We all know that biblical saying from Matthew (Chapter 7) which goes, “Seek, and ye shall find”, which Yeshua taught in relation to seeking God.
But there are those who have their own personal beliefs, which often go against what God demands, and when they seek to justify those ungodly and anti-biblical beliefs by using the Bible to justify what they want to say, remarkably enough they find what they are seeking!
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
The best way to make it seem that the Bible says what you want it to say is to either download a Bible app, or get a Strong’s Concordance, and then search for a specific word or a phrase. You will undoubtably find something either exactly what you want, or close enough to it to be of use for your “proof” of whatever interpretation you are trying to create.
And yes, the proper word for this type of interpretation is create, because if you start out with what you think the Bible says, then go to find it, you will find it even if it is totally wrong.
The proper way to interpret is to read from the Bible then compare what you think that passage or parable means with the rest of the Bible for verification. That is proper interpretation: starting with the words you read in the Bible, then verifying your interpretation within the rest of the Bible asking for Holy Spirit guidance.
On the other hand, if you think (realistically I should say want) the Bible to say something, and then go to look for where it says that thing you want it to say, you are putting the cart before the horse, and will going down the wrong path from your first footstep.
The only way to properly interpret the Bible is to start with what the Bible says, then ask God for understanding. You begin with the Word, then find the meaning- NOT the other way around.
When people start with a meaning, then look for the words to justify it, they are already wrong.
This is why there are so many different interpretations of the Bible, and so many different religions- there is only one God who never changes, so there is no reason for different ways to worship him other than someone making up what they want to do, then pulling from the Bible, completely out of context in order to justify their interpretation.
Which, since they started out with what they thought instead of with what they read, was wrong from the beginning.
The proper way to understand what is written in the Bible is to start out reading the Bible, then using Circles of Context (interpreting the words in the sentence within the meaning of the paragraph, the paragraph within the chapter, and the chapter within the letter or book, taking into account who wrote it, why, and to whom), as well as Hermeneutics (making sure that whatever interpretation you get is consistent throughout the entire Bible), and the culturally correct meaning of those words and statements based on what they meant when they were written.
To help you interpret correctly, I have written a teaching series on how to properly interpret the Bible, which is available on my messianicmoment.com website; here is the link: proper Bible interpretation.
There are many things in the Bible which can have multiple interpretations, and as confusing as this is, each different interpretation can have some truth to it. I think that is all part of what God intended when he had someone like Shaul (Paul) write his letters- they are just as confusing and difficult to understand as Yeshua teaching by only using parables. I believe God wants us to find it hard to know the true meaning because it forces us to think and verify what we hear.
We are often warned about false teachers, and the scary truth of the matter is that if you do not know the Bible from your own reading and your own seeking its truths, then you WILL be led astray by false teachers, which exist beyond counting.
Don’t believe me? Well, then you explain why there are so many different religions and sects, both Jewish and Christian, all allegedly worshipping the one true God who never changes.
Todays’ lesson in a nutshell: if you think the Bible means something instead of reading the Bible and THEN thinking it means something, you can be pretty sure what you initially thought is wrong.
Thank you for being here and please remember to comment or “like” these messages to help me get more exposure on the Internet, and share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!