How do you know you’re interpreting the Bible accurately? Do you need a preacher’s opinion? Do you need a traditional interpretation? Or do you need a single elected man in a seat of authority to give a definitive answer?
Now, there is definitely great value in asking a trusted Bible teacher for help. In Acts 8:30-31, when Philip asked the Ethiopian eunuch if he understood what he was reading, he rightly answered, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” However, the Bible teaches us that, ultimately, the responsibility for understanding the Bible is ours alone. Paul reminded Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15, to “Be diligent to show yourself approved to God…rightly dividing the word of truth.” And it was the Bereans who were commended for confirming the words of Paul and Silas by “…searching the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). You can understand the Bible and God shows us how.
In this series of articles, we will see the principles of interpretation that are taught in the Bible itself. We will begin with the first and most familiar concept in interpretation: direct commands. A direct command is a statement to do something in a clear, straightforward, and authoritative manner. Direct commands is one of the primary ways God communicates His will in the Bible. We are most familiar with this concept in the Ten Commandments where the Lord speaks “Thou shalt” or “Thou shalt not.”
Direct commands are fairly easy to identify. In English, there are a couple ways to indicate them. First, we use imperative words like “Thou shalt.” In modern language, this would look like “you must” or “let us.” We also show direct commands with imperative clauses. These are phrases that begin with a verb followed by a direct object. For example, the phrases “Leave me alone!” or “Give me a hand.” We see this type of phrase in the Bible, like in Exodus 20:12, where instead of “Thou shalt,” the Bible says, “Honor your father and your mother…”
There are also two types of direct commands in the Bible. There are generic commands. These are broad commands that don’t tell you how to do something. For example, “Love your neighbor.” There are also specific commands. These are narrower and do tell you how to do something. “Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them…” (Matt. 28:19).
If we train ourselves to identify this kind of language, then we are well on our way to start learning how to understand the Bible. In the next article, we will learn about implied commands.