Christian Living

Read With Understanding

by paul hoffmaster
11/21/21
Free to Share

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

When I realize that I have God’s Word in printed form before me, it causes an emotional reaction that defies reasoning.  When Moses descended from Mt. Horeb with God’s Word etched in stone, it must have been a surreal experience for him.  Today we have sixty-six books filled with the words of the living God.  We have over forty transcribers that wrote as the Holy Spirit inspired them.  God spoke through human writers declaring His dealings with His created.   We have four Gospels that record the life and teachings of Jesus.  We have twenty-three books and letters that show how the church became a living witness of the Kingdom of God.  Not only do we have the written Word before us, but the Living Word within us.

A problem arises when we interject carnal interpretation into the equation.  When the human spirit overrides the Holy Spirit, the Bible will lose its intent and consequently its effectiveness.   When readers jump into the Biblical waters as a “cannonball,” the Scriptures are scattered in all directions.  Believers must understand the circumstances and the setting of the chapters and verses that they are reading.  Too many people take verses out of context and imply them to their own situations.  Take for example the Gospel of John.  Chapters 13-17 deal specifically with His chosen eleven. (Judas left the super early and did not rejoin the group until that night in the garden.)  It is from this section of Scriptures that Believers have taken so much liberty.  Both Independent and Denominational churches have broken into Biblical settings and have removed verses from their content.   They have transformed Scriptural sections into a “play-dough” theology in which they build churches that cater to “itching ears.” 

The Gospels were written to highlight Jesus’ ministry to the Jewish people.  His mission was to restore God’s chosen.  He stated that He was sent to “…the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  Matthew 15:24)  Jesus’ aim was to seek and to save the Jews from their rebellious attitude.  If the Believers will understand what the Gospels are all about, it will free them to truly understand the Word.

It was only through the Jew's rejection of Jesus that the doorway to the Kingdom of God was opened to the Gentiles.  After the Ascension, the Gospel message spread to the “whosoevers” of the world. 

The question arises as to what Scriptures Believers can take from the content in which it first was given.  The answer rests with the quickening of our spirit by the Holy Spirit.  To take a Scripture that purposely applied to a certain situation, and reapply that to one’s life today, could cause inconsistencies and confusion in one’s life. 

Scriptural appreciation and understanding is achieved by knowing the setting and the people involved in the exchange.  Instead of trying to fit the Scripture into our lives, let us learn to fit our lives into the Word.  Read with understanding and appreciation the intended Word of God.