False interpreters of God's Word

The original sin was reinterpreting God’s word, rebelling against God’s word, and putting our interpretation of the world, wisdom, good and evil above God’s word. We tend to do this as we read the scriptures. Often we don’t know we are doing this for we misinterpret scripture naturally do to our fallen nature. Here are some common fallacies when interpreting the scriptures:

 • Interpreting the scriptures through your own morality or truth, determining what is good and evil and what wisdom is and then manipulating the scriptures to fit your standard of morality and truth.
• Stating that the scripture or the writer is inconsistent and fitting that into an argument around your determination of truth. This is a pretty sure test that the person has poor scholarship and hermeneutics, is not open minded, and is trying to fit their interpretation into the text, instead of allowing the scripture to speak for itself.
• The facts are ignored either do to laziness or because they don’t like the truth and prefer to be closed minded.
• Ignoring the fact the scripture is God breathed and written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
• Ignoring the marriage of Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology.
• Ignoring the Gospel.
• Proof texting, taking scriptures out of context.
• Not being open minded and using and having poor scholarship. Good scholarship is not quoting “experts” and “papers” that in reality are horrible and have poor scholarship or do much of what is written here. A degree or paper does not make one a good scholar or open minded.
• Being a wooden literalist – both liberal and conservatives do this.
• Changing the Greek definitions of words to fit their perspective.
• Ignoring the perspective of proven and tested godly men throughout history.
• Thinking in extremes or in the middle. Scripture is holy, totally other; it does not fit on a scale.
• Taking the text out of the whole of the Bible.

Since, true interpretation of the scripture is against our fallen nature, we must die to ourselves, lay our bodies down as living sacrifices, turning away from comfortably to this world and our own interpretations, and instead look to the only true God, so that we come to understand and discern the goodness, beauty, and truth of God's will, through the testing of His word.

Creating Dialogue

Here are some tips in having a conversation with someone who disagrees with you

·         Be open minded

o   Be Humble – you always have something to learn

o   Go into the conversation with an expectation to learn something from the other person

§  Regardless of the disagreement, you usually have something to learn, even if it is only how to communicate better.

o   Be willing to be proven wrong

·         Don’t put your assumptions on the other person

o   If you assume or make assumptions about the other person’s views, you will find that you are arguing with a person that only exists in your own imagination, instead of talking to a real person

o   Don’t attribute ideas, thoughts, arguments or consequences to your opponent that they do not hold to.

§  This only creates a rift between you and the other person

o   Don’t take their statements out of context or out of their intended meaning.

o   Don’t assume things about their character, motives, or heart.

·         Listen

o   Work hard to fully understand your opponent’s views, background, and perspectives.

§  Give them a chance to clarify.

§  Take the time to understand their position from their perspective.

o   Ask questions and check with them to see if your understanding of their position is correct.

·         Present the opposing view in its strongest form, don’t build a “straw man” and then knock it down.

o   Work to be able to present the opposing side in a way that they would say that you were representing their view in an honest way and would comment, “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

·         Speak the truth in love

o   Engage the person

§  Get into the other person’s world. Talk with the person, not at the person. Ask you self, “How do I communicate this in a way that the other person can understand it where they are at?”

§  It doesn’t help to prove you are right, if you cannot engage the other person with the truth.

o   Be willing to be proven wrong

§  The purpose of a conversation is not to defend my position but to help each other grow in the truth. Who cares if I am wrong? What value is there in holding onto a lie? What we want is to align ourselves with what is true. Sometimes that will mean that I have to change my position.

Listening to each other

It is wise to understand another's perspective before criticizing it, if for no other reason than to be able to effectively address the other person's questions and convince them that they are wrong.

They may end up proving you wrong as well . . . which is ok, because who wants to stay being wrong.

Foolishness vs. Wisdom

Foolishness is to say that there is no God, to reject His word. Wisdom is to fear the Lord, to tremble at His word.

Calling someone judgemental is simply just immature name-calling

It seems to me that now days accusing that when we accuse someone of being judgmental, it is often equivalent to saying, "hey, I really don't like what you have to say, and I don't want to hear it because I am closed minded and just really don't know what to say in response. I have already judged you to be wrong anyways, and don't feel like being tolerant. So instead of listening and trying to understand where you are coming from, and then coming up with an intelligent response, I am going to cut you off and close my ears to what you have to say, by calling you names."

We should use this accusation with care and not simply just throw it out because we are frustrated or scared or don't like another person's views. We should instead be more open minded, quick to listen, patient, and loving. Not compromising truth, but pursing God's word, and speaking the truth in love. Many people who accuse people of being judgmental these days don't understand what that term means. 

The evil of our own agenda

It does not profit a man to come to the scriptures to prove his own agenda, theology, or way of life. This is evil, and we should never take this approach. No, the scripture is our authority, not the other way around. We must come with the purpose to submit to the scripture. We must fight hard to die to ourselves, to allow the scripture to kill who we are, and then fill us with who Jesus is. The scripture is a double edge sword calling us to lay down our lives as living sacrifices, so that we might come to know the heart and mind of God.

The fear of the LORD is the begining of wisdom

The man who thinks he can carry on his business life, or his political life, or his social life, without God is to that extent an irreligious person. The teacher who thinks that his relation to God does not affect his teaching of chemistry, or his interpretation of European history, is to that extent an irreligious person. The consistent Christian will realize that his religion is the ruling principle of all his life, and that there is nothing in life which can be isolated from his relation to God. - Johannes Geerhardus Vos

The charasmatic and the doctrines of men

I would have to call my self a “charismatic”. I believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still relevant for, today, and I long to see them used in the church. However my heart is broken by those who call themselves “charismatic”, but have no biblical understanding of what that means. Some of what is called the “charismatic movement” is really part of an “experiential movement” where the doctrine of the Word is replaced by the doctrine of men. I was recently in a meeting where a person proclaimed “Seventeen, is the number of victory, and I believe that God has victory for us. Just proclaim it!” My thought was, “What? Where in the world did they get that? It is not in scripture. Yes, God does have victory for us, amazing victory, and we can talk about this, (yes, lets talk about the depths of it! We can even dance.) but your missing it, your missing the power, by relying on the doctrines of men.” Over the years, I have heard people talk about “7-12 steps of freedom and victory”, casting out “spirits of fear and anger, etc.”, “spirit filled church”, “second tier Christianity or another level of Christianity”, what different symbols mean in dreams, methods of prophesy, and so on. But none of these teachings are in the Bible. They may pull out a few scriptures to suit them at best, but when you really test them against a serious look at scripture they don’t stand up. Where do they get this from? They get this from having doctrines that come from teachings of men and from allowing experiential events dictate doctrine. The scripture is very clear on its rebuke against leaning on the doctrines of men, no matter how holy or convincing they may appear. Of course this is not just a “charismatic” thing. When I talk to many Christians and I ask them why they believe what they believe, most of the time the response is “Well, I feel God would . . .” or “I have experienced or seen this . . .” You can’t do that. You can’t base what you believe on what you feel or what you have experienced. I will tell them, “OK, go study the scripture and come back and show me where this is.” Who God is is not left for our interpretation. Sound doctrine is not based on what we feel or what we have seen or what other people have done or what we have experienced or how “blessed” a ministry appears to be. Sound doctrine is based on the word of God, and it does not change. If we base our beliefs and actions on the doctrines of men we will fall, but if we are planted firmly in God’s word with a heart of obedience, our foundation will stand firm along with what is built on it.

When Paul was writing the church at Corinth, he told them that it was not good that they boasted in men. “For when one says, ‘I follow Paul’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos’, are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? . . . For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The Corinthian church was a place where the gifts of the Holy Spirit were being made manifest, however Paul wrote, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos’, are you not merely human?” Paul wrote the Corinthians, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." In Colossians, Paul writes, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Jesus rebuked the people of His day because the held to the doctrines of men rather than to the word of God. We don’t shape the word of God, the word of God shapes us.

The “charismatic” are not the only ones who have this problem. I think the “experiential movement” is a plague that affects the church in general and in many different ways. I use them as an example, because, I am one, and I believe that even with all their faults many who I have met and know personally have so much to offer the church. And where they are solid in the word, I am amazed and challenged. I love my brothers in the Lord. I would like to see what God would do in the “charismatic movement” if the word of God became the foundation it was rooted in. Paul also loved those in the church, who didn’t have it all together. He addressed the Corinthians with love and he believed in what God was doing in them. His dear love for them is evident in his writings. And I believe iron sharpens iron. I need my brothers to press into sound doctrine and into Christ, because we do not walk this Christian walk alone. I have so much to learn from my brothers. None of us are perfect and have it right. We come together as sinners, standing in the grace of God, alone. None of us have anything to boast, but instead we are to encourage each other in the Lord. Also, I have found that the biggest stumbling block for many believing that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are relevant for today is because the “experiential movement” is so prevalent in those who call themselves “charismatic”. If the word of God became central to those who call themselves “charismatic” and solid and sound teaching and doctrine characterized the way they walked, then they could teach others about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I want to see this. So I will leave you with this: Stop believing in the doctrine of men and start truly and faithfully believing in the power of the Holy Spirit. We will find that the power of the Holy Spirit is stronger than anything man could come up with.