Approaching the Bible
I have heard it said that the Bible has all the answers to life, and I believe I know what people mean when they use that phrase, but the statement also has its limitations. For instance, we recently bought a truck. I hope we made a wise purchase. We didn't buy something we couldn't afford, and we didn't purchase a vehicle that would depreciate a lot over the course of its life. However, I didn't crack open my Bible and ask God to speak to me regarding the purchase of this truck. I didn't ask God to reveal the color of the truck or the type of truck we should buy. I didn't look for answers in the Bible regarding the specific truck we found, because the Bible is not our magic 8 ball ready to provide answers to our immediate questions in all areas of life. That isn't exactly how it works.
However, the Bible does provide guidance, answers, and wisdom to those who seek it. So how exactly should we approach the Bible? Here are some things to keep in mind.
1) The Bible is not laid out in perfect chronological order.
2) The Bible was also not written in English to an American audience.
3) God did not write the Bible specifically to you. He wrote it for all of the people of the world.
4) The Bible does not change.
5) The Bible is inerrant and does not contradict itself.
With those things in mind, we can be sure that the message in Psalms 23 is the same for me as it is for a wealthy man in China or a poor child in Columbia. The message in the Bible doesn't change from culture to culture or person to person. There is one correct message for each passage of Scripture. If Sally thinks that a passage has a particular meaning and Susie think is has a different meaning, they cannot both be correct. The Bible cannot mean different things to different people. Someone is either closer to the truth or they are both far away from the truth.
So, when we approach our Bibles, we must read and study with a desire to know the truth. What is God saying through His Word? Because His message does not vary from person to person or culture to culture.
However, the Bible does provide guidance, answers, and wisdom to those who seek it. So how exactly should we approach the Bible? Here are some things to keep in mind.
1) The Bible is not laid out in perfect chronological order.
2) The Bible was also not written in English to an American audience.
3) God did not write the Bible specifically to you. He wrote it for all of the people of the world.
4) The Bible does not change.
5) The Bible is inerrant and does not contradict itself.
With those things in mind, we can be sure that the message in Psalms 23 is the same for me as it is for a wealthy man in China or a poor child in Columbia. The message in the Bible doesn't change from culture to culture or person to person. There is one correct message for each passage of Scripture. If Sally thinks that a passage has a particular meaning and Susie think is has a different meaning, they cannot both be correct. The Bible cannot mean different things to different people. Someone is either closer to the truth or they are both far away from the truth.
So, when we approach our Bibles, we must read and study with a desire to know the truth. What is God saying through His Word? Because His message does not vary from person to person or culture to culture.
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