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The Error of Sinless Perfection PT. 1

May 24, 2013 in Study with 1 Comment

Over the last several weeks I have been writing on the topic rightly dividing the Word of God. Interpreting scripture correctly should be done with fear and trembling. It is not a light thing to teach others the truths of God’s Word, therefore we must use the correct methods of interpretation.

With this in mind I want to look at particular doctrine that has historically been misinterpreted, the doctrine of sinless perfectionism. Well intentioned people with well intentioned motives have been led astray with this false teaching. This is not a new doctrine, for it has been around for quite sometime. This false teaching has manifested itself in many denominations throughout history. Nearly all these groups have either made utter shipwreck of the faith or have been forced to modify their “perfectionism” to accommodate human imperfection. In their attempts to twist scripture they end up redefining sin and the sinful nature of man. I want to look at several scriptures that have been taken out of context by proponents of “perfectionism.”

Be Ye Perfect

Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father is in heaven is perfect.”

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Rightly Dividing the Word of God: Exegesis

April 23, 2013 in Study with 4 Comments

The Bible is made up of written words inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16). In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and that Word was God (John 1:1). That Word robed Himself in flesh and became the Living Word incarnate (John 1:14). Jesus spoke in Matthew 4:4 that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  The Living Word said that the proceeding words of God would be spiritual nourishment for the spirit man. Every word. 

What you and I have in the Bible are the very thoughts of God. God has spoken and what He has spoken has been recorded in words, sentences and paragraphs. God, who is the Word, chose to use words to communicate to people. And not just words, but written words. This is valuable to understand when we approach studying the Word of God.

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Rightly Dividing the Word of God: Interpretation pt. 2

April 8, 2013 in Study with 0 Comments

The Bible is not a magical or mystical book that can only be read by the gods or the pseudo-spiritual. Reading the Bible does not require that anyone leave out intellect, intelligence or common rules of literacy. The Bible is a supernatural book that was written by ordinary men who were extraordinarily inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21 2 Tim. 3:16). We approach the Bible with awe and reverence. However, awe and reverence do not require us to forget about the standard rules of reading.

Church history tells us of the Catholic church prohibiting the common man from owning or obtaining a Bible. They only had the Bible written and copied in Latin which meant only the catholic priests could read from the Bible. This is how gross error came about in Church history. When the reformers rebelled against such antics and began translating the Bible into common vernacular a revolution began.

We no longer have popes and priests keeping the Bible from laymen and saints. Today we have a problem with misinterpretation that is excused by trying to make the text more spiritual than it already is. We now have in our churches people who feel inadequate with reading and interpreting the Bible. Their excuse is that they cannot understand it for surely the Bible doesn’t mean what it actually says.

When reading and studying the Bible we do not sacrifice reading rules at the altar. We do not need to repent of the education that we have been taught concerning reading when approaching the Bible. We read the Bible the same way would read any other book. A noun is still a noun in the Bible. A verb is still a verb in the Bible. An adjective is still an adjective in the Bible. A play on words has become popular in Biblical interpretation, but doing so does not make the text any more spiritual, any more relevant, any more supernatural, any more meaningful, or any more applicable.

Spiritualizing a Bible verse does violence to Scripture. It makes people believe that the Bible is not spiritual enough. This is why it is important we learn to rightly divide the Word of God. In interpreting the Bible we do not need other-wordly tricks or mystical powers. You simply have to know the right questions to ask. In order to keep everything within context-and context is key- these are important questions to ask.

Here are 4 steps to Biblical interpretation

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Rightly Dividing the Word of God: Interpretation pt. 1

April 5, 2013 in Study with 2 Comments

I have stressed for many years the study of God’s Word, hence the title of my blog. I believe studying the Word of God is essential to the Christian’s spiritual life. A believer cannot know God until he first knows God’s Word. Our depth of knowing God is drawn from the deep wells of the written Word of God.

These posts are not exclusive to the preacher, but I have written them to help all believers better themselves in studying the Bible. It is my opinion that we are not to just read the Bible but we are to study the Bible. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy urging him to “Study to show yourself approved unto God a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth”(2 Tim. 2:15). Moving from simply reading the Bible to studying the Bible guides us to correctly interpreting the Bible.

Interpretation

Studying the Bible involves interpreting the Bible. This is a very important key to Biblical understanding. Interpreting the Bible has certain rules and regulations. Without these rules and regulations we can end up grossly misinterpreting the Bible. Biblical interpretation boils down to finding out what the writer’s intention for the text was and what was the intention of God inspiring the text.

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Rightly Dividing the Word of God

March 28, 2013 in Study with 2 Comments

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy the theme was to encourage Paul’s beloved son in the Gospel. Ephesus had its share of false teachers and false doctrine (Acts 20:28-31, 1 Timothy 1:6-7, 2 Timothy 3:1-7), so Paul wrote Timothy to endure the hardship and to guard the deposit that was given to him. How was Timothy to fight against the error of his day? He was to study show himself approved unto God, shun profane and vain babbling, continue in the God breathed Holy Scripture that he was taught since his youth, and preach the Word at all times(2 Tim. 2:15, 3:14-16, 4:2). The best defense against false doctrine and error is studying truth, applying truth and preaching truth. It is rightly dividing, interpreting and applying God’s Word.

Our day is no different than that of Timothy’s. Strange doctrines and teaching are abundant in our hour. You can find any type of teaching and doctrine that you desire to appease your flesh (2 Tim. 4:3). Men today are so led by their carnal pursuits that they have twisted God’s Word to make it fit their own lifestyles (2 Peter 3:16). False doctrine and error have come by men who have twisted the scripture, however many good intentioned people have been led to error simply because they did not rightly interpret scripture.

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