To Ou r Be l i e f s Ab o u t Go d (1)

Lesson 1 How To APPLY a PASSAGE To Ou r Be l i e f s Ab o u t Go d (1) To begin: We should ask, Does the passage concern a specific topic? ; Does the passage relate to our beliefs about God and His dealings with man and the universe? If so, the passage that has been interpreted can next be applied to our beliefs. As we try to understand what God wants us to do in our day-to-day lives, we must first know what God wants us to believe. Belief precedes action. We must have a correct understanding of doctrines about God (theology) as we do His will. We are calling the quest to understand the doctrines of the Bible theological interpretation. As we are defining the process, theological interpretation has to do with discovering what the Bible teaches about Bible topics, such as God, Christ, and the church. Sometimes our study does not begin with a desire to understand a particular verse, but with a question such as What does the Bible teach about the Holy Spirit? At other times we may be reading a passage and come upon a subject that we would like to examine in detail. How can we apply the Bible to answer our questions? What principles should guide us as we seek to learn Bible truths for people today? The underlying assumption of this lesson is that what was true in Bible times is still true today, so what New Testament Christians believed and taught is what we must believe and teach. How do we arrive at conclusions concerning what the early Christians believed and taught? In this lesson and the one that follows, we will consider four suggestions that we can follow to learn about different Bible topics. LOOK FOR THE OBVIOUS MEANING AND APPLICATION The first suggestion for us to follow is to seek the plain meaning of each passage on a subject. We should always emphasize what the Bible obviously teaches. Looking for the obvious meaning rules out looking for hidden meanings, or seeking allegorical or typological meanings. While there may be some value in considering possible types and allegories or speculating about what a writer may have been hinting at in a passage, the first and most important rule in application is simply to understand and emphasize what the text says and means on the surface! If we understand and believe the plain teachings of the Scriptures, we can be sure that we know enough to be saved. Topic 1: The Deity and Humanity of Jesus The Bible obviously teaches that Jesus was, and is, the Son of God (Matthew 16:16; Mark 1:1; John 10:33 36). It also teaches that He was a man (Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy :5). How can both of those facts be true? How can one person be both divine and human? The difficulty of understanding the concept that Jesus was the Word who was God (John 1:1) but who became flesh (John 1:14) is obvious, since the subject was the center of controversy for centuries in the early church. Scholars continue to wrestle with the concept. Courses in systematic theology spend hours of class time trying to define how Jesus could be both God and man; and heretical teachers still 1

arise, teaching doctrines that deny either Christ s divinity or His humanity. What should the average Bible student or teacher believe or teach about such a difficult doctrine? Let us look for the obvious meaning and emphasize that meaning. If we ask, What does the Bible teach about Jesus? we must answer, It teaches that He was both God and man! Do we have to understand how one person could be both divine and human? Do we have to be able to explain to the satisfaction of everyone the mystery of the incarnation? No! All we have to do is believe and proclaim what the Bible obviously teaches about Jesus Christ! Theological speculation is not our objective. Let us get the plain meaning of the doctrine into our minds and hold onto it. Topic : Marriage, Divorce, And Remarriage To use another example, let us ask what the Bible teaches about marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Several Bible passages provide information on the subject, and all should be considered. However, even after each one has been carefully interpreted and the teachings of each have been combined, all our questions on the topic may not be answered. Evidence for the difficulties involved in applying the teachings of the passages about marriage and divorce is found in the fact that Christians even scholars often reach differing conclusions about some of the implications of those passages. What are we as interpreters to do in such a case? We can observe the rule Look for the obvious meaning, and then we can emphasize that plain meaning in our teaching and practice. To illustrate that truth, consider Matthew 19:3 9, one of the key passages on the subject of marriage, divorce, and remarriage: Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all? And He answered and said, Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away? He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. The part of the passage that creates controversy is verse 9, which says,... whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. However, the emphasis of the passage is found earlier. Basically, Jesus was teaching that God never intended for a man and his wife to divorce; marriage is for a lifetime! That truth is the truth we should emphasize when we discuss the subject of marriage and divorce, whatever conclusions we reach about divorce and remarriage! If, in fact, we do believe and teach and practice the obvious meaning of this passage (and other passages confirm the truth taught in it), then we personally will not have to worry about what we are permitted to do with regard to remarriage after divorce, since we will never get divorced! Topic 3: The Christian And Government Authorities As another example, consider what the New Testament teaches about the Christian and government authorities. Romans 13:1 says, Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. This passage is plain and accords with other passages (see, for instance, 1 Peter :13 15). The teaching is obvious: Christians are to obey authorities, to be submissive to the government under which they live. All kinds of questions can be asked about the Christian s relationship to government. The Bible teaches that there is at least one exception to this biblical rule: We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:9). However, other questions about unjust laws and unjust wars may still remain. If they do, we must remember to emphasize the obvious truth: Christians, as a rule, are to obey civil authorities. We cannot become so concerned about possible exceptions that we forget the rule. Summary These three examples should make the point clear. As we study the Bible and try to teach it,

we can either focus on what the Bible obviously teaches or emphasize what is unclear in the Scriptures. One who emphasizes doctrines that are not clearly taught may be obsessed with disputes and arguments over words (1 Timothy 6:4; KJV; see also Timothy :16, 3). Therefore, the first rule in seeking to understand what we need to believe and teach is simply to look for, and emphasize, the obvious meaning! CONSIDER THE THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF SCRIPTURE The second suggestion regarding theological interpretation is to notice any implications in the passages on a subject. Sometimes the Bible teaches truth directly and obviously, as, for instance, when it says that God is love (1 John 4:8). However, much of the Bible s theological doctrines are taught indirectly; they are implied rather than plainly stated. As interpreters, therefore, we need to become aware of the theological implication(s) of any passage we are studying. The Need to Consider Implications Critics of traditional interpretative methods sometimes argue that the Bible is not a set of propositions, 1 but a love letter (or collection of love letters) from God to man. From this idea, they argue that we do the Bible a disservice if we try to reduce its teachings to a set of propositions. There is some truth in what they say. Certainly, the Bible does not consist mainly of propositions; undoubtedly, too, it is a book given to us because of God s love in order to communicate that love to us. It is also true that we should not reduce the Bible to a set of propositions which must be accepted. However, the idea that deriving propositions from biblical teachings is somehow bad is a false conclusion. Any time we read (or hear) anything, we are likely to reach conclusions consisting of propositions from what we have read (or heard). 3 If we read a headline in the newspaper 1 A proposition may be defined as a plain statement of fact (or alleged fact) that is either true or false. The argument of the critics is inconsistent: They set forth a proposition to prove that propositions are wrong: It is wrong to state truth in a propositional form is itself a proposition. 3 Whether or not we voice our conclusions, human bethat says Thousands Riot in Nation s Capitol Protesting New Tax, we are justified in saying that the headline implies that many in the country are dissatisfied with the new tax. When we communicate to others, we often depend on their understanding the implications of what we say. In a similar way, the Bible often teaches the truth about Bible subjects by implication rather than by direct statements. For example, we say that one of the characteristics of God is omnipresence (being present everywhere). However, the Bible nowhere states that truth in those exact terms. What we do find in the Bible is the psalmist saying to God, Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there (Psalm 139:7, 8). From these verses (and others like them), we conclude that God is omnipresent because that is what the writer implied. Theological implications abound in biblical writings. Paul began 1 Corinthians with these words: Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:1 3). This passage provides the historical background for all that follows. Paul plainly stated that he was writing a letter to the church at Corinth, but let us notice some of the truths implied (or stated) in his opening sentences: 1. Paul was an apostle.. A scriptural designation for the church is church of God. 3. Those who are in the church are those who have been sanctified. 4. Christians have been sanctified and therefore can be called saints. 5. Christians have been called (or elected ; see Peter 1:10; KJV). 6. Christians call on the name of the Lord. 7. Jesus is Lord and Christ. 8. God is a Father to Christians. ings are so constructed that what we hear and experience creates proposition-like conclusions in our minds. It is unrealistic to say that we should not study the Bible in order to develop propositions about God, since we will probably do so unintentionally as we read. 3

To take note of these theological implications is not our first or only responsibility as interpreters. Our first responsibility as interpreters is actually threefold: to understand the passage in its own context, to see how it relates to the book in which it is found, and to determine what the first readers would have gotten from it. However, we cannot help but notice such theological facts as those listed when we interpret such a passage. We should notice them! We read the Bible to understand truths about God and His dealings with man; therefore, we are constantly and consciously to seek the theological implications of what we read. When we study the Bible with eyes and ears open to its implications, we learn theological truths truths that can be stated as propositions, and truths that we might otherwise miss. Example: Jesus Encounter With the Adulterous Woman in John 8 An example can be seen in Jesus encounter with the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1 11. The adulterous woman was taken to Jesus. Jesus critics asked whether she should be stoned, in keeping with the Law. Jesus answered, Let him who is without sin cast the first stone (John 8:7; paraphrased). Jesus critics then went away, and Jesus said to the woman, Go, and sin no more (John 8:11b; KJV). Among other things, this story certainly teaches that (1) Jesus loves and forgives sinners and that () Jesus does not condone sin. In fact, most of what we believe to be true about the character of Jesus about His love and compassion, for instance we know because the stories about Jesus in the Gospels imply that He has those characteristics. Example: The Three Parables in Luke 15 As another example, let us consider the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son in Luke 15. Jesus presented these parables in response to the criticism that He received sinners and ate with them (Luke 15:1, ). Obviously, Jesus responded indirectly to the criticism by showing in the parables how much God wants sinners to repent and how He rejoices when they do. The point of these parables is that Jesus was justified in receiving sinners and eating with them because, in doing so, He reflected God s love and concern for sinners. In contrast, the parables imply that Jesus critics (like the elder son in Luke 15) had a wrong attitude toward sinners. The parables imply that God loves sinners! Example: Obeying Christ in Hebrews 5:8, 9 A third example is provided by Hebrews 5:8, 9: Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. This passage says that Christ is the Savior, and it provides further information concerning whom He saves: He saves all those who obey Him. The implication, therefore, is that to be saved by Christ, we must obey Him. While the primary purpose of the passage is not to teach that truth, the passage implies it. Since the truth does not conflict with any doctrine found elsewhere in the Bible, we can accept as a biblical doctrine the fact that obedience is necessary to be saved. Summary The obvious point is that the interpreter should be studying the Bible constantly, looking for and considering the theological implications of what the texts say. The Bible makes some direct statements about Bible subjects. However, the Bible is not made up only of laws or propositional statements, but also of history, biography, narrative, poetry, epistles, prophecy, apocalyptic literature, and wisdom literature. The nature of the Bible requires us to learn doctrinal truths here a little and there a little, from what various Scriptures imply. Of course, there are dangers involved in seeking the theological implications of the Scriptures. One danger is that we may see implications which are not really present. Some think that, since John 3:16 and other passages teach salvation by faith, the New Testament implies that we are saved by faith only. However, the faith passages imply no such thing, and the Bible elsewhere teaches that we must obey to be saved. Another danger is that we may think that a passage implies more than it does. In the case of the headline about rioting spoken of above, one would not be justified, on the evidence of the headline alone, in concluding that everyone in the country was against the new tax. First Co rinthians 1:1, says, 4

Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. This text tells us that Paul was an apostle, but it says nothing about who else might be called an apostle. How can we guard against the danger of misusing the implications of the Scriptures? First, we must reach conclusions which are based only on evidence. Second, we must compare any conclusion about what one Scripture implies to what the Bible teaches elsewhere. If, by doing that, we can confirm our conclusion, then we can accept the implication we see in the passage. CONCLUSION The two suggestions given in this lesson may seem to be contradictory. One says, Look for the obvious meaning in a passage or on a subject ; the other, Consider the theological implications of a Scripture on a subject. Actually, the two ideas complement one another. We need to notice what a passage plainly says; then we can take note of what it implies. By doing both things persistently, diligently, and prayerfully, we will, with God s help, reach valid conclusions on what the Bible teaches on most subjects. We will certainly understand what God wants us to believe and do in order to be saved. Coy Roper Versions of the Bible Used in This Study AB Amplified Bible ESV English Standard Version KJV King James Version NASB New American Standard Bible NEB New English Bible NIV New International Version NLT New Living Translation NRSV New Revised Standard Version Phillips The New Testament in Modern English, paraphrase by J. B. Phillips RSV Revised Standard Version TEV Today s English Version Copyright, 009 by Truth for Today ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 5