L e s s o n T h r e e R u l e s f o r I n t e r p r e t i n g T h e B i b l e In week one we discussed How to Read the Bible for All it s Worth and last week we looked at Bible Study Tools. Having the right tools is important to a successful study of the Bible but it is critical that we understand certain rules that must guide us in our study of the Bible. Read 2 Timothy 2:15. Paul encourages Timothy to handle the word of God in what manner? Correctly. The word for correctly handle (NIV) means to cut a line straight. Example: if you are cutting sheetrock you want to cut the line straight as possible. Paul is telling Timothy that when it comes to the Word of God, you must stay the line of correct interpretation without veering to the right or left of that line. Rules for interpreting the Bible are known as Hermeneutics. Tim Lahaye, in his book, How to Study the Bible For Yourself defines hermeneutics as, a careful method of Bible Study that ensures that the message God intended to communicate is accurately understood by man. Consider the monumental task of communicating the thoughts of an infinite God who knows everything about everything to his creation, mankind, who has only limited amounts of intuitive knowledge. The problem is further complicated because man speaks various languages so God s Word, spoken in basically two languages then must be translated into the various other languages of mankind. The communication process is further complicated in that words, phrases and customs have changed dramatically during the 3500 years since God first began revealing His mind and will to man in a written record. Therefore there must be some system devised to guarantee that what God said and meant so long ago in a different language to a different culture is what we understand these writings to mean. This system is known as hermeneutics. Consider the chart on the next page. Page 1
The mind of an Infinite and omniscient God Prophets, Priests, and Apostles with Manuscript Copies Hebrew and Greek Parchments English Translations Human Minds with limited knowledge of ancient cultures and societies. The following rules should guide you as you seek to not only read and study the Bible but to correctly handle the word of truth. If two guys are hanging out and a really pretty girl passes by and one guys says to the other, What a fox what does the guy mean? Now if the two guys are talking business and trying to put a deal together and they are negotiating with a shrewd business person and one guys says to the other, What a fox what does he mean? Now if the two are out hunting and one guys says to the other guys, What a fox what does he now mean? What if your friend says to you, he sure got my goat what does he mean? Did the person make your friend mad or did he take possession of your friends goat? Now if your friend says to your, I got it what does he mean? Is he telling you he understands what you are saying or does he possess something that you might be in need of? Page 2
If you read in the newspaper the headline, Tigers Massacre Indians, how will you interpret this headline? It could mean: Tigers mauled people in India The Detroit Tigers won a game by a large margin over the Cleveland Indians Tigers got out of the zoo and mauled Native Americans You must read the story to know what the headline means. Rule #1- What is the A.I. M.? A.I.M. stands for Authors Intended Meaning. The author s intended meaning must be your aim in Bible study. Many Christians gather for Bible studies, read the text and ask the questions, What does this text mean to you? Frankly, it doesn t matter what the text means to you, it matters what the author intended for it to mean. Our personal interpretation, opinion or hypothesis is almost completely irrelevant. If you are in a science class and you are told to explain E=MC 2 (Einstein s Theory of Relativity) and you told the science teacher that what it means to you is that everyone matters to Christ exponentially how would the teacher likely react? Your answer is theologically correct but it s certainly not what Einstein intended to communicate when he wrote the equation. Everyday our lives depend on understanding what other people intend to communicate. How long would you hold your job if you took your bosses directions and decided what they mean to you and did your job, not based on what he intended to communicate but based on what you decide his directives mean to you? If you were talking to the apostle Paul and said, Hey Paul, this is what I got out of what you wrote. Paul would say, OK, but that is not what I meant when I wrote it. It doesn t matter what it means to you. The only thing that matters is what Paul intended it to mean. So the first rule is forget about what it means to you and figure out what the author intended to communicate. Page 3
Rule #2 Context is King There is nothing more important in hermeneutics than understanding that Context is King. We make a lot of interpretation errors by jerking passages out of context. We must know what comes before the verse and what comes after it. We also need to know the background and the culture of the setting. Passages such as Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength are often quoted out of context and shared with someone with the good intention of encouraging the person, but the context of the passage simply isn t a universal promise to all Christians that you can do everything because you are a Christian. Another often quoted passage is Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Wonderful verse except that just because God made a specific promise to an OT prophet under the OT dispensation doesn t mean that you can claim that promise or offer that promise to someone who is bummed and down. You may disillusion someone. Maybe God doesn t have plans to prosper that person. Many believers won t prosper, they will suffer. 1 Chronicles If my people will humble themselves.i will heal their nation. Unless you are the nation of Israel under the OT covenant God hasn t promised your country to bless you. This isn t promised to the USA. We don t like when people take our words out of context so don t do it with others and with God s Word. The best rule when it comes to context is before you go pulling a verse out of a paragraph or a book of the Bible, read the whole book several times to really understand that verse in the context of the entire setting of the book. Apply the first rule of A.I.M. A verse such as 1 Timothy 1:13, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent, has to be carefully studied, the A.I.M. must be determined by studying the whole book, the historical setting of the letter, the cultural background and the author s purpose in writing the book or letter. Meaning is not in Words. It is not in sentences. It is in Paragraphs. Words and sentences have no meaning outside of the paragraphs and chapters. Page 4
Where do you find the material to understand the history and the background of the passages? www.icrtransform.com www.biblestudytools.net Rule #3 Take the Bible Literally You will rarely go wrong in Bible Study if you first try to interpret a section of scripture literally. Don t try to spiritualize the Bible. Take it literally unless you are studying a passage that clearly is not meant to be taken literally. When the Bible tells us the way something happened in the past, accept that to be the way it happened. Don t try to spiritualize the parting of the Red Sea or Jesus walking on water. Rule #4 Don t Overlook the importance of the original meaning of words A good Bible Dictionary and a simple Greek Word meanings reference book are essential tools. Often the author s indented meaning will be unveiled through studying the meaning of the key words of the passage. A good online tool is the Online Net Bible found at www.bible.org [DQ] Romans 3:19-26 What are some of the important words in this section that one would want to further explore their meaning to unlock Paul s intended meaning? Accountable, declared righteous, observing, righteousness, justification, redemption. Rule #5 Study a passage using several reliable translations You may not own several translations but on the suggested websites, you ll find dozens of various translations. This rule is very helpful. Page 5
Rule #6 Read all the Bible has to say on a subject before drawing a conclusion. While the Bible tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, we also need to be quick to read and slow to form opinions. Don t approach the Bible with a foregone conclusion that you are looking for verses in the Bible to support your opinions. Let the Bible form your opinions instead of your opinions clouding your interpretation of the Bible. Example John 3:16 is a great verse and one can conclude by reading only that verse that the only thing one must do is believe in Jesus to be saved. But it is not all the Bible teaches on the subject of salvation. Other verses such as Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21 and James 2 must be considered. Rule #7 The Bible will never contradict itself. Do not interpret a challenging passage of Scripture in such a way as to contradict clear Bible doctrine. Example: In Romans 4:2-5 Paul says that Abraham was not justified by works but James 2:21 says that Abraham was justified by works. How can we properly interpret these passages which seem at first glance to contradict each other? Page 6
Class Exercise As a group discuss the following questions. A person reads Matthew 5:44 where Jesus commands His followers to love their enemies and says, Well, I just can t do that. There s no way I can feel all warm and fuzzy toward my enemies. How could a little word study help in this instance? A person reads John 3:16 and decides that all he needs to do to be saved is believe in Jesus. Then he finds 1 Peter 3:21 and decides that all he needs to do to be saved is to be baptized in water. Next he focuses on Romans 10:10 and decides that confession is all that s necessary. Finally he throws up his hands and says, I can t figure out what God wants me to do! What fundamental mistake is he making in Bible study? And what is the danger of isolating one or two verses and forgetting everything else the Bible teaches on a subject? Perhaps you are reading along and come to Psalm 51:5, which says, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. You can think of several possible explanations for this verse, but you wonder if it means that we inherit our parent s sins. Before reaching a conclusion, however, you decide to see what else the Bible has to say. For example, what do you discover if you read Ezekiel 18:20, which is a very plain passage? And what did Jesus say about the innocence and purity of children in such verses as Matthew 18:10 and 19:14? And does Romans 5:12 say that death spread to all men because all sinned, or because all inherited Adam s sin? Finally, does 2 Corinthians 5:10 say that we ll be judged according to what we ve done or what others have done? To summarize, should we ever interpret a challenging passage in such a way as to conflict with plain teaching? Page 7