Trusing Your Interpretation Of The Bible

John Erickson


Basically, if you believe it (and are able to fine tune your approach as you get corrective revelations from God), it will be true in the eyes of God, and you will get results.


If a Believer has great academic knowledge of Bible verses but is nervous and doubtful about applying them, he gains nothing. Perpetual doubt about little contextual details only paralyzes people. "This might not mean that we should do it in this situation...," or "The context of that verse involved the application of 9 other laws at the lime...", Forget it. Internal chatter like this can go on forever and produce nothing. Once a principle is revealed clearly to your spirit, then that's usually as certain as you can get about a verses' meaning.


Here's a good example: When Jesus, in Matthew 12:3-5, was accused of violating the Sabbath by picking & eating heads of grain, He freely referred to 1 Samuel 21:1-6, where David's men were given the consecrated bread that was meant only for the priests. This was "unlawful" for them to eat, which Jesus himself acknowledged (Matthew 12:4). And He also referred to Leviticus 24:9, the Law which declared that the consecrated bread is for Aaron & his sons (i.e., the priests). Jesus' use of these verses today would invite hours and hours of hair-splitting arguments and interpretations. You could argue that those verses didn't really refer to what Jesus' and his disciples were doing. Then Jesus could have long-windedly argued back that the eating of heads of grain was not specifically denied. But instead, Jesus acted in full confidence of His general interpretation of the principle being elucidated in 1 Samuel 21:1-6 & Leviticus 24:9. With His confident, lighthearted yet determined approach to life, He showed confidence in God's personal revelation to Him, and had no need to engage in pointless bickering with people who just argue for sport.


We need to latch onto the broad principle God is revealing to us in His Word, and not paralyze ourselves with endless doubts about the minor activities of a particular verse. The Holy Spirit is the one who caused the verses to be written anyway. The writers know only a fraction of the full meaning of the things they were given to write. David probably thought the prophesies he had written regarding Jesus referred to himself in his position as "king". Nevertheless, the message got written, and the Holy Spirit moves us, the readers, to understand what God actually meant.


This attitude is the deciding factor in whether a Believer wields power from God in his life, or just flounders around in perpetual doubt. Confidence, unshakable determination and a lighthearted view to the literary details surrounding a scripture, is the mindset of the Believer who sees positive results as he wields spiritual warfare against the corrupted situations in the world before him.


© John Erickson


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