THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE

The Bible is God's revelation of Himself to man. It stands to reason that this revelation is meant to be understood -- or else it wouldn't be a revelation. Yet for many the Bible is a book shrouded in mystery. Many think that the "average" person cannot understand the Bible. And that's just not so. The New Testament was not written in Classical Greek, to be understood only by scholars and the elite, it was written in Koine Greek--the language of the everyday man, the language of the marketplace. That is the way God intended it to be. But there was a time when God's word was not available to the average person. During the dark ages it came to be a closely guarded thing. The church for a time tried to keep it away from the people because they knew that if people could read the Bible for themselves, they would find out that the majority of what was being practiced was not right. Many Godly men gave their lives so that we could have the scriptures for ourselves, in a language that we can understand. We should not take it for granted.

Today the Bible is available in language that we can all understand. Some read the King James Version, some read the New International Version, some read the New American Standard, and the list goes on and on. But the fact of the matter is that we have God's word. And people have been brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through every translation. God blesses his word--and he always will.

So what is the problem? The problem is that most people try to read the Bible differently than they do other books. While it is true that the Bible is not just another book, it is to be read like we would any other book. By that I mean that we must allow the natural usage and meaning of grammar and words prevail. Take it for what it says. Take it literally. When you pick up a novel, a magazine, or a newspaper and read a sentence, you let the words mean what they say. If it says, "He shut the door" you understand exactly that--that he shut the door. We don't start wondering and asking whether it was really a door or not. We don't say, "I know that it says 'He shut the door' but I know that it is just symbolic meaning that he closed his mind to something." No. We understand that a literal door was literally shut. Unfortunately, we do not allow that in scripture. We somehow think that we have to spiritualize the text and make it mean something else. Is it so hard to believe that God meant what he said and said what he meant? Now when I speak of taking the Bible literally please keep in mind that I said we should read Scripture as we would any other book in keeping with normal grammar and usage. When we read a book it is obvious from the context whether something is literal or whether the author is using metaphor, simile, or personification. The Biblical writers used these valid tools of description. In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified. The Lord Jesus Christ used metaphor when he called Herod a fox. And the Apostle John used simile quite extensively when he wrote the book of Revelation. So often those who do not believe that scripture is the inspired word of God accuse those who believe in taking the Bible literally of being ignorant, right wing fanatics. That is neither fair nor true. We take the Bible literally, using common sense and allowing for the use of literary devices which are obvious from the context.

Why is accepting the Bible literally, for what it says, so opposed by so many? That's an interesting question. In the Garden of Eden, Satan's ploy was to cast doubt upon the Word of God. It is the same today. In the garden he asked Eve, "Hath God said?" And if He said it, "Did He really mean it?" Satan is still trying to twist the word of God. If he cannot keep us from reading it (but he usually does), he resorts to making us think that we cannot understand it. Faith is just believing God. The Bible says "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Let me challenge you to start reading the Bible. Let it speak the words of God to your heart.

As we read the word of God, perhaps one of the biggest obstacles to understanding the Bible and accepting what it says is tradition. This is not a new problem. Our Lord Jesus Christ told the Pharisees that they made the commands of God powerless through their tradition. And so today we still see the tradition of men taking the place of the commands of God. This is another reason why taking the Bible literally is not very popular. But regardless of how popular it is, the commands of God are found in the Bible, not in a church creed. What does God want us to know and do? We start with the Bible. Allow me to give some guidelines, some keys to understanding the scripture.

First of all, we must read it. That should be obvious, but it is amazing how many Christians forget this vital point. How often Satan will divert us from the Bible to other good books. We'll read books about the Bible, books about Jesus, books about Israel. As long as Satan can keep us from THE book, the Bible, he is happy. We must read the Bible to know what it says.

Secondly, we must have an open heart and mind. We must leave our preconceived notions of God and allow the Bible to mean what it says--yes, even if it goes against what we've always heard. Clinging to tradition and denominational bias prevents more people from understanding God's word and will for them today than any other factor. When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ the excuse "but I was told" or "but I always heard" will not be accepted. We are personally responsible for knowing God's word and will for our lives.

The third thing we should do is to ask the same basic questions that we would about any other writing. Who wrote it? We understanding of course that all scripture is inspired by God but who was the human author that God used to communicate his word? To whom did he write it? What were the circumstances of those to whom he wrote? By understanding the context in which scripture was written we can better know what it saying to us today. How much harm has been done by the cults by taking scripture out of context!

Fourth and most importantly, we must realize that while all scripture is written for us, not all scripture is written to us. We can make this distinction only after we've answered the questions of who wrote it and whom he wrote it to. In 2 Timothy 3:16,17 the Bible says that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." All of the Bible is useful. We can learn from all of the Bible. But when it comes to forming our doctrine we must understand to whom it was given. Many laws and ordinances were given to Israel while they were under the Mosaic Law. We would be in error to try to live by those rules today--yet many do. Most disagreements over the Bible and doctrine come from taking scripture written to Israel and trying to make it written to the Body of Christ. We must make sure it is "our mail." Is it addressed to us? Or is it just an "info copy?" You know, when I was in the Air Force I worked in a communications center. Each message usually had both Action addressees and Info addressees. The message was to the Action addressees. It was their responsibility to take action on it. They would be held accountable for it. The Info addressees also got a copy. But they took no action on the message and would be wrong if they did so. They could claim no unit citations given to the action addressee nor did they worry about being reprimanded with them. It was just for their information. And so it is with the word of God. We must determine whom it is addressed to. All scripture is for us, it is for our profit; but it is not all to us.

Fifth and last, we must be consistent. To me this is only logical. Yet many want to accept some of a passage as applying to them but not all of it. This is inconsistent. For instance, many want to claim the promises made to Israel but not the curses. It is like you reading a letter written and addressed to me. In the letter it says that I have inherited three million dollars from a long lost relative. In the same letter it says that I will have to pay one million dollars in tax on the inheritance. You then lay claim to your share of the three million dollars. When I point out that there is a one million-dollar tax you reply that you don't have to worry about that because the letter was addressed to me. See my point?

By reading scripture in its proper context we can know the freedom and joy that comes from knowing God's will and plan for us today. You could say that all scripture is medicine from God. But just as in the physical realm, if you take someone else's medicine, it could be injurious or even fatal. So it is when we approach the word of God. The improper application of scripture could be spiritually fatal to us. That is why 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to study or to diligently prepare ourselves to be approved unto God, through the right understanding of His word. It is the Epistles of Paul that gives us the doctrine for the church, the body of Christ today. It is here that we find how to deal with the issues of day-to-day life and how to run the business of the church. The rest of scripture is for our profit and learning but we must remember to whom it was written. It is in the Pauline Epistles (and only there) where we learn about the glorious truth of the body of Christ and of salvation totally by grace through faith apart from works. How we rejoice in these precious truths! What joy the scripture gives when we understand it rightly divided!

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Last Updated: 12/20/1999