Wednesday morning in our men's group this topic came up again & it compelled me to remind myself of this important principle. I'm sure I have even blogged about this before. But, it seems clear to me that there are two very distinct ways to read & interpret the Bible: man-centered vs. God-centered. The distinction may seem quite subtle but it is not. One way is quite dangerous for the reader & hearer. In fact, I can already hear a rebuttal... "well at least they are reading the Bible." In many respects I agree & if you would've asked me three years ago, I wouldn't have discerned the difference very well. There is a big difference between the two. May I offer an example.
[I would compel you to listen to this wonderful sermon example of a God-centered perspective in preaching, listen to David Prince's "David & Goliath We Never Knew You: The Good News that the Bible Is Not All About You." The below example is revised from Prince's sermon.]
Scripture passage: 1 Samuel 17 | David & Goliath
Man-centered interpretation & application: David is a faithful warrior that I need to emulate. Goliath is any enemy or trial in my life that is difficult. I need to be more like David. I need to face the trials & battles in my life by mustering up enough courage to fight. Rise above the mentality of the weak Israelites.
God-centered interpretation & application: David represents Christ. Goliath is not trials or battles in my life but is the enemy, our adversary, Satan. I am helpless against sin like the Israelites were against Goliath. I have no chance against Goliath; I will never have enough courage or ability. I need Christ to fight for on my behalf; He is the only Salvation.
Do you see the difference? One mind-set immediately begins applying the passage to what "I need to do." This can never be understood correctly until we understand our depravity & the extent of the Gospel. This is just a small preview of what I mean by two ways of reading & interpreting scripture. I strongly encourage you to listen to Prince's sermon as it sheds light on this. I pray that we would begin to see our errors in our reading Scripture. I'll end with this quote by Prince:
"You do realize that you can come to the Bible & just keep saying things that are true & lead someone to Hell. You do realize that don't you! Let's say someone says: 'don't commit adultery... God doesn't want you to commit adultery... it's bad. Don't steal... God doesn't want you to steal... it's bad. Give, give alot, it's good.' And we could go on & on & on. And by the way everything I said is true but everything I said was meant by God to be understood in the context of Jesus & His gospel. And if it's all you say as if Jesus & the gospel doesn't exist, it's damning... it's going to lead you in the opposite direction of where it is supposed to lead you... only when I understand how this story testifies about Jesus... only when I understand that can I make the application to my own life."
Until next week!
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Amen. All we have is Christ--may we learn in His grace and His context and His truth instead of learning principles for living that will make us look moral yet keep us spinning in performance and send us straight to hell. Thanks, Ben.
ReplyDeleteYES YES YES~ this has made all the difference in my life the last year!!
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ReplyDeleteKeep Bringin' It Dude!! I didn't want you to stop... What an incredible word from the Lord this is. Thank you Ben for being a voice of truth in my life, and for providing this reminder, as I begin to prepare for the next two weeks of sermons. Joy, I am right there with you, this has made a huge difference in my life over the past year as well.
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