The "So, What Does It Mean To You?" Interpretation

Have you ever sat in a Sunday School class or a small group Bible Study and the teacher opened the Bible, read the text, then said to everyone, “So, what does this mean to you?” I have had this happen a number of times over the years. This is a problem of interpretation method and Martin Luther argued against a similar problem in his day.

In his theological classic “The Bondage of the Will” Luther says that he is fighting a “pretty fierce campaign against those fanatics who subject the Scriptures to the interpretation of their own spirit” (pg124). Luther was fighting against people who derived meaning or interpretations from the Scriptures outside of their intended meaning.

You might say, “How can you confidently interpret the Scriptures?” Well, you must first understand the passage you are teaching in its historical context. This requires you to understand the purpose of the Biblical book that the passage is found, the context surrounding the passage, and the plain normal meaning of the text. In preaching we call this moving from an exegetical proposition to a theological principle then to the form and application of the sermon.

Even after the Conservative Resurgence we still have this problem in moderate and liberal Baptist churches. This is a disease that must be diagnosed and healed otherwise we will produce childish Christians who only interpret the Scriptures based in their own little problems of the day. Our people are sick from the disease of forcing meanings of certain texts that God never meant to be derived.

The better you understand what the passage meant to the original readers, the better you will be able to apply it to the lives of the people you teach. Interpret based on sound historical, grammatical, theological, and normal methods of interpretations. Remember, the story of Jericho does not mean that a disgruntled employee needs to walk around their office seven times blowing a horn.

Teachers, work hard and be accurate in your studies because you will be judged by the content of what you teach. Christians, grow up and seek what God is communicating through the passage not what you want to get out of the passage.

In His Grace