Interpreting Troublesome Scriptures
By Tim Isbell, July, 2022
Sometimes, I have trouble making sense of a biblical passage. Below are some techniques to sort them out.
But first, here’s a concrete example: I was teaching a class that included 1 John 2.15-17, which says don’t love the world. But in the back of my mind was John 3.16, which says that God loved the world. And I’m confident that God wants us to love what he loves. John the Apostle wrote both passages. So I was stuck.
Initially, I thought that this might be a translation problem. But all the Greek words translated as “world” in both passages use the same Greek word: “Kosmos.” And all the Greek words translated as “love” in both passages use the same word, too.
My theologian wife responded like this: God can/does love the world redemptively, as it says in John 3.16. On our own, we cannot love the world without falling into sin. But through loving God, we can grow to become God’s redemptive agents in a fallen world.
So, we tried to sort out the apparent contradiction with a word study, but that was a dead end. So, we moved on to an approach labeled Micro/Macro in the list below, which yielded fruitful perspectives.
Here’s our whole list:
Micro/Macro. Look at a given passage in light of God’s whole story.
Look across time, giving at least some priority to the later passages being more enlightened than the earlier ones. For instance, we can’t expect Zephaniah’s prophecy to be as clear and accurate as Jesus’ last-day comments or the Apostle John’s Revelation. OT view –> NT view; early Paul –> late Paul.
Check out multiple accounts of the same period in history. Four gospels, Acts/Epistles, Kings/Chronicles, Exodus/Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, and what we can learn about that period of history from reading its prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, as well as the minor prophets.
Multiple authors on the same topic. The four gospel writers on the life of Jesus. Luke and Paul on the ministry of Paul to the Gentiles.
Research what the passage probably meant to the author's contemporaries. Then, check out the interpretation of later biblical writers. Then, check out the understandings of post-biblical writers.
Do a word study to dig into meanings in the original language.
Ask Robin’s three questions: What? So what? Now what?
Start with the assumption that God's word is accurate and expresses the subject in the best possible way. Early in life, I spent some time reading scripture as its evaluator. Later I learned to come to scripture assuming it has something true and valuable for me. My job is to find it. Or reflect on it while asking the Spirit of Jesus to enlighten me.
Read the passage in different English translations. Maybe check out changes in the transitions of a passage from Hebrew to Greek to Latin to various English translations. If you read other languages, check how they interpret them.
If all the above come up short, accept the ambiguity and mystery. Some concepts about God are beyond the ability of any language to capture fully.