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Post date: Dec 23, 2015 6:14:00 AM
Sir Isaac newton said:" At about the time of the end a group of men will arise who will interpret the scriptures literately"
COMMUNICATION PROBLEM
Mankind became blind at the fall, and one of God's biggest challenges throughout history has been to communicate with us.
We are more often than not blind and dumb and rebellious. We really struggle to understand God even when we are sincere.
SIMPLIFICATION
Things are complex enough, we don't need to make it more complicated. One has to remain rational and not get spooky and hyper-spiritual. Hyper spiritual is not spiritual, it is just immaturity.
LITERAL INTERPRETATION
Always try to take the words at their simplest meaning.
Example: "I saw a rider on a white horse" means "a rider on a white horse". It might be a spiritual horse, an angel on a angelic horse, but it still means rider on a white horse. It doesn't mean "communism" or "Angela Merkel" or some allegorical "jump to conclusion" thing.
If we start making it symbolical and allegorical too quickly and if we take it out of the context we simply will confuse ourselves. If it doesn't mean exactly what it says then there are automatically many other meanings and we will then be lost as to which one of the many alternatives to choose. Inevitably we will choose the one we like the most based or our personal convictions and preferences. We get lost like that.
PROPHECY
God has always used prophecy. Prophecy includes elements of the future but it not essentially what it is about.
Prophecy is about proclamation the will of God and most of the time it revolves intimately around Jesus.
The plain meaning in the light of context is key to real growth.
CONTEXT
Good basic exegesis.
- Who was the book written to?
- Who wrote the book?
- What covenant where the readers under at the time?
- What where the readers doing right and what where they doing wrong in the light of the covenant they were under at that time?
- Why did he write the book?
- What behavior was the writer trying to encourage and what behavior was he trying to discourage?
- What do we learn about God's response in the light of the context?
Failing to answer these questions leads to HAVOC Theology (Half A Verse Out of Context), and with HAVOC theology you get lost immediately.
Never use one text to contradict others. Rather continue prayerfully believing ALL the scriptures even if they seems to contradict each other initially.
BORING PREACHING
Much of the boring preaching today especially boring and meaningless to men is when we take the words of God out of their historical context.
The whole thing becomes illogical and sentimental
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