One of the annoying knee-jerk reactions I frequently receive when I preach the truth of Scripture is, “That’s just your interpretation.” I hear it as though the other person has it all figured out themselves. Sometimes I respond with, “Isn’t that just your interpretation?” Sometimes, I respond with, “It’s not MY interpretation. It’s what it says.” Many people have confused church tradition with what Scripture says, but other people have confused the process of eisegesis and exegesis: they think they are doing a study of the text of Scripture when they are actually just inserting their already established ideas into the text.
How do we solve these issues? The first thing we have to do when coming to a conflict between Scripture and any idea is to ask this question: Where is the flaw? Which position needs to go to the examination board first? When it comes to origins, it’s amazing how many people will say we need to examine our understanding of Scripture, and there is partial truth to that. But why are they saying this? Because they have this notion that what they have learned in “science class” is fact. I wrote a few months ago about the dangers of brainwashing, namely in science, where the secular-humanistic worldview of naturalism is being equated with “science” when science is nowhere to be found. There is clearly a conflict between what Genesis states naturally and what the “science” says. So, which one should get examined first? Where is the flaw? Is it our understanding of Scripture that needs examination first? Or is it the science that needs examination?
There are ministries out there which teach that the Bible and science must agree, but be watching their tactics. Which is made to agree to what? Science to the Bible, or the Bible to science? In EVERY Old Earth model, the science is left alone for examination and the Bible’s “interpretation” must be off because the “science” says otherwise. You will hear them say they are happy to be shown to be wrong about the science, but you can tell when they are shown by science how wrong they are that they aren’t willing to change for the life of them. Where is the flaw? These Old Earth ministries think it’s in the Bible (I’ve heard them say “the Bible is unclear” or even “the Bible is wrong.”) Do they actually examine themselves or their own models? Hardly.
Now, so you don’t hear what I am not saying, there are MANY times where someone does indeed misinterpret Scripture. But how is that corrected? By an outside source that has no authority on what Scripture is and what it means? Or is it rather by a more accurate study of the text in the context of what is being said? When you hear the claims that the Bible contradicts itself, you can easily resolve most of said claims simply by reading the context of said verses. But again, where is the flaw? Is the flaw in Scripture, or is the flaw in man?
So many skeptics speak about the Bible as having no voice itself, and many Christians have the same approach. Do we as Christians not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us? Does not the Author of Scripture dwell in our presence as we read Scripture? We don’t have perfect understanding of Scripture. I don’t; I get things wrong all the time. That’s why I don’t rely on MY understanding of Scripture. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
If an interpretation is wrong, there will be clues for why. Look at the motivation for making such statements. Look at the resources used. Why did the people making the claims say what they said? Augustine is cited by Old Earthers frequently because he did not believe in a six-day creation. He believed in an instantaneous creation (hardly what OEC’s position states). But why did he believe it? Was it because of an in-depth study of the text of Scripture? No. It was merely because he did not understand why God needed to take six days. It was because of doubt and unbelief of the text. Where was the flaw in Augustine – in Scripture, or Augustine? The flaw was in Augustine.
But what about all those Christians who don’t act right, or are unloving, or supported slavery, or “fill in the blank”? I ask: “What about them?” Whenever I find someone blaming God for the behavior of some of His followers, I point them to Romans 3:1-4. If someone is in error (and I am sometimes to often in this category myself), that person isn’t the standard; God is. If I am not pointing people towards Christ, if I am not exalting His name, then perhaps I should not be listened to. But if I am going to be rejected, I’ll know if said person is saying so because they are zealous for the truth and love God, or whether it is because I am exposing their own evil deeds. I can take correction, but I also know who to take it from.
It’s interesting how people, who try to blame Christianity based on what people who claim its name do when it is in contrast to what Christianity teaches, will defend their own position (such as Evolution) and separate themselves from those who actually carry out what comes out of said teachings. Many Evolutionists hate it when Creationists use Hitler as the poster child of what Evolution teaches, yet nearly every, if not all, Evolutionist prior to Hitler’s reign was exactly what they are accused of being. Evolution didn’t change post-Hitler. The teachings are the same. Modern Evolutionists who decry what Hitler did and distance themselves from him do not practice themselves what Evolution naturally leads to. Where is the flaw? Was it Hitler’s application, or the modern Evolutionists’ interpretation? Or the entire notion of Evolution itself? I’ll say Hitler is the one who got Evolution correct, and it’s the modern Evolutionists who don’t understand what it is themselves.
Where is the flaw? The problems with this world can be summed with a one-word answer: SIN. The cause of these problems can be summed up with a one-word answer too: YOU (and me). The flaw lies with you. It lies with me. We have all sinned. We all fall short. We all miss the mark. We all have core flaws. There is only one who got it completely correct: Jesus Christ. He is the only one without a flaw. That is why I do not trust me to figure it all out (and being an intellectual type, that is not easy to do, and I fail miserably at this often), but I lean on God to make His Word clear and straightforward. Then there is the obedience part of it, but how can we obey unless we know what truth there is to obey? This is why so many refuse to let Scripture speak clearly, because if it is open to interpretation, then its command for obedience cannot be upheld. But if it is clear, then no matter how we may want to say it is otherwise, we are held responsible for believing and obeying it. If you believe Scripture as written and take God at His Word, then He is responsible for what happens to you and the fallout. But if you want to make Scripture fit what you’d prefer, then you will be held responsible for it against a pure, perfect, and holy God. I’ll stick with God being the standard… not me.
Where is the flaw? Let us examine ourselves, because that is a good place to start looking.
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