II. Every Reader IS an Interpreter

“We don’t interpret the Bible, we just believe it!”

     Sounds noble, but like it or not, when we read the Bible we all become "interpreters," because interpretation merely means “to explain/give the meaning”!  In essence, the real issue is not whether or not you interpret, but “how sound” are the principles that you use when reading and interpreting.  The Apostle Peter identified a major reason why a number of incompatible ideas are attributed to Scripture in his comments about how people handle Paul’s writings, and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.  You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness,  (2Peter 3:15-17)

Peter’s warning should speak to us as well - “good interpretation” results from having matured through solid teaching, personal stability, and having some sound principles for reading and understanding The Scriptures (and all other literature).  Good teaching, personal spiritual growth and stability, and sound principles for understanding the Bible are a major concern to us here.

I. Basic Assumptions for Bible Readers

     A. Approach the Bible with an open mind, willing to consider that the Bible is God's Word about: Himself, His creation, His plan/purpose/will, and the past/ present/future.  Proving this issue (that the Bible is God’s word) falls into the area of “Apologetics/Bible Evidences” and is a matter that should be pursued on its own.  However, people approach the Bible with one of three possible stances: assuming it is true, an open mind, or assuming it is false.  How you approach a piece of literature has a lot of influence over what you see when you read it - we get a lot more out of reading things that we want to understand than we do from things that we are not interested in or are even biased against them to begin with.  Literature, regardless of the issue, is read very differently by believers/open-minded seekers vs. skeptics/hostile critics.

     B. Assume that the Bible can be understood.  God wanted this material read to all people,[1] it was not esoteric mystical stuff that only highly educated people could understand.  In fact, Jesus suggested that children and common people might have an easier time understanding Scripture than the highly educated (highly indoctrinated?), At that time Jesus answered and said,

"I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes.  (Matthew 11:25; also see 1Corinthians 1:18-29)

Sometimes practical experience and common sense are worth a lot more than excessive theoretical “book-learning.”  Even a lot of formal education requires a healthy dose of practical experience to make it applicable and useful in the real world!  If God exists and inspired these writings, then they should fit together and make sense.  When we encounter something that appears to be a “contradiction,” we should consider that (a) it might be a contradiction, but also that (b) there might be something in my reading and thinking that creates “the appearance of incompatibility.”  The most brilliant person in the world can be stumped by a simple problem as long as they approach it in the wrong way or without some essential background information (like computing midi “bank select” messages).  As we have seen in the quote at the beginning of this paper, Peter admitted that there are some deeper, tougher things to understand in Paul’s writings (2Peter 3:15-17).  It is not that Paul’s writings are so deep and complex that nobody can understand them, but that it is quite possible that ignorant and misguided people could easily misunderstand them.  However, assume that God’s Word has been provided so that we can understand and learn things (Romans 15:4; 1Corinthians 10:11).

     C. Sound interpretation requires several basic character traits: (1) humility, because it is very hard to learn anything when you already think you know it all.  (2) Spiritual purity and a love for truth, otherwise you will intentionally ignore certain passages and/or misinterpret so as to protect your favorite erroneous ideas and/or weaknesses.  (3) Common sense, because Biblical religion focuses on revealed information for covenant-keeping rather than esoteric mysteries and secret things (Deuteronomy 29:29).  Common sense will help you to make decisions about how to take potentially difficult passages (Matthew 8:22; John 3:3-5; 5:25-29).  (4) A willingness to work, as it will take time and serious thought to read carefully, take notes, compare and analyze, THINK, etc.

     Be alert to your own biases/prejudices, traditional views, and thought-habits, because these can stand in the way of understanding (Ephesians 4:17-19).  Since we are dealing with God - the Creator of a huge and magnificent universe, accept that some things that God is doing may be beyond us (Isaiah 55:8,9) and that‘s ok.  Mark Twain once said, “Its not the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that trouble me - it’s the parts I do understand!”  Privates don’t need to know all of the details and information available to the Generals, they only need to know enough to do their specific job.

     Background Information - The Bible is telling us about reality from God’s standpoint, but to understand anything we all need a shared frame of reference.  Our understanding can be dramatically enhanced with background information - details take on meaning as we understand the bigger picture.  Biblical history makes a lot more sense when you understand some things about world history, archaeology, geography, physical science, psychology, etc.  The Gospel is God’s wisdom - the best (only?) way to re-establish relationship with rebels is to befriend them.  Chase a cat and you will never catch them, but sit or stand in one spot and speak kindly and often they will come to you.  The best way to “hold on” to someone is to let go of their arm and win their heart.

     D. Distinguish Genres, statements, and Covenants - Another area of potential confusion enters when a reader fails to detect the kind of statements which are being made in Scripture.  Not only are there a number of genres (types of literature - Law, history, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, Gospels, Letters, etc.) to distinguish, but even plain statements are used in various ways.  It is necessary to determine if a statement is a precept (a command) or a precedent (a historic record of what happened once).  There are other places where what is said is neither inspired command or narrative, but is an “opinion.”[2]

     The Bible is not a “level book” - every verse does not apply equally to all people of different times and places.  This is why {1} there was time when fleshly circumcision was essential for male covenant members (Genesis 17:14) and now you can lose your salvation for seeking physical circumcision for covenant purposes (Galatians 5:1-4); {2} there was a time when God placed a number of animals on the “don’t eat” list (Leviticus 11) and now these laws don’t apply (Mark 7:19; Acts 10:9-16); {3} Abraham didn’t need to be ‘baptized” and Christian men don’t have to offer animal sacrifices, and {4} once the emphasis was on covenant members remaining separate from Gentiles and “gather at Jerusalem” three times a year (Deuteronomy 16), whereas now the emphasis is on moving out from Jerusalem and into all nations as disciple makers (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8).  Paul was not telling everyone to “drink more wine,” but advising Timothy on a personal matter (1Timothy 5:23).

     There are some other factors that obstruct sound interpretation.  Objective factors, would be things outside or separate from ourselves, such as a hard to understand translation or an incomplete text of Scripture, darkness, distractions, etc.  Subjective factors would be things within us, such as natural inability to read or think, a moral problem, pride/prejudice, desiring novelty/popularity (Acts 17:21), lack of preparation/background, carelessness, poor study methods, loyalty to authoritative clergy/human creeds/family traditions, false harmony with science, provincialism (our traditions are more important), Individualism (what I want or feel dominates), existentialism ("me" centered, no absolutes, so design-it-yourself religion), and traditionalism (assuming that whatever you and your family/associates have always heard/done must be correct).

II. Basic Principles for Reading Scripture

     How you read is important.  EXEGESIS is what you do when you read so as to “read out” of Scripture what the context, grammar, and words actually say.  EISEGESIS is what you are doing when you try to “read into” Scripture ideas you already believe and want to be “Biblical” but for which nothing in the context or wording of Scripture suggests.

     How you think and study things is also important.  DEDUCTION begins with a general principle/position/conclusion and then, on that basis, argues toward (interprets) the particulars/facts/evidence so as to investigate or support/defend that thesis.  Misused when authoritarian religious hierarchies hand down "dogma" and allow "study" only as long as no doubts are raised about the "official position."  Useful when honestly used to investigate the validity of a known position or conclusion.  INDUCTION begins with a collection of data so as to eventually produce the best objective conclusion/general principle/position/ theory on the basis of available evidence.  Inductive reasoning is the method employed by traditional science, as people seek to follow the evidence wherever it leads so as to discover how things really occur and work together.  While not actually being a "drawback," inductive reasoning requires: patience in being willing to postpone drawing conclusions, time and hard work to gather and analyze the pertinent data, and courage to draw honest conclusions.

By all means, Read

     The first best way to become familiar with any form of literature is to read it - repeatedly.  Just like movies reveal more and more of their plots/sub-plots and smaller things by repeated watching, so books show us more as we become more and more familiar with them.  The first step in understanding the Bible is to read it - just see what is there.  Read it several times!

     Always Read in context - each word makes sense only as it is used in a sentence; each sentence makes sense as is fits into a paragraph, every paragraph makes sense as it is understood in the context of a chapter and book.  There are also historical, cultural, and theological contexts to consider (what empire is ruling, what major events are going on, what cultural values and ideas may be influencing the situation, what Biblical and humanly-devised theological ideas might be involved in the section of Scripture you are reading?

     Read with an eye open for crucial information - the first and best hints about understanding Scripture come from Scripture itself.  Let the Bible interpret itself and allow inspired New Testament writers to interpret Old Testament predictions.  Look for:

     - clearly identified section breaks (1Corinthians 7:1; 8:1; 12:1; Revelation 8:13; 9:12; 11:14)

     - clearly stated issues/causes for a teaching/writing (Luke 19:11; 1Cor. 1:10-11; 7:1; Jude 3)

     - clearly identified subjects/audience (Isaiah 1:1; Amos 1:1; Micah 1:1; Nahum 1:1; Luke 15:1-2; 16:14; 18:9; Romans 1:7; 2:17 & 11:13)

     - key words (1Peter 2:13,18; 3:1,5; 2Peter 3:5,8)

     - repeated/linked phrases (Jer. 5:9,29; 9:9; Amos 1:3,6,9,13; 2:1,4,6; Rev. 10:7 - 11:19)

     - similar illustrations/principles strung together (Matthew 24:37 - 25:13; Luke 15)

     - Prophets interpreting their own symbols (Daniel 2:36-45; 4:19-27; 7:15-27; 8:19-26; Revelation 1:20; 16:13-14; 17:1,7,9-18; 19:8)

     - Inspired NT explanation of OT predictions (Ps. 2 & Acts 4:24-28; Mal. 3:1; 4:5-6 & Mt. 11:7-15)

     - Locate and compare “parallel” discussions (where several writers discuss the same thing)

          *look for reworded clarification (Matthew 24:15-21 & Luke 21:20-24)

          *look for things added or subtracted (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9:18-20)

          *The trials and crucifixion accounts supply different pieces of information

------------------------------------------------------------

Charles E. McCoy   1/16/12006

Email Chuck at: chuck@severnchristian.org