How To Read Scripture, Part 11

Many believers are intimidated by the Word because they are not graduates of seminary or Bible college. They feel inept and secretly ask, “What right have I to interpret God’s Word when I lack the tools for such an endeavor?” Certainly this is an honest question and one I asked years ago. Since I have no original language study, can I really draw as deeply from the well?

This is where we must call for balance. There are those who feel scholarship is cold and lacks the work of the Spirit. Scholarship is quick to defend its position by denouncing the loose handling of the Word and the more subjective reliance upon the Spirit to tell the reader what the Scriptures say. Do we need scholarship? Absolutely! Do we need the Spirit for illumination? Absolutely! What is the balance? Perhaps an illustration may help at this point. A few years ago I was sitting in the bleachers watching a high school basketball game. I recognized the man next to me as a referee. At halftime I struck up a conversation and asked him if he was able to enjoy the game as a spectator or was he still wearing his referee’s hat while observing. He said, “I couldn’t tell you the score. I constantly look for any fouls or infractions. I simply can’t just sit back and enjoy the game.” As I drove away that evening, I began to think of how many scholars there are who know all the nuances of the Word but don’t know the score. They simply can’t enjoy the Christian life. Every word has to be analyzed to the point where they can’t see the forest for the trees. By the same token, I wonder how many who are opposed to scholarship think they know the score but are loose with their interpretation and rely on feelings or a “movement of the Spirit,” rather than careful biblical exposition. Confusion will result with either extreme. That's the way I see things.