How can you take the Bible literally?

There is more there than meets the eye.

In George Foreman’s book, God in My Corner, the former heavyweight boxing champion writes: “In 1974, before I went to Africa to fight Muhammad Ali, a friend gave me a Bible to take along on my trip. He said, ‘George, keep this with you for good luck.’ I believed the Bible was just a shepherd’s handbook, probably because the only verse I knew was ‘the Lord is my shepherd.’ But I was always looking for luck, so I carried that Bible with me. I had lucky pennies and good luck charms, so now I added the ‘lucky’ Bible to my collection of superstitious items.

After I lost the fight, I threw the Bible away. I never even opened it. I thought, The Bible didn’t help me win, so why do I need it? I thought I’d get power simply from owning it; I didn’t realize that I needed to read it and believe what it says. Since then, I’ve come to understand that the Bible is my road map, not my good luck charm.”

The Apostle John tells us why he wrote the gospel bearing his name: that it would be read and understood, resulting in faith in Christ.. It can also be applied to all of Scripture. John 20:31 says “...but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Scripture is our road map to understanding life and learning the good news. But how must we understand it? This is the major task of all Christians everywhere. As Jason DeRouchie states:

“Interpreting Scripture faithfully necessitates that we view Scripture as God’s Word, assumes that Scripture’s truths are knowable, requires that we respond appropriately, and demands that we engage in the task depending on God. The interpretive process is about personally discovering what God through his human authors intended the biblical text to mean and effect.” (Jason S. DeRouchie, “Interpreting Scripture: A General Introduction - The Gospel Coalition”).

So is the Bible meant to be understood literally? Or figuratively? The answer is yes. Let’s look into it a bit deeper. Today’s message deals with how to understand God’s word. First of all...

The Bible makes use of both literal and metaphorical language.

Both literal and metaphorical language are used to describe reality. We define metaphor as

“a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.” (Metaphor Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com).

We do the same thing. For instance, if I say: “I’m broken-hearted at the passing of my dog.” I’m describing my level of sadness, not a cardiac ailment as a result of my pet dying.

Or, if we say: “I nearly died from embarrassment,” does not imply that the ambulance was called and I was in the Emergency room at a local hospital.

Metaphors are memorable, persuasive and moving. For instance, Jesus uses metaphor many times in his teaching. Take for instance the following Scriptures:

In John 4:10, Jesus speaks to the woman at the well. He said to her: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Sometimes the text itself clarifies the metaphorical language of Jesus. For instance, after Jesus overturned the tables in the temple, we read in ...

John 2:18–21 (ESV)

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

But then, there are times when Jesus speaks in metaphor to make a deeper point. For instanced, when He spoke to Nicodemus in John 3:1-3

John 3:1–3 ESV

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus, in saying this to Nicodemus, is bringing him to a deeper knowledge regarding spiritual life. There is a transformation that takes place and a resurrection of death into life.

This relates back to the fall and the curse that God promised the first couple in Genesis 2:15-17

Genesis 2:15–17 ESV

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

When our first parents rebelled against God and succumbed to the temptation of the serpent, they did not die immediately, but they began a process of dying and were banished from the garden and the presence of God. They eventually suffered physical death and incurred spiritual death.

And so the Scriptures teach that every one of us that came after them are born spiritually dead and in need of the life that Jesus alone can bring.

But Nicodemus did not understand this at first, which is why he countered with the question: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus then teaches this Pharisee that He was speaking of spiritual birth- being born of the Spirit. But Nicodemus was blind to these spiritual realities and had to be brought along.

And the Lord did just that. Nicodemus eventually trusted in Christ. We read later in John’s gospel that he and Joseph of Arimathia became followers of Christ and took care of the Lord’s body after it was taken down from the cross and laid it in Joseph’s tomb (John 19:38-42).

Not only did Jesus speak in metaphors, but the Biblical authors wrote this way. In John’s gospel alone, Jesus was known as the following:

The Lamb of God (John 1:29)

The Temple (John 2:19)

The Living Water (John 4:10)

The Light of the world (John 8:12)

The Door (John 10:7)

The Good Shepherd (John 10:11)

The Way, Truth and Life (John 14:6)

And finally, the true vine (John 15:5)

All of these are examples of the use of metaphor which are meant to describe an aspect or identity of the Lord Jesus as He relates to His followers. It is poetic writing that is powerfully used in the reader’s life.

Through the Bible’s use of metaphor, we understand that Jesus is everything we need and more. Whatever your need is today, Christ can provide for that need. But He wants you to follow Him, trust Him and obey Him!

Secondly...

There are many passages that we must understand literally because we serve an all-powerful God.

But there are passages in the Bible that are meant to be understood for face value. It is important to distinguish one from the other. Rebecca McLaughlin states:

“...the New Testament writers emphasize that Jesus was literally raised from the dead- bones, wounds, and all. Attending to the powerful metaphors that circulate throughout the Scriptures does not for a moment reduce the radical claims that the Bible makes: claims of miracles, everlasting truth, and a life-and-death decision we must make.” (McLaughlin, 98)

In other words...

God really did part the Red Sea for the Hebrews as they fled the Egyptians.

Elijah really did raise the widow of Zarephath’s son from the dead.

Jonah really was in the belly of the whale a portion of three days.

All of the miracles that Jesus performed were true. He really turned water into wine,

Yes, He walked on water;

He hushed the storm;

He fed the 5,000 and the 4,000,

He raised Lazarus from the dead,

These events really did happen just as Scripture describes it.

MIT professor Rosalind Picard, after struggling for many years as a proud atheist, thought the Bible was full of “fantastical crazy stuff.” But she was surprised: “I started reading the Bible, ... and it started to change me.” (McLaughlin, 101)

Scripture is God’s Word and able, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to speak profoundly to us, as Hebrews 4:12 says:

Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)

“...living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

What is important is to know what the author is attempting to communicate. We have the advantage of reading the text and understanding it from a distance, from the author’s original intention through the context.

Pastor and author David Robertson says:

“You need to remember that the Bible is not primarily a law book, or a ‘how to’ book. It is a revelation both of God and a description of the sinfulness of humanity and the remedy that God has provided to deal with that sin.” (David Robertson, Ask, 21).

Finally...

Be the Bible’s friend, not its critic.

And so we must be careful to see it as one book, unified and delivered to us as God’s love letter: a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, as Psalm 119:105 states.

We must not pit Scripture’s human authors against one another. For instance, the gospel writers did not write conflicting accounts. As Rebecca McLaughlin points out that the order of the events written in a gospel emphasized theology over chronology. Read Matthew as a document with a specific goal of the author. Read Luke as a document with his intention and audience in mind; and the same from Mark and John. You are not reading a day planner of consecutive events, but a biography with an intention to each event.

If they mention an occasion or a teaching and it is described differently than in another gospel, you must conclude that the author is being selective or that the teaching may have happened on more than one occasion, which was common for rabbis to do in the first century; much like a politician's speech is given in Erie, repeated in Lancaster, and stated differently in Scranton.

And the gospels were used among Christians for decades before they came together to form the New Testament. Rebecca McLaughlin points out:

“From extant manuscripts, it seems that the New Testament Gospels were far more widely read than the other writings, even before the formal establishment of the canon, and that they were being bound together as a collection as early as the late second century.” (McLaughlin, 105)

Furthermore, let us not think that the Apostle Paul was arguing with James or that Paul was confused. Rather...

he was an apostle; one “sent” by God to help lay the doctrinal and moral foundations of the church.

One of the brightest people of his time. He had the equivalent of several Ph.D.s.

He was used by God to author most of the New Testament.

He was willing to risk his life for the gospel. He eventually did die a martyr’s death.

He spoke to multiple different audiences on different occasions and addressed each on their own set of issues.

He used allegory to explain the different conditions of people with or without Christ in Galatians 4:21-31, differentiating them between slave and free. And explains that if you have trusted in Christ, you are a child of Abraham and in no need of circumcision because God has so performed His work of grace in your life that the outward identity of Judaism is unnecessary.

But if you understand Paul to be something different than what he is portrayed in Scripture, you fall prey to then second-guessing his letters and disregarding his teaching, under the Spirit’s influence. And that, church, is dangerous.

Oh, if we were that hungry for God’s word!

William McPherson was the superintendent for a stone quarry when a blast severely injured him. He lost his eyesight and both hands in the explosion. He was determined to read the Bible, and learned to read raised letters with the tip of his tongue. It is said that he read through the Bible four times in this manner.

And yet, for many of us, our Bibles are rarely opened. I want to challenge you: do not let another day go by without reading a chapter in your Bible. Read it. Believe it. Know it. It will change your life!