Posted by Yong TM (202.172.43.132) on February 11, 2003 at 15:49:05:
In Reply to: How to read the bible? posted by Yew Weng on February 10, 2003 at 14:13:35:
You have asked good and honest questions. If more Christians asked questions like that, the church would not run the risk of deviating from the truth so very easily...
The reading of scripture is a big topic that needs a good treatment. One of the most popular book on this is "How to read the Bible for all its worth" by Dr. Gordon D. Fee, Dr. Douglas Stuart. You can find this book in practically any Christian bookstore. It is a good book on the topic, and is even used as a textbook in some seminaries.
Generally speaking, one need to understand that scripture is not a book or rules that dropped out from the sky. God in His wisdom has chosen to reveal His will to us through the 39 OT books and 27 NT books, with dozens of authors from different backgrounds over thousands of years. This understanding is very important, as it determines our approach to scripture. Many people assume that when we say scripture is the WORD of God, they expect everything to be like your traffic rule guidebook or your cookbook, straight forward instructions of do's and don'ts.
Therefore, scripture should not be read ONLY in isolation, but with proper consultation with people, commentaries, discussions. This will ensure that we do not misinterprete scripture, for it is about the Truth, and so questioning is not something we ignore or despise. One need to do proper study and understanding of the historical context of the writing, the genre of the writing, the reasons and purpose of the writing.
At the same time, scripture should not be read in isolated books; in that one should not simply read the New Testament, or his or her favorite books and forget about this rest. One should not treat scripture like a buffet lunch, picking and choosing portions he likes. Scripture must be understood as a whole, for the principle of the Bible must be consistent. For example, one cannot simply declare that we are free to wear suggestive clothings because we are in the age of grace of God (or that the Bible 'never say so'), when clearly, Biblical principles demand that we have not even a hint of sexual immorality.
That of course does not mean that we do not expect God to speak to us individually through scripture. Any Christian will tell you that God spoke to them via the many verses when they are doing their quiet time and meditation while they are reading the Bible. But the general understanding is that it is the Holy Spirit who illuminates our heart when we read scripture, causing us to understand it in a way that a non-believer cannot, because the Holy Spirit did not illuminate the non-believer's heart (therefore the same black and white have no effect on them). Again, the illumination, though personal, would not violate the principle of scripture and the truth, for His WORD is truth (John 17:17) and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth who guides us into all truth (John 16:13). Herein lies the problem with many Christians... we like to say that God told us this or that via this verse or that verse, but in essence, it is not true (for example, I have heard so many people said that God told them to go to this country or that to do missions, but in the end, nothing happened).
Like all good things in life, it takes effort to know God well through His WORD. But once you invest enough time and effort to learn His WORD in a systematic manner (and I would encourage you to take seminary courses if at all possible - check out lay courses by bgst at www.bgst.edu.sg), your faith would be built upon the rock itself, on His very WORD that cannot be shaken. Where do you think Dr Tong gets his energy and conviction from?