Articles
Is the Bible Understandable?
Much misinformation has been circulated about bible interpretation. Common incorrect viewpoints abound. “The Bible is a book of fairytales, fables, and fiction!” Or, “People determine what they want from the Bible.” I’ve even heard someone claim that the seven churches of Asia were seven schools of interpretation, thus “proving” open interpretation practices. This faulty approach to the Bible causes people to reason that Jesus was just a man ahead of his time. This leads many to suggest that he merely reinvigorated the people to care for one another through a basic system of age-old platitudes like “the Golden Rule”. In order to respond to these and other accusations, we must look to Jesus’ view of Scripture and be able to defend that view.
Time and time again, Jesus appeals to Scripture as binding, but one case indisputably reveals how we must approach God’s law. That case is recorded in Luke 10. An expert in the Law approached Jesus, challenging him with the question we should all ask: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 25). Jesus responded with two questions: “What is written in the Law?” and “How do you read it?” (v. 26). These two questions embody the twofold aspect of hermeneutics (i.e. Bible interpretation) – what is written and what does it mean. To determine God’s position, we must answer these questions through His eyes.
Jesus was not saying that however the man interpreted the passage was acceptable. Moreover, He was not elevating moral relativism over God’s law. What Jesus was doing was exposing the man’s ulterior motives by demonstrating that if the man were indeed looking through the eyes of God and understanding the text as it was originally written, the answer was simple. All of God’s law could be summed up by the one command that the man knew by heart (Deut. 30:6). The real issue was his application of the principle, and that is why Jesus proceeds with the Good Samaritan Parable (vv. 29-37).
The Bible is not a book open to any interpretation that suits us. Peter, an apostle of Christ, showed his disdain for that approach (2Pet. 1:16, 20). The Bible is a timeless expression of the principles of Godliness (2Pet. 1:3f). God gave us an imperishable seed that would never be destroyed (Matt. 24:35; Luke 16:17; John 10:35; 1Pet. 1:23-25). The only way by which that is possible is that the Bible is properly interpretable as the inspired book of God (2Tim. 3:16f).
