“The Bible says
it, I believe it, that settles it.” Have you ever heard that slogan?
Maybe
you’ve seen it on a bumper sticker or something. What do you think
about it? Is
it the pure simple truth, or is it a shallow, simplistic jingle?
On the one hand, I really like what it says about the authority of Scripture. After all, who are you and I to disagree with God? He made the heavens and the earth. He knows our thoughts before we think them. His thoughts are as much higher than our thoughts as the heavens are above the earth. Whenever we disagree with God, it’s pretty clear that He’s going to be right and we’re going to be wrong. And since the Scriptures are the Word of God, as we learned last week, how can we possibly dare to disagree with the Bible?
On
the other
hand, the Bible was written so long ago, in cultures so different from
ours,
it’s sometimes hard to see how it can possibly say anything relevant to
us
today. In a sense, when we read the Bible we’re reading someone else’s
mail.
Paul wrote to the Galatians and the Romans and the Philippians, not to
you and
me. Joel, Amos and Obadiah addressed their messages to ancient Israel,
Judah
and Edom. What does that have to do with us? We might be tempted to
say, “The
Bible says it, I believe it, but what difference does it make?”
HERMAN WHO?
Scholars
have
adopted a whole field of study that focuses on how to interpret
Scripture and
apply it to our day. It’s called “hermeneutics.” There are numerous
rules and
models for how to do hermeneutics, but the most important ones are
really a
matter of common sense. Today we’re going to look at four hermeneutical
keys.
We’re going to look at four ways we can read the Bible that will make
it less
strange, less mysterious. For despite the fact that they come from
cultures
that may be very alien to us, the Scriptures still speak to us in
powerful and
important ways.
LITERAL OR FIGURATIVE?
The first hermeneutical question is this: Should we interpret the Bible literally or figuratively?
Some Christians insist that the Bible should be interpreted literally. But sometimes you have to wonder if they’re really serious about that. For example, in Matthew 5:28-29 Jesus says, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Now I’ve met a quite a few men who claim to interpret the Bible literally, but none of them is wearing a patch over his right eye socket. Maybe that’s because these guys have never lusted, even when they were teenagers. Somehow I doubt that. And if my hunch is right about their thought lives, they don’t really interpret the Bible literally. At least not these verses.
Now we can’t fault them for that. The fact is that Jesus didn’t want us to take that saying literally. Jesus isn’t interested in men plucking out their right eyes. That’s appalling. Rather, Jesus is interested in us not being slaves to our sexual urges. Jesus doesn’t want us to look at precious children of God as mere objects who can gratify our selfish desires. That’s even more appalling.
A
literal
interpretation of these verses would make most men eye donors, but eye
gouging
isn’t the point of the passage. There are places where the Bible
shouldn’t be
taken literally.
At the other
extreme there are people who think that almost everything in the Bible
should
be interpreted figuratively. Paul Tillich is one of many modern
theologians who
has said that the stories about Jesus rising from the dead are only
symbolic
expressions of a great spiritual truth. Tillich says that the stories
of the
resurrection form a symbol of the truth that the new life Christ brings
didn’t
die with Him. For these theologians Jesus is alive in a symbolic sense,
in a
profound mythic sense. He lives in our hearts, so to speak. But
literally,
they’re sure He’s as dead as a doornail.
However, it’s hard to imagine that the Bible is talking about a symbolic or mythic resurrection when it tells us that the women who went to the tomb clasped the feet of the risen Jesus and worshiped Him (Matthew 28:9), or when it says that He invited the disciples to touch Him (Luke 24:39) and even gave Thomas permission to feel His wounds (John 20:27).
In I Corinthians 15:14 and 17 we read, And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. … 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. In other words, if Jesus is still dead, if the resurrection is only a symbol, the whole Christian faith is a meaningless sham.
Some
parts of
the Bible must be interpreted literally. If we interpret everything in
the
Bible figuratively or symbolically, we can make the Bible say whatever
we want
it to say. In that case it really says nothing at all.
THE “PLAIN SENSE” OF SCRIPTURE
So what can we do? We can’t always read the Bible literally and we can’t always read the Bible symbolically. So how should we interpret it? The answer is surprisingly simple. As I said before, it’s a matter of common sense. We read the Bible according to the “plain sense” of each passage.
If we’re reading a parable we should read it as a parable. When we read that Jesus said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers” (Luke 10:30), we miss the point if we start asking what the man’s name was or try to get a description of the robbers or wonder if they left fingerprints. It’s parable, not a newspaper report. Read it like a parable.
Likewise if something is a hyperbole or an exaggeration we need to read it like a hyperbole. Again, Jesus doesn’t want us to pluck out our eyes or chop off our hands.
If something is a simile, read it like a simile. If something is a metaphor, read it like a metaphor and so on.
Some parts of the Bible aren’t meant to be interpreted literally, and we miss the point if we try to read them that way.
Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24) But don’t try to build the world’s largest needle or figure out how to reduce a beast of burden to the size of a thread. “Honey, I shrunk the camel!” Instead, check your attachment to material things.
Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye but pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3) But He wasn’t only addressing people who really have two-by-fours protruding from below their foreheads. That’s a pretty small group of people. Rather, He was talking to all of us who have a tendency to put other people down when instead we should be paying attention to our own relationships with God.
But of course we all know that. As I said, it’s a matter of common sense.
However other parts of the Bible are meant to be read literally. Some parts of the Bible are reports or historical accounts. There are stories of judges and generals, of prophets and kings. There are stories of Jesus and the apostles. There are many stories of amazing miracles, including the resurrection of Jesus. These are told as if they are literally true, and that’s how we’re supposed to read them.
Again, the Bible gives us certain laws and commandments. Some of these apply for all times, like “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Others are addressed only to a particular historical situation, like Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God, (Deuteronomy 16:21), or even You shall not covet your neighbor’s … donkey (Exodus 20:17). But all of them are to be interpreted literally. If your neighbor gets a really cool donkey, don’t covet it!
Further, the Bible tells us great truths. For example, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) and God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (I John 4:16). These are straightforward statements that are meant to be taken literally because they are literally true.
Should
we
interpret the Bible literally? Yes, parts of it. Should we interpret
the Bible
figuratively? Yes, parts of it. Read the Bible according to the plain
sense of
what it says. Think about how you read the newspaper. You don’t read
the news
reports the same way you read the comics and you don’t read the
editorials the
same way you read classified ads. Read the Bible the same way. Read the
Bible
according to the plain sense of each passage. That’s just common sense.
That’s
our first hermeneutical key.
HISTORICAL EXPRESSIONS, ETERNAL PRINCIPLES
But
even when we
read Scripture according to its plain sense, it isn’t always clear how
it
applies to us today. What was said to people in one historical
situation might
not apply directly to another situation.
-- OIL ON YOUR HEAD
For example, in Matthew 6:17-18 Jesus said, “But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
The point Jesus was making, of course, was that we shouldn’t draw attention to ourselves when we fast. We shouldn’t show off how religious we are. So instead of going around all unkempt and disheveled when we fast, we should dress nicely. Look our best, so no one will notice or even suspect that we’re depriving bodies to strengthen our spiritual lives.
However, what if someone never puts oil on his head except when he’s fasting? What if he only puts oil on his head to draw attention to the fact that he’s fasting? “Good morning Tom. I see your hair’s kinda slick and shinny today. You must be fasting.” Even though that person would be following Jesus’ instructions to a “t,” he would be doing exactly the opposite of what Jesus taught.
But that doesn’t mean that what Jesus taught doesn’t apply to us today. The part about putting oil on our heads, that changes with the fashions. That may not apply to us directly. The principle, however, is that we shouldn’t show off our piety. And that principle applies to us today as much as it ever applied to anyone. The principle is timeless.
You
see, God’s
truth is eternal. The principles of God’s truth are always relevant.
But the
ways in which those principles are expressed can change from one
situation to
another. It’s the same song in a different key. It’s the same song, but
sometimes it’s played to a different beat – like the hymns at our 10:45
“blended” service.
-- SLAVES
Lets look at another example. Colossians 3:22 says Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything … 150 years ago some people tried to apply this verse directly to life in the United States. Before the Civil War there were those who used this and a few other verses to try to prove that slavery was God’s will. After all, if slavery were abolished no one would be able to obey this biblical mandate.
Nowadays we would insist that slavery is not God’s will at all. Okay, some kids may think their parents treat them like slaves. But it’s obvious to us that slavery is exactly the opposite of the will of God.
And that isn’t simply a matter of our tastes. We can point to other passages of Scripture which indicate that slavery isn’t God’s will. Paul’s letter to Philemon was written to encourage Philemon not only to forgive his slave, Onesimus, who had run away to help Paul while he was in prison, it even encourages Philemon to set Onesimus free.
By
the same
token, I Corinthians 7:21 says to slaves, Were you a slave when
you were
called? Don't let it trouble you--although if you can gain your
freedom, do so.
You see, slavery was a reality in New Testament times. The Bible
acknowledges
that. Yet the Bible doesn’t endorse slavery. In fact it calls slave
owners to
free their slaves, and encourages slaves to get their freedom if they
can.
Further, the Bible never says that slavery is good, or that it’s God’s
will. In
fact, Galatians 3:28 says, There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave
nor
free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
The Bible doesn’t endorse slavery, it simply recognizes it as a cultural reality of that time. Paul was speaking to a particular historical situation when he said, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters.” But you and I are not slaves. We don’t own slaves. We live in a different historical situation. So those words don’t apply directly to us.
But again, that doesn’t make this passage
meaningless to you and me. Listen to the whole paragraph where that
verse is
found. Colossians 3:22-24. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in
everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win
their
favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever
you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not
for men, 24since
you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a
reward. It is
the Lord Christ you are serving.
Ah,
now that’s a
different story. Whatever you do, you’re serving Christ. If you’re a
teacher
you don’t work for the school. You work for Christ. If you’re a
secretary you
don’t work for your boss. You work for Christ. If you’re a CEO, you
don’t work
for the Board of Directors. You work for Christ. If you’re a lawyer or
a doctor
or a builder or a banker or a student or a homemaker or a retailer or
even if
you’re retired or you’re currently unemployed, you work for Christ.
Whatever you
do, you’re serving Christ. So give him your best. Take advantage of
every
opportunity to please Him, not other people. You don’t have to be a
slave to do
that. That’s an eternal principle, and that principle applies to all
Christians
in every situation.
Further, when
the Bible says There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free,
male nor
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, it’s teaching us
that our
differences really don’t make any difference. Doctors aren’t higher
beings than
ditch-diggers. Those who are skilled at working with their hands aren’t
more
valuable than those who work with words. There are no superior races,
and
neither sex is better than the other. We have such a tendency to look
for
reasons to look down on other people. We try so hard to find reasons
why we’re
better than others. But the fact of the matter is that we are all
precious to
Christ. And when we see things from His perspective all our attempts at
ranking
and rating people melt away. We are one in Christ. That is an eternal
principle
that is true in any historical situation.
Sometimes when we try to apply the Bible to our present day situation we have to look beyond the historical prescription to the eternal principle. When we do we find that God’s Word is as alive today as it ever was. When we do we hear the Word of God speaking to you and me just as it spoke to people long ago.
So
far we’ve
looked at two important hermeneutical keys. We’ve looked at two points
to
remember when we try to apply the Bible to our lives today. First read
the
Scriptures according to the plain sense of each passage. Second look
beyond the
historical expression to the eternal principle. Now let’s look at a
third key.
SCRIPTURE INTERPRETS SCRIPTURE
You may remember that last week we talked about the harmony of the Bible. We saw that the whole Bible fits together to tell one epic story with one essential message. We heard how even passages that seem to clash with one another when taken out of context really compliment and enrich one another when we look at the whole scope of Scripture. And that leads us to our third key. We should always interpret Scripture in light of Scripture. One passage sheds light on another. One passage explains another.
We’ve
already seen an example of that. Colossians 3:22 says Slaves,
obey your earthly masters in everything, but we misinterpret
that
passage if we take it to mean that slavery is God’s will. We know that
because
I Corinthians 7:21 says, if you can gain your freedom, do so, and
Galatians 3:28 says that in Christ There is neither … slave nor
free.
Scripture interprets Scripture. These passages help us understand
that
passage.
-- SILENT WOMEN
Let’s look at another example. This one is a little more controversial, but even the controversy will teach us something valuable.
In I Corinthians 14:34-35 Paul writes, As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. Because of these and a few similar verses some Christians say it’s wrong for women to be pastors – or elders or deacons for that matter. And we can see why. The plain sense of these verses says women shouldn’t speak in church. It’s hard to imagine a pastor who stays silent in church – though some people might like to try.
However, are these verses like the one we just read about slavery? Do they apply to that historical situation but not to us today? After all, they were written to a male dominated society. They were written at a time when women weren’t allowed to be educated or hold positions of civic leadership or in many cases even to own property. In fact, women were basically seen as property themselves.
We live in a different situation today. Women are free to take out loans and start their own companies and vote and even run for public office. Should they still be silenced in the church?
Now understand, we can’t just say that the historical situation has changed so we can ignore what the Bible says. We can’t say that Scripture’s teaching doesn’t apply to our culture because we like our culture better. There are many areas where our culture should be corrected by Scripture.
But we can and should ask if there are other parts of Scripture that shed light on these verses. And in fact there are. We’ve already seen Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. That doesn’t mean, of course, that there are no anatomical distinctions between Christian women and Christian men. But it does mean that in Christ, unity is more important than hierarchy. Neither male dominance nor female dominance is a Christian value.
Further Acts 2:17-18 says “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” These verses are not only a quotation of Joel 2:28-29 but a declaration that this prophecy is fulfilled in the Church.
Now of course, if God empowers our daughters to prophesy, if God’s Spirit compels both men and women to prophesy, well they can’t very well prophesy and keep silent at the same time, can they?
So
some
Christians say that the injunction for women to keep silent in the
church was
addressed to a particular culture and shouldn’t be applied to women of
today.
When we let Scripture interpret Scripture we see that the idea is as
outdated
as slavery. Neither is God’s will. Those Christians freely ordain women
as
pastors and officers in the church. And they do so because they believe
that’s
what the Bible teaches.
-- TWISTING SCRIPTURE
Now we have to admit something very sad here. Some people refuse to ordain women because they’re sexists. They’re male chauvinists and they just use Scripture to enforce their own prejudice.
Likewise some people are feminists and they want to ordain women regardless of what the Bible teaches. They, too, use Scripture as a pretext to advance their own agenda.
Both practices are reprehensible. Both parties are twisting the Scriptures to say what they want them to say. And when we do that the Bible becomes meaningless. When we do that we rob the Bible of its authority as the Word of God and turn it into an arsenal to help us bully others into doing what we want. God forgive us.
But on the other hand I know brothers and sisters who do not believe in or practice the ordination of women because they sincerely want to be obedient to what Scripture teaches. Women should remain silent in the churches. As they see it, that’s God’s final word on the matter.
I
also know
brothers and sisters – and I’m one of them – who believe that when we
look at
the full scope of Scripture we see that God’s Spirit empowers both men
and
women to proclaim His message. And while there were historical
situations in
which women were to keep quiet, and while there could be situations in
which
men should keep quiet, God pours out His Spirit on both men and women,
both our
sons and our daughters. And both are to proclaim His message. These
brothers
and sisters don’t hesitate to ordain women and men, and they are
confident that
they are doing so in obedience to Scripture.
-- OPEN HEARTS AND MINDS
You probably have Christian friends who don’t agree with me on that. You may not agree with me. But that teaches us something very important. We need to be humble in our reading of Scripture. We need to recognize that others might see something in Scripture that we don’t see. We need to expect the Spirit to show us things we’ve never seen before. We need to be willing to change our minds. And we need to be respectful of those who see things in the Bible differently from how we may see them. No Christian can ignore what the Bible teaches, but no Christian has a monopoly on Biblical truth. We need to read the Scriptures with open hearts and minds.
Second,
I want
to point out something that often isn’t mentioned when people debate
whether
women should be pastors. God says, I will pour out my Spirit on
all
people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Therefore I
think it is
Scriptural to ordain either a man or a woman, but only if God’s Spirit
has been
poured out on that person. It’s more important for a Christian leader
to have
the Holy Spirit than to have a Y chromosome.
Sometimes we forget that. I would have a hard time refusing to
ordain a
woman who has been empowered to preach or lead by God’s Holy Spirit.
But we
should never ordain a woman or a man who does not have the power of the
Holy
Spirit at work in her or his life.
WE NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT
And
that leads
us to our fourth and most important hermeneutical key. We already
talked about
this last week, but it’s worth saying again. The most important thing
we can do
when we read the Bible is to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, to
enlighten us.
The Bible is the Word of God. The Bible conveys a wisdom beyond what
any human
mind can comprehend on its own. So we always need the Holy Spirit to
teach us
what the Bible means and how it applies to our lives.
I said earlier
that when we read the Bible there’s a sense in which we’re reading
someone
else’s mail. Sometimes that can make
Bible reading a mysterious, and maybe even a slightly confusing
experience.
But there is a greater sense in which the Bible is addressed to you and me. God speaks His Word to us through the Bible. God conveys His eternal truth to us through the Bible. So read the Bible. Read it according to the plain sense of each passage. Look for the eternal principle behind each historical expression. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. And always ask the Holy Spirit to teach us, to help us hear what God wants to say to us in His Word.