Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon - Why Study How to Interpret the Bible?

Episode Date: October 9, 2024

Alan offers two reasons why every Christian should study how to interpret the Bible.

Is there a topic that every Christian should study? Well, I want to answer that question and specify what that topic is in this episode of my podcast, Thinking Out Loud with Alan Schliemann. Now, most university degrees have a kind of 101 course, right? It's the first topic you need to study before you begin the more complex coursework on any given subject. Well, did you know that Christianity has a kind of a 101 course? In fact, if you've decided to follow Jesus, you need to take a course on how to interpret the Bible. In fact, if it were up to me, I'd require this for every believer in the global church. Now, you probably realize that pastors

study this subject while they're in seminary. In fact, they take a class called hermeneutics, which teaches them how to properly interpret passages of scripture so they can preach on Sunday mornings, right? Well, what specifically is hermeneutics? Well, it's the science and art of biblical interpretation. Now, you might ask, okay, well, how is it a science and how is it an art? Well, let me read to you this quote from a guy named Jared, and I hope I'm not mispronouncing his last name, Jeter, Jared Jeter, Jared Jeter. Okay, let's do what he says. He says, hermeneutics is a science because there are rules for interpreting scripture, just as there are rules for driving a car. If you do not know the rules, you will not

know how to drive properly. Beyond knowing the principles, however, you must also know when to apply them. And because of this, Hermeneutics can also rightly be called an art. Since scripture is not monolithic because it contains multiple genres and was written over a vast period of time by many authors in different languages, it requires discernment to know which rules of interpretation to apply to any given text to find its intended meaning. That ultimately is the goal of hermeneutics, to understand how to interpret the text to find its intended meaning. End quote. So, because of their shepherding role, pastors study this topic in order to teach their congregation what the Bible means, right? Well, doesn't every believer read the Bible, though? Aren't we all encouraged to do our devotional reading on a regular basis? And so, if our pastor

isn't around to help us to avoid these common interpretive errors, well, shouldn't we have a handle on the basics of biblical interpretation as well? My answer is absolutely. In fact, I want to offer you two reasons why every believer should take time to study hermeneutics. Okay, so here's my first reason. Interpreting the Bible correctly is a moral obligation. So think about this. Have you ever said something and had someone twist your words to mean something that you did not intend? Well, I'm sure it's probably happened to you, right? And it probably made you very angry. And that's because we desire to be understood and then understandably get upset when someone misrepresents us. Well, think about this.

How much more grievous of an error would it be to take the words of God and then twist them to mean something he did not say? And, you know, think about this. Like, God's words have divine authority. So, therefore, there's greater weight to properly interpreting his words, right? God declares what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false, what is obligatory and what is optional. And getting that all correct is essential. So, that's the first reason that we should learn how to interpret the Bible.

It's to recognize that we have a moral obligation to get it correct. recognize that we have a moral obligation to get it correct. Now, the second reason is that interpreting the Bible correctly is a practical matter. So, think about this. If you want to obey God, you need to first understand what God says in his word. So, therefore, properly interpreting the Bible is an essential first step. Think of it this way. You're going to read the Bible between today and the day you die, and you're going to be basing major life decisions on what it says, right? You're going to determine your theology on it. You're going to teach your kids or tell other people about what it says. I mean, the Bible is going to play a huge role in your life. what it says. I mean, the Bible is going to play a huge role in your life. Therefore, it's incredibly important then to interpret it properly. In fact, often when I teach on this subject, I will often ask audience members to raise their hands if they have a system of biblical interpretation.

Okay, so basically I want to know who in the audience has a set of assumptions and questions that they are bringing to the text every time they read the Bible. Now, usually only about 5% to 10% of the audience raises their hand because nobody wants to, you know, be bold enough to say, oh, yeah, yeah, I got a system of interpretation. I have a set of, you know, assumptions and questions I bring to the biblical text every time I read it. But even though only 10% or maybe 5% or 10% raise their hands, I always point out that everyone in the audience has a system of biblical interpretation.

Everyone has a set of assumptions and questions that they bring to the text, whether they realize what those assumptions and questions are or not. The only question really is whether their system helps or hinders their ability to understand what God is saying in his word. So learning how to interpret the Bible correctly is an essential skill for every Christian. And thankfully, there's actually a lot of resources available today to help you get started. I'll just mention a few related to us at Stand to Reason. We have an easy and free resource at STRU, which is Stand to Reason University. These are our free video courses that we offer. And we have an STRU course called Never Read a Bible Verse. In fact, I think

I teach that one. Greg Kokel, our president and our boss, also has a booklet called Never Read a Bible Verse. It's a very small booklet, easy reads, probably in the Stand to Reason website store for only just $2 or $3. And then then now if you want to get more in depth, there's a couple options I'd recommend. First, there's a book that I had to read when I was at seminary called How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth. It's by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart. And although technically it's a seminary book, I actually think it's pretty accessible for a lot of people. So I don't think it's like super heady. You don't have to know, you know, for a lot of people.

So I don't think it's like super heady. You don't have to know, you know, Greek and Hebrew or anything like that. And then a second really interesting option, which by the way is free, is that the late Walt Russell, who was a seminary professor of mine at Talbot when I was there doing my graduate work, he actually has a 27 video playlist

of his entire Herbal Notics class that is available for free on YouTube. And so if you wanted to watch his entire course on hermeneutics, again, this is seminary level teaching on hermeneutics. You can find it on YouTube and you can search for the YouTube title. It's first of all, this is the course number. It's CSAP 527. So CSAP 527, Hermeneutics and Bible Study Methods. So that's the name of the course. CSAP 527, Hermeneutics and Bible Study Methods.

So just search that on YouTube. You should find it. It's a long playlist of 27 videos that has this entire course on hermeneutics and Bible Study Methods. So just search that on YouTube. You should find it. It's a long playlist of 27 videos that has this entire course on hermeneutics by one of the greatest teachers on how to interpret the Bible while Russell, right? So again, remember, getting God's word right, interpreting it properly is not an option.

I believe it's a moral obligation. And plus, it's incredibly practical. Scripture is one of God's most powerful tools to conform us to be like his son. And so if you're a follower of Jesus, then that's not something that you want to miss out on. Well, that's all I have for you today. If you've enjoyed this episode, I encourage you to share it with a friend. And also, I encourage you to share it with a friend. And also, I encourage you to subscribe to my podcast so you don't miss a future episode.

And thank you for listening. I look forward to thinking out loud with you next time. Thank you.