Handout 01
A. Why do we need to interpret the Bible? Don’t we just read it and obey it?
Most of the Bible is written in a common-sense, straight forward way. The 10 Commandments are good examples.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- Do not commit murder.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
The meanings of those commandments are clear, and it is also clear that those commandments apply to all of us. But note that there are actually two issues involved:
- What do the words mean? (the basic interpretation of the verse)
- Does this verse apply to me? = Does it apply to Christians today? (the application of the verse)
For example, consider Leviticus chs. 1-7, the rules for offering animal sacrifices at the tabernacle and later at the temple. The meaning of the verses in those chapters is generally clear. But do those instructions apply to modern Christians? Answering that question involves interpreting and understanding the overall structure and teaching of the Scriptures.
So for some Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament, the question we need to ask is:
Does this Bible verse apply to Christians?
But for other Scriptures, the question we need to ask is:
What does this Bible verse mean? = What is its basic meaning?
B. Examples of Verses that are not Easy to Interpret
Genesis 24:22-30
- What is the “gold nose ring” all about?
- Does it symbolize something, or is it simply a gift, to show sincerity?
Psalm 44:23
Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
- So — Does God sleep?
Amos 9:4b
I will fix my eyes on them for evil, and not for good.
- So — Does God do “evil”?
2 Peter 3:15-16
Peter says that some things that Paul wrote are hard to understand.
John 6:53-57
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.”
- Should we understand this passage in a flatly-literal way?
Romans 2:6-12
- Does this passage teach that we earn our salvation by our good works? It sounds like it teaches it.
Romans 14:22
The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God.
- So — Should Christians share the gospel, or not?
1 Timothy 3:1,2
An elder must be “the husband of one wife…”
- Does that mean, if an elder’s wife dies, he is not free to re-marry?
- Can he only have one wife, for all his life?
Hebrews 8:6-13
Verses 6 and 9 refer to an earlier covenant, an “old” one (v. 6).
- Q: Is the “old covenant” the Old Testament?
- Or does it refer to one of the covenants mentioned in the Old Testament?
- If so, which one?
And many honest Bible readers have felt that James 2:20-24 seems to(??) disagree with Romans 3:28 & Galatians 2:16. (We will address these verses directly in Handout #04r)
C. Examples of Verses Where We Need to Ask: Does this apply to us / to me?
2 Sam 17:23
When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went home to his own city. He set his house in order, and then he hanged himself
- If we are at a church planning meeting and no one listens to our advice, is this what we should do?
Isaiah 6:9b
Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.
Does this describe what Christians should do when we read our Bibles?
1 Sam 28
King Saul used a medium / a witch, to call up the spirit of Samuel.
- If a king of Israel could do so, then is it permissible for Christians to be in a séance, or to contact the dead?
D. Conclusion
Again, most of the Bible is written in a straight-forward way. However, not all of it is. Many passages in the Bible require us to think carefully, to read a lot of the rest of the Bible, in order to understand them correctly. The goal of this course is to help us be able to read and understand our Bibles better.