked about the stone of
doubt, the stone of fear and the stone of anger. Doubt, fear and anger are all legitimate topics to be sure – but they have
nothing to do with that text!
Many
people also tend to do this with the Old Testament. These “teachers”
turn it into a fairy tale of sorts with all kinds of hidden, secret and
mystical meanings –
anything but what the text plainly states!
In addressing this poignant point, the Apostle Paul encouraged
young Timothy to “carefully” follow his example of faithfulness to God’s
Word and “godly” life style in “Christ
Jesus” – whatever “persecutions”
may come:
But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work – 2 Timothy 3:10-17
The false teachers of Paul’s day – “evil
men and impostors” – were masters at twisting the Scriptures – to their own destruction…
Don't spiritualize the Bible.
It deserves much more respect!
Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued investigation
of How to Study the Bible…
May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love,
mercy and grace!
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
I love hearing from you. Keep reading Encouraging Concepts!
Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"Lighthouse Publications <><
