TRIFLE WITH SCRIPTURES AT YOUR OWN PERIL

By Akin Ojumu

There was a time in Old Testament Israel when every man did what was right in their own eyes. During this period, Israel had no king to provide guidance and direction. The people had no leader to put down the plumbline of righteousness. As a result, they devolved into a decay of moral relativism. The standard of what was right and wrong was up to each person’s subjective judgment.

Judges 21:25

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

It breaks my heart to admit that we are at such a perilous time in the contemporary Church, especially with respect to the way church folks handle the Scriptures. Just like Israel in the Book of Judges, the Church is lacking God-fearing leaders who would provide clear guidance for the interpretation and understanding of Scriptures.

When it comes to interpretation and application of the Scriptures, what we find in the modern-day Church is that everyone is doing what’s right in their own eyes. To say that the use of Bible texts these days is like the wild for untamed animals is an insult to untamed animals. Even in the animal world, there’s some semblance of order and decorum. The same cannot be said of modern-day Christianity.

In our day, the meaning of Bible texts is left to the figment of each person’s wild imagination. This has led to an explosion of a chaotic and deafening cacophony of strange and bizarre speculations. There’s no objective standard for interpreting Scriptures. Everyone interprets the Bible as they see fit. The common refrain from the vast majority of church folks is, “What this Bible passage says to me” and not “What the Bible passage says.”

2 Peter 1:19-21

“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Scriptures were breathed out by God. The authors of the Books of the Bible did not write a single word contained in the Bible of their own volition. They wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. As it were, their cognitive function was co-opted by the Holy Spirit who moved them to write exactly what God intended to communicate.

Every text of Scripture has its intended meaning. When the words of the Bible were put together to form sentences, and sentences to paragraphs, paragraphs into chapters, and chapters into books, God had a precise and predetermined message He wanted to convey.

“The Bible is no ordinary book. It is a unique book, the very Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice, and so when we read it, we are trying to discern what the living God has to say to us.” (Source: Ligonier Ministry).

When we read Bible passages, our goal must always be to discover the true, original, intended meaning. Every time a Bible text is read, we must faithfully draw out from it the message the text intends to disclose. This approach to interpreting the Bible is what’s described as exegesis.

“Interpreting the Bible faithfully means reading a given passage as it’s meant to be read. Reading in this way pays attention to things such as genre and figures of speech and takes account of the historical and literary context of a given passage, making note of how the words used were understood at the time the text was written. This method is often called historical-grammatical exegesis, and it is intended to uncover what the author intended to convey by focusing on the words he used and their meaning in context.” (Source: Ligonier Ministry).

“The meaning of Bible passages is not subjective. Reading and interpreting Bible texts in a subjective and non-analytical manner is called eisegesis. The word eisegesis literally means “to lead into,” which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants.” (Source: Got Questions).

We must never read our thoughts, opinions, and ideas into the Bible. We are not at liberty to twist God’s Words. It is an abomination to distort the Scriptures or obscure its original intended meaning.

God’s command about His Word is pretty clear. We cannot claim to fear God and then treat the Bible with irreverence, by polluting and diluting it with human ideas and mixing it with doctrines of demons.

Deuteronomy 4:2

“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.”

Do you think it is a small thing to distort the Word of God? Do you not know there are severe consequences for twisting the Bible? Have you no fear of God?

Revelations 22:18-19

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

There’s no excuse for perverting the Word of God. It is the duty of all true believers in Christ to work hard to interpret and understand the Bible accurately. A day of reckoning is coming for anyone who mangles and bungles the Word of God. On that day of God’s wrath, twisters and distorters of God’s Word will blush with shame and embarrassment at the fury of God.

2 Timothy 2:15

“Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.”

At all times the Word of God must be hallowed, just as we hallow His name. It is a dangerous thing to trifle with the Scriptures. Those who irreverently and dishonorably handle God’s Word do so at their own peril.

Psalm 138:2

“I bow down toward your Holy Temple and give thanks to your Name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your Name and your Word.”