Agape
Fellowship
In this series of articles I would like to approach our view of the Bible, how we may inadvertently consider it to have error, and the proper way to consider understanding or interpreting the Holy Scriptures. First let us consider the 'plain meaning of Scripture' and why this concept is so important. Many times people seek 'spiritual' or hidden meanings in the Scripture without first examining the simple, plain understanding of what is stated. I have stated many times, "God says what He means and He means what He says."
The 'plain meaning of Scripture' is the place to begin. We must receive what it states at face value. Any understanding or doctrine that contradicts this meaning is error. We must not read anything into the plain meaning or remove any idea from the plain meaning (Revelation 22:18-19). Beyond this 'plain meaning of Scripture' there is devotional understanding that we may gain as well as prophetic insight from these same Scripture passages. More about this in my next article.
When we consider the place of the Scriptures (the Bible) in our lives, there are several approaches that we may consider. According to John 16:13, the followers of Jesus must be Holy Spirit based. II Timothy 3:16 states that the Scriptures are God-breathed. The Bible's claim about itself is that it is the work of the breath, or Spirit, of God. To take this approach at face value requires faith. It is impossible to please God without faith ( Hebrews 11:6). Is there more to it than simple faith or is simple faith enough?
The approach of many (generally unbelievers - those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as their personal savior) is that the Bible contains stories from long ago and they may not be relevant today. Those who do not know Christ do not exercise faith in a literature that would compel them to pursue Him.
There are those who liberally accept that the Bible contains the Word of God, but it is not the Word of God. This view accepts that there are portions of the Bible that are God-breathed, but not the whole book. They are at liberty to pick and choose what is truth and what is not. They base their lives on this approach so that they may choose not to believe issues that may cause them discomfort. They are also free to state what doctrines that they believe and which ones they do not believe. In fact, they may determine their own doctrines before approaching the Bible and from their point of view accept and reject any and all doctrines as it suits them.
As Christians, we state that we believe that the whole Bible is the Word of God (God-breathed). What does this phrase really mean? It means that we believe that every doctrine, every fact, every point of history, and every scientific issue is stated correctly and that God has made no errors. If there is any difference between what the Bible states and what we believe that science, history, or any other view of man states to be true, then we must accept in faith what God says through His Word, the Bible. This is to state that the Bible is inerrant. To state that the science of man has made enough progress to disprove Bible statements is to state disbelief in the Word of God.
Two of the prior approaches to the Scriptures are honest but obviously reject the fact that all Scripture is God-breathed. The third view is honest and believes totally in the Scriptures. There is another approach that states that the Bible is the Word of God, but it can be interpreted to agree with one's own doctrine. This approach is tricky because the proponents of this view use many phrases and terms as if they believe the whole of the Bible, but in fact they do not. These people are either deceived or desire to deceive others. They are dishonest but probably don't know it.
There are times when all of us read two passages of Scripture and see what to us is an apparent contradiction. I have heard many men of God state that they choose one doctrine based upon the fact that one passage is more important than another. They have excluded a passage of Scripture as being not relevant or not true. They have indirectly stated that the Bible contains the Word of God but that it is not the Word of God. If it is the Word of God then every statement and every passage are absolutely true. To think that any passage, however small, can be disregarded is to state that the Bible is not fully the Word of God. The entire Bible is either the Word of God, God-breathed; or one believes that there is error in the Bible.
The Christian approaches apparent contradictions in the Bible in a totally different way. First, by standing in faith that every word is correct and that God has no contradictions causes one to enquire more fully into what God is really saying than a person who chooses one passage over another for any reason. A superficial rendering of any passage may cause one to think that the are discrepancies, but there are times when a deeper search may still leave one in doubt, if he does not stand in faith in God and His Word.
Let us consider two examples. These are not hypothetical, but are discussed in Christian circles today. This was not really much of an issue in the church until the latter part of the twentieth century. Many of the values of the church have first been issues in society that took a stand against the church's point of view. Then the church moved to a place of agreeing with the socially accepted value; first a little, then a little more, finally there is no discernable difference between the world's view and the church's view. This is the case in both of these issues; but let us approach them from a biblical viewpoint. The first is the thorny issue of marriage and divorce. God is the author and designer of marriage as is testified in Genesis 2:24. The reason for a man to leave his father and mother is to be joined with a wife. This is the case from the beginning..
In Deuteronomy 24:1 divorce is granted under the Law of Moses for men, in general, but excluded for priests in Leviticus 21:7 . God sets a higher standard for priests, those who minister personally to Him because, as Scripture states, a priest is to be holy. Jesus stated in Mark 10:6 that the reason for divorce appearing in the Law was the hardness of men's hearts. In other words, sin. Jesus goes on to say that God's purpose in the beginning was not to consider divorce. And, when God joins people together, man should not separate, or divorce (Mark 9:12). Jesus goes on to state (Mark 10:12) that remarriage after divorce is adultery and this is verified in Luke 16:18 and Matthew 19:9. Jesus stated that divorce was not part of the implementation of marriage in the beginning (Genesis 2). The Father states his stance on divorce once in Malachi 2:16 (He hates divorce) and never changes His position.
Now, after the Scripture is so clear on this subject, men do today what they did in the time of Moses; their hearts become hard and they look for a loophole in the law so that they can have divorces and thereby commit adultery or cause others to commit adultery. They interpret various Scriptures to state that divorce is permitted and ignore the clear statement of other Scriptures. Are these Scriptures contradictory? When I read in I Corinthians 7:10-16 that when the unbelieving partner leaves, one should let him or her go, if I am to interpret this separation as divorce, then I introduce contradiction into the Scriptures. It is clearly stated earlier in this passage that divorce is not an option.
This example shows us how God has made His position on a subject very clear and yet social pressures cause many to adjust their understanding of God's position and then justify their position. The Bible is a book that is meant to be read and understood by means of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. To be honest, we should not approach it with our own pet beliefs and try to justify them with proof-texts. Many do this without realizing that they are forcing their opinions upon the Scripture and thereby using the Bible to support their own doctrines even though it may state the opposite.
Another example of how our 'social correctness' has twisted our understanding of the Scriptures is the subject of the place of women in ministry. Now I realize that this is a thorny topic, but it shouldn't be, if we trust the Bible. Now I am a fond supporter of women and I am certainly pleased that God designed and brought forth a complementary gender. God, the Father is male and Jesus is male and the Holy Spirit is referred to as He, again male. This bothers a lot of people in the church and has caused humanistic ideas to appear as if they were from God. There are two major points that God makes on this subject in the Scriptures. First, God has made male and female roles; and second, there is a difference between ministry and authority.
There are those who see the Scripture contradicting itself in passages such as "...there is neither male nor female...in Christ Jesus..." in Galatians 3:28 and "...I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man..." in I Timothy 1:12. Again many people, possibly out of frustration, think that they must pick one Scripture or another to be valid, and then try to justify their position. This is certainly not the case. Both of these Scriptures are God-breathed and are therefore valid. It would help us to look into the context of these passages rather than just valuing a piece of the truth.
In I Timothy 1:13-14 we can see that the reason for women not to have authority is for the protection that God initiated in the beginning. In Galatians 3:26-29 we see that there is no gender, nationality, or social position in Christ when it comes to His heirs. Our value and inheritance in Christ is truly equal, but that does not create sameness. God has truly created male and female, and the two are meant to complement each other. This passage is misquoted by both feminists and homosexual advocates. The issue is our inheritance, not our roles in society, the home, or church. For more information see www.soleyn.org and the Sermons/Articles section of this site for articles and messages that go deeper into these subjects.
The plain meaning of Scripture is to be pursued, and this can only be done by reading and studying without interjecting a biased or prejudiced view into the Scriptures. We must seek what God is saying, not what man is saying. We must read the Bible 'by His Spirit' and leaning on Him for understanding. God will reveal to us what He wants us to know at any moment. The Bible is like a field of treasure. We must search for this treasure, it doesn't just come to us. Searching requires hard work and a wealth of time must be invested.