Misunderstanding Scripture: What's the Point?

I got this interesting article entitled, "Why men shouldn't write advice columns" and it drives home a point. In this somewhat tragic and humorous article, a lady is seeking advice on what to do with her marital problem. But the columnist/counselor totally missed the point. Instead of giving good counsel on her marital problem, the counselor gave an advice on how to solve a car problem. He totally missed the point!

Misunderstanding happens all the time

Isn't this true also in our lives? It happens all the time. It happens when we communicate with our fellowmen. And it happens when others communicate with us. It is easy for us to misunderstand what others are saying.

Misinterpreting the Bible

It's also true when God communicates with us through the written Word. A lot of people misinterpret the Bible. They think that their views on the Bible are exactly God's views. They think they have the mind of God and that their interpretation of the Bible is the accurate one. This is fine as long as their views are really what God is truly saying in the Bible.

But oftentimes, we think that our perception, our understanding, our interpretation, our view on the matter, is the only correct interpretation of the Bible. We think that our view is what God is really saying in the Bible and all the others are in error.

Hermeneutics

It would be great if we study something about biblical interpretation. They call it Hermeneutics. There are some basic principles which we all need to consider when interpreting the Bible. Lacking this "tool" -- devoid of this knowledge and skill on the "science of biblical interpretation" (Hermeneutics) -- some would-be Bible interpreters and theologians come up with their own heretical ideas and "out-of-this-world" doctrines leading them to wrong beliefs and practices.

The Bible is a book composed of many books with different contexts, different authors, different literary backgrounds -- poem, song, history, letter, etc. -- different historical backgrounds, different cultural backgrounds, different eras spanning several thousands of years, written in several languages and grammatical construction, different purposes why a book was written, different audiences to whom the literature was written, and more.

Eisegesis

Reading into the Bible what is not there -- your personal opinions, thoughts and ideas -- interpreting the Bible without considering its various contexts is the reason why we have all kinds of conflicting religions and ideologies.

Exegesis

Interpreting the Bible considering all its various contexts (literary, historical, grammatical, cultural, geographical, etc.) is the right approach to understanding what God's will really is in the Bible. Learning about Hermeneutics can be a great tool and help in our study of the Bible. There's no harm in using this tool especially for would-be pastors, teachers, biblical interpreters and theologians.

Most Important Context

And the most important context that we should put into our every interpretation of the Bible is this: The truth about who Jesus Christ is and who we are in him. Correct interpretation should not go against the fact that Jesus is God -- he is the Lord and he loves all of humanity and all of creation. From the very beginning he has planned to adopt us as his very won children. In fact, everything needed to be done for us to be saved has already been done by Jesus Christ. Any interpretation that negates this basic truth is in error in his interpretation.

God's Guidance and Inspiration

Thankfully, the Lord Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13 ). He will not leave us to grope in the dark as to what the Lord's will really is. He will in his own good time, correct our misunderstanding, correct our erroneous view. Now that I'm a bit older, I have found it wiser to be more tolerant about other people's views and to follow the traditional advice regarding one's theological stand: "In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. But at all times charity (love)."