How to rightly divide the word of truth.
This is a continuation of my previous post Contending for the Faith in which I began the discussion challenging Papa Pepper, in particular, but the Hebrew Roots/Torah Observant members of Steemit in general, on how I believe they are not rightly dividing the Scriptures.
The last post was more a response to that particular post/video of @papa-pepper, but it opened up the discussion to why I am posting this series in general. So, other than direct responses within his videos I don't plan on addressing each and everyone of his videos in particular. Rather, I hope to display my objections to the doctrines and "food for thought" he has presented in a more systematic approach.
For, I believe, that if foundational doctrines and concepts can be clearly established first, then the more difficult doctrines and concepts that tend to lead people astray from the True Gospel can be avoided. I know I won't be as thorough and as scholarly as others who have dealt with these issues before me, so these posts/videos won't be comprehensive and may not be 100% correct. I encourage you all to dig deeper on your own. I will, however, do my best to unpack and shed light on the confusion and misunderstandings of Scripture that those that believe and teach in the Hebrew Roots/Torah Observant movement can and are creating among Christians.
.jpg)
Much of my concern and contention with @papa-pepper ‘s teachings in his Spiritual Food for Thought series is that he chooses to use an approach of interpretation of Scripture, and by extension in his teaching, called Eisegesis rather than the proper approach of interpreting and teaching Scripture known as Exegesis.
What are the differences between eisegesis and exegesis, you may be asking?
That’s a really good question, I’m so glad you asked!
GotQuestions.org has a really good answer for your really good question.
I am going to quote their website instead of reinventing the answer in my own words. Why waste the time since they did such a bang up job?
Question: "What is the difference between exegesis and eisegesis?"
Answer: Exegesis and eisegesis are two conflicting approaches in Bible study. Exegesis is the exposition or explanation of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word exegesis literally means “to lead out of.” That means that the interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text.
The opposite approach to Scripture is eisegesis, which is the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective, non-analytical reading. The word eisegesis literally means “to lead into,” which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants.
GotAnswers.org continues to compare and contrast the two approaches as follows:
Obviously, only exegesis does justice to the text. Eisegesis is a mishandling of the text and often leads to a misinterpretation. Exegesis is concerned with discovering the true meaning of the text, respecting its grammar, syntax, and setting. Eisegesis is concerned only with making a point, even at the expense of the meaning of words.
If you take the time to look into the ins and outs of the proper approach to studying Scripture, you will undoubtedly come across many scholarly articles that can take you even further into the science of proper interpretation, called Hermenuetics.
I hope all those who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture would “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
While at the same time not arguing or striving over words that don’t profit anyone. This can cause "catastrophe," or the overthrow, of the faith of those who hear it. (2 Timothy 2:14)
Also, I would hope that all those who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture would be like the Bereans as recorded in Acts 17:11, that they “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Lastly, I don’t want to be accused of “verse dropping”, as if my point is to win some theological argument by randomly dropping a Scripture into the conversation. Rather, the extensive use of the Scriptures in my posts, comments, and replies is to show their proper exegetical context and how they fit into the greater theological context being debated. I do not post a verse to prove a point without giving my commentary as to why I believe I am interpreting those verses correctly.
This approach is part of the overall aim of “reasoning from the scriptures” together. My reasoning is meant to be a two-sided affair. I invite others to come and reason with me. I invite you to show me, through thought out responses why, after your own exegetical research, you have come to a different conclusion than me. Then, together, we can begin to understand what the Scriptures actually say. If I am wrong in my understanding, I will be the first to admit it. My goal isn’t to “WIN” and argument, but to show myself approved unto God by contending for the faith so that those who are teaching or being taught things that don’t conform to sound doctrine may be corrected. EVEN IF THAT PERSON IS ME!!!
All I ask, is that you come to the discussion ready to reason together with a humble heart full of love.
Please refrain from name calling and associating others with Satan and demons, unless you can prove from Scripture that the beliefs and actions exhibited are labeled as such by Scripture. Even then, just because a person is believing something and/or teaching something that IS associated by Scripture with Satan and demons, that doesn’t automatically mean the person believing something and/or teaching that false doctrine is purposefully working on Satan’s behalf. That person could just be wrong and in need of loving correction through proper exegetical reasoning from the Scriptures.
It is my hope that this Contending for the Faith Series will help not only @papa-pepper, but also all those who have been bewitched by human philosophy and vain deceit into believing a false gospel, which really is no gospel at all, to be set free to walk in the freedom and love that God wants for all those who call upon the Name of His Son, Jesus.
Thanks for Reading!
.gif)
As Always,
.jpg)
Poppa Prepper dishonestly uses the words of Jesus to say that the Law is still in effect. It WAS in effect until he died on the cross and rose again. Now we're under grace but he doesn't seem to understand that.
He apparently picks and chooses which laws since he hasn't said we need to cover our sins with the blood of animals. But he interprets a number of scriptures in ways that nobody from a mainline denomination would. And I'm amazed at the number of followers he has. Like he's a pastor of a church or something. He really needs to read a book on systemic theology or attend a real, Bible believing church.
I agree with your understanding of the temporary nature of the Law of Good as given by Moses on Mount Sinai. Scripture makes it clear that the Law was until John, now we have the Kingdom of God, which proclaims the Good News of Jesus, not the Torah.
Picking and choosing what Law's of Moses to follow is one of the main objections I have of all Hebrew Roots/Torah Observant proponents. It seems pretty clear to me that the New Testament Scriptures make it abundantly clear that if you try to put yourself back under the Law after coming to faith in Jesus you are obligated to obey the whole law- all of it, including animal sacrifice, tithing to the Levitical Priesthood, journeying to Jerusalem 3 times a year for God's appointed feasts, among others. Most notably, there are over 20 sins that are commanded to be punished with death in the Law of Moses. I have yet to see any of these proponents of following the Torah to actually try and kill someone for violating the Sabbath, or for committing any sexual sin, etc, etc. This lack of understanding the demands of the Law for righteousness is a serious problem of the Hebrew Roots/Torah Observant movement.
I would suggest that you refrain from calling Kevin names, such as Poppa Prepper, since it comes across as unloving to do so. Unless, it was a typo or autocorrect, in that case disregard my admonishment. Thanks for your input.
Good introduction. Are you familiar with inductive and deductive methods of interpreting scripture?
As I understand inductive is similar to what you describe as a more objective view, but more based on having knowledge of the original language, culture, history, and previous meanings of things that may have been forgotten over time. Deductive is more like following clue to clue, as an unskilled detective might do, and not always arriving at the same conclusion as the truth, because not all related information has been found to put the puzzle pieces together.
There is also Lectio Divina, which is a more mystical (perhaps occult!) method for meditating on scripture. Often one word at a time is meditated with eyes closed while sitting beside candle light to hear Spirit knowledge and to see visions. Obviously, this is not considered very scientific, but it used to be very common, and was a good way to stoke one's faith, restore the soul, and to find common ground with others who also practiced.
Wishing you guys the best.
I am familiar with the inductive and deductive methods of study Scripture. I am not familiar with Lectio Divina. Thanks for sharing.
It is a shame that two good mates that worked together and helped each other should fall out from their interpretation of a belief.
Unfortunately, it goes much deeper than just an interpretation of a singular belief. It goes to the very heart of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. I agree, it is a shame, and I hope that Kevin and I can work through all of this. I would have kept it private, as I have for the past 1.5 years, but he insisted on making his points of contention with me public by teaching the very things I warned him about over a year ago now on very public forums. In the Christian faith, if a person takes on the responsibility of being a teacher, as Kevin and I have, then we are open to constructive criticism if what we teach doesn't line up with the truth of God's word.
Having talked to both of you over the last couple of years, it is a shame that you two are unable to meet in the centre.
I shall continue with the teachings of my late Grandmother,
"To remain friends never discuss politics or religion".
I'm so glad you brought up the Bereans!! I love those guys. They studied the SCRIPTURES to see if what was being taught was true.
What were the SCRIPTURES they were studying? Was it the letters of Paul?
Nope they hadn't been written yet?
Was it John's Revelation?
Nope it wasn't written yet either?
Was it the book of Acts?
Nope they we're living the book of Acts.
Was it the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?
I'm not 100% sure on this but I think they had not been written yet either.
What were the scriptures they were studying then? How could they possibly find TRUTH without all the aforementioned books?
The proper exegesis of Acts 17:11 is that the SCRIPTURES they studied for TRUTH is what is now referred to as The Old Testament.
What we call the Old Testament today is what the Messiah, his disciples and all the Apostles called The Scriptures.
@dwells, you have no argument with me here. I believe that the Old Testament Scriptures are inspired by God and are
I also, believe that God gave Apostles and prophets in His Church that gave us the New Testament Scriptures. Everything in the New Testament Scriptures has it's foundation in the Old Testament Scriptures. I believe, that through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I can read the Old Testament and see where it's prophesies and shadows pointed to Jesus and the Gospel message, which we now have made more certain. The Bereans we're searching the Old Testament to verify what the Apostles were teaching in the Gospel was indeed found in the OT scriptures. And indeed it is!
I love studying the Torah, because in it I see God's grace and love preparing a way for sinful man to be reconciled back to himself. But we now have rhe reality of what the OT pointed to. We have Jesus.
Why is what the Bereans studied considered to be scripture?
On what basis did the Bereans determine that what they studied to seek truth is "scripture"?
@dwells, that's a pretty good exestential question. I'm not sure why they considered it Scripture, since I never met them. What I can say is that I consider the Torah to be scripture because it is truth, and the Spirit inside of me testifies to my spirit that it is truth. The fact that the Torah is scripture seems self evident to me now, but I guess I never stopped to question why I believe that. Nonetheless, the end result is the same. The Bereans believed it to be true and so do I. I'm sure there are plenty of athiests and skeptics who would like to argue that point, but it doesn't matter. Truth is revealed by God.
Congratulations @bluerthangreen! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click here to view your Board
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPVote for @Steemitboard as a witness and get one more award and increased upvotes!
Yeah, Eisegesis is like topical theology (reading into the text, the living document, whatever we want) as opposed to contextual (systematic) theology. People can take the Bible out of context even accidentally while becoming obsessive over certain preconceived desire, beliefs, that they want to try to prove through the scriptures as opposed to trying to get back to what was the original authors trying to say originally, at that time, in that culture, within the context and content of everything. In other words, there are cultural, language, time, location, political, social, and other such gaps. Depending on how educated we all might be, these gaps may be much bigger for people who haven't been to the Word Of Life Bible Institute in New York like I was for example. So, we have to find ways to come down to the level of the readers, the audience, in order to communicate. That can be the tough part.
Dear bluerthangreen:
We are SteemBet, the next generation STEEM based gaming platform. We are honored to invite you to join our first fantastic dice game, which is just the beginning of SteemBet game series. Our dividend system has now launched. The prize pool has already accumulated 2,000 STEEM and more than 60 players have participated in staking mining token SBT. A huge reward of 40,000 STEEM is awaiting! Join us NOW with other 500 STEEM users to loot HUGE dividend reward!!
SteemBet Team
Official Website
https://steem-bet.com
Discord Server
https://discord.gg/95cBN3W
Telegram Group
https://t.me/steembet
Congratulations @bluerthangreen! You received a personal award!
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!
Congratulations @bluerthangreen! You received a personal award!
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!