6: Interpretation - How Can We Read it Right? (part 1)

NOTES: https://bit.ly/SolaScripturaDevo

'That's just you're interpretation' is the common mantra quickly quoted when someone dares to point to the Scriptures as being objectively true. So are there multiple meanings and how can we learn to read it right? Today we find out.

Over the last several years our US Constitution has been twisted like a pretzel to say things its authors never intended.

MANY WONDER HOW COULD THIS BE HAPPENING? I have a theory. The American culture has pressed a 229 year old document - the Constitution of the United States - to say what some WANT IT TO SAY.

Instead of spotlighting the author’s intent our culture has the tendency to honor the response of the reader.

Have you ever heard of Reader Response Theory?

It’s being taught throughout our culture - in college classes, on TV shows…and even in our churches.

Reader Response Theory

Instead of asking “WHAT does this MEAN?”, the reader asks, "What does this mean TO ME?”

Years ago I traveled to see to a college student whom I dearly loved who had begun to tell people about his homosexual orientation. He had sat under my teaching for years. He had been in my home multiple times, we had eaten together on many occasions, and we had been together on multiple mission trips to share & care for others in the name of Jesus. I took him out to lunch and he shared what he was feeling. I asked him to read a book that addressed the sin of sexual impurity & pointed to the promise of forgiveness & hope in Jesus. To my surprise, he was already reading it. Of course I encouraged him and told him I loved him and would do whatever I could to help walk with him through life - as we had been doing for years. In a few weeks, his social media pictures began to reveal that he had chosen the homosexual lifestyle instead of obeying Jesus. I called - he didn’t want to talk much. When I asked about the book he had been reading he explained that the book helped him to see what he needed to do.

HOW COULD THAT BE? The book was about walking away from sexual impurity, not running to it! Instead of asking, “What does this book MEAN?” He read meaning INTO it and asked, “What does it MEAN TO ME?”

Reader-Response simply doesn’t work in real life. In real life, most authors actually MEAN something when they write, so it is the author’s intent that matters most, not the reader’s response.

There is a simple writing that we read everyday in America. It is the big word STOP painted on the red octagonal signs. If you chose to, you can follow a reader response approach and interpret the text to mean: "slow down just a bit, look for cars, and then speed on through the intersection." The police, however, believe strongly in authorial intent for the determination of meaning, so they will respond to your interpretation with a traffic ticket and fine.

Some texts are obviously written to communicate important messages to their readers.

To ignore the author's intention destroys the reason why the author wrote in the first place!

Sadly, in our day and age where personal preferences often rule over truth, this mindset has filtered into the church and our view of the Scriptures.

Woman having an affair. When confronted she said God had told her to divorce her husband and marry the other man. God told her to do this as she read Colossians 3:9 “put off the old man.”

A man said God had told him he was to marry one of the worship leaders. Her name was ‘Grace’. He explained that God had spoken to him from Scripture as he read from the KJV, “Grace be to you.” Paul opens with this in 3 of his letters: 2 Cor. 1:2, Gal. 1:3 & Eph. 1:2.

One response makes us FROWN and another makes us LAUGH...but aren’t they doing the SAME thing? Aren’t they both claiming the Scripture says something that it never really intended? Doesn’t it stop being God’s words when we make it mean something He never meant? (We’ll explore these passages in a minute.)

Now, how could this happen?

Some intentionally twist the text to deflect the conviction, OR

Others genuinely think this is how Scripture is to be read. Whether you know it or not, many of us have even been trained to do this, to twist the text out of its context.

In fact, over the last 20 years, this is the single most important lesson God has been teaching me - He is retraining me how to read and rightly interpret the Scriptures. It has been bitter-sweet process.

It has been bitter as I have had to lay down long-held beliefs, question what authorities in my life have taught, and humble myself and admit when I was wrong - to twist my beliefs to the Bible instead of twisting the Bible to fit my beliefs.

As a result Scripture has become more sweet to me. I appreciate the Scriptures more than ever before. I am more confident of what I believe and more pliable in how I behave.

Over the next 3 weeks, I am asking God to begin the painful but important task of re-training all of our minds as we talk about Interpretation: How can we read it right?

We are stepping onto some dangerous ground today, a minefield that many people would just rather avoid. It’s just easier to let people think what they want rather than correct poor interpretation. But I am convinced that this is an area we must carefully explore.

In fact, if you don’t claim to follow Jesus & you are confused about what the Bible teaches, I hope this will give you more insight on how YOU can read the Bible - even if you don’t believe it has been given by God to people through people.

If you ARE a follower of Jesus, be prepared because what we are going to explore might make you MAD before it makes you GLAD. If your experience is anything like mine, when you realize that you have been asking the wrong question, ”What does this mean TO ME?” instead of asking “WHAT does this MEAN?”, you are going to have to swallow some humble-pie and ask the Lord to HELP you learn how to read the Scriptures right.

Multiple warnings are given to hold to good teaching, confront false teaching, & live the message of Jesus. For example, Paul tells Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. [NET: teaching the message of truth accurately]

As we learned last week, it is wise to take a look from multiple translations. Rightly handling and accurately are translated from a Greek word orthos, (“straight”), the same word from which we build words like orthopedic and orthodoxy. Timothy was to teach & live God’s truths without deviating or diluting the truth.

Obviously, Paul was aware of those who interpret, handle, teach, & live out the gospel message WRONGLY.

Sadly, in our day there is MUCH teaching that has veered off the straight path. Again, there are only 2 reasons for this:

intentionally twist the Scripture OR Don’t know how to read it right.

To those people, we, as Timothy was charged, we must say…YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG.

That’s really tough when WE realize…that person is ME. Turn to someone and say, “It’s hard to admit when I’m wrong.”

Later in the same letter Paul writes these words to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:1–4 (NIV) In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

So how can we make sure that doesn’t happen in OUR LIVES? Check what other people say compared to what the Scriptures say.

And how can we make sure we read the Scriptures right? First & foremost…

Never read a Bible verse.

Read the entire chapter or writing - before and after.

Many of you already know that there were no chapter/verse divisions in the manuscripts. The chapter & verse references/addresses we have today were added almost 1500 years after the New Testament was written (1551). This is a great TOOL when many people have personal Bibles, but it can also be DANGEROUS when we lift a verse out of context instead of reading it as part of a letter.

So, let’s apply our principle - Never Read a Bible Verse - to the story about the lady who quoted ‘put off the old man’ and see what happens.

She is quoting PART of Col. 3:9. Let’s take a look.

Colossians 3:4–8 (NET) When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him. So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, [there are other sins mentioned here, but note the first one mentioned] impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. You also lived your lives in this way at one time, when you used to live among them. But now, put off all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.

Do you see how Paul is using ‘put off’ in this passage? It’s imagery for throwing off sinful actions & attitudes like you would take off dirty clothes. And NOW we come to the part she quotes:

Colossians 3:9-12 (NET) Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

As should be obvious, WE don’t DETERMINE the meaning, we DISCOVER the meaning. The question isn’t “What does it mean TO ME”, but “What does it MEAN?”

The meaning is the same for the Colossians 2000 years ago, as well as for me, you, and that lady. The very thing she claims God said through the Bible is actually saying the EXACT OPPOSITE!

Putting off the ‘old man’ or ‘old self’ is about getting rid of sin...sexual immorality is the first thing mentioned in the passage!

We see this clearly because we have applied the principle:

Never read a Bible verse.

I wish we would learn to do this EVERY TIME we read The BOOK! So I encourage you:

DON’T ASK: “What does this mean TO YOU?”

DO ASK: “What does this MEAN...and how should you apply it to your life?”

Let’s consider one more example and then put this into practice:

John 8:31–36 (ESV) 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

When we read the passage and not just a verse, when we consider the context, look how the words of Jesus flow together in vv.31-32 & 36!

This is not a promise that telling the truth will get you out of trouble.

Jesus is the TRUTH. His words are TRUTH. Those who follow HIM will be set free!

And we discover this meaning because we apply the principle to….?

Never read a Bible verse.

Have YOU been set free from your sin or are you still a slave to sin? Life change isn’t about WHAT you know and WHAT you do, but WHO you know & WHY you do what you do. Are you a disciple of Jesus or just intrigued by Jesus? Are you a FAN or a FOLLOWER?

Here are some questions I want you to ponder this week:

John 3:16: Who had Jesus just been talking to and what was it about?

Jer. 29:11: Who is being written to and how will God prosper [read chapter]?

Phil 4:13: Often quoted, but what is the surrounding passage about?

Matt. 18:20 says “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” What is that passage all about?

How important is it for us to follow this principle?

Many years ago I was watching the news and they gave a teaser with this title: Mother Stashes Baby In Trash Can. I waited and waited and then heard this report:

Mother Stashes Baby In Trash Can (During Dog Attack)

A Fremont woman is recovering from severe injuries to her arms after a pit bull terrier attacked her in her own garage, forcing her to stash her baby in a garbage can for protection.

32-two-year-old Angela Silva received 50 staples and countless stitches as a result of Tuesday's attack. She says her neighbor's dog wandered into her open garage and lunged at her and her four-month-old son. After she put the child in a plastic garbage bin, the 80-pound pit bull terrier continued pursuing the baby, knocking over the bin as she fought it off with her arms.

Further, the baby WAS COVERED IN BLOOD, his MOTHER’S.

Within minutes, my mind was changed, this lady went from an unfit mother deserving to be locked up to MOTHER OF THE YEAR deserving to be lifted up in high honor!

When you only hear a PIECE of the story, you might not get the POINT of the story. The same is true of the Scripture, so…

PRAY

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

These open-ended questions are designed to help you LIVE what you LEARN with your Family, Friends, or Small Group.

How did the stories like ‘put off the old man’, ‘grace be unto you’, and ‘Mother Stashes Baby In Trash Can’ help you see the importance of context & why we should never read a Bible verse? Should it frustrate us if someone who took a ‘Reader Response’ approach to something you wrote or said - if they dismissed your intent and even redefined the words you used? How might you respond to that? Why is it that many people don’t gently correct another when he/she misuses the Scriptures? Read 2 Timothy 4:1–4. Why does sound doctrine (correct beliefs & teaching) matter? Today’s BIG TRUTH was: Never read a Bible verse. How does this challenge to read a chapter or entire letter frustrate or excite you? Explain your answer. FEET2FAITH CHALLENGES.

Have you been reading? What questions/insights have come up? How have you been impacted? Who are you accountable to talk with this week (John 3:16, Jer. 29:11, Phil. 4:13, & Matt. 18:20 in context)?

Share prayer thanks & needs. Then pray for one another.