How We Read The Bible Wrong
February 29, 2016 — 1 Corinthians 10:6–13
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
American thought thrives off of facts. If someone has a proposition they intend for me to also believe, I expect them to give solid reasoning with strong evidences for why I should see things the way that they do. This way of thinking was greatly born out of the enlightenment, where physical (and by extension logical) evidences became the standard proof needed for ideas. This way of thinking ultimately affects most, if not all western intellectuals in one way or another. Local church theologians (pastors) are no exception. The way that we approach reading, and preaching on the Bible can often lead to a problematic and shallow understanding of what it is trying to say.
It can be very useful to have a full understanding of what the entire Bible has to say about a topic. If we do not read the Bible as a whole document, we could come to conclusions that would contradict different areas of the Scripture. For example, if we read James in a vacuum we could easily be lead to the conclusion that good works are equal to the grace of God. We are able to interpret sections of Scripture with other sections, and come to an understanding of what the whole says. However, one of the symptoms of reading the Bible exclusively systematically is that we can feel the wealth of verses about a topic means the Bible is really focused on it. If I can show you ten different verses about how we are to not be sinful in x, y, and z ways it would seem that the majority of the Bible is interested in living a holy life.
We Christians really enjoy avoiding sin. A big part of that comes from the wealth of verses that talk about the importance of the Christian life being a holy one. The problem comes when we strip those things we are called not to be from the perfect life of Christ that we have taken on as our own. If we are really one with Christ, we do not need to strive to build unity with Him though love and good works. The love and good works are all found in Him. We are called to just jump into and enjoy the stream of love and communion with God. If we don’t understand that the calls from sin are part of that flow we are in danger of moralism and legalism.
If we really believe that the work of Jesus was sufficient to give us new life, we do not need to live in such a way that is afraid of sin. Ironically, Christians who focus on what we need to do to avoid sin often are guilty of not heeding Paul’s warning of thinking that they are standing firm. The nature of being human means that we are going to be tempted by every kind of sin that is common to every kind of man. If we strive to remove those temptations through internet firewalls, and devotional schedules we trying to live the life that Jesus already lived.
Jesus was tempted by every sin you can imagine, and He live perfectly, not giving into the desires that came from the flesh. Jesus perfectly lived a life walked by faith. If we are one with Him we do not need to do it again, we just need to embrace what has been given to us. When we do give into our flesh it is not a matter of us failing, but rather of us choosing what is worse. We are offered a feast at the table of God, but instead we choose to drink out of the toilet. We are free to do both. Neither of them affect our union with Christ. We are free to keep eating filth, but who in their right mind would do that. Our question for them shouldn’t be don’t you know what you are doing, but rather don’t you know who you are.
