In last week's post, I mentioned three basic principles for interpreting the Bible: (1) To understand the Bible requires we stand under its authority; (2) God has made what is necessary for salvation absolutely clear; (3) The context of the text is very important to understand. In this post I want to describe a few more principles that will help the individual reader get more out of studying the Bible.
THE BIBLE IS ONE STORY
This is yet another example of the importance of context. The previous post addressed the culture, history, language and particular sin problem(s) of the original audiences. We must also understand the text in the context of the grand biblical narrative. The story of redemption does not begin in Matthew, but in Genesis. In fact, it has been said that every book of the Bible after Genesis is a footnote to Genesis 3:15. We must approach the Bible as a complete work - one story, revealing one God, one plan of redemption. Otherwise, the Bible appears to be disjointed, confused, and going in several directions at once. The plan to send Jesus into the world will look like Plan B since Plan A was significantly undermined by sin. The way to do this is to remember that Christ is the key to understanding the Bible. Luke 24:27 tells us that all of the Law and Prophets point to him and his redeeming work. This is harder to see when we do not view each book of the Bible as part of God's grand narrative of redemption. Another key to understanding this grand narrative which points to Christ is to see the story of the Bible in four acts which summarize the whole of scripture from beginning to end.
Act I: Creation
Act II: Fall
Act III: Redemption
Act IV: Restoration
THE BIBLE CONTAINS MANY GENRES & STYLES
Genesis and Luke are narratives, while the Psalms are poetry, Ezekiel and Revelation are apocalyptic, Colossians and Jude are letters. Taking the genre of a Bible passage into consideration is important because different genres are structured differently and often are using different means to reveal truth. For example, Paul's letters will be more analytical in what he says about God, while the Psalms contain many metaphors (God is our Rock, protects us under his wings, etc.). Also, the human authors used figures of speech, irony, double entendre, chiastic structures and many other literary devices and styles to communicate God's truth.
THE BIBLE INTERPRETS ITSELF
One of the ways we try to understand the Bible is by referencing what is clear in the bible to help us understand what is not clear. If we understand that God inspired all of the writers, then we can safely consult clear passages of the Bible for insight into passages that are not clear. The temptation is to create our own interpretations of unclear passages which is often how false teaching gets started.
READ OUT OF THE BIBLE, NOT INTO IT
We all come to the Bible with preconceived ideas about many things. We must always keep our preconceived ideas in check to avoid making the Bible say what it is not saying, or ignoring what it actually is saying because it makes us uncomfortable. An example of this is when the Bible teaches us about judgment and wrath. If we have the preconceived idea that God would never judge anyone, we will read into those passages that speak about judgment and interpret them to say something completely different, simply because we don't personally like the idea of a God who judges sin. Remember, to understand the Bible requires we stand under the Bible as our authority on all matters of faith and life. We are not free to make it say what we want it to say.
Maybe you are intimidated by all of this and are wondering if you have to become an expert on all of this just to understand the Bible. Not at all! The most important principle is reliance on the Holy Spirit. Remember he will guide you and give you insight. We can understand many things in the Bible without understanding all of these principles. These principles help us go deeper and help us avoid making errors along the way.
Below are some links that may be helpful in exploring this matter further.
Pastor Dave
7 Key Principles For Interpreting the Bible by Mark Driscoll
A Quick and Easy Lesson in Hermeneutics by Alex Early
Transform Your Bible Reading by Dane Ortlund
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