Christian Podcast Central
This week, we’re going to be talking about some general rules for Biblical interpretation. These rules apply to any part of scripture you may be reading, no matter how long you have been studying the Bible or if this is your first time unfolding its pages. Now, it’s safe to say that when you crack open the Bible, you’ll be reading from one of the 66 books of the Bible. Now, each book is a separate section of literature that is contained within itself. But one thing that a lot of people don’t know is that the chapters and verses are not Divinely ordained (put there by God, Himself). In fact, the chapters and verses were introduced into the text at around 1200 A.D. – much, MUCH later in church history compared to when the books were originally written. Now, I only bring this up to say that when you are reading the Bible, and you come to the end of a chapter and the story hasn’t actually stopped yet or if you feel like there is more to come, go ahead and keep reading. There’s nothing sacred about the chapter or verse divisions within the text… with the exception of the Book of Psalms. (We’ll save Psalms & poetry for another podcast).
So, here are five general rules to follow whenever and wherever you’re reading the Bible: First off, remember that the Bible is completely and totally from God. So, before you start reading, prayerfully ask Him to help you learn what it is He has for you that day, that you would grow in your understanding and into a deeper relationship with Jesus through the Scripture. I promise, as you ask the Holy Spirit to help you in this, He will!
OK… here are the five points:
- Remember: the Author has a point that He wants to share with you. (Ask yourself, “What is that point in these particular verses?”) Too many times, people think that the Bible is too difficult to read and are intimidated. But if you approach it with the question of “what’s the point?” then you will find that you will be able to understand the passages quite easy. Don’t be afraid to go after it!
- The Analogy of Scripture: The best interpreter of the Bible IS the Bible. A lot of times, the Bible uses analogies or figures of speech or phrases consistently. So, the best way to understand one of these analogies or turns of phrase is to keep reading and discovering the other contexts in which the authors use those phrases or analogies. An example:
John 7:37-39 …Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him…)
So, now throughout Scripture, we know that when the phrase “Living water is used, we know that it’s a pretty safe bet that the author is referring to the Holy Spirit.
- A Literal Interpretation. Now, there are two ways to approach the words “Literal Interpretation”. One is with a period and the other is with a question mark. As Christians, we believe that the Bible is ALWAYS truthful… sometimes figurative, but ALWAYS full of truth. We don’t mean that you always take each word from the Bible and follow it literally. An example:
Matthew 5:30 …if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
The fact that I still have both of my hands does not mean that I am disobedient to Jesus’ instructions, but rather that I understand the truth about how deadly sin is, and how fast and far I should be running away from it. You see, Jesus wasn’t being literal in this case, but He was speaking the truth.
- Original Meaning (the text’s context) and Modern Application (draws US into the story). In other words, when the passage was originally written, it was for a specific purpose, typically written for a specific person or group of people at a specific time in their lives.
John 6:5-6 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
Now, the original meaning of this passage was that Jesus was talking directly and specifically to Philip. He was testing Philip in order to strengthen his faith. There is also a greater, modern application that we can draw from it today. This happens all throughout the Bible. So, we can see that while Jesus was testing Philip’s faith in order to meet the needs of others, I can also see that today, Jesus tests my faith in order to serve others as well. Remember: there is only one original meaning for the passage in the Bible, but there are thousands of modern applications for each section.
- Always look for God. He is the REAL HERO of the story. The Bible is full of great men who did great things. But each and every one of them was a sinner with flaws. But not God. He is the real hero throughout Scripture. Ask, “What is God doing throughout the passage and how do people respond to Him?” When you start to accurately apply these two questions, it will enliven your Bible reading to no end!
For more engaging and encouraging podcasts and videos, visit the E-Squared Media Network at www.e2medianetwork.com
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In