Sunday, March 21, 2010

Bible Interpretation



While reading over several Christian blogs yesterday, I noticed that there were many that seemed uncertain about how to interpret God’s Word. 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”. So why do we as Believer’s seem to be so confused when we witness to the world about what God is trying to tell us in His Holy Scriptures?


How can a verse in our Bible have so many meanings and interpretations? The Apostle Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:16, said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…”. So how can we continue to witness to the world when we can not agree upon what the Word of God really means. There is only one TRUTH that comes from the Word of God and there are no contradictions!

When interpreting scripture from the Bible we must have a common method of doing so. The word “method” comes for the Greek word methods, which literally means “a way or path of transit. Methodology in Bible study is therefore concerned with “the proper path to be taken in order to arrive at Scriptural truth.” There should be only one interpretation of any given verse in the Bible. Just think of how the world would view Christianity if we could all agree upon what the Word of God is saying to us.

I would prayerfully suggest that you read the article “Rightly Interpreting the Bible” that was written by Ron Rhodes. It is very enlightening and well written.

11 comments:

Sonny Davis said...

Hey Lloyd,

Great post here and it definitely strikes a chord. I'm very fond of something John MacArthur says about the subject. He exclaims his disdain for hearing people say "this verse means this TO ME". He states that we should be more concerned with "what GOD actually means." (My paraphrase)

Thank God for truth!

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

Very true Sonny, John MacArthur’s wisdom was from God for such discernment.

We need to let the Holy Spirit (Spirit of Truth) have a chance to interpret the Word of God instead of men, churches or denominations. This is why there is so much confusion anymore in what God's Word really is saying because men interpret it to fit into their own "Religious Believes".

Thank you so much for the visit and comment. God bless, Lloyd

Lucy said...

Hi Lloyd,

I'm glad you liked my post.Thank you for following me.

Lucy

IanH said...

Lloyd, great blog. It will take me a while to get through it. Thanks for the input!

Anonymous said...

Ron Rhodes is a very good author.
Thanks for the book suggestion.

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

Thank you very much Lucy, IanH, and Ron for visiting my blog and your comments.

Ron Rhodes has written several books on the "cults" and other chritstian topics which he talks about on his web page: http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/index.html

Cindy said...

Hi Lloyd,

Thanks for stopping by my blog and following it. I welcome all comments and am very humbled that anyone actually reads my blog!

Your post is so appropriate for this time that we are living in. All Scripture is God-breathed but people tend to want to interpret the Bible to their advantage don't they, and they toss out what they don't want. And yes, I agree that Christianity would be viewed much differently if we did agree on the interpretation of the Word.

Dawn Jenkins said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such a sweet comment. I think this is such a good post. I believe the "church" has changed God's Word to appease the multitudes. However, a good friend of mine says the Word of God will never contradict itself. Truth is truth. When God says to love your enemies, you love. When God says to forgive, you forgive. Feelings are feelings, but Truth is Truth.

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

I agree with you up to a point. Some churches are trying very hard to do God's will. It is when a church decides to make "Man" the head of the church instead of the Lord Jesus Christ, is when the trouble starts. Man then makes the Word of God suit whatever doctine that fits into "his" religious believes. That is why we have so many denominations and so many Christian Cults.

God's blessings, Lloyd

Tracy Nunes said...

I will definitely look into getting this book. Thank you for standing firm for the Truth, even when it is hard, even when others don't understand. The more we share His truth on the Net, the better.

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

Thanks so much Tracy for your visit and comments. There is only one Truth in reading God's Word. The problem is when we, as Christians, try to interprete God's Word without His help. And you are right, we need to share the Truth of God's Word to as many lost souls as possible, and the internet helps do that. God bless, Lloyd