The Eisegetical Sin

The “Other-Centered” Perspective of Christ

When you look across social media, you can find many examples of “bad theology” that can lead people astray.

Even well-meaning falsehoods can distract people of deeper, more profound lessons.

There is a common theme amongst many of these “bad theology” video clips: a me-first philosophy to Biblical understanding.

HERE’s THE PROBLEM...

Philippians 2:1–4 CSB

1 If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 make my joy complete by thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.

Connects directly to following section (don’t let the header make you think it’s unrelated!)

Philippians 2:5 CSB

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,

The nature of God is one that is focused on eternity. On earth, this means elements of this world which will persist into eternity: your relationship with God and your relationship with the body of Christ (the church).

This is echoed in what we are told are the greatest commandments...

Matthew 22:37–40 CSB

37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Reading “self interest” into the scriptures: NOT NEW —> IN THE GARDEN!!!

Genesis 3:1–7 CSB

1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

‘Be Like God, Knowing Good and Evil’ (v5): Eve’s downfall occurred at the idea that Creation could be self-serving instead of God-serving.

‘So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves’ (v7): Seeing THEMSELVES in Creation, they attempted to ‘cover over themselves’ with their own truth (that they were not shameful).

In the story of the fall, we see Adam and Eve falling to the temptation of sin once the attention was turned off the Creator and onto how they see themselves in Creation. It is… in a sense… the original Eisegesis

Read the story of “the fall” in Genesis 3:1-7 and consider how the serpent’s primary deception tool was turning the focus away from God’s Creation and towards how Adam and Eve saw themselves. 1) Think of the different false teachings and deceptions some make in the name of Jesus. How does the common theme of self-centered theology (eisegesis) play a key role? 2) How does regarding others and prioritizing God’s Word help to resolve many divisions in the church and help us to avoid some of the worldly, self-serving theologies being preached today by more self-serving, consumerist, or self-empowering churches? 3) What self-serving versions of Christianity or Christian teachings have you heard? What kind of scriptural problems to these teachings have?

Self-Centered Self-Harm

SAD IRONY: Self-centered belief actually causes you to harm yourself!

Missed blessings/lessons

Missed mission/calling

EXAMPLE: The parable of the good Samaritan

Luke 10:25–37 CSB

25 Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.” 28 “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 “The one who showed mercy to him,” he said. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

Expert —> KNEW THE BIBLE! (v27)

Note that the expert responded correctly… even Jesus admitted it!

Read himself into the scriptures (v29)

Tasked with living according to selfless truth (v37)

The scriptural expert who approached Jesus did so with a desire to “read himself into the scriptures”.

He already know the academic answer and had one in mind (v26-27).

The problem was in trying to read his own biases into what he knew as truth. The result was a parable which clearly communicated that the truth doesn’t change simply because of your preferences or persuasion.

Read the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 and make note of the dialog between Jesus and the scripture expert. 1) Do you think people who bend the truth realize they’re doing it or do you think they are blinded by how self-centered the world makes us? 2) How did the story of the Samaritan force the scripture expert to confront his own biases? 3) How can we check our own hearts and beliefs to ensure we are not attempting to skew the truth to fit a narrative we find more comfortable?

Mimicking Christ is Mimicking Selflessness

We are called to “Be Holy as [Christ] is Holy.”

Christ is perfectly selfless and perfectly truthful.

If we are going to live our lives to the fullest, we must abandon the selfish, self-centered philosophies of the world and focus more on the investments we can make today in matters of eternity.

The key is maintaining a focus on loving God and serving others. So long as that is our primary concern, we are likely to find a faith that is more harmonious with others, and purposeful in all seasons.