How Should We Interpret the Bible?

With a wave of "ex-evangelicals" in the church and a post-modern culture challenging the conservative interpretations of Scripture, it is important that we have a solid, robust framework for reading out of God's word instead of what appears to be Christian presuppositions. So many people see the Bible as merely an old collection of religious sayings consisting of outdated myths and ethics. We as Bible-believing Christians, however, see the Bible as God's revelation of His true story of redemption through Jesus Christ, written down by real men with real, God-given insight on what is really happening and what the proper response should be to it.

But even within the community of Christians, there is still controversy over contemporary issues which boils down to how do we truly discern God's will for our modern era from an ancient Book that is diverse in its genres, writers, and mysteries?

I will start by admitting my presupposition that all words and thoughts find their meaning in the eternal Word-made-flesh, thus rejecting the notion that words find their meaning in its listeners' opinions and biases. Further presuppositions on truth can be found here by Pastor Doug Wilson.

So why should we care about biblical interpretation? We should care because Satan knows Scripture; he is not ignorant of its content. And he will use (abuse) it to those who commit 100% to obeying the word, as he did with Jesus. (Luke 4:9-12) Satan has his own framework of interpreting the Bible, so how do we know what is his and what is God's?

Another reason why is while the Bible is the most uplifting book in the universe, it is also the most destructive. (2 Peter 3:15-18) Use it lawfully, and you will reap from it God's blessing to the uttermost. Abuse it in arrogance and neglect, and it will be to your swift undoing. That is the high stakes we hold when we read God's word.

So where do we begin? As Christians, we start our framework with Christ. Why Jesus Christ? Because Jesus is God incarnate, the One who embodies Scripture fully, understands it completely, and lives it out perfectly; and with many infallible proofs, we have resolute confidence in His resurrection which is the icon of His divinity. (Information on why the resurrection is historically reliable can be found here from Answers in Genesis and here from Lee Strobel) We want to have Jesus' interpretation as well as the apostles' as they are His appointed representatives. (Luke 10:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 John 4:6)

So how did Jesus (and the apostles) interpret the Bible? Let's look at a few of the principles of hermeneutics that they used:

Scripture must be read out not read into (exegesis)

That sounds obvious but it is an ignored principle. We see it in Galatians 3:16, "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ." (ESV) Here, Paul makes a point out of grammar; he expects that the text as it is written means what it says.

Now I know that we cannot have a bias-free reading of Scripture, but wouldn't it be better to base your interpretation on the words themselves instead of probability?

All Scripture on a certain issue has a theme

We see this principle specified in John 10:35 where Jesus defends His claim to divinity as a man; He makes a point with Psalm 82:6 and makes this assertion, "Scripture cannot be broken." (10:35 ESV) What did He mean by "broken?" There are two uses of this word, one in John 5:18 and the other in Acts 13:43. The first one describes a violation of a law or a tradition; the second one describes a disintegration of a body into separate parts. Since Jesus knew that Scripture could be violated, (Matthew 5:19) He meant the latter.

This means that Scripture cannot be divided into various, contradicting truths. You cannot have one set of verses advocating murder and another set condemning murder. But you will say to me, "But there are verses that appear to be for and against just about any teaching or behavior!" But if what Jesus is saying is true, (and it is) then God must have the same themes woven into the main Theme throughout all Scripture. How do we read the theme out of the verses? We read it by harmonizing the verses, considering their contexts, and looking to the Gospel as the glue that pulls it all together.  

Scripture interprets Scripture

When Satan tested Jesus on the temple with Scripture from Psalm 91:11-12, Jesus could have said, "No, that is not how I interpret those verses." but instead He said, "Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." (Matthew 4:7 ESV) He did not back down from using the sword of the Spirit but used Scripture to correct Satan's interpretation.

This is an example of using a passage from Scripture that is easier to understand to clarify passages that are hard to understand or misinterpreted, bearing in mind the context as well. Just as diamonds can be cut reliably by diamond, so Scripture can be reliably interpreted by only other Scriptures.

Conclusion

Some Christians might object to the Bible being interpreted in such a systematic fashion, preferring that the Bible be read like "a love letter" or some other spontaneous manner. But looking at the principles, isn't that how any personal letter ought to be read?

We are given a personal exhortation from a caring Father, a ravishing love letter from a loving Husband, a treasure map from an adventurous Captain, a battle plan from an ambitious King, a historical account from a critical Eyewitness, a victorious herald from a successful Savior.