Understanding Scripture

In most of the conversations I have with people about the Gospel there is one issue that usually comes up: How do we understand what the Bible is teaching? And this question is directly connected to the way we read the Bible. I have found that before I can discuss passages individuals cite to support their beliefs, I must help them intentionally face the particular way they view or "read" the Bible.

Too many people quote the Bible as though just quoting it is enough. They believe that the Bible says exactly what they assume it says. But how can one make any assumptions about what the Bible says if one has not studied such things as the historical background, grammar, context and themes of the Bible? The first realization to face, by anyone who quotes the Bible, is the fact that every Bible reader interprets it after a particular fashion. Coming to terms with this reality is the first step in guarding against misunderstanding the Bible and then misleading people about what the Bible teaches.

How we read the Bible is determine by how we view the Bible. As we seek to understand what God says to us in Scripture we must keep in mind several critical truths. First of all, we must see that ostensibly the Bible is Truth that is "outside" of us. That is, it is objective, historical truth.

There is a second fact about the Bible we must understand: the Bible comes to us through others. The Bible is not a "revelation within a revelation." It is the revelation of God itself. Rather than treating the Bible like a mystically book, we must first treat it an objective and historical truth. Indeed, the nature of the Bible consists of the supernatural and the natural. The way the Bible communicates both the natural and supernatural involves nature - words, history, and the human reason. Just how God was able to inspire and communicate His Word through the Bible may be a mystery to us. That does not mean we must understand the message of the Bible mystically. It is mediated truth. The Bible is part of God's redemptive mediation. It brings to us the knowledge of God we cannot find or discover by our own mystical efforts.

Next, many fail to recognize it is necessary to interpret the Bible while reading it. Every person who reads the Bible must interpret it in order to understand it. This means that everyone's an interpreter.

There are some key principles we must follow, which Scripture itself gives us, in order to read it aright. As we come to the Bible we must humbly accept the way the Bible presents itself to us. It provides its own structure, themes, accents and focus. There are foundational facts about the way Scripture is ordered which guide us in a proper reading.

The first foundation: Christ is the center of Scripture. Secondly, the "architectural structure" of Scripture is covenantal. Thirdly, the two chief messages of Scripture are Law and Gospel. Fourthly, the Scripture must be interpreted by the "ordinary textual" sense of language.

These foundation reality must and will guide us as we read throughout Scripture. They will also guard against pretentious and spurious readings which can led us away from sound doctrine, the Gospel and ultimately from Christ.