My friend has a large abstract picture, painted by a mutual friend. It is not a style of art that I like. In fact, I can make no sense of it at all. I asked her what it depicted, and she described all sorts of things that I just could not perceive. “Is that what the artist said he had painted?” I asked. “Oh no!” she replied.
The value and meaning of much art and descriptive literature is often a matter of personal opinion. The same is not true of written instructions. The leaflet which accompanies medicine, and which tells us how and when to take it, is not a work of art. Its writers have a specific, important message, and they try to communicate it in an unambiguous manner so that users can understand and follow the instructions.
When it comes to the Bible, I often hear people say, “That’s what it means to me.” I concede that it is not entirely clear what they actually mean, but this approach could at best be foolish, and at worst fatal.
The Bible claims to be the inspired message from God to us. It contains instructions on how to please Him. It is therefore supremely important, and not open to “personal interpretation”.
No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20–21).
Even the prophets themselves, who penned the words of God, often did not fully understand them. But they tried to understand what they actually meant (1 Peter 1:10–11). They ‘searched and inquired carefully’, rather than relying on their personal feelings, impressions and preferences. The words were too precious and too important to be wrongly understood.
Words for All Seasons
Admittedly, Bible words of encouragement and comfort may help people in differing circumstances. One believer may be enduring bereavement, and another facing adversity. Then Bible messages will mean slightly different things to them. This is right as long as the original words are being correctly applied. For we can only have faith in what has been promised. Believing something does not, in itself, make it true. There is no point in trusting that God will do something He has not promised. For example, believing that we all go to heaven after death is a great comfort to many people. That does not mean that God has made such a promise. In fact, He has said nothing of the sort.
There are examples in the Bible of people failing to follow God’s instructions. Some of these had dire consequences. The Jewish nation is a classic example. God made very special promises to the father of the Jews, Abraham. The Jewish nation was chosen by God to be special and to serve Him. He promised great blessings if they believed and obeyed Him. Tragically, they failed to grasp or fully accept the conditional nature of these blessings and divine protection. They were clearly spelt out in the Law of Moses, especially Deuteronomy 28, and reiterated to kings including Solomon (1 Kings 6:12–13, 9:6–7), and by a host of prophets.
But the Jews chose to read the words to mean that they had the unconditional protection of God. They thought that they were special simply because they were the physical descendants of Abraham. John the Baptist and Jesus himself tried (with little success) to disabuse the religious leaders of this idea (Matthew 3:7-11; John 8:31–40). The Jews doubtless took great comfort in what they believed, leading to confidence and contentment. That is what the promises to Abraham “meant to them”. But their meaning was not God’s intended meaning, and they were judged accordingly. Jerusalem was ransacked and the nation was removed from the land they believed to be theirs by right. This happened in Old Testament times (2 Kings 25: 1–12) and then again in 70 ad as prophesied by Jesus (Luke 21:20–24).
What God Really Means
We need to read carefully in order to determine what God actually said and actually meant by His words. So, if people are saying “This is what I think God is saying”, then that can be a sound basis for fruitful discussion and Bible study. But if they really mean “That is what it means to me, and it’s just fine if it means something completely different to you; my view is what is important to me,” then that is very dangerous. It robs the Bible of its ultimate authority and influence, and is disrespectful to God Himself. God’s words are not “all things to all men”, and we must not put “our spin” on them.
I can choose which types of art I like, and how I interpret them is not important. While many parts of the Bible are sublime, the Bible is not just a “work of art”. True, sections of it are difficult to understand, especially prophecy. But the overall message is quite clear. It is the message of life from God, and I cannot afford to pick and choose either the parts I like, or interpretations that appeal to my personal feelings. We need to determine what God meant by it, not what we think He ought to have meant, or what we would like Him to have meant.
Anna Hart