Just a few thoughts on Scripture:
Luke 10:25-28:
“And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; “Do this and you will live.”
1) People can have different interpretations of Scripture
2) People can have wrong interpretations of Scripture
John 16:13 - “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
Isaiah 55:11 - “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
Matthew 22:29 - “But Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
1) People can have different interpretations of Scripture
- Jesus asks the lawyer how the Law reads to him, as in, what is his interpretation.
2) People can have wrong interpretations of Scripture
- The lawyer gave his views on Old Testament salvation, in which case he was correct. This means that he could’ve been incorrect.
- Christ doesn’t say that that’s just his interpretation... As in, “Well good for you, that’s beautiful, but here’s how I read it.” He says that that’s the correct interpretation!
John 16:13 - “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
- The Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. Not a Spirit of uncertainty, not a Spirit of personal revelations, but a Spirit of truth.
- There is a definite truth, and our Spirit guides us in it. Our interpretation, if we have the Spirit of truth, will be aligned to the truth and guided into all the truth.
- There can be false views, or even different convictions on certain passages, but overall we will be guided and led into the truth. Christians don’t remain in darkness, they dwell in the light!
- John 10:27 - “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
- Not talking about issues like when to take communion, or how the worship should be arranged, but black and white issues, like how we gain eternal life, or the person of Christ, etc.
Isaiah 55:11 - “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
- God’s word doesn’t return empty. Every single word in Scripture has a purpose.
- 2 Timothy 3:16 - “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
- God sent His word out for a reason, which means that it was objective, or outside of human interpretation. There is a truth in every word, and just because we believe that one word means something, doesn’t make it true. God sent the Word out to accomplish what He desires. He decided what was true and what wasn’t.
Do we truly know the Scriptures? Are we correct in them? Are we forming our lives around Scripture or are we forming Scripture around our lives?
I feel like these thoughts are very timely and the meditations are spot on!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this! :D
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