Our series in Genesis on LIFE by DESIGN we are considering the meaning and purpose of life and how we are to live it as God intended. I explained in the first message that Moses' main concern in writing Genesis was to help the ancient Israelites see that their story was part of a bigger story, that God who created everything out of nothing, revealed himself to their fathers, gave them promises and appointed Moses to lead them out of Egypt and into the the land God promised to give them. He was also correcting the competing creation stories that were available to Israel in their day, and exalting the God of their fathers over and against the gods of the Egyptians. In the second message, I explained how the six days of creation reveal God's ordering of the universe, of the world and of our lives. He has given us a pattern to follow and our lives only make sense by following this order. I also said that submitting to God's order cannot be divorced form submitting to Him as our Lord.
Some of you may have been puzzled by my approach to Genesis 1 especially when I speak about its cultural context, Moses' concerns and purpose for writing Genesis. Before I move on to the next message for this coming Sunday, I believe it is important to explain how I go about interpreting the Bible. In this post I will cover 3 principles that are of vital importance.
TO UNDERSTAND THE WORD WE MUST STAND UNDER IT'S AUTHORITY
This is important to remember because what it says about God, about me and about the world must be accepted as truth no matter how I personally feel. I will not understand the word of God very well if I do not approach it as God's authoritative word. God's word is truth and it is life. I do not come to it in order to judge it, but to be judged by it.
WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR SALVATION IS CLEAR
I mention this second because the third one might be taken to mean Scripture cannot be understood without deep study and investigation. The Westminster Confession (the doctrinal statement our church subscribes to) says, "All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all:yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them."
CONTEXT IS VERY IMPORTANT
I mention this second because the third one might be taken to mean Scripture cannot be understood without deep study and investigation. The Westminster Confession (the doctrinal statement our church subscribes to) says, "All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all:yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them."
CONTEXT IS VERY IMPORTANT
Even when the Bible is clear, an understanding of the original context can help us gain a fuller understanding of its meaning. No matter what level we may be studying the Bible, It is important to remember that God did not reveal his word in a vacuum. Whenever he moved upon the human authors of the Bible, he was addressing a specific issue, to a specific people, who spoke a specific language, lived in a specific culture, in a specific time, in a specific place. God spoke to the original audience in a manner that made sense to them (in their language, using metaphors, images, cultural references of their day). An example of this is when Jesus says in Matthew 10:29, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father." There is something very clear about this verse: God cares about sparrows, so why doubt his care for us. But at the same time, we don't understand what he means by sparrows being sold for a penny because there isn't a market for sparrows in our day. But Jesus' original audience would have understood this completely.
Not only do we need to understand the cultural context but also the particular sin being addressed. Dr. Bryan Chapell, in his book Christ-Centered Preaching explains the importance of discovering what he calls the "Fallen Condition Focus". In other words, the human authors were moved by God to speak his truth directly to some aspect of their fallen condition. Discovering what that is is sometimes very easy (they were worshiping false gods) but sometimes it requires we do more research.
This may seem intimidating, but it will enrich your study of the Bible. I have many commentaries, Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias to help with this research. Study Bibles can be very helpful too. These will help you understand the original meaning and avoid reading your own personal views into the text.
Not only do we need to understand the cultural context but also the particular sin being addressed. Dr. Bryan Chapell, in his book Christ-Centered Preaching explains the importance of discovering what he calls the "Fallen Condition Focus". In other words, the human authors were moved by God to speak his truth directly to some aspect of their fallen condition. Discovering what that is is sometimes very easy (they were worshiping false gods) but sometimes it requires we do more research.
This may seem intimidating, but it will enrich your study of the Bible. I have many commentaries, Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias to help with this research. Study Bibles can be very helpful too. These will help you understand the original meaning and avoid reading your own personal views into the text.
Next week I will give a few more.
Pastor Dave
Pastor Dave
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