There may well be those who read this article with intermittent shakes of the head, and dismay at the thought of me offering any type of instruction on correct interpretation of the Bible. Before even going any further I would like to hold my hands up high, and confess that on many occasions, even recently, I have acted contrary to the commands of Scripture. Many times this has brought hurt upon those I truly love, and who love me, yet in my imperfections of the flesh I often betray the life Christ imparts to me through His Gospel. I offer no excuse for my waywardness when it emerges, and have no alternative but to be reminded that I am now as much as ever, a sinner by nature who desperately has to rely upon the grace of God in order to be spared from His impending wrath against the unrighteousness of man. Yet in His grace I will stand, and I will stand boldly.
In my years of being a Christian, my theology has been transformed dramatically, as I think many who know me will agree (some maybe even through tears). What I have realised however is there has been an accelerated transformation over recent years, and that has come only with a change of heart and mind towards the authority, the sufficiency and the inerrancy of Scripture. This is not to suggest I know the Bible any more or less than anyone else, but simply the way in which the Lord, by His Spirit, has changed my attitude towards His Word, and the way in which it is applied to my life. Whereas once I attempted to live a Christian life in virtual ignorance to His Word without even realising it, every area of my life now seems to be coming under its governance.
What I have come to realise more clearly the longer I have been a believer, is that Christ alone is the true Shepherd, and as a believer, I am nothing more than a sheep in His flock. When I read through John 16 , it is clear to me that the promise of Jesus to send His Spirit, was to convict the world of sin, and to also lead the believer into all righteousness. He also makes clear that to the believer this will be a process not an immediate thing, for it would be too much to bear at once [John 16:12]. As the Spirit of God has opened my eyes to sin in my life, and also to the error which I have believed, my reaction at times is almost sheeplike, in that I know how to do little other than flee. All I can do is apologise to those who have experienced this in a negative way, but it has been from positive motives.
To avoid rambling any further, I suppose it’s best to get to the point of this message, and that is how to interpret God’s Word correctly, in order to discern that which is true from that which is false. The bottom line is that I’ve come to realise although there are many applications to the believer from the Word of God, there is only one true interpretation of Scripture. It is not subjective in any way to our own interpretations or experiences, or even to the doctrines that are taught from the pulpits of our churches necessarily. But it is always the Scripture itself that will interpret Scripture.
The reformers who founded the Protestant church understood this rule of interpretation clearly, and labelled it the “analogy of faith”. This method of interpretation was included in the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1647, and was officially noted in chapter one of the confession:
9. The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.a
a. Acts 15:15; 2 Pet 1:20-21.
10. The Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.a
a. Mat 22:29, 31; Eph 2:20 with Acts 28:25.
The way in which this method of interpretation is to be carried out, although is something I’m finding extremely helpful, is not something that can be explained in a few sentences. Nor is it possible to become an overnight expert, which I most definitely I am not! But through earnestly, prayerfully and devotedly feeding upon the whole Word of God on a daily basis, it is something that will enable you to come to a true understanding of the truth that God reveals in the pages of the Bible.
If this describes you as a believer, I would highly recommend visiting the following link to a series of four lectures given by a renowned Bible scholar by the name of Wayne Grudem. Each lecture is available to freely download or stream directly, and will help to give the listener a clear idea how to approach the Bible in a right manner.
Visit the lectures by clicking here.
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