- I would say the most common mistake
that people make when reading and interpreting the Bible
is a failure to integrate that into their own lives.
So they, rather than reading the Bible
and responding with repentance, and faith, and obedience,
they're like the person James describes in chapter one.
Someone looks in a mirror and they go away
and immediately forget what they look like.
And that's what it's like when someone
looks at the Word of God and then does not respond
with repentance, and faith, and obedience.
And Jesus spoke about this in a parable
where He talked about two men who've built their house,
one on the sand, and when the storm came it washed away,
and one on a rock, a rocky foundation,
and when the storm of life hit, it stood firm
because it was built on His teaching, built on Scripture,
and so that's really two ways of life
that the Scripture holds before us.
There can be a real danger in our day,
especially in the United States,
where there's such a knowledge of Christianity,
such a superficial knowledge, at least, for nominalism.
People affirming Scripture with their mouth
but then going out and living a life
that does not reflect what they say they believe.
There can also be a danger, if we just speak very bluntly,
with videos like this on the internet,
because a title of a video like this
attracts people who are interested in scholarly questions,
interested in Bible type questions.
When there are spiritual issues that come up,
sadly, I think many times people can pile in to those
with the desire to exalt themselves or correct someone else,
not in a loving or biblical way,
but basically almost like an ancient Pharisee
who's got to get in there, and show that they're right,
and exalt themselves.
So while the majority of people, I'm sure,
who are viewing spiritual content online
are doing so with hopefully a desire to learn,
a desire to grow, a desire to be faithful to Scripture,
the Bible commends those who are Berean Christians,
who are searching the Scriptures
to see if these things would be so.
But from experience, I know there are plenty of people
who are just looking for an opportunity
to either rip someone else down to make themselves look good
or just critique, and then go away
and there be no change in their life,
there's no change from the truth
they've been confronted with.
Someone who's watching this, you have to ask,
am I seeking to think about and view spiritual matters
because I want to know God and I want to follow Him,
or am I doing that because I want to exalt myself?
So let that be a challenge to you, and to me,
that we don't become modern day religious nitpickers
and hypocrites, we want to be faithful.
If there's error, we want to be able to call it what it is
in the right context, but that we first
are follower of Christ, people of love,
and people seeking to know Him, to obey Him,
to represent Him, to be winsome, and to be gracious
and restrained in interacting with others.
Another error that people often commit
when reading the Bible is to fail to ask
what did the inspired author of this text
want to teach the ancient readers, and to teach me?
Like what is the inspired author's intent in this passage?
There can be a tendency to just sort of
have a stream of consciousness reaction to what's written.
You know, well just maybe think of this,
and so rather than the diligent work
of saying, well what did the author of Genesis,
why did he gave me this detail?
What was Paul trying to teach the Galatians,
and by extension, what is he teaching me?
In 2 Peter 3:16, the Apostle Peter warns
against those who distort Paul's teaching, right,
distort it so that they're teaching something different
from what inspired Apostle intended.
Like we're teach what the inspired authors of Scripture
are intending to teach through their writings.
An example of how this can go astray,
we had a children's Bible when my kids were young,
and it had the story of Joseph, right?
Joseph and his many colored coat.
And the point of application given
was to reflect on presents that had been given to you
and how that made you feel.
But then we have to ask why did Moses,
the author of Genesis, include this detail
of Joseph's coat that his father gave to him
and didn't give something similar to his brothers.
Was that so that we would pause
and think about the gifts that had been given to us,
and the increased self-esteem, and the warmth of feeling
that we have because of those gifts?
I think honest and transparent approach
to the text of Genesis would say
that detail is clearly there to show the dysfunction,
and to show the favoritism that was shown Joseph
and help us to understand an illustration
of why his brothers hated him, why they wanted to kill him,
why they sold him in to slavery.
And when we read that, and then we get to the end of Genesis
and Joseph says to his brothers,
what you meant for evil, God meant for good,
God worked for good.
What others worked for evil, God worked for good.
I mean, that's some nourishing spiritual food there
that though, even children can understand this,
though we have unfair treatment in life,
though some people will show favoritism to others,
life is not fair, though life is not fair,
God is still control, and He's working all things together
for the good of those who love Him.
And we can be comforted in knowing that He is sovereign
and He is good even in the midst
of others people's injustice towards us,
it does not excuse it, they're responsible for it,
they'll be held accountable for it to God,
that we can trust God in the midst of that.
That's encouraging.
A third probably common mistake I think
that we see people making when they read the Bible
is failure to read it as a whole, right?
The Bible is one big story that finds its resolution,
its climax, its fulfillment in Christ.
I remember hearing one scholar once give the example
of having all these musical harmonies in the Old Testament.
You know, you have the sacrificial system,
and you have the priesthood, and you have the institutions,
and you have the temple, you have all this,
and yet there's this longing for God,
God's coming, and He's dealing with sin finally,
and how is that going to happen,
how are all these different components,
kingship, the priesthood, the institutions, the sacrifices,
how are all these going to find resolution?
And then when Jesus comes, He's like the melodic line
in the center of all these harmonies,
and all the harmonies make sense.
And I think there can be a tendency
to read the Bible atomistically,
and to fail to see that trajectory
that finds its fulfillment in Christ.
So for example, someone who can have a very high view
of Scripture, believes the Word of God,
could be teaching on 2 Chronicles 7.
This is about Solomon's dedication of the temple,
beautiful passage how all the sacrifices made,
and how fire fell from heaven, just God's confirmation.
This is the place He's going to meet with His people,
this is a place He's provided
for the priesthood and the sacrifices.
And someone could take a passage like that
about the building and dedication of the temple,
and use it in the idea of we're building a church,
a building campaign,
the dedication of the new building, and all this,
and say well, is that really the trajectory
that we find the biblical authors use?
It seems that the trajectory of the temple theme
doesn't find its resolution in church buildings today,
right, but it finds its resolution in Jesus and His people.
So Jesus at the beginning of the Gospel of John, He says,
"Destroy this temple and I'll raise it again in three days."
and John tells us the temple He was speaking of
was His body, because here was the place
where God finally meets with His people
in all the ways that the Old Testament temple
and tabernacle were anticipating.
And then the emphasis in the New Testament
is not on physical structures.
There's nothing wrong with physical structures,
we need those to meet,
but the emphasis is on God's people as living stones
being built in to a house of praise for Him.
So someone's hearing this, they're like,
well how do I get a better understanding
of seeing the Bible as a big picture
if I haven't really thought about that
or learned about that?
One great way to do that is if you have children
to teach them from one of these great new children's Bibles
that try to give the big picture.
A friend of mine, colleague, Jared Kennedy
has written a wonderful children's Bible
called Beginner's Gospel Story Bible
that traces those themes, it's my number one pick
for a young children's Bible.
Great young children's Bible to show those themes,
and as parents read those,
they begin to see those big pictures too.
I also think on YouTube,
the Bible Project videos are fantastic.
They're these videos where there's drawing going on
to illustrate what's being said,
little five, 10, 15 minute videos
for virtually every book in the Old and New Testament
with a real emphasis in how it fits
within the redemptive story, the big picture.
Those are free on YouTube,
so I recommend those as a way
for someone to ease in to that
and to begin to think about those questions more carefully.
It's a very good question to ask
what are some dangers or pitfalls I can have
when I'm interpreting or reading the Bible,
but it can also be paralyzing.
So we can think, ah, I can't, I'm so afraid
I'm going to do something wrong,
and we need to remember even as we ask this question,
that we have a loving Heavenly Father,
who not a bird falls to the ground
apart from His knowledge or will,
who tells us to ask and it will be given to us,
seek and we'll find, knock and the door will be opened,
and God is eager for us to come to Him,
to ask for the illuminating work of His Holy Spirit.
He has no delight in our misunderstanding,
He's not trying to hide anything from us.
He wants us to come to Him, to know Him better,
to faithfully interpret His word.
So I hope people will not watch this video
and then be afraid to interpret the Bible,
but it will ignite in them a desire to go afresh to God
and to say God, like the psalmist says in Psalm 119,
oh God, open my eyes that I might see wonderful things
in Your Word.
And also to learn from the teachers
that God has given to the church,
through writings about interpreting the Bible,
through good study Bibles, through these other means.
We're on a lifetime journey
of being more faithful readers of the Bible,
that we might know the true and ultimate
author of the Bible Himself, the Triune God.
(music)
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