The subject of interpreting scripture is one of utmost
importance. Proper understanding of God’s words guides the servant of the
Almighty to righteousness, maturity, and a healthy, fruitful relationship with
his Creator. Lack of understanding leads to error, heresy,
and division from God and His servants.
Oddly enough, proper interpretation and methods of
interpretation are greatly ignored by most religeous
people. Even those who do study the scriptures allow their understanding to be
molded only by their leaders or their traditions. Godly leaders and traditions
are wonderful and beneficial when they are right. But what if they are wrong?
What if they and, as a result, you are misinterpreting the scriptures? How will
you know?
To answer those questions, we must determine and establish
an irrefutable foundation on which to base our interpretations. Of course, God
is the One Divine Supreme Being, the only God worthy to be worshiped. This is
the ultimate foundation. In the matter of interpreting scripture, there are two
things which cannot be refuted and upon which all interpretation must be based.
First, the scriptures are the words of God. Second, God
cannot lie. That may seem very elementary. It is also very profound and far
reaching. When we begin to understand and to implement those principals into
our process of interpretation, we will find that some of our doctrines and
traditions have been in error.
Since God cannot lie, every interpretation of any
scripture must not contradict any other scripture. If {by way of example}
scripture “A” says that chicken eggs are brown in color and scripture “B”
refers to a white chicken egg, then any interpretation of scripture “A” must
allow for the possibility of white chicken eggs. An interpretation of scripture
“A” that says, “ALL chicken eggs are brown,” is obviously flawed. If we ignore
or reject scripture “B,” we will easily enter into error. That may be a simple
and silly analogy, but we make the same kind of mistakes with the Holy
Scriptures.
As in the example above, many people embrace certain
scriptures while ignoring or rejecting others. Most Christians embrace the
passage in the Bible which states, “All scripture [is] given by inspiration of
God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works.” {2 Timothy 3:16-17} And yet, the overwhelming
majority of Christians reject the Koran! The Bible says, “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” {1 John 4:2} If Christians
accept that scripture, then they cannot deny the Koran when it says of Jesus
that he is the Messiah, a Messenger of Allah, His word, and a spirit sent from
Him. {Koran 4: 171} The Bible warns of a generation which will only listen to
teachers that say things the people want to hear. {2 Timothy 4:3-4} We must ask
ourselves if we are a part of that generation. If we are, then we must repent!
Christians are not alone in this kind of error. The Koran states clearly, “And to you {Muhammad} We have revealed the Book with the truth confirming the Book that was revealed before it and a guardian over it.” {Koran 5:48} “He has sent down to you the Book with the truth, confirming what preceded it; and He has sent down the Torah and the Gospel before, as a guidance for people, and He sent down the Criterion. As for those who disbelieve in the verses of Allah, for them is an intense punishment.” {Koran 3:3-4} And in spite of the instruction in the Koran and the promise of punishment for disbelieving in the verses of Allah, many Muslims reject the best source of the Torah and the Gospel. If we reject the Torah and the Gospel and accept nothing other than the Koran, then we have rejected the words of Allah and become like the Christian who rejects the Koran! {NOTE: It is not implied here that the Bible is a perfect representative of the Torah and Gospel. Every knowledgeable person knows that the text of the Bible has been modestly altered. However, the Bible remains the most authoritative source. When identifying alterations in the Bible, we must find evidence of the alteration beyond our personal disagreement with the text.}
The man that will diligently study the Torah, the Gospel,
and the Koran is best positioned to understand the words of God. A man cannot fully
understand a confirming word if he has no knowledge of the thing that word
confirms. Without knowledge of the Torah and the Gospel, we cannot reap the
full benefit of the Koran. Likewise, without knowledge of the Koran, Christians
and Jews do not receive the full benefit of the Torah and the Gospel. Since God
cannot lie, let us study His words; all of them.
Some people overemphasize certain scriptures to the extent
that they enter into error and cause other scriptures to become meaningless.
The passages in the Bible {1 John 5:7-8, 1 Timothy
Muslims, on the other hand, overemphasize the passage in
the Koran which states that the Jews did not kill Jesus. {Koran 4:157} Most
Muslims go so far as to misinterpret this passage to mean that Jesus did not
die. It simply does not say that. Do we ignore the passage which quotes Jesus
as prophesying of his own death and resurrection? {Koran 19:33-34}Or do we
explain it away by assuming that he will die after he returns to earth? {NOTE:
This view is purely speculation. There is no hard evidence to suggest that Jesus’
death will occur “after” his return.} It is true that the Jews did not kill
Jesus. The Romans actually carried out the execution.{Mark 15:16-23; John
19:23-24} But more importantly, Jesus said that no one would take his life but
that he would lay it down of himself. {John 10:15-18} The fact that the Jews
did not kill Jesus does not imply that he did not die. Since God cannot lie,
let us consider the possibility that we have misunderstood the scriptures.
Proper scriptural interpretation can only be achieved when
we interpret the scriptures in the light of the scriptures. If we rely on men
to tell us what a scripture means without searching for the truth ourselves, we
become blind followers. In this condition, we could ignorantly walk off the
edge of a cliff. We should certainly seek the advice and insight of those who
are more knowledgeable and experienced in understanding the words of God. But
we must search the scriptures ourselves to verify that the things we are being
told are true. If our leaders select a scripture to emphasize and teach us an
interpretation of that scripture which might conflict with other scriptures,
then we must consider that our leaders’ interpretation may be flawed.
Remember, our leaders are human. They are capable of
making mistakes. They also received training from other men who are capable of
making mistakes. Through the years and centuries, small misinterpretations can develop
into serious doctrinal errors.
It is rare that a man is both able and willing to examine
the scriptures without the bias of his training and traditions. Some men do not
have the intellectual ability to search and understand the scriptures. These
men are forced to depend heavily upon other men that have a greater intellect.
Other men mistakenly assume that their leaders are correct in their
understanding and therefore see no need to search the scriptures for themselves.
But occasionally there are men who possess the intellectual ability and realize
that even among the most educated and influential leaders there is disagreement
on many issues. These men, if they are willing, can focus their study on God’s
words, interpret the scriptures in the light of the scriptures, ignore the
doctrinal errors of men, and come to the most complete and accurate
understanding of the Almighty God!
In order to achieve this goal, these men must continually
be aware that they are also capable of making mistakes. They must always
continue with their search for understanding. They must be willing to admit
their mistakes. They must be willing to change when they find out that they are
wrong. They must never become arrogant or conceited. They must be diligent,
unwavering, meek, and humble in seeking to understand the words of God.
Since God cannot lie, let us lay aside our strict adherence to the doctrines that are unclear in scripture. So many modern doctrines in both Islam and Christianity are based on conjecture and speculation. Rather than finding scripture that supports our doctrine, let us develop doctrine that supports the scriptures. If the scriptures are not absolutely and emphatically clear then they are subject to interpretation. But our interpretations must not contradict any other passage of scripture. If our interpretation of a scripture conflicts with another scripture, then we must be willing to admit that our interpretation is flawed. Let us study ALL of God’s words. Let us make His words the final authority.
In the Service of the Almighty,
Bill McLean
bill@mcleanministries.com