Imagine that you walk into a French hospital and you see a man dressed in white and he says he has the cockroach. Your first thought may be that he is an exterminator, but then you are informed that when the French talk of having the cockroach, they mean they are depressed. With this added information, you then understand that this person is likely a patient rather than an exterminator.
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It is amazing how a little additional information can change ones perspective. Often as I talk about the Bible, others will point out how there are so many different interpretations. I must agree that this is true. Since I preach through the Bible verse by verse there are occasions when I must admit that there are a number of views on a particular verse. Still, most of the Bible is quite straight forward. For example there is little room for variations of interpretation when declaring that lying, stealing and murder are sins.
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But what do we do with the areas that we are not quite so sure about? Like the illustration about the French cockroach, we must strive for as much information as possible and grasp for the original meaning and intent of words that are used in scripture, realizing that they were not originally written in English. Further, we need to get as much information as possible from the text. In other words we should not just isolate a passage, but we should look both at the immediate context as well as the rest of scripture.
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Imagine if you started to read the story of The Three Little Pigs but only read the first two thirds of it. You could easily come to the conclusion that any house that a pig built, a wolf could destroy. You would actually miss the whole moral of the story and end up replacing that moral with one that the story never intended. Sadly the same thing often happens with Biblical interpretation.
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I recently listened to an online sermon and I was exposed to such careless interpretation. The pastor pointed out that each of the 5 times the word “breeches” was used in the Bible, that it referred to men wearing them. His conclusion, based upon that information, was that women should never wear pants because only men had worn breeches in those verses. What he neglected to point out is that each of those 5 verses also referred to the priests. Based on his logic, only priests should wear pants. Further, he also missed another important piece of information. Every time the word “skirt” is found (10 verses), it always refers to men. Based on that preachers logic, only men should wear skirts.
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It has often been said that a person can make the Bible say anything they want it to say. The truth is, people try to convince others that the Bible is saying something different than what it says, but that does not change the actually text. The problem with some Biblical interpretation is that people try to manipulate the truth rather than just looking at what it says.
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2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The person who missed the moral of the Three Little Pigs, and the pastor who drew an unreasonable conclusion from the word “breeches,” had reason to be ashamed. I fear that often such foolishness is not the result of ignorance, but rather of manipulation. That is why all Christians, not just pastors, need to study God’s Word. It really can be understood.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Talking about God
Why am I here? What is life all about? For those who have trusted God and believe on Jesus Christ as their savior, there is a clear answer to that question. Isaiah 43:7 says, “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” Revelation 4:11 states, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
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All things are created for God’s pleasure and as Christians we are created to bring glory to God. One of the ways to bring glory to God is to tell others about Him. “O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.” (Psalm 105:1-2)
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Telling people about God involves making known His deeds and talking about His wondrous works. That means to tell people about the amazing things that God has done. As you do that, you get to fulfill your purpose in life as a Christian. You get to bring glory to God as you brag on Him.
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As Christians, it is important that we tell people that Christ has come to save us from our sins, but many people are not interested in that message because they do not even understand who God is and how wonderful He is.
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As humans it is only natural for us to want to bring others along to our way of thinking. For example farmers have debated with each other for almost 100 years about whether red or green tractors are better. Before that the debate was horses, vs. mules, vs. oxen. Today it is difficult to turn on the TV or radio without hearing a debate about who should be our next President. The point is, each side is trying to convince the other.
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Often we take the same approach with Christianity and sometimes it works, but other times people just feel like they are being harassed. I grew up running green tractors and if someone came and told me how stupid I was not to have used a red tractor instead, I’d probably sink in my heals and defend John Deere. On the other hand, if a friend started to simply tell me how much he liked his Case/IH and how fun it was to drive and then offered to let me come and ride with him, I’d probably take him up on the offer.
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I am not suggesting that we never enter a debate about the gospel, but there are times that it is obvious that those we are talking to are more interested in arguing than learning. With such people it may be more beneficial to simply talk about how wonderful God is and let them understand Him better before actually going on to the next step of showing them that Jesus came to die for their sins so that they could be reconciled to a wonderful God.
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Finally we must understand that it is not our job to argue someone into heaven. It is our job to tell them the wonderful good news, but we cannot force them to believe it. Some have even gone so far as to continually harass others other until they got them to pray a prayer. That is not the gospel. That is worldly manipulation that any high pressure salesman or bully knows how to use, and just because a prayer is said doesn’t mean anyone changed their minds.
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Instead of trying to manipulate others, open the pages of scripture and read about the wondrous things God has done so you have something to tell others about. Look back on you own life and remember what God has done for you. Then share what you know about God with others and tell them that He loved us so much that He sent His son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.
-
All things are created for God’s pleasure and as Christians we are created to bring glory to God. One of the ways to bring glory to God is to tell others about Him. “O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.” (Psalm 105:1-2)
-
Telling people about God involves making known His deeds and talking about His wondrous works. That means to tell people about the amazing things that God has done. As you do that, you get to fulfill your purpose in life as a Christian. You get to bring glory to God as you brag on Him.
-
As Christians, it is important that we tell people that Christ has come to save us from our sins, but many people are not interested in that message because they do not even understand who God is and how wonderful He is.
-
As humans it is only natural for us to want to bring others along to our way of thinking. For example farmers have debated with each other for almost 100 years about whether red or green tractors are better. Before that the debate was horses, vs. mules, vs. oxen. Today it is difficult to turn on the TV or radio without hearing a debate about who should be our next President. The point is, each side is trying to convince the other.
-
Often we take the same approach with Christianity and sometimes it works, but other times people just feel like they are being harassed. I grew up running green tractors and if someone came and told me how stupid I was not to have used a red tractor instead, I’d probably sink in my heals and defend John Deere. On the other hand, if a friend started to simply tell me how much he liked his Case/IH and how fun it was to drive and then offered to let me come and ride with him, I’d probably take him up on the offer.
-
I am not suggesting that we never enter a debate about the gospel, but there are times that it is obvious that those we are talking to are more interested in arguing than learning. With such people it may be more beneficial to simply talk about how wonderful God is and let them understand Him better before actually going on to the next step of showing them that Jesus came to die for their sins so that they could be reconciled to a wonderful God.
-
Finally we must understand that it is not our job to argue someone into heaven. It is our job to tell them the wonderful good news, but we cannot force them to believe it. Some have even gone so far as to continually harass others other until they got them to pray a prayer. That is not the gospel. That is worldly manipulation that any high pressure salesman or bully knows how to use, and just because a prayer is said doesn’t mean anyone changed their minds.
-
Instead of trying to manipulate others, open the pages of scripture and read about the wondrous things God has done so you have something to tell others about. Look back on you own life and remember what God has done for you. Then share what you know about God with others and tell them that He loved us so much that He sent His son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.
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