Well, I’m eagerly waiting to hear what you thought of this week’s chapter of Multiply. I thought it was pretty interesting and, unfortunately, often overlooked by those that seek the truth through God’s Word. Have you ever read a passage of Scripture that just really spoke to you in such a way that you felt so much better? Yeah, me too. Then, did you read the 20 verses before and the 20 verses after your new favorite verse? For the sake of this blog post, we’re going to use the 20/20 verse scale, but I would encourage you to ready much more than that. In any rate, by focusing on just one verse, we can (and often do) come to a conclusion that is actually contradictory to what the Bible is telling us. It’s all about context.
Several years ago, I had the rare opportunity to have a pretty significant theological discussion at work with someone that was new to the faith of a different denomination. Our dialog was quite interesting but also very troubling. As we continued to discuss our faith, he would provide single Scripture references (which is generally fine), but he was completely missing the context of the verse. For example, he told me that his denomination believed that baptism was the literal washing of sins and was a requirement for salvation–meaning that to be baptized was synonymous with repenting and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I stopped him there and we chatted for a little while on that subject. I was genuinely interested in why he believed what he was telling me. Here’s what he told me: his denomination takes John 3:5 literal in which Jesus says:
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.” (NLT)
Now, I won’t get into the theological discussion I had with my friend, but I will show you an example of what his beliefs are derived from. You’ll notice that I underlined the word “water” in the passage above. That single word from John 3:5 is what my friend’s denomination used to conclude that baptism is the literal washing of sins. Of course, that’s not what the passage is referring to. I suppose you can see where they got their belief from by just reading that verse; however, they did not put it into its context nor did they dig deeper into what it actually means (interpretation, as Francis Chan explained). So as not to leave you on the edge of your seat, the “water” reference is referring to one of two possible things: the actual birth of a baby or the “born again” birth of a new Christian which could be used as a parallel to what John is referring to here. In any case, the actual water baptism does not wash away one’s sin; it is an outward display of someone’s commitment to live their life for Christ. To put it in a little clearer context, let’s read John 3:3-7:
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ (NLT)
In verse 3, translated, “again” also means “from above” meaning that to be born again is to receive new life through Christ, not by baptism. I think you get the point I’m trying to make here. Just as Francis Chan explained it (much more eloquently than I), we can’t pick and choose which verses of the Bible we like and which ones we’ll just skim over and call it a day. Each word in the Bible is the God speaking directly to us.
I really liked how Francis Chan explained the difference between interpretation and application. You’ll probably notice when you see and/or hear people preach, they provide an interpretation of the Scripture and then have their points that outline practical application for life. As discussed in Multiply, those are two very different and distinct aspects of studying the Word. How often have we, when studying the Word, interpreted the Scripture as an application for our life instead of interpreting the Scripture itself? There are certainly some deep theological differences between denominations and ecclesiastical bodies; however, the Word of God is constant. It never changes, it is perfect, and proper interpretation will lay the foundation for practical application in our lives. We must draw a line, though, so we don’t confuse the two and start interpreting our personal application. Remember what Francis Chan said, “With interpretation, we are asking what the passage is saying and what it means. With application, we are applying that meaning to our specific situation.”
If you haven’t really studied the Bible using Francis Chan’s outline (interpretation versus application) then I encourage you to start. I’ll be honest, when I started really digging deep into God’s Word using these types of principles, it changed my life. I’m more focused on the Word, I find it extremely helpful and gratifying to get to know God on a much more personal level through studying this way. If you want to dig a little deeper, start looking at some of the words in the Old and New Testament in their original language (mostly Hebrew and some Aramaic (OT) and Greek (NT)). This will give you a clearer picture, most of the time, of what is being said.
I really enjoyed the section about letting go of our baggage. Our baggage has a very unique ability to interpret the Bible other than the way God intended. I’m sure we all have let our baggage interpret Scripture on our behalf. I’ll admit to it. There are so many things that can happen when we let our baggage get in the way of what the Scripture is telling us. I’ve been watching a sermon series by Pastor Greg Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv called “God Never Said That.” I think that if we allow our baggage to get in the way, we could very well be the subject of a sermon series called, “God Never Said That.” The messages are really interesting and I encourage you to watch one (or all of them). In one of Greg’s messages titled “God Won’t Give You More Than You Can Handle,” he talks about that “verse” which is used so prominently for people going through a challenging time in their life. What he did, just as Francis Chan explained, was look at the context of the verse and then interpreted it as God intended. The fact is, God never did say that. Culturally, we’re so used to hearing that, that we take people’s word for it that it’s actually in the Bible.
Being a disciple of Jesus Christ comes with it the inherent responsibility to know and understand the Bible so that we can clearly communicate it to others. If we interpret the Bible as an application for our lives instead of the actual meaning, chances are we won’t be providing factual counsel to those in which we are trying to reach. Let’s refocus our studies, church, so that our understanding is broadened and we are drawn closer to God.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Jeremy Meier