Six Ways Around A Difficult Text

“But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully.” – II Corinthians 4:2a

Believe it or not, we all enter Scripture with a theological bias. You have been raised to think a certain way about the Bible. You may be reformed, pentecostal, charismatic, dispensational, or unable to pronounce these words. You may not even be familiar with all four terms, but we still enter our time of devotion with a desired outcome. Of course the desired outcome is always threatened by monkey wrench verses that thwart that desire if not demolish it. Some difficulties in Scripture are more than speed bumps, but act as roadblocks and defy interpretation as viewed through the lens of our theological bias.

This naturally forces us to find some way around the difficulty. Certainly difficulties must be resolved but never at the expense of honest interpretation. The finest of pastors and scholars are capable of being disingenuous in relating to such matters. I have come across countless interpretations motivated by a theological system, bias, or desired outcome that often seemed shameless. I no doubt have fallen prey to such schemes.

Here are six ways around any difficult text. They can be legitimate or illegitimate. Motive will determine legitimacy.

1. Original Language
Knowledge of Hebrew and Greek is of great value, but what layman hasn’t been baffled by scholarly works that claim different meanings for words. I am always suspect when the word is made to fit the author’s doctrinal bias. It’s a little like watching an instant replay. Half of the crowd says he had possession of the ball, while the other half says he didn’t. It is interpreted by a desired outcome.

2. Compare Scripture with Scripture
As you may well know, this is an excellent way to find God’s mind on a subject. He often says much about a subject in many of the books of Scripture. Here again when we find ourselves in trouble, we start looking for the exit ramp, and if not careful may come up with a desired interpretation, but nonetheless erroneous.

3. Context
What could be more logical than considering the context? Yet I have read many a commentary where one scholar looks at the immediate context while another, who doesn’t feel this will serve his purpose best, will say you need to consider the overall context of the book, or we must look beyond the context to the overall argument.

4. Secular Sources
Often if a word leads to a troubling outcome, pastors and scholars will scratch around secular literature of that era to see if the word could have a different meaning. Given enough time, they will probably come up with what they are looking for. Don’t evolutionists do the same while looking for fossils that support their theory?

5. Translations
This may be the most humorous of all. How many pastors say, “A better translation here is the KVJ, NIV, NASB, etc.” when in fact he has no clue. He read in a commentary where some scholar told him this. Another commentary may pick another translation. Unless you are a textual critic, you really don’t know and are at the mercy of your own best judgment.

6. Original Manuscripts
When all else fails, just say, “This verse isn’t found in the most original manuscripts.” How many times has that been used?

My purpose here is not to question Scripture, which I do believe is without error in its original autographs, but to encourage a genuine approach to the Word. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate interpreter. We certainly need sound scholarship. I always consult commentaries after I have listened to the Spirit of God through meditation and prayer. The Sprit can bring my attention to context, language, and comparing Scriptures with Scripture through a scholar. What I am always on the lookout for is a forced interpretation that brings about the author’s desired outcome. I know many authors and thus have a pretty good feel for how they will examine a text.

We are all susceptible to being biased in our approach. We will even agree with an author who arrives at the conclusion we want even if he doesn’t interpret the text the way we would. Who cares? He landed where we wanted him to land. This too is not genuine.

Seek the Spirit of God who will guide us into all truth. The Word is true, the Spirit is true, but our desired outcome may skew the truth. That’s the way I see things.