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Handling God's Word Properly


 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 

We live in confusing times.  In our society, we are daily bombarded with information that claims to be accurate through television, radio, the internet, billboards, newspapers, magazines and more.  Throw in some  misinformation and a few conspiracy theroies and the 'information overload' is not only overwhelming but down right confusing.  The popular notion that truth is subjective, fluid, and ever-changing from situation to situation is an attractive concept when we are faced with so many claims of 'truth'.   Simply put, most people choose their truth from a buffet of 'true' claims that are often in stark contradiction of each other. 

It is in the middle of this chaos that the followers of Jesus preach Jesus' claim that he is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6) a claim that could bring clarity to the whole situation by making truth truly objective.  Truth is not an abstract idea, it is personified in the person of Jesus Christ - he is truth.  What he says and does is true.   However, I have to wonder…  When it comes to what the church says about Jesus, are we actually adding to the confusion?   It's not uncommon to hear two different preachers preach two different and even contradictory claims about Jesus from the same biblical passages.  Unfortunately, when it comes to biblical interpretation we can all fall into the same quagmire of subjective opinions about 'truth' as the culture around us.

The Bible is our primary source of information about Jesus and therefore the task of accurate biblical interpretation is critical if people are going to encounter Jesus - the truth.  If the work of applying sound hermeneutical principles to our biblical study is not employed, the scriptures can be made to mean anything we choose.  Many, in fact, have used the Bible this way which has lead to cults, abuse, and all sorts of nonsense in the name of Jesus. 

We are often quick to point the finger and are oblivious to our own use of scripture in evangelical churches.  For example, sometimes we jump to what the text 'means to me' without first exploring what it was intended to mean by the author who wrote it.   We would do well to distinguish between meaning (what the author intended) and significance (how what the author meant impacts or applies to me).  Another common practice is to pull verses of scripture out of their context in an attempt to address a certain issue or topic.  When we do so we can easily miss the nuances and overtones that are only obvious in the larger context of the passage and sometimes make verses mean what they were never meant to mean in their context. 


Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. writes, "…something comparable to a hermeneutical reformation is needed in our day." (Legitimate Hermeneutics, p117)  I agree that today it is important, especially for church leaders, to return to the practice of carefully doing the work of hermeneutics if we are going to faithfully lead others.  It is equally important to work at developing our hermeneutical skills and to teach others to handle the Bible with accuracy.  The message of Christ will always exist among many conflicting opinions, so let us not add to the confusion.   The more accurately we handle the word of God, the more we will speak as one.  Consistency and accuracy will not only give credibility to our claims but will keep us from drifting away from what the Bible actually teaches.

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