In the first part of this piece, we talked about realizing that the Bible was written for us and not to us, and that the Bible exists to carry out specific roles. We are going to look at three other things to keep in mind when studying the Bible.
- Don't ask "what does this passage mean to me?" Ask "what is this passage saying?" You see, when one is feeling blue or going through difficulties, the temptation to subjectively interpret the Bible is very high. While the applications of the scripture may be different, Biblical texts do not ever have more than one meaning. It is very important to separate the meaning of a text from personal situations. For example, someone going through a bad situation like, say, the loss of a job, may hopefully quote Romans 8:28 (And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.), claiming that his current loss of job would lead to a better job, after all, all things work together for good. Now notice that his definition of good from the text is based on the good he currently needs in his life. But in truth, whether he lost his job or not, that scripture is promising a particular kind of good, not a better replacement for what was lost. In the very next verse, that good is defined. Verse 29 says "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." Therefore, everything that happens in our life has one good (as defined by God) goal, and that is to conform us to the Image of Christ. Allowing the text speak to our situation is the way to go, rather than allowing our situation speak into the text.
- The whole of Scripture is understood in light of the parts of Scripture and vice versa. The Bible, while made up of many books and writings, contains a single narrative. To understand a text of Scripture, it is important to know the grand meta-narrative of the Bible. To say that in another way, we cannot understand the individual texts without understanding the whole of Scripture neither can we understand the whole of Scripture without understanding its individual parts. To be honest, there are some difficult texts in the Bible. Attempting to interpret those text in isolation has led to the birth of many heretical sects. It is always important to examine those text against the backdrop of the meta-narrative of Scripture. For example, when in Matthew 12:31 Jesus says "And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.", what did he mean? Books have been written on this text, theories have been propounded, ministries founded, doctrines birthed and heresies have arisen; all because this singular verse has been isolated from the rest of Scripture. Looking at the whole of Scripture, we quickly realize that the only unpardonable sin is the sin of rejecting the available pardon. The job of convicting us of our need for pardon belongs to the Holy Spirit. Ergo, rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit results in ultimately rejecting the available pardon which ultimately leads to damnation. So, instead of worrying about individual texts that may be tough to crack, it is important to look at them in light of the whole of Scripture.
- Leave the magnifying lens for interpreting the old testament in the hands of the new testament authors. We all know about those pesky old testament laws that seem to throw everyone off balance. We remember the dietary laws and the instructions against tattoos and shaving, etc. What do we make of those laws? Well, the right question to ask is "what do the new testament writers say about those things? In the case of forbidden foods, the new testament writers say no food is unclean. That is as direct as it gets. What about things like tattoos*? While there are no direct references to them in the new testament, we can find principles that can be applied. For example Paul teaches in Romans 12:2 that we should not be conformed to this world. So, if the desire to have a tattoo is driven by a desire to join the latest fashion fad, maybe it is wise to pause and think for a moment.
Knowing the Bible takes effort, but the result is well worth the effort. This is work every Christian should be busy doing.
*Tattoos would be covered in details in a separate article.
9 Comments
JekkersHawn · February 8, 2016 at 11:24 pm
Good day especially admin thechristianproject.com.
Useful materials you have now is a rarity!
white true religion shorts for men · March 7, 2016 at 4:45 pm
I am also writing to make you understand of the outstanding experience my cousin’s daughter gained browsing your web site. She came to understand several details, including what it’s like to have an incredible coaching mindset to make the rest completely fully understand chosen complicated topics. You undoubtedly surpassed our expected results. Thanks for presenting those warm and helpful, trusted, revealing and cool tips on that topic to Sandra.
cheap 2012 nike air max womens · March 7, 2016 at 5:10 pm
Great awesome things here. Iˇm very happy to see your post. Thank you a lot and i’m taking a look forward to touch you. Will you please drop me a mail?
cheap nike air griffey max 1 grey · March 7, 2016 at 7:15 pm
I am always looking online for articles that can help me. Thank you!
Nike Free billige sko · March 7, 2016 at 7:16 pm
This video post is really impressive, the noise feature and the picture quality of this tape post is in fact remarkable.
銉娿偆銈?鐪熴仯璧?銈广儖銉笺偒銉紎銉娿偆銈?銈炽儷銉嗐儍銉?榛?銉儑銈c兗銈箌銉娿偆銈?銈淬儷銉?銉戙兗銈兗 · March 8, 2016 at 9:07 pm
Hi there, I discovered your web site by means of Google whilst looking for a related topic, your site got here up, it seems to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
cheap air max nikes 2012 · March 9, 2016 at 2:39 am
I have to show my appreciation for your kindness for those who actually need help with in this concern. Your personal dedication to getting the message throughout appears to be incredibly useful and has usually allowed individuals just like me to reach their goals. Your own insightful help entails a great deal a person like me and extremely more to my office colleagues. Warm regards; from everyone of us.
shanresekt · March 10, 2016 at 10:17 am
Ich finde mich dieser Frage zurecht. Ist fertig, zu helfen.
shanresekt
asics gel indicate · March 12, 2016 at 5:37 am
I want to show my thanks to the writer for rescuing me from this type of crisis. Right after looking through the online world and getting suggestions which are not productive, I believed my life was well over. Existing minus the approaches to the issues you have resolved by way of your short article is a serious case, as well as those which may have badly affected my entire career if I had not come across your web page. Your own personal know-how and kindness in controlling every item was very helpful. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had not come upon such a solution like this. I can at this moment look forward to my future. Thanks so much for the specialized and effective guide. I won’t hesitate to refer your blog post to anybody who needs and wants direction about this area.
Comments are closed.