02.06. Reading and Understanding the Scriptures

Reading and Understanding the Scriptures

Now that we have established some background truths, we can proceed to the basic principles for reading and understanding Scripture.

• The Scriptures were written by real people in history and record real events.

• God is the author of the Scriptures and used people to write them. The Scriptures are written in the style of the writer, but the writer is not the author. (Whenever you see commentaries talk about Paul’s or John’s theology, a red flag should go up. Another red flag should go up when you read a commentary that talks about how Hebrew theology developed over time and how it “evolved” from other cultures around them). Any reading of the text that places man as the author rather than God sows the seed for doubt, change or rejection of God’s Word and contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture.

• The Scriptures should be read as plainly written and understood.

• The Scriptures should be read and understood as the writer and the recipients would have understood them. A good example of this is in Genesis. For example, in Gen 1:5 we read:

God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. (Genesis 1:5) In Gen 2:1-25 we read: By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. (Gen 2:2) In addition to this, in Exo 20:1-26 :

"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exo 20:11) As we look at these passages, we see that God defines the word “day” as an ordinary 24-hour day. He then specifically says that he rested on the seventh day and then re-affirms that He created in 6 – 24-hour days in Exodus as the basis for the sabbath.

It is important to look at the context and purpose of the text. Who wrote it? (human author) Who was it written to? What was going on at the time? What is the historical setting? The logical and generally the simplest reading is the correct one. Do other passages of Scripture shed light on the passage? Since the Bible is authored by God, we are not going to see contradictions and any interpretations that would impose contradictions are therefore false.

• Once the Scripture is understood in its context, we should then see how it applies to our life and how we can Love God and others more.