Interpreting Scripture

How to Interpret the Bible
by Paul Washer

The Bible is a spiritual book that
is to be interpreted through the
illumination of the Holy Spirit, but at the
same time the Bible is a book and the
only correct interpretation is the one that
agrees with its grammar -what is
written. For this reason it is important
for us to be familiar with the rules or
principles of interpretation. The science
of Hermeneutics is the study of these
principles.
Hermeneutics is a serious matter.
Our interpretation of the Bible will
determine our beliefs and these beliefs
will determine how we think and act.
In the following you will find 13
principles that we must follow when we
interpret the Bible:

1. The Bible is the Absolute Authority.
It is impossible to interpret the Bible
correctly without the conviction that the
entire Bible is the Word of God. We do
not have the right to reject certain parts
of the Bible because they oppose our
traditions, opinions, or life-style.

2. The Holy Spirit is the best teacher
of the Bible. The Lord Jesus said that
he would send the Holy Spirit to guide
the Church to all the truth (John 14:26;
16:13) and without his illumination it is
impossible to understand the Bible (I
Corinthians 2:14). This does not mean
that in the “name of the Holy Spirit”
we have the right to depart from what
is written in the Word or to add to it.
Only that which is written in the Bible
can be affirmed as doctrine. Our feelings
and emotions have little value in the
formation of a biblical faith.

3. The Bible is its own best
commentary. When we cannot
understand the interpretation of one part
of the Bible or we want to widen our
understanding of it, we should seek the
explanation in other biblical references.

4. The Bible does not contradict itself:
Therefore there should always be
harmony in our interpretation of
different texts. If our interpretation of
one text contradicts the interpretation
of another then we are mistaken.

5. Unclear Texts must be interpreted
through clear texts. Those texts
whose interpretation is not very clear
should be interpreted in light of the texts,
which can be understood clearly.

6. The Grammar determines the
Interpretation. The text or verse that
we are studying has only one correct
interpretation and it is the one that is in
agreement with the grammar (what is
written). Even though the text can have
various applications, it has only one
correct interpretation and that is the one
that is in agreement with what is
written.
Hermaneutics is a serious matter.
Our interpretation of the Bible will
determine our beliefs and these
beliefs will determine how we think
and act.

7. The Context is important. The Bible
is like a puzzle in that it is impossible to
interpret one piece of , Scripture without
a general understanding of all the
others. Each word should be
interpreted in the context of the
sentence, each sentence in the context
of the paragraph, each paragraph in the
context of the book and each book in
the context of the entire Bible.

8. The Words are important. God
chose words to communicate his will
to us. Therefore it is important to
determine the meaning of each word.

9. The simplest interpretation is
usually best. The Bible was not written
for theologians or mystics, but for the
common man. Even though there are
allegories, metaphors and symbols in the
Bible we should seek the most
straightforward interpretation.

10. The Old Testament should be interpreted
in light of the New. For the Christian,
the New Testament deter- mines the
application of the Old Testament to his
life. A good example is the doctrine of
the Holy Spirit.. In the Old Testament,
he could be taken from the believer
(Ps.51:11), but in the New, he remains
forever with him (In.14:16-17).

11. The Interpretation should not go
beyond the revelation of Scripture.
What the Bible does not explain we
should accept as a mystery. If we go
beyond “what is written” we are in
danger of forming false doctrine.

12. The Goal is Exegesis. The word
exegesis comes from the Greek verb
exegeisthai [ ex = out/ hegeisthai =
lead] .When we interpret Scripture we
must extract the true meaning from the
text and at all cost we must avoid
reading into the text what we think it
might mean.Wemust avoid interpreting
the Bible according to our own
presumptions or preconceived ideas.
Our presumptions are like colored
glasses that distort our view of
Scripture. We must endeavor to take
off our glasses and see the text as it is.
This is the great work of the Bible
student.

13. Our personal interpretation
should be compared to that of the
Church. For the last 2,000 years,
dedicated theologians, pastors and
other Christians have been studying
the Scripture. We should compare our
findings to theirs. If our interpretation
is not found among the dedicated
Christians of history, we are probably
wrong. There should be no “new
discoveries” in Christian doctrine.
Jude refers to the Christian faith as
that which was “once and for all”
entrusted to the saints (Jude 1:3).