How the Scriptures are to be Understood
Isaiah 6:9,10
May 8th
2011 PM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction (Isaiah
6:9,10)
A.
Illustration
1.
Three chefs were working
in a restaurant one day, when their kitchen supervisor approached them with an
order, and instructions on how to properly prepare it. The first chef looked at
the instructions, and said "You can show a recipe to 100 different people, and
each of them get a different meaning. You can't understand recipes, so why even
read them?"
2.
The second chef took a
slightly different angle. He said "I don't believe this recipe to be the literal
directions of our supervisor. I believe the ingredients all have hidden
meanings. I think the meat represents one thing, the spices and other
ingredients symbolize something else, and the time and cooking temperature are
some sort of mysterious allegory."
3.
While the other two were
engaging in their debate, the third chef simply took the recipe, and prepared
the dish according to instructions. The dish turned out to be delicious, and I'm
sure you can guess what happened next. This chef was rewarded for following
directions properly, while the other two were reprimanded, or worse.
4.
While this little story
may seem somewhat silly, it sadly illustrates the attitude that many people take
toward God and His Word, the Bible, which is to be OUR instructions, our
"recipe," for how to live our lives.
B.
The tendency to allegorize
and spiritualize Scripture was popularized around A.D.250 by a man named Origen.
1.
Origen was a prolific
author, and a valiant evangelist in the early church. He suffered brutal
persecution, and eventually martyrdom for his beliefs. Although his courage and
zeal were certainly commendable, he unfortunately embraced several false and
heretical doctrines, which stemmed from his unorthodox views of Scripture.
2.
Rather than affirm the
Apostolic teaching that the Scriptures were the infallible Word of God, he
taught that they were merely the "husk" which hid the "kernel" of Truth, and
thus, began replacing the plainly revealed teachings of Scripture with
enigmatic, allegorical interpretations.
3.
As a result of this
teaching, the floodgates were open to a devastating deluge of confusion and
division, from which the church has never fully recovered. In order for the
Church as a whole to function as God intends, there MUST be a re-discovery of
the foundational,literal Truth of the Bible.
4.
"The task of giving an
authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in
the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the
Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus
Christ." This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the
bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome. -- CCC 85
C.
What is at stake?
1.
Most evangelical churches
teach that salvation is by one's faith through God's grace apart from works.
2.
However, some churches
emphatically teach that works such as baptism is necessary for salvation.
3.
Most Protestants practice
baptism by sprinkling whereas Baptists baptize by immersion.
4.
The Roman Catholic Church
teaches it is the only true church, and that Peter was the first pope based on
their interpretation of Matthew 16:18. No one else outside Catholicism accepts
this interpretation.
a.
Cults such as the
Jehovah's Witnesses use the Bible to deny the deity of Jesus Christ, the
existence of Hell, and most cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith.
b.
The Mormons, another cult,
uses the Bible verses such as 1 Corinthians 15:29 as the source for their
practice of baptisms for the dead. No one else accepts this interpretation.
c.
Seventh Day Adventists
have their church services on Saturday, the Jewish "Sabbath Day." They teach
this based on their understanding of the Bible's instruction concerning the
Sabbath.
d.
Pentecostal churches and
the modern Charismatic movement teach speaking in "tongues" and miracle healings
are valid gifts of the Holy Spirit today. All fundamentalists and most other
Christian denominations strongly disagree.
D.
We must take the Bible literally.
1.
The word "interpretation"
means to arrive at the original meaning the writer intended when he penned the
words.
2.
That means to consistently
understand the Scriptures in their plain, normal, natural, obvious sense, much
like we would read and understand the newspaper, a book, a poem, an essay or
other types of literature.
3.
This is the only way to
determine what God really is trying to communicate to us. When we read any piece
of literature, but especially the Bible, we must determine what the author
intended to communicate.
4.
Many today will read a
verse or passage of Scripture and then give their own definitions to the words,
phrases, or paragraphs, ignoring the context and author’s intent. But this is
not what God intended, which is why God tells us to correctly handle the Word of
truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
II.
Message
A.
What the Bible says about itself.
1.
The Bible is a REVELATION,
which means " to reveal, to unveil, to lift a curtain for all to see." God gave
us the Bible to REVEAL Truth, not to CONCEAL it. To reveal Himself, not confuse
us more (Luke 10:21; 1Cor 14:33)
2.
The Bible is written in
simple terms, for simple people (Matthew 11:25; 13:19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 2
Timothy 3:16-17.)
3.
80% of the Bible is simply
history, promises, and guidelines for living. The other 20% consists of
prophecies about future events.
B.
The Bible is a
Supernatural Book
1.
It describes not only the
past in perfect detail, but also the future (Isa 46:9,10)
2.
It tells of invisible
things – that are there!
a.
God
b.
The Human Soul
c.
Angels, Demons, Spirits
d.
It Predicts Germs
e.
The Elements themselves
3.
It is eternal (Mt 24:35) –
it is much more than just ink on paper!
4.
But still, it is a BOOK,
with words in it that have precise meanings, and when taken together, in
context, make sense!
C.
It says what it means
and means what it says (Acts 17:11)
1.
We are conservative
Christians. Fundamental, Evangelical believers in the very words of Scripture as
written!
2.
When reading any portion of
Scripture, we always take into account the cultural and historical background.
We ask: Who is talking? who are they talking to?
3.
We believe that the basic
meaning and teachings of Scripture are clear enough to be understood by the
average person.
a.
The wages of sin is death
b.
The soul that sinneth, it
shall die
c.
There is none righteous, no
not one
d.
Depart from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels
e.
Except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish!
4.
Unless a passage is clearly
intended as allegory, or poetry, the Bible should be interpreted as literal
statements by the author.
5.
The Bible was written in the
language of men and can be easily understood if we follow the rules of language.
Nothing is cryptic in the message and understanding of God's word. It is not
complicated and in fact written very simply and all men can understand it
correctly. God states in Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God." The question that begs an answer is how can a man
have faith, which comes from hearing the word of God, if he cannot absolutely
know what God is saying?
6.
NOTE: Men do not reject the
Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them
D.
Some things are
symbolic
1.
Although we take the Bible
literally, there are still figures of speech within its pages.
a.
An example of a figure of
speech would be that if someone said "it is raining cats and dogs outside,"
you would know that they did not really mean that cats and dogs were falling
from the sky. They would mean it is raining really hard.
b.
There are figures of
speech in the Bible which are not to be taken literally, but those are obvious.
See Psalm 17:8 for example – “hide me under the shadow of thy wings”
c.
Jesus said in John 10, "I
am the door". Well, we know that's a figurative door, because literal doors do
not talk. Always take God's word literally, unless it's impossible.
2.
The Mormons teach that God
is a physical man of "flesh and bone" the same as any human on earth. They refer
to the Scriptures which refer to the hand of God a proof that God has a physical
body. They proudly claim that they are simply interpreting God's word literally.
However, God says in John 4:24 that He is Spirit. He says He is not a man nor
ever was a man. So, it is incorrect to literally say that God is a god of flesh
and bone because the Bible uses metaphorical language to describe the actions of
God.
E.
But words have
meanings!
1.
Forgiveness
2.
Blood atonement
3.
One mediator
4.
Repentance
5.
Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
6.
Worship
7.
Love
8.
Don’t allow those words to be
constantly changed and twisted
F.
The Challenge to
Believe It Literally
1.
Much of “Christianity”
does NOT take the Bible literally
a.
Modern Commentaries
b.
Genesis is a myth. Pope
John Paul II
c.
He also said, “God used
evolution to create the world”
2.
Creation
(Gen 1:1-3; 2:1,2; Exod 20:10,11)
a.
God says that His work of
creation happened in six days. Does He really mean what He says? Does He mean
“six days” or does He mean something else? Can we take Him at His Word?
How would a child understand this verse?
b.
Today many teach that
these six days of creation cannot refer to literal 24 hour days, but instead
must represent long ages of time which would then correspond with the vast
geologic ages theorized by evolutionary scientists and scholars.
c.
But does normal
interpretation allow for such a non-literal approach? How would Moses and the
people of his day have understood Exodus 20:11 and Genesis chapter 1? The rules
of language and word usage demand that we understand these as literal 24 hour
days.
3.
Satan
(2Cor 11:14; Rev 12:3,9)
4.
The World Wide Flood
(Gen 6-9)
5.
Jonah
(Matthew 12:40)
6.
The Sun and Moon Standing Still for 24 hours
(Josh 10:12-14)
7.
Hezekiah and the Retrograde Sundial
(2Kings 20:9-11)
8.
Jesus Walking on Water
(Mt 14:24-29)
9.
The Resurrection
(Acts 26:8)
10.
The New Birth
(John 3:1-7; 1 Peter 1:23)
11.
Husbands and Wives
(Ephesians 5:21-33)
12.
Capital Punishment
(Gen 9:6; Acts 25:11)
13.
The Extent of the Atonement
a.
Do I understand that
Christ died for all men and that He tasted death for every man without
exception?
b.
The language of the Bible
cannot be more clear:
c.
He died for . . .
1)
the world (John 3:16;
6:33,51)
2)
the whole world (1 John
2:2)
3)
all (1 Timothy 2:6)
4)
us all (Isaiah 53:6)
5)
all men (Romans 5:18)
6)
every man (Hebrews 2:9)
7)
Christ-deniers (2 Peter
2:1).
d.
Does God really mean what
He says? Can we take Him at His Word? Or, are we going to let our theology force
us to change the meaning of words that by themselves are very clear?
14.
Honouring and Obeying Authorities
(Rom 13:1-7)
15.
Everything is working out for good
(Eccl 3:11; Rom 8:28)
16.
Some of those things
are hard to be understood
a.
It was hard for the
readers of those days to believe things like:
1)
About Germs – God had
rules about quarantining sick people and people who had touched something dead
2)
About diseases – God said
do not eat an animal that was already dead, and don’t eat blood
3)
About worshipping stars
because they are only hydrogen balls of gas and not gods
b.
Just believe the Bible
anyway!
Even when you don’t understand it
c.
Science will catch up
soon enough!
G.
How Far Will You Trust the Bible?
1.
In Child Training? Doing
it the Bible way?
2.
In losing your life for
Christ’s sake?
3.
In dying?
4.
In praying for the
impossible?
5.
In getting your mind
restored, or your marriage?
6.
In staying faithful to
God’s ways, when His ways don’t make sense?
III.
Conclusion
A.
Steve Falkenberg,
professor of religious psychology at
B.
If the Bible is the very
words of God, and it was meant to be read and understood as written…
1.
Why would we allow people
to make up new meanings for words, and tell us we can’t figure it out on our
own?
2.
So that we rely on some
religion! Instead on prayer, and time in reading God’s word ourselves!
3.
Let’s be more noble than
those of Thessalonica, in that we search the Scriptures daily, and understand
them as written – not allegorically