Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: On Wednesday, we examined the three most basic principles of Biblical hermeneutics, the five-dollar word for “how to read and interpret the Bible correctly.” We got through Rules 1 and 2 when we ran out of room, so we will look at Rule 3 today. Here are the principles: 1. The Bible is the Word of God; 2. The Word of God is what is actually written in the Bible; 3. What is not written in the Bible is not the Word of God. As a reminder, there are four categories of statements or text that describe how reliably they transmit a truth of God. In descending order of reliability, they are: “Revealed” - A statement made by God himself. We read a revealed truth in Matthew 3:17, “behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” “Inspired” - In theology, this word is very different from our everyday definition. It describes words written by human hand that come directly from God. In Protestant theology, it is generally applied only to the Bible. “Illuminated“Illuminated” also describes an elaborately illustrated Bible or other holy book. The two meanings are completely different.” describes a writing, or more usually reading, where we are assisted by the Holy Spirit in our understanding. It is impossible to understand the Bible (or Christ) without illumination. It is not often applied to secondary criticism or exegesis, since a claim of illumination in a text can so easily be phony. “Interpretation” - This is the term properly applied to Biblical criticism, teaching, sermons, etc. The Notes you are reading right now are interpretation. They are not the Word of God, but the thoughts of a human being attempting to understand the Word of God. Many preachers and teachers do not understand the difference; so we must be able to differentiate for ourselves. The simple key to reading religious literature or listening to lectures and sermons is to remember Rule 3: What is not written in the Bible is not the Word of God. A logical conclusion based on Scripture may be helpful, but it is human and therefore fallible, not divine and infallible. Here is an example. In fact, I will give you a chance to see if you can make the distinction yourself, if you want to, before I tell you my thoughts. Read John 8:1-11 (which is a great Bible story and worth a read just for its own sake). When you have finished reading it, here are two questions for you. First, did Jesus forgive the woman for her sin? Second, did the woman repent? I'll put in a few lines of “spoiler space” for anyone who wants to think about it before reading further. * * * * * Did Christ forgive the woman? The Bible does not say He forgave her; it says He did not condemn her. Does your mind want to infer that He forgave her? Drawing an inference is a natural logical process. But: it is critical (and difficult) to learn to recognize that the inference comes from your mind, not the Bible. Did the woman repent? The Bible does not say or indicate she repented. This would be a secondary inference, as its basis relies on the inference that Christ forgave her. Understanding the Bible is sometimes difficult, but it becomes a lot easier once you are able to make a clear distinction between interpretation and the inspired Word of God.