Imagine for a moment you are a visitor from outer space to the southern region of the United States. As you read the newspaper to understand human life forms, you read in their Saturday newspaper of yard sales all over the community. You are baffled as to how these humans can sell the earth out from under their dwelling place? You travel by locations described as flea markets. You pay a visit to see the blood-sucking ectoparasites, but there were none in the marketplace!
Why don’t we question our own language describing certain activities like an alien? Besides not being an alien, it is because we understand these usages are not literal but figurative, colorful, and descriptive. We know there are not literally over 700 horses under the hood of a racecar in NASCAR! We realize that a baby shower is not when a group of people comes together to see a baby taking a shower! We are aware that Labor Day is not a day when everybody works (Wouldn’t that be something to see!). We understand that the nearest star we call the sun neither rises nor sets.
If this sounds patronizing and overly simplistic it is. When others accuse Christians of interpreting the Bible literally as if we are from another world grappling with the English language, it is patronizing and patently a mischaracterization. Often we are snickered at as the gullible, flat earth thinkers stuck in some medieval mud hole spinning our wheels as if we are too dumb to know it or a group of non-achievers who cannot cope with life without a crutch. Truth is; we take the normal approach to Scripture like anyone reading, say, a newspaper, observing the rules of grammar.
If the writer is employing symbols or a figure of speech you interpret it as such, otherwise, it is taken literally. A literalist in reference to a Christian is obviously a derogatory term hurled at us by a world that rejects the Christian worldview derived from a natural approach to interpreting Scripture. Accusing us of taking everything as literal in the Scripture is simply not true! Our belief in God does not make us unintelligent or irrational beings incapable of knowing what is real or not real.
I think there is more to their attacks than simply questioning our intelligence and rational credibility (cf. Jn 10:20-21; Acts 26:24-25; 1 Cor 1:23; 1 Cor 2:13-14). Why be so ardent in attacking those who believe in “fairy tales?” Why do atheists argue so vehemently about a God who doesn’t exist? If God doesn’t exist why put forth all the effort? Why not simply consider us as loons; dismiss us, and move on? I suspect they fear not only what they don’t understand (cf. 1 Cor 2:14) which is also a natural inclination in all of us, but they also fear that what they don’t understand may be true though they would not admit to it. This fear is generated by unbelief. If they can blindly argue there is no God, that the Bible is full of contradictions and a book written by the design of men, and all Christians are hypocrites, they all sleep better at night thinking the whole thing is a sham. Or is it? Who is being duped?
Those outside of Christ fear that if we are right in our interpretation of Scripture then there is a God who holds every man accountable for every thought, word, and deed. That is not a good scenario if you enjoy sinning against God. If Christians are right then that would have to mean that God is real; Satan is real; we are all sinners; heaven is real, and so is hell. So naturally, there is a motive to believe that Christians are nothing more than a bunch of crazies. If the Bible is metaphorical, there is no viable existential threat. Knowing what I know, unbelief is something to fear (2 Cor 4:4; Jn 8:24). What if the Bible was the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice? What if the Bible was the absolute truth, objective truth, or propositional truth?
A buddy of mine and I once had a dialogue with
a chemist who earned a Ph.D.; he also claimed to be Jewish. He appeared more
than ready and eager to talk with anyone like us when he answered the door. His
philosophy of life had more holes than a sponge. Though he allowed us to share
Scripture with him, he was not spiritually receptive to the truth; it is hard
to fill a cup that is already full.
After going several rounds, I finally said to him (something to this effect),
“Sir, I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us, but it is obvious we both have separate worldviews contrary to one another. As I see it, we cannot both be right (I remember him nodding his head). If you are right about your worldview and we are wrong, then we all live and die like a dog and that’s it. All Chuck and I have done was deny ourselves of certain indulgences and pleasures of this life. However, if we are right about our worldview and you are wrong about yours, at the end of the day you will wind up in a very bad place apart from God, and we will be in heaven with God.” He agreed and appeared to mellow out somewhat.
After quoting John 14:6, and offering the gift of salvation, the conversation ended with his response, “I’m not interested.” My friend Chuck and I thanked him once again for his time and departed into the night baffled how one could be so intelligent and yet possess an irrational worldview (Of course he probably was thinking the same thing of us!). He was a very nice guy but full of himself. We both left sorrowful that this man missed the greatest opportunity to change his life forever. The offer of salvation was delivered to his very doorstep by God through us! Obviously, he didn’t see it that way. This man, who had all the answers to life, did not reject us but the Gospel message (cf. 1 Sam 8:7). Should he die in that spiritual condition he will quickly discover that he was wrong, dead wrong.
According to the Scriptures, the devil, the world system, and the flesh are not metaphorical but real and adversarial to the things of God. This serves as a reminder that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are engaged in a great spiritual conflict on three fronts (whether we like it or not) opposing the devil, the world system, and the sinful nature. Have you noticed lately, Christians are not the good guys and gals anymore? As time moves on, the Bible and Christians are increasingly becoming high-profile targets to the world.
Regardless of the threat posed to us because of our faith, we must stay the course of being responsible interpreters of the Bible by looking at any given verse of Scripture through the viewfinder of context and utilizing the historical/grammatical approach in ascertaining and understanding its primary meaning. This is the safest and most consistent method of interpreting the Scripture, giving the reader a basis or standard for challenging or affirming an interpretation.
The world will not embrace a
historical/grammatical interpretation of Scripture because they are blind to
the truth (2 Cor 4:4). If we are being faithful witnesses of the truth, we
often run into things like, “We are not supposed to judge” (Mt 7:1 is one of
the most misinterpreted verses in the Bible by lost and saved alike!), or “How
dare you to push your values on me!” And still my all-time favorite “put me down”
criticism is “That’s your interpretation!” You see the last one is
attacking the natural approach to Scripture (provided you are keeping the truth
in context).
I get it; nobody wants to be told they have a spiritual problem, or they are
doing something wrong or going to hell! I guess we need to remove all the
judges from the bench in civil and criminal proceedings…. I think it is more
than high time that believers stop the spiritual nonsense of embracing the
world’s interpretation of Scripture (cf. 1 Cor 2:14; Jn 3:19). We judge all the
time; Jesus gives us a solid guideline on judging (Jn 7:24). Try doing this
verse if there is a moratorium on judging (1 Cor 11:31-32); self-examination
avoids being disciplined! Quit judging yourself, and you will be asking for
trouble!
Moving on, once the primary meaning has been established, the proper application can be achieved that does justice to the context rather than ripping a passage of Scripture right out of its context like the world is so fond of doing. Though a verse may have more than one application, generally speaking, there is only one primary interpretation that is governed by its context. Prophetic passages usually carry a dual meaning regarding the present and the future.
Context is regarded as the sovereign of hermeneutics, which is defined by Bernard Ramm as “the science and art of Biblical interpretation” (Protestant Interpretation of the Scriptures). In other words, context will trump all in establishing the primary meaning of any text of Scripture. Observing and respecting the context limits spiritualizing the text and provides a better metric for measurement and accountability to a proven system that determines Divine intent through sound exegesis. This deters eisegesis or reading into the text something that is not there; cult groups delight in taking passages out of context. The old saying that you can prove anything from the Bible is true if the teaching of Scripture is lifted out of its context. Beware of those quoting from the Scriptures having another agenda other than the truth.
We avoid unnecessary error in ascertaining the truth of Scripture by keeping in mind the context surrounding a word, a phrase, a clause, a single verse, a passage, a chapter, or a book within the organic whole of the teaching of Scripture (Genesis to Malachi, Matthew to Revelation). If the plain sense makes sense, we should seek no other sense; otherwise, we wind up with some kind of nonsense!
We all have preconceived notions. Sometimes those feelings are at odds with the teaching of Scripture, and sometimes they are not. For instance, if you approach the Scriptures as fraught with contradictions, and I approach it as inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16), we will obviously see things differently. Listen, any time man gets his hands on anything, you have to consider the possibility of it being mishandled intentionally or unintentionally; we are, after all, inherently sinful; I get that even with so many translations of the Bible; they are not all equal! I believe it was the serpent in the Garden, the founder of all cult religions, who first twisted the meaning of God’s Word to a human; she bit into it, hook, line, and sinker, along with Adam (cf. 1 Tim 2:13-14; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22).
In spite of our sinful inclinations, God is sovereign and has preserved the revelation of Himself in written form for man (Mk 13:31) even though no one has arrogantly stepped forth and proclaimed to have in his or her possession the original autographs. Interestingly enough, the closest thing to an original manuscript that doesn’t look any worse for wear is the heavens. The message from above is still going strong as ever (Psa 19:1; Rom 1:20); it is as indefatigable as it gets (Psa 19:2-4, 5-6).
In spite of its preservation and pristine quality, it is still subject to misinterpretations; one man sees the evolutionary byproduct of the Big Bang theory while another sees the handiwork of God, the Intelligent Design theory. One may see the Creator as cold and distant as outer space itself, observing but leaving man to his own devices (deism). Other may see the warmth and closeness of the awesome power and creative genius of God.
I am of the opinion that if we had in our possession the original autographs or a spittin’ image of the originals rather than all the thousands of extant manuscripts of the Bible, there would still be conflict over interpretation. My prima facie evidence of this is that which is above us, the heavens! We can’t get our paws on this manuscript of God, but it has been subject to a host of interpretations. Rather than worshiping and serving the Creator, mankind turned to creation itself (Rom 1:21-22, 23-24, 25). Genuine faith sees general revelation (the universe) and specific revelation (the Bible) as God revealing Himself to man through His Word. The origin and meaning of life are not still lingering to be discovered in the immense dark desert of outer space.
The heavens declare that God exists and that
He is incredibly powerful, knowledgeable, and wise. Honed out of this lifeless
dark and cold universe of black and white is the only warm, friendly, and
inviting place not hostile to human life, earth! This is where the Word takes
it a step further to reveal to us more specifically the God behind the
awe-inspiring universe and the world in which we live.
The origin of life is found in Jesus Christ (Jn 1:3; 14:6; Col 1:16-17; Heb 1:3)! We need to go no further into space to discover the origin of life. The purpose of life should not be driven by feelings of insignificance being surrounded by a seemingly infinite universe. The answers are found in the Book, not somewhere in outer space! The most challenging problem with interpreting the Bible among believers is failing to read it and read it responsibly! Failing to read and heed the Scripture is perilous to a non-believer, but for the believer, it is an unloving act toward God, and it shows with so many command-free saints (cf. Jn 14:15).
Three manuscripts are offered to the world from God’s library. Two are seen, and one is read. God reveals Himself by general revelation (the world around us) and specific revelation (the Bible). The third manuscript is a work in progress in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ (in obedience to His Word). Have you ever considered that you just might be the only Jesus someone sees in your world, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27)?
Christlikeness is according to the Book (Ps 40:6-8; Heb 10:5-7), not according to how we define it. We are in desperate need of Christlike believers in an age of apostasy that is ramping up to a Churchless world as a result of the rapture. Now more than ever it is time for every follower of Jesus Christ to be responsible interpreters of God’s library as a work of God to be seen by the world (2 Pet 3:18; Col 1:9; Acts 1:8; Mk 16:15; Mt 5:14-16), a walking manuscript of Christlikeness in context with the truth of the Word and the “speech” of the heavens (Psa 19:2-3), declaring the glory of God!
As part of God’s library and an interpreter of
it, you will be ignored, misread, quoted out of context, and mistreated (Jn
15:20; 2 Tim 3:12). That should come as no surprise (cf. Mt 16:24, “take
up his cross,” emphasis mine); God’s library reveals God to
man. As interpreters of God’s library, we see the world around us from a
biblical perspective. We practice the grammatical/historical approach to
Scripture and ascertain, acknowledge, and apply the truth in the daily routines
of life in the context of His truth until He comes! As a living manuscript in
God’s library, are you revealing God to man? Do God’s will; this is being like
Christ (Heb 10:7). <><
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