It's a wonderful day once again to share the word of God with you. God has blessed me with a life full of His grace and mercy and with a blood flowing through my veins. It's these graces that have given me the privilege to share with you something that's on my mind concerning hermeneutics.
Hemeneutics is a word that has its origin from the Greek which means to interprete or explain. It has now become a well known theological word. The interpretation of a text in the bible is very important in the art of preaching and teaching.
We all know that teaching and preaching serves as the backbone of spirituality and anything Christian. Without an accurate interpretation of a text, the truth is not extended to its hearers and they are therefore deprived of the nutrients necessary for their proper spiritual growth. Lack of accurate hemeneutics retards spiritual growth as seen in lack of fruit bearing.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (John 15:4, ESV)
The tree that does not receive the nutrients in its right proportion will lag behind in growth as compared to another which does not only receive the proper nutrients, but also in its right proportion. Those who have some experience in the farm will attest to the fact that right proportion of nutrients are needed to ensure the bearing of good fruit.
The same goes with the Christian. The Christian is not different from a branch that clings to the Vine, Jesus Christ. The Vine has its roots embedded in a loamy soil that provides all the nutrients needed for the growth of every part including the branches. We are told that Christians are like the branches of the Vine. We either stay fixed to it or die. The main reason behind this is that those who stay Clinged to the Vine will suck from its nutrients whiles those who desire to be independent of it will die
This means that accurate interpretation of the word of God, which is the nutrients by which the Christian survives, is made only in the Word. What do I mean by that? There are many other men who although desire to preach and teach the word of God, mistakenly try to prove the Bible by their own understanding instead of finding their understanding from the bible they have picked their texts from.
This brings me to my rule of interpretation- Interprete a text with the Bible. The meaning of every text is found within the Bible. The bible is not insufficient to explain itself. Lack of understanding of a text doesn't mean you have to go to an extra biblical source to draw forth your hemeneutics. God's word is sufficient to explain itself.
The word of God is sufficient
It's true that most of professing Christians believe in the infallibility of scripture. But don't tell me you believe in the infallibility of scripture without telling me about it's sufficiency. The one who believes in the infallibility of the Bible without an assurance of its sufficiency is a confused man because lack of assurance in the sufficiency of scripture paves the way for reliance on external writings which will eventually contradict the sacred writings of the Bible, shake one's foundation of biblical trust and eventually lead to denial of God's word.
Denial of God's word is a form of unbelief in its infallibility. To deny the Word of God for another truth means that the Bible is false about what it says and must be corrected by another literature.
When there's a contradiction
One of the main problems I've encountered during evangelism on campus is the issues of contradictory verses in the bible. This is a problem for those who evangelise mostly in Islamic communities. Their attacks on the Bible is always geared towards it's contradictions. It's sad that most Christians too react to this in a wrong way. The most popular reaction is the one that the Christian denies that some verses contradict and fights his way to prove it.
Contraditions in the bible shouldn't be a problem. The problem is with us. The inability to rightly divide the word of God is what causes most people to drop the charge to be apologetic. Paul told Timothy- "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV). The fact that we see contradiction doesn't mean the balance cannot be found. For example;
God loved and hates the sinner are twin truths in the same bible.
Remember that I said loved and not loves. These are two different things. It's mostly mistakenly applied in John 3:16. The verb used there was past tense. For God so loved the world...... It's a truth on its own and also verses like that of Psalm 5:5 ,Psalm 11:5, John 3:36, John 3:18, Isaiah 13:9 etc also talk about God's hatred to sinners and His wrath towards them.
So from both sides, we can say that God hates the sinner and loved the sinner. This is only balanced with the gospel. It's only the cross that can bring these two together. The cross doesn't take away God's wrath from every man. Get me right here. The love of God is made active to those who believe. The love of God was once upon a time provided for man's redemption. But can we say that every man has the love of God? No. Only those who believe in the Son's death on the cross have this love in them and can therefore stand before God without guilt. This also proves that God will send sinners to hell. He will send all those who reject the gospel to eternal damnation although the love of God was given to them.
It's just like having a medication to your sickness and not taking it. The fact that you have the drug doesn't make you well unless you apply it to your body. So is the love of God. If one doesn't believe in it, it remains inactive in his life. But those who have believed, to them the love of God is activated in them.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:9-13, ESV)
From this verse It can be seen that the light came into the world. It came to show the way for sinners to come to him. But some believed and other did not. Therefore ,the Light did not automatically make them God's children. But only those who believeed had that power to become his children.
What about those who do not believe? Well, the same verse that talks about the love of God for sinners answers that question. It says
Whoever believes in him is not condemned,but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18, ESV)
What is the condemnation? Condemnation to hell. Although the love of God has been provided for sinners to believe and have eternal life, the wrath of God also awaits those who rejects it. These are twin truths that must be proclaimed. We don't have to take a part of it and makes it the gospel. Let people also understand that God is not neutral to unbelief. Paul proclaimed both sides, Jesus did and the prophets also. I am no better man to outwit any of these people.
That's why I talk about God's hatred to sinners and his love for them. Both are inside the same book and it's sufficient for everything God had planned it to be.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV)
It means every part of the Bible should be applied in accurate hermeneutics. If you're a teacher or a preacher and you're reading this, I want you to know that the Bible is from Genesis to Revelation and not just the parts you love most. For example, how many people can quote John 3:16 without John 3:18? Almost 90% of professing Christians can't quote it as they do for John 3:16 . We preach a truncated gospel and expect people to repent of their sins. How can that be possible?
We're sent with the Word. We are not told to revise it. We are not told to add or remove or do anything thing with it other than to preach it. So we proclaim what it says. We are just voices in the wilderness preaching that men should repent and prepare a way for the Lord in their hearts.
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'" (Matthew 3:3, ESV)
This post was written to all Christians on this platform to be aware of a device the devil is using. That's he makes people accept half of the truths of scripture and leaves the rest that he or she doesn't understand rejected. He makes them sieve the word of God and take the sweet part leaving the biter part not tasted.
It's my plea that you begin to take the full counsel of God into consideration, find a balance between the words of the Bible and live in it. Even if it is the Old Testament, don't throw it away as some do. But rather open to the New Testament and see its fulfillment so that you'll know why it's said in the old covenant. Let's make our interpretation thorough by considering other verses that seem to be contradicting and marry the two in a good balance.
To those who do not believe in the wrath of God towards sinners, go to the Bible and read for yourselves. After that go to the world and preach the gospel telling sinners to repent and believe in the gospel so that they don't fall into the hands of an angry God.
God bless you dear one. It's @gadol from @ghana and @sc-g
Your post was found valuable and insightful by the steemchurch Ghana community @gadol
Upvoted&Resteemed
OD2
We are the branch of the main tree, and all branches are abided in the tree for good produce, that is great, very insightful
Amen. God bless you for the comment.
I don't know how you can talk about interpreting the Bible and hermeneutics without even discussing how to interpret the Bible.
Context matters. You can't pull out a single verse and interpret it outside of the original passage. You have to look at who's talking. Who they're talking to. And whether that applies to Christians today. You have to use the Bible to interpret the Bible when necessary. You can't take an isolated verse and base Bible doctrine on a questionable interpretation of it.
@barncat, what's your point here? What does not apply to Christians? Also I must repeat this, I believe in every portion of the Bible but I always find the balance to reconcile the differences between the two different covenants.
Do you have a problem with the quotes I make or what? Be specific. What part of the Bible doesn't apply to you?
Since when did you read my post in which I've taken a verse out of context? You're alone here. Make sure you read my posts well.
Thanks for your comments