Reading The Bible Literally

- I have four questions for you as we begin. Let me hear an “Amen” if you agree with what I say:

a. The Bible is the Word of God.

b. We believe in the Bible.

c. The Bible is literally true.

d. When I came into church, I greeted everyone with a holy kiss.

- Where were all the cries of “Amen” on that last one?

- Why didn’t you? Our verse for this sermon clearly states that we should greet one another with a holy kiss! Why are you so flagrantly flouting the Bible’s command?

- Well, thankfully there is a reason we don’t.

TAKING IT "LITERALLY"? We are supposed to take the Bible’s writing the way the author intended.

- We often say that we take the Bible literally. We certainly believe the Bible is true, but we need to be careful with that word literally, because it doesn’t always mean what we think it means.

- And understanding the way we are to take the Bible clears up issues like whether you’re supposed to have greeted everyone with a holy kiss when you came in.

- We are supposed to take the Bible’s writing the way the author intended. To do that, there are some questions and thoughts that we need to keep in mind. Let’s look at four of the most important.

THINGS TO REMEMBER TO READ THE WORD CORRECTLY:

1. WHAT'S THE GENRE OF THE BOOK?

- Proverbs 22:6; Ecclesiastes 1:1-11.

- The Bible is made up a number of different genres: law book, history, poem, song, biography, epistle, prophecy, etc.

- The type of genre makes a difference in how you read the book and interpret the passages in that book.

- Two examples:

a. Train up a child.

- In Proverbs 22:6 we read, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” This is a passage that is usually quoted in the context of someone raised in church but who has now gotten away from the Lord. Don’t worry, their friends say, and then quote this verse.

- First, we should note that this verse is not specifically talking about coming back to God, but rather just general life direction. But let’s run with the point normally made for a moment.

- So if you raised your kids in church, is this verse an absolute guarantee that they will come back to the Lord? Let me put the question a different, more potent way: can you name anyone who was raised in church and then never came back to the Lord? You can, can’t you? Actually, more than just one person. So does that mean the Bible is wrong?

- No. It’s essential to understand the genre of this book. What’s this book called? Proverbs. What is a proverb? A proverb is a statement that is generally true. They tell you the way the world usually works. We know with a proverb that there will be exceptions. It’s a proverb! But it’s generally a good idea to follow their advice.

- That means that most people who are trained up in the way they should go return to their raisings as they get older, including coming back to God. But not everyone. But that doesn’t make the statement untrue. It’s a proverb.

b. Life is meaningless.

- Ecclesiastes 1:1-11.

- My favorite Old Testament book is Ecclesiastes. But it’s a strange book.

- If you just read it straight through and take it literally, you might end up feeling like hanging yourself. The first two chapters can be summarized in four points: wisdom is meaningless, pleasure is meaningless, folly is meaningless, everything is meaningless! Let’s ready 1:1-11 for a taste.

- So if I take that literally, where do I end up? Completely depressed!

- The book does eventually come around to a partial endorsement of living for God, but overall it’s pretty grim stuff.

- So what’s up with this book? Well, you need to understand the genre. This book is wisdom literature. In particular, it's the thoughts of someone trying to find meaning and purpose in the world without God. And he ends up looking around and saying, “Everything is meaningless.”

- This is why it’s my favorite Old Testament book. I find it a compelling description of what life looks like when you try to find a life of meaning apart from God. That’s so essential today when increasing numbers are becoming “nones” and more people are trying to live a life without anything more than a cursory nod in the direction of whatever they classify as God. It’s an indictment of that approach to life.

- But if you just take the book literally and don’t appreciate the genre and the author’s intent, you’ll end up in a horrible place.