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Introduction:
Is the Bible an unfathomable book that only the most
learned people can understand? My answer is a resounding,
“No.” What then makes people who all claim to follow the same
book come up with different conclusions? What makes so many say,
“Well, the Bible is confusing so we must not be dogmatic”?
Typically, these stances say far more about the individuals making
them than about the Bible (cf. Hebrews 5:11). On the one hand, I recognize parts of the Bible
are difficult to understand (II
Peter 3:16). Regrettably, however, far too often, when we claim a part of the Bible is
confusing, what we really mean is that it seems to contradict what
we already believe. Myriads of people are absolutely convinced God
would never require baptism. Passages such as Mark
16:16; John 3:3-5 and Acts 2:38
confuse them. Their defenses against such passages are statements
such as the following:
“Well, we just aren’t sure that those last few verses
of Mark are really supposed to be there.”
“Well, the Bible uses the word ‘water’ in a lot of
different ways, so we can’t be dogmatic about that.”
“Well, we just can be sure whether ‘for’ means ‘in
order to’ and ‘because of’ in Acts
2:38.”
To the unprejudiced reader, these statements can be seen as
prejudiced confusion. But to those prejudiced against baptism,
they are the final defense. Instead of spending our time pointing
fingers at others, we must make sure we are using the standard
properly.
In past lessons, we have already dealt with some issues
along these lines. We have addressed the difference between the
Old and the New Testaments. We have addressed the different styles
and genres of literature used in the Bible. In this lesson, we
will note five simple rules for honest Bible study. Discussion: I.
We must keep every scripture in context. A.
We must not take any word, verse or passage out of its
context. Taking something in context means to take it “with
text.” That is, we determine its meaning based on the text
around it. Why is this important? As some have said, we can teach
anything we want out of the Bible. For instance, the Bible says in
Psalm 14:1, “There is no God.” B.
As we apply this very simple rule of Bible study, we will
do two things. We first examine the immediate context
of this statement. What does the Bible say in the immediate text
around this phrase? We secondly examine the remote context.
That is, we consider what the Bible says on this subject in other
passages. In this case, we remember Genesis
1:1. The Bible begins with the existence of God. Certainly no
verse would contradict that. In the immediate context, we see that
this is actually a quote from one called a fool. The Bible does
not support atheism. II.
We must use the sum of scriptures, not just one passage. A.
We must use the sum of scripture to determine what God says
on a topic. As Psalm 119:160 says, “The sum of Your word
is truth” (ASV). We cannot base our views on one passage. B.
For instance, the one verse known by more people than any
other is John 3:16. Many base all their ideas regarding
God’s nature and character on this verse. Additionally, many
base their entire concept of salvation on it. However, we need to
read passages that define love (I Corinthians 13:4-7; I John 4)
and belief (Hebrews 11; James 2). We need to read passages
that describe God’s multiple characteristics (Romans 11:22)
and multiple requirements for salvation (Romans 10:9-10;
Acts 2:38). We must use the sum of scripture. III.
We must keep the scriptures in harmony. A.
Paul pointed out that what he taught was not contradictory
saying both “No,” and “Yes,” at the same time (II
Corinthians 1:17-19). Further, Paul told the Corinthians that
he taught the same thing everywhere (I Corinthians 4:17).
God’s message, no matter who is speaking or to whom, is
consistent, unified and harmonious. Therefore, if our
understanding of one passage contradicts our understanding of
another, we are making a mistake somewhere. B.
We must learn not to jump on a shallow interpretations of
any passage without harmonizing it with everything we know about
other scriptures. For instance, we go back to John 3:16. We
have to harmonize it with Romans
10:9-10 and Acts 2:38.
One passage says we need to believe, another says we need to
believe and confess, still yet another says we have to repent and
be baptized for the remission of our sins. These passages are not
to be argued against one another. Rather, we must see how they fit
together. They fit together when we understand that the faith of
which Jesus spoke in John 3:16 is not just mental assent,
but is true conviction, completed by obedience such as confession,
repentance and baptism (James 2:21). IV.
We must allow the simple to define the complex. A.
Study is a growth process (I
Peter 2:2; Hebrews 5:12-6:3). It works from simple and shallow
to complex and deep. That being the case, we recognize that the
complex and deep issues of scripture will never come back to
rewrite the foundational principles. B.
There are several passages about which I am not convinced I
know what they fully mean. However, with nearly all of them I am
very convinced of things they cannot mean because of other
simpler, straightforward passages. For instance, Revelation
20:4 speaks of martyred saints reigning with Christ for 1000
years. I have some strong ideas regarding what this passage means.
However, I am not convinced that I absolutely understand this
verse or the entire chapter. Having said that, I am absolutely
convinced of some things this chapter cannot be saying. It cannot
be saying that Jesus is coming to the earth some time in our
future to establish an earthly kingdom. Other passages forbid that
interpretation. For instance, John 18:36 said Jesus’
kingdom was not of this world. Mark 9:1 said some of those
to whom Jesus was speaking would still be alive when His kingdom
was established. Colossians 1:13 said that Christians are
already delivered into Christ’s kingdom. Finally, Revelation
1:9 said that John, along with his readers, were companions in
the kingdom when he wrote the book of Revelation. He could
not possibly be saying that the kingdom would be established
thousands of years later. He must mean something else. Certainly,
I continue to study Revelation 20, but allowing the simple
to define the complex has helped me narrow the path a great deal. V.
We must remember that we are growing. A.
We must keep this in mind when we come across passages that
we are certain we still do not understand. Some Bible students
come across difficult passages and decide that if they do not
understand them, there must be no understanding them. They leave
the faith, claiming the Bible cannot be trusted. If we are still
growing, as II Peter 1:5-11 demonstrates we must be, then
we are going to find issues we do not understand. We must simply
keep studying the Bible. The greater foundation developed my more
study elsewhere will eventually answer our questions. B.
We must also keep this in mind when we believe we have all
the answers to any doctrinal questions already figured out. I have
some pretty strong opinions regarding the meaning of Job, Matthew
24, anointing with oil in James 5:14, baptism of the
dead in I Corinthians 15:29 and blasphemy of the Holy
Spirit. I have studied all of these issues repeatedly and I am
certain that my present opinion on each one is correct. However, I
thought my last opinion on each one of these was correct as well.
If we ever forget that we are growing, we close ourselves off to
being corrected in the areas where we might be wrong. Some areas,
like the ones I have just mentioned, may not seem so critical.
However, I have also studied the issue of baptism. I am absolutely
certain I am right on it. I would stake my soul on it and everyone
else’s. But I also thought that when I did not believe baptism
was necessary. C.
I am not saying we should never take a stand on issues. We
must take our stands based on what we believe the Bible teaches
right now. We cannot make decisions based on what we might believe
10 years from now. However, we must always approach our Bibles
freshly, recognizing we might be wrong. If we are right, the fresh
look will only prove it to us again. If we are wrong, only the
fresh look and willingness to grow will ever let us learn what is
right. Conclusion: If we are going to use the proper standard properly and honestly, we have to follow these rules. Otherwise, we will continue to promote the confusion and division that is already rampant in our world. God’s Word was not given to us to confuse us or divide us. Rather, it was given to save us. As Paul said in Acts 20:32, God’s word, when used properly, will build us up and give us an inheritance among the sanctified. Let us pray that we always use God’s standard properly.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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