How to Read Your Bible
It's important to understand scripture for what it says, and not what we've heard it to say. Oftentimes the most outlandish theology comes from having heard an interpretation somewhere, but not diving in and reading it for oneself. A wise mentor of mine outlined some useful tools that are essential to use when reading scripture.
Literal and Literature
We need to first understand that the Bible is not an easy book to read. It was written by over 40 authors, over thousands of years, and when you add in our modern world view, there is a lot of context we may not get without digging deep into its origins. What we find written might be a black and white truth, a metaphor, poetry, anthropomorphism... It's important to think about what we read and ask if what we are reading is a literal event, or a form of literary technique. It may come as a surprise to some people, but there are few directly stated truths.
The Tools
Context - Truth - Implications - Inferences
To come to a better understanding of what the Bible is saying, we have four major tools we need to apply while reading. These tools are in a hierarchy of sorts, starting from Context and Truth we build a foundation. As we go further in and uncover more connections, we can see that there are Implications from what is stated. Lastly, at the peak of connected ideas, we make Inferences from those thoughts, implications, truths and context. Inferences are often the most fun and exciting to discuss, but are also the most dangerous part of the tools.
Context
Context is the baseline that everything else should rest on. It is critical to understand context because even truth out of context can lead to fallacies. The best way to find more context is to start asking yourself questions about what you're reading. Questions like: Who wrote this? When was it written? Who was it written to? What current events were happening in that region at the time? The more of these questions you answer, the more context you'll have. The more context you have, the better understanding you'll have of what the message is and the deeper associations you can make.
A brief example of a commonly quoted truth out of context:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord . “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” ~Jeremiah 29:11
This is encouraging, but is far too often as interpreted in a way that conveys a message saying that God won't allow us to endure pain and suffering. Let's take a look at the context of what Jeremiah wrote here to the Israelites exiled in Babylon.
The Israelites have just been literally torn away from their homes and their land, enslaved under the extraordinarily awful Babylonian Empire. Jeremiah does write here that there will be deliverance... in 70 years. Which means that the majority of people receiving this message will likely die in Babylon, and this is just the very verse before JER 29:11.
'This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.' ~Jeremiah 29:10
To top it off, God tells the Israelites to serve their masters well, because what happens to the Babylonians will happen to them. You can imagine how well that sat with someone who was just enslaved.
The message is more along the lines that even in the midst of what we perceive to be pain and suffering, we can still prosper becuase He is still in control.
Truth
This is really simple. Black and White Truths. Period. The catch here, as mentioned earlier, is that there are very few clearly stated truths in the Bible. An example of one:
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ~John 14:6
This is a very clear statement that leaves no room for grey interpretation. Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, is the ONLY way to God the Father. A pet peeve of my mentor that I feel bears repeating here, some people might say "The Bible clearly says...". But there is so much that the Bible does NOT clearly state. One of the commandments is like this. Often quoted as "do not lie", this command is better translated as not providing false witness or false testimony, which is a far more precise circumstance.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. ~ Exodus 20:16
Implications
When something is implied, it is not explicitly stated. It is an unstated truth. A good example of this is related to the above verse from John. When Jesus said, "I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life..." He didn't say every other religion is wrong, but he implied that any path other than through him is futile. Jesus himself used implication, such as when he healed the paralytic lowered to him through a roof:
'Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”'
Jesus implied through his statement to forgive the man's sins that he, Jesus, WAS GOD. Some pharisees present immediately picked up on this implication as seen in the next verse, and Jesus responds with further confirmation of what he implied, that He is God in the flesh!
Inferences
This is important so yes, I'm saying it again: Inferences are often the most fun and exciting to discuss, but are also the MOST DANGEROUS part of the tools. According to the dictionary, "infer" means to deduce or conclude information from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statement of that information. This is dangerous because we are coming to what we believe are rational conclusions, but are not things that are stated.
Example: Cain had a wife and founded a city after killing Abel. We can infer that Cain and Abel were not the first or only children of Adam and Eve. This is a rational conclusion, but it never stated.
These cannot be the root of our core theological beliefs. You cannot stand on an inference. These can lead to exciting discussions, but taken as truth (which they may or may not be) can often be the cause of issues and arguments within the Body of Christ. We are all to often ready to stand our ground on inferences, but ignore implications, truths, and context.
Other Notes
Some problem habits:
Exegesis - taking things out of scripture
Eisegesis - reading things into the scripture
- Often we read our personal circumstances into scripture. Not that Holy Spirit won't do that for our growth, but careful that it isn't our sin nature.
- NEVER put this on someone else. This is usually a personal experience.
With Context:
- Local Context: what is going on within the same part of scripture
- Totality Context: the common thread of redemption throughout the Bible. That all scripture points to Jesus.
You need to read your Bible for YOURSELF.