Tag Archives: interpretation

Christian

Heart of Stone

One view of reading the Holy Bible is to focus on context. Rather than applying it to self, the focus is on who wrote it, who was the audience and why was it written to them (or what was the purpose).

There’s nothing inherently wrong with examining and understanding context. The problem is this. The Bible was written for you. If you look at a clear New Testament commandment in Corinthians and say that only applied to female Corinthians you are in error. If you look at Exodus 20 and say that only applied to the Jews in the Old Testament you are in error.

Let the Lord write his laws on your heart and don’t seek ways to say that doesn’t apply to me.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 KJV
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

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Christian

Of Heaven or Of Man

In Genesis 40:8 KJV Joseph asks, Do not interpretations belong to God?

I believe that whether an interpretation of dreams or of Bible verses they only belong to God when they are correct and accurate. Yet, men too often interpret incorrectly and of their own accord. Following are some notable examples:

Hebrews 9:27 KJV And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: . Men treat this as an immutable law seeking to bind God to it. They say Enoch and Elijah must come back as the two Prophets of Revelation in order to die.

Amos 3:7 KJV Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. Again, some treat this as a law. Should an observation by Amos bind the Lord from doing whatever he wants, when he wants?

1 Corinthians 16:2 KJV Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Used by virtually every Church to pay their bills and claim donations to the Lord every Sunday. It was originally a comment by Paul to the Church at Corinth concerning donations to the saints in Jerusalem.

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Christian

The Gift of Tongues

So here’s the bottom line. If it’s gibberish to you the speaker, it’s probably gibberish to everyone else, including God. Many of you know you’re making it up as you go. Stop. Claiming to speak in tongues is like claiming to be a prophet when you’re not one. You speak nonsense because you want to, because you’ve seen others do it, and it’s easy to imitate.

If you’re actually moved by the Holy Ghost to speak in tongues, then do so. 1 Corinthians 14 tells us it’s possible, but it also says to pray for interpretation, and from what I’ve seen on television, interpretation is rare. In fact it says in 1 Corinthians 14:28 KJV, But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

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Christian, Inspirational

Denominational Deafness

I am of the opinion that most people, like myself, attend church based on parental influence. It’s hard to leave a group you’ve known since childhood. The Church of Christ I attend is given over to denominational deafness. They are no different than thousands of other churches. At the base level I think people pay for what they like to hear, comfortable words.

When people would not hear Jesus, he bluntly told them they could not hear because their father was the Devil. He said, if your father were God, you would hear me. John 8:43-47. I am not Jesus to say this of someone, but I wonder greatly. If a person is partially deaf to the truth, does that show they have given room to the Devil? What level of deafness can cause loss of salvation?

The following ways to fight deafness are crucial.

Question the actions that occur at your denomination. Are they biblical? Is their scriptural interpretation accurate?

There are only two ways that I know of to answer these questions. Study and prayer. Read the Holy Bible on your own and pray for wisdom that you may understand it.

Acts 17:11 KJV … they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

James 1:5 KJV If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

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