Making Sense of the Bible #5

Bear with me….

Years ago, when I first moved to Texas to preach, one of the members built custom homes for a living. One day he got to telling me about one of the men in the congregation who had built his own house. At the time, he was a young husband/father who wanted to build his own house with his own hands, but he didn’t have the expertise, so he began asking the home builder question, after question, after question. About the time the young man was ready to break ground for constructing his new home the builder was also ready to break ground for a new home.

Once the construction started, my home-builder friend told me that the young man would come out to the job site every day after he got off work to see what had been done that day. The young man would make notes, ask questions and then go back to his own site and do exactly the same thing. When he couldn’t figure out how to do something, he would call the builder at home. The builder would explain how to cut this angle or that angle or to install this or that. A few months after the home builder finished building the new home, the young man finished the new house for his family. When I moved from there, that man and his family were still living in that house he had built with his own hands.

When it comes to understanding how God communicates to us through the Bible He does it just as my home builder friend did for the man who knew nothing about how to build a house. The builder would give him direct instructions on how to do something, or when the young man would go out to the site after work, he saw an example of how and what needed to be done. When he couldn’t figure something out, the homebuilder gave him enough information that he could necessarily deduce how to do a thing.

There are only three ways I ever knew how to teach my children anything. I either told them how to do it or I showed them how or I would give them enough information that they could figure out how to do it. Again, that’s just common sense. Friends, God does not communicate His will to us in the Bible through some hidden, mysterious or esoteric manner. He teaches us in the same way we teach things, namely, through direct statement/command, or approved example or necessary inference. It is no wonder that the Bible tells us that “the common people heard (Jesus) gladly,” (Mark 12:37) for He taught His will to them just as they would teach their children and others about things they knew.

Making Sense of the Bible #4

The Bible is made up of the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT). If we think of the Old and New Testaments in terms of a “will” (like one we would make in the event of our death), it would free us from many of the misunderstandings which exist in the religious world today. The OT was God's will and purpose, based on promises and prophesies, to bring Jesus, who would redeem man from his sin, into the world as Savior and Lord. The NT is the revelation and fulfillment of those promises giving us assurance that through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection we can be forgiven of our sins.

The Law portions of the OT, which include the well-known Ten Commandments, were given to the Israelites whom God delivered from Egypt [Exodus 20:1-17 (read carefully vs. 2 and note who is being spoken to, for they are the ones who received the Ten Commandments); Deuteronomy 5:1-21 (read carefully vs.1-3 and make the same notation)]. The Ten Commandments and the Levitical law codes (contained in the book of Leviticus) regulating priests and the sacrificial system were given not to the world but to the Israelites.

When Jesus came into the world, He gave another will that was to be universal (for all men – not just the Israelites or Jews but for all). Jesus made it clear that he was sacrificing Himself (shedding His blood) to establish the New Testament as the means of forgiveness for sins (Matthew 26:28). Keep in mind that a will cannot be probated or executed until after the death of the one who made it. Thus, while Jesus lived on earth he was subject to the OT and its laws (Luke 2:41-47; 4:16; Matthew 5:17; Galatians 4:3).

In Jeremiah 31:31-33, Jeremiah prophesied of a future time when God would make a New Covenant (Testament) that would supersede the Old Covenant (Testament) and it would not be for just Israel but for all men. In the NT the writer of the book of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah’s prophecy pointing out in fact that the NT is that replacement and the OT is “obsolete and vanishing away” (Hebrews 8:8-13). The Hebrew writer tells us that since Jesus died, “He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes affect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.” (Hebrews 9:15-17 underline mine for emphasis - br).

The OT establishes the faithfulness of God to His word and serves an important purpose in helping us understand how God deals with people. Briefly stated, God deals favorably or unfavorably with people based on their response to His word. Without understanding this distinction between the OT and the NT we are prone to misunderstanding and false concepts. Thus, if our light is to shine we must trust in God and His word, obeying Him from the heart based on the terms which He set forth in the NT and went into effect after Jesus’ death.

Making Sense of the Bible #3

“Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Using common sense is one of the basic necessities to understanding any literature. A quick glance of my library indicates that I have over fifteen different books on the subject of how to interpret the Bible (hermeneutics). I have never read a book on “hermeneutics” which did not mention “common sense” as one of the primary rules for a proper exegesis of the text (getting the meaning out of the text). While that may be stating the obvious, when it comes to making sense of the Bible it is obvious in reading and listening to some discuss the scriptures, common sense is not so common.
Applying common sense to Bible interpretation does not mean we approach it with preconceived ideas. That goes for everyone regardless of how well you know or think you know the scriptures. Common sense is applying the same rules to interpretation that we would to any other piece of literature.

The Bible employs a vast array of literary genres (poetry, narrative, figurative, prophetic, et. al.) to reveal its message. Just as we would not read every book in a library the same way, we should not read every book of the Bible the same way. Is the Bible literal or figurative? Yes. Thus, we need to take the literal parts of the Bible literally and the figurative parts figuratively. A careful reading of the context will tell us whether the passage is meant to be interpreted literally or figuratively. Therefore common sense seeks to understand any given passage in its historical context (to whom was it written, the occasion, the purpose of the writing) and in its immediate (literary) context.

Words have meanings in sentences and are grammatically constructed to express the author’s thoughts which harmonize with both the immediate context (those sentences preceding and following any given passage) and the remote context (whether it be the whole Bible, or the particular book of the Bible we are studying). A dictionary may give us several definitions for a word but it is the context that determines the meaning. We have no more right to take any definition we want from the dictionary and apply it than we do in wresting a verse of scripture from its context to give it whatever meaning we want. Common sense should never been as uncommon as it often is when it comes to Bible reading and studying. Let your light shine, use common your common sense when reading the Bible.

Making Sense of the Bible #2

It is merely my purpose to give some basic thoughts on making sense of the bible rather than a lengthy, technical discourse on the rules involved in “hermeneutics” i.e. “the science of interpreting the scriptures.” To do so would probably necessitate me having to write another series of articles on “making sense of hermeneutics.” Fortunately, all that can be avoided when one takes the risk of just stating the obvious, which is what I intend to do. Please don’t misunderstand me – a good hermeneutic is both essential and exceedingly helpful to a proper interpretation of the scriptures. By any fair standard of definition, what I am writing in these articles would be classified under the heading of hermeneutics.

Given that most people who initially read the Bible are at least curious about it brings up a point worth considering when making sense of it. Curiosity with the Bible is at least rooted in the fact that it claims to be about God, if not from God. Understanding what it says doesn’t require that one read it with a belief in those claims. However, since it makes those claims whether one believes it or not, it would seem to me that the reader would at least give a respectful and fair reading of its claims before deciding either way. So what I am suggesting is that one read and approach the Bible for what it claims to be, which does not demand that one believe it in order to understand it.

The Bible does not claim to profess all the truth about every subject known to man. However, it does profess to contain the only truth man needs to know in order to go to Heaven (2 Peter 1:3-4; Jude 3). Any approach to the Bible with a preconceived notion as to specific doctrines or that it is a fictitious work to begin with is a waste of one’s time and a less than objective treatment of it. Giving it a fair reading and hearing does not mean you listen to what I or anyone else says about it. A respectful and fair reading of it means that is what YOU give it yourself by reading and critical thinking. To base your understanding of it on what someone else says or thinks is not giving it a fair hearing, even if what someone else says about it is true. The fact that the Bible, as we have it today, has been preserved for 2,000 years and multiplied thousands upon thousands have believed it through the ages earns it the right to be given a respectful and fair hearing by every responsible person. How fair and respectful are you? Let your light shine and read the Bible with the fairness and respect it has earned before making up your mind about its claims or anything else someone says about it. That is true objectivity.

Making Sense of the Bible #1

I never knew a time in my life without the Bible. For that I am eternally grateful to godly parents whose marriage, child-rearing, social, and work ethic were all shaped by biblical principles. Unfortunately and to my regret, that doesn’t mean growing up I always read the Bible or lived what I knew the Bible taught. When I finally “came to myself,” realizing the colossal mess I had let sin make of my life, I knew where to turn. No one had to suggest to me, “Read the Bible.” I knew from godly parents it was the place to start. It never occurred to me to have to ask, “How do I read the Bible or what is the Bible about?” I had grown up with a better than average knowledge of the Bible.

Here is my point. Many people today believe there is a God of some sort and by worldly standards they would be considered morally good. However, unlike me, they have never known a time with the Bible. If they have any interest in the Bible and you just hand them one they will probably ask, “How should I read the Bible?”

In the next few “Let Your Light Shine” articles, I want to talk with you about how to read/study the Bible. Let me make one point in preparation for these upcoming studies about the uniqueness of the Bible. Carefully consider these facts and their implications; The Bible as a book was compiled over a period of some 1600 years by some 40 different authors from all walks of life living in differing places and circumstances. This time-span included over 60 generations, and three different languages were used to convey its message (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). The theme or message of these writers contains no contradictions either in their recording of historical events, places or people. Much of the writing of these men, over this vast period of time, included highly controversial subjects and yet in their teaching they remain united and in complete harmony with one another from the earliest to the last writer. Thus, the Bible stands unique among all other religious thought and writing, not only for these facts, but for so many others too numerous to mention here. Understanding these few facts one should approach the Bible with deep respect for its uniqueness alone because it provides a rational clue to the only sensible explanation of its origin. Read your Bible and let your light shine!