Using Satan's Glasses To Interpret Scripture

Everyone is a bible interpreter. If you have ever quoted a verse or referenced something Jesus said, you are doing interpretation. The question is not whether we are bible interpreters, it is whether we are good interpreters.

Bible interpretation is the discipline known as hermeneutics. There is a right way of doing interpretation and a wrong way of doing interpretation. There are hermeneutic rules such as 1. always interpret Scripture with Scripture and 2. interpret Scripture in its proper context, and the often forgotten task 3. look for authorial intent. These and other principles are guidelines and guardrails to prevent the Wild Wild West of bible interpretation (see more on that here).  

The Devil's Interpretation

The danger I want to warn us of, is reading the Bible like Satan. Satan knows the Bible. He likely has more verses memorized than you do, and me for that matter. Yet this does not mean that Satan rightly or correctly interprets Scripture. We saw Satan distort God's words in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. God said one thing, Satan said something completely different.  Man becomes the victim.

But perhaps the most clear example is found in Matthew 4. In Matthew 4 Jesus has just been baptized and is led into the wilderness by the Spirit. There he will be tempted and tried. Satan appears to Jesus after he has gone 40 days and nights without food. He comes and challenges Jesus to turn stones into bread. Jesus doesn't go for it. But then Satan moves to his next temptation, but this time he uses Scripture. In Matthew 4:6 Satan says to Jesus as they stand at the pinnacle of the temple, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

Well there you have it, I guess Jesus has to jump. After all, Satan has shown from Scripture (Ps. 91:11-12) that Jesus should jump because angels will be there and will keep him from striking his foot. But Jesus doesn't jump. Instead, Jesus counters Satan's use of Scripture with another passage (Deut. 6:16), "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" In other words, Jesus interprets Scripture with Scripture when he tells Satan he's not jumping off the temple. He shows that Satan's conclusions are invalid, because the passage is not quoted in context. Jesus exhibits here how Bible interpretation should be done. 

Don't Use the Bible Like Satan

Unfortunately, many people today don't take heed to this example. Instead, countless thousands pluck Bible verses kicking and screaming out of their contexts to make or prove any point. However, this is not permissible. We don't have the option of using Scripture any ole' way we want. 

One of the ways I have seen this developing in our culture is the use of passages like 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4:8. In this former passage, we see Paul outline the way of love in the Christian life. He speaks to how love must accompany all of our actions. In the latter passage, we see John declare that anyone who does not love is not from God, because God is love. So these two passages, and a few others, are often tossed out in public square conversations, even in Christian-to-Christian conversation, to negate speaking out against sinful actions. These passages are used as an attempt to muzzle into silence a Christian who is speaking out against sin. The often heard retort is, "Well, I know you are saying that X is wrong, but the Bible also says that God is love, so I just think we should focus on loving people." Now don't get me wrong, loving people is important, but what that statement attempted to do is produce an action - in this case, silencing the believer who is vocalizing the sinfulness of an action - by using other passages of Scripture. Does this look familiar?

The Bible exhorts believers to stand for the truth. Interestingly, Jesus, the most loving of all humans to ever live, had no problem calling out sin. Yes, he loved people and was merciful, but he did not tap-dance around the issues of the day in order to win the crowds affections. Another fascinating part of this is the reality that the verses used from Paul (1 Corinthians 13) and John (1 John 4:8) come from guys who do the very thing (call out sin) that those who cite their verses are trying to urge against. For example, John, the same John who wrote that God is love, is also the same guy who wrote in the same book(!) the words of 1 John 1:6 "If we say we have fellowship with him (God) while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." Or consider this doozy in 1 John 3:6 "No one who abides in him (God) keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him." As you can see, to use verses from these guys to promote this idea that we should not speak out against sin, is to be deceptively selective in choosing verses, because they do the very thing you are using them to silence others from doing.

It is not loving to remain silent when people are sinning their way straight to hell. It is neither loving or noble to silence believers who are daring to show courage in the face of a culture and church that are not. Yes, believers should be tactful and wise as serpents and gentle as doves in the way they approach speaking out against sin. But when believers are quoting Scripture to other believers to produce an action that the particular passage doesn't warrant, it's wrong. By the way, this is how the Devil does Bible interpretation. It is time Christians stop using Satan's glasses to read Scripture.


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The Joke Is On Us

Ah danggit, we've been duped!! 

Go ahead and admit it, we fell for it. The joke is on us, and you know what, we deserve it. 

What am I talking about, you wonder? I'm talking about the lie we bought when we fell for the idea that moral absolutes were a thing of the past that everyone had outgrown. You remember, don't you? Christians were lectured by everyone about how morals were not absolute, but varied from culture to culture. Remember the rhetoric? We can't impose our views on others, it is wrong. We were made to feel like the scum of the earth for projecting our "superior" moral standards on those who have the right to do what they think is right for them. It is their life, as long as they are not bothering us. 

Do we all remember this narrative which circulated over recent years?

Now open your eyes and look where we are. The tables have turned. Those whose moral standards used to pace the culture, are now the one's having the absolute morality of the others pushed down their throats to point of asphyxiation. Like the revolutionary leader who stirs up the masses against the wicked king, only to become a harsher dictator once he's assumed power, so have the once "liberators" of tyrannical moralists become the tyrants themselves.

Proof In The Pudding

Take for example the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The games will be held in February and many Americans will compete against the best in other countries in all sorts of sports and events.

But in case you forgot, there was talk about the United States not participating in the Olympic Games. Do you remember why? Because in the summer of last year (2013), Russia passed a law against any public displays or expressions of homosexuality or distribution of information about homosexuality to children. Americans, especially news outlets, politicians, and activists (examples here, here, and here), were outraged at such bigoted, intolerant actions. They called for boycotts of the Olympics, even Russian vodka. Many took to the streets pouring out Russian vodka (that'll show'em!) to protest such laws. They could not believe anyone had the nerve to violate the moral ethic of approving and even celebrating homosexuality and the homosexual lifestyle. How draconian!

Interestingly, this Russian bill passed with a vote of 436-0. The reasons they stated for creating the legislation was to promote traditional Russian values as opposed to Western liberalism, which they see as corrupting Russian youth. According to the American narrative, we should respect that, right? It is their culture. That's what's right for them. Who are we to say what is right for them? Who are we to impose our moral judgments over their country?

Do you sniff the hypocrisy dripping from the American outcry? I thought we believed that morality was not legislated by any group of people, but rather it was relative to each culture? I thought what was good for them is good for them and what is good for us is good for us? Surely we are not inserting ourselves as Russia's moral police, right? After all, the same people upset over Russia's anti-gay laws would be the same people unwillingly to go to war over injustices like tyrannical governments killing its citizens. We don't want to be the world's policemen when it comes to saving lives, but if it comes down to who you can have sex with, then sure, we are there with our blue lights flashing and our sirens ringing.

Unbelievable, But Not Really

So let us say it together, "We. Were. Duped." They pulled one over on us pretty good. We were made to feel like the outdated grandpa who had longed lost his pulse on reality and "the way things are today," only to see those who tore down our belief in absolute morals, build their own version to stand from and cry the absoluteness of it. 

The joke is on us, but I don't see any of us laughing.


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You're a Christian, huh? Hmm...

 I know what some of you were already thinking as you read the title of this post, "Who are you judge who is or who is not a Christian?" This is a natural question to ask, I suppose, but I do not believe it is really what you are asking. "Who are you to judge," is really seeking to find out by what authority I can make a definitive claim about somebody being a Christian or not. The answer to that question is easy: nobody. I'm nobody. I do not carry any inherent authority which makes what I say the rule of the day. However, before you type another domain into your browser and move on, that does not dismiss the issue.

Just because I am nobody, and lack inherent authority in myself, does not mean the right to identify as Christian is a free-for-all. Fundamentally, "Who are you to judge," is the wrong question. The more appropriate questions begging to be asked: is there any way to judge who is or who is not a Christian? Is there an objective standard by which Christians can be identified or is it simply a subjective endeavor? I believe the Bible and historic, orthodox Christianity answers without hesitation: yes, there is an objective standard!

So what?

Why do I raise this issue? We currently live in a cultural climate of debate and division over many hot-topic issues. Things including homosexuality and abortion are a couple of mainstream examples. In the midst of many of these debates the line drawn is between Christian beliefs vs secular beliefs. As a Christian, I find myself distinctively on one side of the dividing line in these arguments. Yet surprisingly, I often will have someone who is taking a stance distinctively rooted in secular philosophy claim to be a Christian. This makes no sense to me. 

**WARNING: This is the point in the article where your modern sensibilities may get aggravated, a seat belt or bit in your mouth may assist you in finishing** 

For someone to claim they are Christian, though they hold distinctly non-Christian views and have non-Christian behavior patterns, is absurd. Again, this raises the vitriol of folks to say, "Who are you to say?" My previous answer remains, "nobody," but that doesn't void my claim. There is a standard, an objective standard, by which a Christian can be deciphered. We do not make or move that standard. It is given through Scripture's revelation and teaching. "Yeah, but interpreting the Bible is so subjective; one group believes this way and another group that way," you quip. However, again, there is an objective standard on interpreting the Bible. You do not approach the Bible and impose your view on to it (though many do), there are rules and guidelines which inform interpretation (this is the discipline and field of hermeneutics).

But back to my point. To claim to be a Christian, while holding very clearly stated (from Scripture) non-Christian beliefs and behaviors, is a contradiction. The Bible would call this person a hypocrite. The word 'hypocrite' is from a Greek word meaning 'actor.' In other words, people who claim to be Christian while holding non-Christian beliefs and behaviors are actors. They are posers. Pretenders. I'm not afraid to say this. It may ruffle your feathers and send your politically correct alarms off, but it is only because you have been conditioned to respond this way. In actuality, it's nonsense, and there needs to be a recovery of the ability to call out nonsense. 

An Analogy

Suppose you met a guy at a crowded dinner party and proceeded to strike up a conversation. The two of you have a lot in common and are mutually enjoying the conversation. But at some point in the discussion he informs you he is a football player for the Tennessee Titans. He claims he is a tight end for the Titans, your favorite NFL team. You think to yourself, "this is amazing." Eventually the conversation is halted by his need to go to the bathroom and he lets you know he'll be right back. In your excitement, you pull your phone out and begin looking up the Titans roster to find your new pal (and to send out texts and tweets bragging to your friends). However when you pull it up, he's not there. You keep digging and looking, you search Google, nothing, he's nowhere to be found. You scan NFL.com, which lists every NFL player, nothing.

You think to yourself, "I bet none of his information has been loaded to the internet yet." No you don't. You think to yourself, "I've been duped." Most of you, if this happened to you, would conclude very quickly, this guy was a fraud. He was a pretender. He claimed to be a NFL player with the Tennessee Titans; however, all the things that objectively determine that (a contract, access to team facilities, on the team roster) are missing.

Your fake NFL player friend returns and begins to strike up conversation again. At this point you are attempting to probe deeper into his identity and whether he is telling the truth. Eventually you point blank ask him, "Did you actually have a contract with the Titans, because I tried to find you and couldn't?" 

To your surprise and dismay, he answers back to you, "No, I haven't signed any contracts." 

You fire back with frustration, "Then you're not really an NFL player or on the Titans." 

Thinking you could not be shocked by anything else he could possibly say, he hits you with, "Well who are you to judge whether or not I'm on the Tennessee Titans?" 

Unable to continue acting like this is a reasonable conversation, you passionately explain, "I'm nobody to judge, but the issue is very clear. If you have not signed a contract with the team or are not on the roster, then you're not a part of the team. Period. That is not debatable. That is a fact. It is an objective standard."

As you walk away you hear him mutter, "Well, that's your opinion and interpretation."

Not An Unfamiliar Scene

What I have described is a made up story, but the scenes and logic in this story resemble every day life. In the same way this guy claimed to be a NFL football player, but did not meet the objective standards for validating such a claim, many today profess to be Christians while believing and behaving in definitiely non-Christian ways. Many fail to meet the objective standards.

Some will say, "Well, those people claim to believe in Jesus, doesn't the Bible say that is sufficient for salvation? Doesn't that make them a Christian?" True, we are called to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus for our salvation, but that belief, true belief, transforms us, not leaves us the same as before our belief. Believing a set of facts or premises is not what makes you a Christian. Even the Devil believes the right facts about Jesus. Doing this thing or that thing, or believing this fact or that fact, makes you no more a Christian than being in a garage makes you a car. 

Jesus says in Matthew 7 that a tree is known by its fruit. In other words, your life will tell the story of who/what you are. If you are a Christian, your life should reflect the beliefs and behaviors that are distinctively Christian. You are not free to make up your own rules or forge your own way and call it Christian. You are not free to slap your own operators manual to this thing we call the Christian life, it has already been written.

The Objective Standards

What is a Christian? Am I a Christian? These are not subjective questions. There is a distinction between being a Christian and not being one. This distinction is not determined by an individual's feelings or personal interpretation. It is objective. So what is it?

To determine whether someone is truly a Christian there should be evidences of two events in their life. First, there is the event of being born-again. Jesus himself teaches that unless a person is born-again he or she will not enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3). This event is also described as regeneration (Titus 3:5) or being saved (Romans 10:1-13). When we are born-again, saved, and experience regeneration, we are justified before God, pardoned of our sin, adopted into His family, and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, who testifies to our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16). This is not a subjective feeling, this is an actual event. This is not believing a few facts about the Bible or Jesus, this is a profound changing of our heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27). It has either happened or it hasn't, no in-between.

This leads to the second event, transformation. Not only are we saved, born-again, and experience regeneration, this first event leads to the second event, we begin to change. Believers do not remain the same upon conversion. We do not go back to our old ways of living. We begin the process of transformation (Romans 12:1-2). We take off the old self and put on the new (Colossians 3:1-9). We pursue and strive for holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). We do not go back to our former ways when we walked in ignorance, but instead, we seek to be holy in all our conduct, just as the One who saved us and called us is holy (1 Peter 1:14-16). This event of transformation is not one time, but ongoing. We continue transforming in godliness for the rest of our lives. This is not subjective, it is measurable. (See Galatians 5:16-24)

Two events. We are born-again and we are transformed. These things are non-negotiable, objective standards of determining a Christian. If you have not been born-again, you are not a Christian, Jesus says so. And his opinion on the matter trumps your feelings about it. If your life is not being transformed to reflect more and more of God's will, as revealed through Scripture, then you are probably not a believer. True believers do not seek to justify their sinfulness by misinterpreting or reinterpreting the Bible. They humbly submit to God's Word and are transformed by it.

Who's Arrogant?

Finally, in the midst of all these debates in our culture, true believers will side with the Bible, not against it. True believers will reflect a biblical worldview, not the latest whims of the culture. True believers will see their lives transformed to reflect God's will, not remain in rebellion. True believers submit underneath God's Word, not stand above it.

John Piper has pointed out, and I believe him to be spot on, that believers are often charged with being arrogant because we try to teach everyone what the Scriptures teach concerning God and His will for mankind. But they are wrong. The opposite is true. Real arrogance is found in those who refuse to submit to an authority outside themselves, and instead, do whatever they please. Real arrogance is believing you make the rules. Refusing to submit to Scripture's teaching, and thinking you have the right to decide what a Christian is; that my friends, is the height of arrogance.

Amidst all the debates happening in our culture, it is time we call phooey on claims to be Christian that do not meet the criteria. As much as this raises the blood-pressure of some, it is time to give the Family Feud [X] (cue annoying buzzard sound) when folks self-identifying as Christians are living in habitual sin, without remorse, and holding distinctively non-Christian beliefs, without regard. Just ask them, "So you're a Christian, huh? Hmm..."

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Who's The Boss?

Everyone has authority over their lives. It does not matter what environment you are in, there is usually someone in authority over you. We have bosses, coaches, teachers, parents, elders, husbands, and all sorts of different authority figures in our lives, everywhere we go. But a great question to ask yourself is this: who is the true and ultimate authority over my life?

All of us have to answer that question. The Sunday school is answer is: Jesus. The true answer is "Jesus," but many only say that because we are supposed to. While saying Jesus is our ultimate authority, many of us live as if we were. We make our decisions, doing what we want, with who we want, when we want, and how we want. "This is my life" is the mantra for someone who believes they are the ruling and reigning authority over their lives.

Others have a different authority over them. For some, their friends are their ultimate authority. This may sound strange, but when you look at how they make decisions in life, it is based off of how they believe their friends will accept or approve their decisions. What they wear. Who they hang out with. What they do with their free time. The way they talk. The activities they engage in. All of these things, and more, mark the life of someone who's friends serve as their ultimate authority.

Some of us have let the opinions of our culture and society, which changes like the weather, to be our ultimate authority. If our culture says it's okay to sleep together before marriage, then we do it. If our culture say's homosexual relationships are okay, then we approve it. If our culture says it's okay to pursue vain and lustful desires, then we engage in it. We must stand apart from a world that seeks to live according to its own desires. We must stand firm in the authority of Christ and His Word, even if the entire world were to go against what God's makes clear about His ways and what He wants His people to do.

We need to take a hard look in the mirror and evaluate whether we are truly living under the authority of Christ. Many who say they live under God's authority are only saying it, their lives and actions say something very different. To live under the authority of Christ means that we care more about what God thinks than what we or any other person thinks. We let God's Word serve as our guide, not our own opinions. This is why every word of Scripture should be taken seriously, not only the parts we have highlighted and underlined.

Pray and ask God to reveal to you how you are doing in submitting to His ultimate authority.

Questions for reflection: What things in your life need to be aligned today to better surrender to Christ. What attitudes and actions need to be repented of so that you can serve Christ as your ultimate authority, instead of someone else?


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The New, but Old Deist

Some Christians are Deists who would claim that they are not. What is a deist? It is a term that started to really gain steam post-Enlightenment period. Deists were people who believed in God, but did not believe that God could play a role in the created order. He was outside of time and did not enter into time. He was much like a clockmaker who creates the clock and then lets it run. God has set the world into motion, now we are left to figure it out and fix it, if it can be fixed. That, in a general explanation, is Deism.

Now how is that still practiced today by Christians? Well, first, the traditional Deism mentioned above is still very alive. Many Christians who are connected to science (not all) still maintain a very deists view of God. But there is a very new type of deists in today's church. It is not that new, but it has a new package. This person is one who cuts out all the passages of Scripture that doesn't match with his/her worldview. This is exactly what Deists of the Enlightenment period did too. Thomas Jefferson created his own Bible (Jeffersonian Bible) that eliminated all the miracles of Jesus and the New Testament because it didn't align with his scientific belief. Why did he believe he had the authority to do this? Because the Bible didn't align with him in certain places, so he just took out those places.

Many are still in the habit of this practice today. Many skip or ignore completely chunks of Scripture, even entire books of the Bible because they don't like what they say. They would rather hang on to one or two verses that affirm their worldview than the entirety of Scripture and full counsel of God. As much as they would deny this charge, they are indeed modern Deists. You simply cannot make the Bible what you want it to be because it doesn't fit your worldview. You must either call it a lie and turn from it or you must heed its words, all of its words, if you indeed intend to call yourself an orthodox Christian.

Do some examination of your own heart in this matter. You may find, as I did, we all have some Deist habits.

What are some ways you have seen this type of Deism displayed? Why do you think we are so willing to ignore passages of Scripture that don't align with our worldview?