Writing about Session: 3 Categories of Theology, Justin Sands shares his thoughts on one of the discussion questions.
Discussion question #7: It was said during the lesson that when reading the Bible “it does not matter what it means to you. It matters what it meant.” How is this true? Discuss.
I chose to discuss this question because it applied directly to our family’s search for a church home and a daycare. During our search we heard everything from “it does not matter as long as you love Jesus” to “we really allow families to interpret the Bible as it pertains to them.”
As a strong believer in God’s Word, I realize there is, without a doubt, an absolute truth so we ran from these places a fast as possible. However, I soon realized that didn’t know how to back up the idea of absolute truth from Scripture.
During our class discussion about interpreting Scripture, we learned no personal interpretation can change the original author’s intent or meaning. The original author’s intent is what it is and cannot or ever will be changed. The original author influenced by their experiences wrote Scripture as God inspired them. The meaning of what they wrote does not change because our current society or desires are different.
For me, the eye opening difference was learning about the Author’s intent. What did God intend for the human author to write and what does it mean for all people throughout all time periods. Obviously we are imperfect beings and as individuals we are often biased when trying to comprehend God’s intended meaning. God is perfect and the Bible is without error; this is a fact. It is our obligation to take the entirety of Scripture and figure out how these truths apply to us today.
As discussed, the last step is taking the human author’s intent, discerning the more important Author’s (God’s) intent, finding the timeless principle, and then applying that to our world and our lives. All of these pieces are important and if we are honest with ourselves we will recognize even Christians can allow their biases to affect their interpretation of the Bible.
Since the Bible is without error, it only matters what it means and not what we think it means. God inspired the original authors to write down His truth, so it doesn’t matter what it means to us, but what God means and how we are to apply His truth. Our lesson taught us we can rightly understand Scripture by considering the historical, grammatical, contextual, and literary interpretation of the text. Rightly understanding Scripture is our responsibility as believers and to know how those unchanging truths apply to us today.
There is a real danger in not studying the entire Word of God and surrounding ourselves with other believers. If we allow various “truths” into our lives we run the risk of straying from God’s intent. When we do not have a foundational concept of God’s intended message it can become impossible to properly apply His Word to our lives. Any misapplication of God’s Word can spread to our families and others who are trusting in us.