1.  God Desires for Us to know His Word

a.  I would not that ye should be ignorant brethren (Paul uses this expression seven times; e.g. Rom. 1:13)

                             
i.     There is no premium on being ignorant of the Bible

                                   
ii.     Ignorance is not bliss, it is dangerous

                                 
iii.     Wolves prey on the ignorance of sheep.

b.  II Cor. 2:11 – Our ignorance gives Satan an advantage over us.

c.   The Bible was given to reveal not conceal truth, not to conceal it. The whole point of revelation is that we might KNOW the things that are given to us through this means. (I Cor. 2:13)

d.  I Corinthians 14:20 – “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in  understanding be men.

 

2.  The Bible can be known.

a.  Deut. 29:29 – “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

b.  I John 5:13 – These things were written by John so that his readers might know.

 

3.  The Bible is easily misunderstood

a.  Examples:

            i.     “My father is greater than I.”  (John 14:28)

                                        ii.     “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance.” (Heb.6:4-5)

                                                    iii.     “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”  (Mark 16:16)

 

                                           iv.     “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:17-18)

 

b.  There are countless interpretations of the Bible… from the orthodox, to the questionable, to the downright bizarre.

 

c.   Eph. 4:14 – Children are easily deceived and are led into a false understanding of the Word. Therefore, be no more children, tossed to and fro and deceived. Grow up… learn the Word!

 

d.  Since the Bible is easily misunderstood, and since God WANTS us to know what He said, there must be a way to understand the revelation God has given.

 

e.  The Bible is easily misunderstood, but careful, diligent study using the literal method of interpretation is God’s means to accomplish that end.

 

4.  Our Adversary the Devil

a.  Matt. 4:5-6 – Satan seeks to twist the Word.

b.  Rev.12:9 – the devil seeks to deceive the whole world.

c.   II Cor. 11:3-4 – Satan seeks to corrupt minds from the simplicity that is in Christ. The simplest way to understand the Bible is to take it for what it actually says.  

d.  II Cor.11:13-15 – Satan has his own “ministers” who seek to corrupt minds too… who appear as angels of light.

 

5.  The Influence of the World

a.  Our culture exerts pressure on the interpreter to interpret the Bible in light of the world’s cultural norms, rather than interpreting the Bible on the basis of what it actually says.

b.  Examples:

                                         i.     The Spirit of the age says that the gay lifestyle is acceptable. Hence, the Bible is interpreted in light of that world view.

                                 ii.     The spirit of the age says that men and women share equal roles in the home. Wives are not to submit to their husbands. Thus, the roles of the men and women in the Bible are interpreted in light of that view.

                                     iii.     The spirit of the age is addicted to science – even some which is what Paul calls “science falsely so called.” The world exerts pressure on the believer to interpret the Bible in light of what modern science says (Example: creation; miracles; etc.)

                                       iv.     The spirit of the age says that children should not be spanked. That is a cultural taboo today. Hence, Bible passages are interpreted through that lens… and the interpretation is distorted.

                                      v.     The spirit of the age is driven by materialism. Hence, we see the Bible being interpreted in that light: the gospel of health and wealth. (He became poor that we might become rich; forgive us our debts; etc.)

c.   The spirit of the age (worldly thinking) determines what they think the Bible should mean. Bible interpretation is forced through their lens… through their slanted prism. This distorts what the Bible actually says.

d.  “Culture” is used very often as an excuse NOT to take God’s Word for what it says. (Paul wrote what he did about women because that’s what his culture taught him… etc.)

e.  Believers are influenced by the “thinking of men”, what Paul calls the wisdom of men.

f.    This is a spiritual obstacle to be overcome. It is a hindrance to Bible interpretation.

g.  Rom.12:1-2 – be not conformed to this world… but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Minds are renewed by the Word of God.

                                             i.     World = age = the spirit of the age

                                            ii.     Before our minds can be renewed, we must first be yielded to God – as a living sacrifice. (vs.1)

                                  iii.    Transformed = a total change from the inside out. (Present; pass; imp.) = keep on being transformed. God does the transforming.

                                        iv.     He does it by renewing the way we THINK.

                                         v.     Thus, Paul states that our mind (our thinking) is shaped either by the world (external conformity) OR by God and His Word (internal transformation).

                                          vi.     What we have been filling our minds with will greatly affect our ability to know and understand the Bible.

 

6.  Peer Pressure from a Christian denomination, church, or group

a.  Denominations and “fellowships” put pressure upon those pastors in their denomination to “stick to the party line.”

b.  Many of these groups put out “resolutions” at their conventions each year on various topics… from doctrines, to politics, to standards, etc.  And all in the group are expected to defend those resolutions.

c.   The problem is that those resolutions were not in place when the man joined in the first place… and he may not entirely agree… but it pressured to hold the party line or to be rejected from the group. That is not healthy.

d.  To a lesser degree, individual churches can also exert pressure to conform to their views as well. (Bible version; hats; pet doctrines; homeschooling; etc.)

e.  Interpretation of the Bible ought to be based upon what the text says, NOT on what an individual or a group SAYS that it says.

f.    I John 4:1 – We are not to believe every spirit (Bible teacher).

g.  Acts 17:11 – Each believer is accountable for what he believes. We are to search the Scriptures to see if it is so.

 

7.  The Natural Inclination of the Flesh

a.  Pride: Can affect interpretation.

                                                i.     The flesh is proud. Personal pride can have an effect on interpretation

                                               ii.     The flesh has a hard time believing what the Bible says about the flesh: no good thing; incurably sick;
etc. Human pride slants our understanding of such passages.

                                         iii.   (I’ve always believed “X”. I’ll never change my views. After all, Pastor SO and So taught it! That’s what my denomination believes! It would be too embarrassing for me to admit now that I was wrong all these years!”)

                                          iv.     Only Neanderthals believe in a six day creation!  What would my colleagues think of me? Days must really mean millions of years!

b.  Unbelief can affect our interpretation. 

                                    
i.     Sometimes what the Bible says is hard to believe.

                                   
ii.     Rapture, resurrection, miracles,

                                 
iii.     Liberalism has been hammering away against taking the Word for what it says. We are influenced by that unbelief… and sometimes take that baggage with us as we study.

                                 
iv.     If you start off with the premise that supernatural events are impossible… then you will miss the point of the Christian faith entirely.

c.   Selfishness can affect our interpretation

                                    
i.     The crucified life does not come easy to the flesh because we love self.

                                   
ii.     Thus, there is always the desire in us to take the easy route.

                                 
iii.   The flesh would love to believe that the Bible doesn’t REALLY mean what it says when we are commanded to give as Jesus gave to us; to love our enemies; to be a living sacrifice; forgive someone 490 times in a row!

                                 
iv.     There is a tendency to filter what the Bible says through the filter of what is comfortable for self.

d.  The flesh BLINDS us to the truth. It separates us from God, and we NEED Him to illuminate Scripture for us. The inability of an unsaved man to understand spiritual things is related to the blindness (hardness) of his heart… not the lack of intellect. (Eph.4:18)

e.  We “need to know” how to study the Bible because we have everything working against us from understanding it: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

 

8.  8. The danger of Biblical ignorance

a.   Matthew 22:29 – Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures

b.   Hosea 4:1 – God had an argument with the Jews because they were lacking the knowledge of God in the land.

c.  Hosea 4:6 – God’s people were destroyed because of a lack of knowledge of God and His Word. All these issues combine to form a powerful mandate for the believer to know the Word and to know HOW to study the Word.