“Isn’t That Just Your Opinion?” – How Can We Know What the Bible Really Means? by Reagan Marsh
How can we know that what the Bible is saying isn’t merely based on our opinion but actually what the Bible really means?
Scripture, when interpreted on its own terms, is usually pretty straightforward.
There are some obscure places or statements in the Bible, certainly, but the majority of it is fairly clear.
Further, God gives gifts to his people to help them grow, and one of his chief gifts is that of a pastor-teacher.“Scripture, when interpreted on its own terms, is usually pretty straightforward.”
This is a gift where the Spirit sovereignly enables a qualified man to grasp and communicate what the Bible says.
Objectifying (or treating as something mystical) the work of God the Spirit in gifting and guiding pastor-teachers who have been faithful in their study of and submission to the plain sense of the text in light of the whole counsel of God is dangerous to your soul and robs God of glory.
This is because faithful men will use faithful methods. “Hermeneutics,” or the work of interpreting a text, is a science (both ancient and modern) which prescribes and employs a standard set of rules for properly interpreting and understanding a given literary genre or academic discipline’s writings.“A good shepherd’s aim is always to relay the words of the Chief Shepherd and nothing more.”
It is then applied to specific texts under its parameters to secure a faithful comprehension of their intended meaning.
Why speak of hermeneutics? When God’s Spirit enables a pastor-teacher to deal faithfully and spiritually with the text of Scripture, it is in accordance with these basic tenets.
A good shepherd’s aim is always to relay the words of the Chief Shepherd and nothing more.
So, coming to the Scriptures with confidence relies on far more than opinion.
Every person on the planet operates with these bare-bones basics when it comes to what they expect of anyone listening to anything we might say or write.“Coming to the Scriptures with confidence relies on far more than opinion.”
If your wife’s text message asks you to pick up pepperoni and mushroom pizzas for dinner on your way home from work, she won’t be pleased with ham and pineapple.
Why? Because it’s not what she said, and you know that because you know the basics of interpreting her intended meaning.
When we apply much the same principle to ancient texts like the Bible, with the gracious help of the Holy Spirit for insight and illumination as we interpret Scripture with Scripture (just like you interpret your wife’s texts with your previous knowledge of what she’s said and how she writes), we may have a very high degree of confidence in knowing that we have faithfully handled the word of truth.
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