I was asked this question recently at my job: “The Bible can be interpreted in many ways. Are you saying that all the other churches that interpret it differently are wrong?” My quick answer at the time is the only reason that people interpret the Bible differently is because people allegorize it and try to bring in secret meanings into it. The Bible needs to be interpret it like any other book, the way the author intended it to be interpreted. They are wrong like if I interpreted the questioner in a way different than he wanted me to interpret him. Someone at the table said that is fair. He recognized that if I read the Bible in whatever way I wanted to interpret it. It would be just as unfair as interpreting my coworker differently than the way he wanted me to interpret him. When we interpret the Bible we need to ask 5 questions:
- How does the Text plainly read?
- What is the genre?
- What did the author originally intend this to mean?
- What did the original audience interpret this to mean?
- What do the New Testament authors interpret that verse to mean?
To help people better understand the Bible I have written two books on biblical interpretation and I preach regularly verse by verse on that the Bible means. Short answer we interpret the Bible literally in its grammatical-historical context.
Thank you for reading this I hope that this has blessed you. For additional resources you can go to Josiah’s sermons for examples of going verse by verse through the Bible and using context to explain it. You can also go to the Resources page to see the Using Hermeneutics Book Series. If you buy these books they will teach you how to study God’s Word and you will be helping this ministry greatly. Lord bless you and study God’s Word.
Biblical Interpretation Through Demonstration 