Dig Deeper | Representing the Bible

Whether you're new to the faith or you've been following Jesus for years, one of the most important questions you must decide on is this, can I actually trust the Bible? Because whatever you trust, you build your life on. So today, we're looking at the foundation. Hi, my name is Brie, and this is class four in our online digital discipleship course we are calling Dig Deeper. A lot of people don't struggle with reading the Bible, they struggle with understanding it. And when scripture is misunderstood, it gets misapplied. Anything we don't know the purpose of, it gets misused. For example, I got an electric toothbrush. And when I got this electric toothbrush, I was using it just like I was using my manual toothbrush because the truth is, I didn't know how to use it. I mean, you don't do the same motions that you do with your manual toothbrush. This is the truth of everything that is created. If you don't understand the purpose of something, if you don't understand how to use it, you will misuse it. It's the creator of a thing that tells you how to use it. You don't make it up on your own. So today, we're answering a very critical question. How do we actually read the Bible the right way? Let's dig in together. Point number one is context determines meaning. And me and my eight and eight, it says this, and I love this scripture.

It says, they read from the book of law of God and clearly explain the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage. In other words, they didn't just read it, they explained it. When we have context to the Bible, it answers questions like, who was this written to? What is happening here? Why was this even written? Because without context, you can make the Bible say anything. For years, manipulative people use the Bible to keep people from their own freedom rights as kingdom citizens. It's because you can make the Bible say anything that you wanted to say if you don't know the context. For example, people use popular scriptures like, I can do all things through Christ to do things that they honestly were never called to do. It's the context of that scripture that has to do with the principle of contentment more than achieving success in life. So we say, I can do all things through Christ. We're saying, I can have a lot or I can have a little, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. With context, you discover what God is actually trying to say in that scripture. Point number two is, we're called to handle the word correctly. In 2 Timothy 2 and 15, it says, do your best to present yourself to God as one approved who correctly handles the word of truth.

That phrase correctly handles means to rightly divide or accurately interpret. Okay, so right now I'm learning Spanish and I've messed up quite a bit on accurately interpreting words over and over as I've been learning. This is normal, but it can't become my practice or else it becomes intentionally inaccurate. So in Spanish, there's two words that sound alive but they're very different. One word is pero and the other one is pero. Now, the first word pero means butt, B-U-T. The other word pero means dog. And if you don't get that little role of the R, you can completely misunderstand what's being said. In the same way, when we read scripture, paying attention to the details matters. A small difference in interpretation can lead to a completely different understanding. And this is our responsibility when it comes to the Bible, not just for pastors or teachers or leaders, for every believer. Point number three is scripture interprets scripture. Luke 24 and 27 says, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he, Jesus, explain what was being said in the scripture concerning himself. Jesus used scripture to explain scripture. He let the Bible explain itself. For instance, there is a foreshadowing in the Old Testament

that speaks to what happens in the New Testament. So in Isaiah, it speaks of Jesus. It talks about a virgin birth. It talks about a coming king. It talks about a man of many sorrows. And what it's doing, what it's doing is pointing to what is going to come in the New Testament because scripture points to scripture. In 2 Peter 3 and 16, it warns that people distort scripture when they don't understand it. So instead of pulling verses out of context and trying to make it make sense on your own, let the Bible explain itself. The Bible includes many different genres of writing within it. It includes history, poetry, letters, prophecy. It's like all the different genres of writing all in one book. Like for instance, if you were to take all your favorite books, your self-help book, your fiction book, your sci-fi book, and put it all in one collection, this is similar to the Bible. It's different genres, one collection. Psalm is poetic. Romans is instructional. Genesis is narrative. First and second Corinthians, they're letters. In Acts 8 and 30, it says, "A phillip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah." Philip asks, "Do you understand what you're reading?" And the man replied, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?" And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. And the story goes on to say that Philip had to explain to this eunuch what he was reading

was prophecy because he asked, the eunuch asked, "Is this prophet Isaiah talking about himself or is he talking about someone else?" Philip had to explain the genre of the scriptures in order for the eunuch to understanding. If you read the Hunger Games as a history novel, we're going to have a problem. But if you read Anne Frank's Diary as a fiction, you're erasing history. The meaning depends on the genre. If you don't understand the genre or the type of writing, you'll misread the meaning, like reading songs of Solomon. Neither here nor there. Okay. Point number five, understanding leads to obedience. James 1, 22 through 25 says this, "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you're only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey it, it's like glancing at your face in the mirror. You see yourself, you walk away, and then you forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free and you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." In other words, don't just read the word, find yourself in it, and let the word of God change you from the inside out. The goal is not just interpretation, it's transformation. As a recap, here's what you can take away from this class. When it comes to the Bible, context determines meaning. We are all called to handle scripture correctly, scripture interprets scripture, remember that John rematters an understanding leads to obedience. This week, before applying a verse, ask yourself these couple of questions. What's the context and who is this verse written to? Let's pray together. God, we are so grateful that we have your scriptures, your word, your law of instruction

to live by. Today, we are asking you to help us understand it, rightly divided, and correctly translated so that we can faithfully fulfill it in our lives. It's in the name of Jesus, we pray, amen. [MUSIC]