JDL - Direction Sixteen - A right understanding of The Message of The Word of God

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31 (ESV))

In the seventies and eighties there was a movement toward what was termed “Values Clarification.” Situations were studied, and one would make a value estimation according to what they understood to be right and wrong. Unfortunately, without a good foundation, and here we would stress apart from faith in Jesus, one cannot rightly make a good value clarification.

At the same time, the study of God’s Word moved from being an empirical study to an emotive study. The move was from “What is God telling us in this passage of Scripture?” to “What does this passage of Scripture mean to you?” The implication was that the Bible means different things to different people. Now, certainly, there are times when one portion of Scripture might have a greater impact on one’s life at one time and another portion at another time. Although this change in perspective may be understood to mean that the Bible has different meanings to different people, that is not the case. The Bible has one meaning for all.

As an illustration; whenever a husband writes a love letter to his wife, he does not hope she understands what he is saying when he says, “I love you.” Likewise, when his wife reads those words, she does not hope she understands what he is saying. The writer and the reader understand what each is writing and reading because the words for each mean the same thing, what they were intended to mean.

When it comes to the Word of God, it does not have many meanings. God gave us His Word which has one message, the message of His love for us. If we do not get that one message, then the problem does not lie with the Word but with us who are reading the Word. Thus, for the person who would suggest that the Bible contradicts itself, the problem is not with the Bible because it does not contradict itself, because God cannot contradict Himself. Rather the problem is with the reader who then needs to go back and reassess his/her understanding of what is read.

When it comes to translating the Word of God, there are many translations. And every translation is an interpretation of sorts. Whenever anyone translates the Bible, they do so from a particular understanding of what is in the Bible. Thus, the best way to study the Bible (presuming you cannot read the original texts of the Greek or Hebrew) is to have several translations and see how each verse is translated. The best approach is not to look for the translation that reads the way you want to understand any particular verse. This is to impose your own agenda on the Word. Rather the best approach is to let God’s Word be His Word whether you like it or not.

God has graciously given us His Word. He has graciously given us four Gospels. God has given us His Word with His message. His message is His love letter to us. His love letter reminds us that we are sinners and are in need of a Savior. This comes from Genesis which we will get to later. His love letter continues by reminding us of His promise to take care of our sin by sending us a Savior. He gives us many indications (prophecies) which point to the One who is the Savior, so that when the Savior comes (came) we would know Him. As we review the life and times of Jesus, we can see that, yes, He is the One promised as He came and did everything God said the Savior would do.

The people of the Old Testament were saved by God’s grace through faith in the coming Savior. We, the people of the New Testament, are likewise saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus who came as our Savior. This is God’s love letter to us that He loved us so much that He gave His Son for us. And His Word testifies so that we might believe. He continues even today to direct our lives through this same Word.

Think About
Do you believe God is saying something different in His Word to you than to someone else? How do you feel about certain portions of God’s Word? Go back and reread His Word, and let God speak.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word and Your message, Your One Message to me of Your great love for me. Forgive me when I attempt to impose my own understanding and justification for my actions through Your Word. Help me to read Your Word as Your Word and let You speak to me through Your Word. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.