The Rules do apply

Sheep (and Dustin)

Searching the Scriptures is not for the faint of heart. They were not intended to be read lightly. There are actually some “rules” for reading the Bible. For example, you have to always consider “who” wrote the book, “who” was the book written to. You also need to consider the context of the verse, passage, book and the whole Bible. You should take a verse or passage as literal until or unless there is evidence to suggest that it is not literal, then you must consider literary rules and poetic rules (be careful here, this is where we tend to go first or when we don’t like what we read, Leaving the literal is not the first rule to be applied but only after deep study). When it is a difficult verse or passage then we must expand our search of the scriptures to see if it is dealt with elsewhere. If it is then interpret what is unclear by what we know to be clear. There are often times more then one “teaching” within a verse or passage, be careful to remain faithful to the main point and be conservative with multiple meanings.

Here is an example, Mark 9:33-37. There is one main point, that is the humble will be exalted and the proud will be brought low. But look closer, there are other teachings. For example, Jesus knew what the Disciples were discussing before they told Him. So, two points 1. Be humble 2. Jesus knows everything. You could also say that “man is inherently selfish, we have a conscience (they knew Jesus would not approve of their discussion hence the silence). There are lots of “points” we could make. 

The problem comes in when we want to look for all the “hidden” gems and forget the main point. If you want to be first (as the disciple put it) Jesus says you must be like one of these children. Be simple, content, teachable, simple, dependent, trusting, simple, and maybe a slight bit of naïvety. There really is a lot here but don’t over look the obvious. Simply seek God and trust Him to lead you!!

Love Y’all

JJS