I sat in on a Senior High class a few weeks back. I’d been invited in to respond to questions the students had. The questions were excellent: thoughtful, reflective, probing, and faithful. I noticed the questions had a common thread, something that we all struggle with: how are we to read the Bible, and especially, how are we to read difficult passages, those verses that seem not to make sense, or that trouble us?
We find passages that we question in both the Old and New Testaments. For example: “You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two materials.” (Leviticus 19:19) “Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent.” (1 Timothy 2:11). If we were to follow these verses literally, most farmers would be in trouble, most of us would have to buy new wardrobes, and we would lose the majority of our Elders, Deacons, and Teachers. So what do we do?
Our Book of Confessions and Book of Order (together they are the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church USA) provide help and guidance. The Book of Order tells us that the Bible is “by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to us.” We do not refer to the Bible as the “literal” or “inerrant” Word of God, as some other denominations do.
The Confession of 1967 teaches us that the Bible is “to be interpreted in the light of its witness to God’s work of reconciliation in Christ.” Jesus, as the living Word of God, is the lens through which we are to read the Bible. Christ himself knew his Scripture, yet he often taught lessons that seemed to contradict a literal reading of Scripture.
The Bible is not a rule book, with neat aphorisms and guidelines that we can simply list and follow. Rather it is a book of books filled with nuance, subtleties, and many seemingly contradictory statements. We need help as we read the Bible, which is why the first thing we must always do before we read is offer a prayer for illumination, asking for God’s help through the Holy Spirit as we read.
We always have to be mindful of the context, the history, and the literary style of the writer of each book. We also have to be mindful of the fact that translators who have worked with the original Hebrew or Greek texts often have disagreed on how different verses should be translated.
As we read through the Bible, the Spirit calls us to interpret passages in light of God’s mercy, love and reconciling work in Jesus Christ. That means that reading the Bible requires prayer, faithfulness, an open mind, and an expectation that each time we read it we will be transformed, even just a little, to be more Christ-like in what we say, what we do, and how we live our lives.
Grace & peace,
Pastor Skip
