That’s Your Interpretation, Part 1

God’s word is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), but many difficulties can occur when trying to understand theBible with preconceived notions or our own personal beliefs in mind. When attempting to discuss a Bible matter with someone you may have heard them say, “That verse means something completely different to me than it does to you,” or, “Well that’s just your one interpretation among many.” This begs the question: are passages of scripture open to an individual’s interpretation?

The concept that any interpretation will do is foreign to the Bible. Peter makes that clear in his second letter. Let’s examine verses 16-21. 2 Peter 1:16 notes that we have options when it comes to what we believe concerning truth. Peter says that the teaching given to the saints was not based in “cunningly devised fables” but on the truth of what was witnessed concerning Christ. What was witnessed?

Verse 17-18 tells us that Peter is specifically thinking back to the moment when Jesus was transfigured as recorded in Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9. The importance of that occasion was God speaking to Peter, James, and John telling them that Jesus was to be the spiritual and doctrinal authority rather than the law of Moses. Obviously God has a message for man that he sent in the form of His Son. 2 Peter 1:19-21 teaches that this message was delivered from God, through holy men. The key to this study stands out in verse 20 where Peter writes, “No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” Being sure to remain true to the context, this means that the teaching received in the Bible was from God and not man. But the principle is given in these six verses that instead of heeding man’s ideas of what truth is, we should seek God’s message in every word of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Our God put much work and effort, including the sacrifice of His Son, into making sure we had the entirety of His word readily available. He had an important message that we needed. When considering God’s effort and sacrifice, is it reasonable to assume that He views His law as open to any interpretation?

When parents have an extremely important message for their children, they speak differently to them. You might see a mother kneel down to eye level with her boy, gently hold his shoulders, and explain how important the following message is before telling her son that he is not to run out into the street when playing. Why does she expend so much effort in delivering this message? Because if the boy interprets the message differently than she intended, the results could be tragic.

If you strongly believe that any interpretation is as good as another, ask yourself why you believe that. Sometimes an idea is widely believed simply because a lot of people are shouting it from whatever medium they can find. Ideas must be tested and supported by evidence. Is this concept believable when applied to all areas of life? Ask yourself what would happen if the “DO NOT TOUCH” sign in front of any sculpted or painted masterpiece was ignored. Would the museum’s security leave you alone because that sign was up to your own interpretation? When speed limit signs dictate a maximum and minimum speed on the highway you can’t avoid the citation when pulled over by saying, “Sorry officer, but I just have a very different interpretation of 70 MPH than you do.”

God never intended for us to interpret the Bible any way we want. He has one message that is the most important ever delivered. It’s a matter of spiritual life and spiritual death. May we ever be honest with ourselves and the scripture.

For part 2 click here.