CONSISTENT TRUTH THROUGH THE ENTIRETY OF THE BIBLE- THE THIRD STANDARD OF CONTEXT

One of the most dangerous conditions a believer can fall prey to is building a doctrine or spiritual standard on one or two verses, while ignoring the sum of scriptural content. Nonetheless, that is exactly what has happened throughout the historical course of the growth of the Christian faith. Entire denominations have been built around a single principal or verse without consideration for the whole of the biblical context. Then, if their interpretation is questioned, an argument often erupts, along with willful, unyielding spiritual deafness, to the possibility that there might be other factors than the single principle they've embraced. Furthermore, in nearly every instance where this has occurred, a solitary verse or truth ends up becoming the only truth and eventually evolves into religious, hard cold legalism. This conflict could easily be avoided if the standards for accurate interpretation of the Bible were considerately applied.

One of the most essential approaches toward accurate Bible interpretation is by inspecting what you study with consideration to what the entirety of what the Scriptures reveals. This is generally understood and known as the “Bible Canon”, or the collection of the writings of Scripture. Therefore, genuine doctrine, in order to be accurate and stable, must demonstrate a Scriptural continuity to be considered acceptable. Obviously, it takes quite a lot of time to nail these concepts down, but it is necessary if you would build a solid case for the sum total of biblical authenticity.  Moreover, I don’t know that any human being has read and grasped the entire Bible in one day. So it will take you time!

The "Bible Canon Context: is constructed of three different angles of thought, or “witness”,  affecting its accuracy. When prospecting for interpretations of the Bible, and using this form of context, you have to become like an assayer. In the process of mining, an assayer is someone who tests the various ores and minerals and analyzes them to determine their composition and value. They may use quite a variety of tests, and once they’ve done so they weigh the resulting precious metal to determine its value. The sincere Bible student becomes an assayer of sorts sifting through the “gold and silver” discoveries by applying the three forms of Canonical tests and categories. Similar, also to a research lawyer, Bible students intent on discovering genuine doctrine painstakingly search the entirety of the book in order to find consistent repetition through the various witnesses I will describe for you.

When perusing the sum of Scripture you need to look for what has come to be known as the three forms of witness. These are designated as: the Consistent Witness, the Diverse Witness and the Isolated Witness. Each of these filters enable a believer to remain unswerving in what is theologically sound and proven from the aggregate of the Bible. Ignoring these opens the door for all sorts of problems and eventually produces legalism or pure error.

• The Consistent Witness

A Consistent Witness, or train of thought, is one where a repeated theme is threaded throughout Scripture, and therefore, can’t be questioned in any way as to its accuracy. For example, the Bible consistently reveals that God is good, merciful, just, kind, loving and so much more. His character is undeniable. Consequently, when going through the entirety of Bible passages, as to any aspect of the character of God, or the topics related to Him, repetition really matters. In recent years I have heard an astounding number of believers talk about God’s goodness and then out of the same mouth say, He is no longer a God of judgment. I don’t know which Bible they’re reading from because in the entirety of the Bible, that idea doesn't exist. It is inconsistent with His eternal character, His Ways and numerous other established and accepted doctrines. Furthermore, doctrine is constructed when the same theme applies unfailingly throughout the Bible. The only difficulty with this is, that students may apply their unhealthy filters to the verses they read, and additionally, try to make them say something that’s not there. For example, Hellenism or Talmudic thought may twist the reading of the Word to make something seem like a theme is present, when in actuality it isn’t. So if the student hasn’t dealt with their personal filters, the sum of the Bible will be skewed by personal philosophies. Therefore, the Consistent Witness means that something is always established as that train of thought.

• The Diverse Witness

A Diverse witness is one where a theme is repeated but not constant. Its presence is best authenticated by Historical tests and context. Sadly, when students aren’t knowledgeable about the sum of God’s counsel on a subject in the Bible, they will quickly build a doctrine around one aspect of the theme, generally creating absolutes where absolutes shouldn’t apply.  The standard of Historical Context including- culture, social conditions, local needs, situations of the times. the national religions of the places the Scriptures were in conflict with, the economic conditions, social customs, philosophies and the educational standards and methods of the time would then help in determining the accuracy of the Diverse Witness. The Diverse witness is also one of the most ignored principles of interpretation because it appears as if it is a constant theme, when in reality it isn’t. Therefore, in order for truth to come forward, the student's interpretation of the passages must remain flexible in order to allow additional information to help them understand. 

For example, the question of whether women operated in leadership roles in Judaism, and the early Church, faces this challenge of interpretation. Persons who use isolated passages that seem to exclude women in leadership roles in the Church, such as 1 Tim. 2:11-12; 1 Cor. 14:33-36, also ignore the larger Canonical view. The numerous women listed in Scriptures as being actively involved in ministry leadership roles, and leadership roles in general, override these two passages that were written to address individual situations and location situations of the times.  Furthermore, there is a plethora of historical information available to us that blasts the generalized interpretation some have come to accept as absolute. Therefore to build a doctrine and law on individual illustrations in the Bible and mix in corrupting filters such as Hellenistic culture or inject an ignorance on the historic, lingusitic and social customs of the day, makes the Bible seem to say something that it doesn’t in its entirety. But, from what I have observed, people who are determined to make these things absolute will not be open to considering the necessary Canonical standard of interpretation.

• The Isolated Witness

The Isolated Witness is a where one example of doing something is not meant to be understood as a central normative teaching of the whole Bible. It was never intended to guide and inform, church practice, policy or faith expression. However, when understood in context of history, culture, accurate translation of language and the intention of the author, the verses of an Isolated Witness may be important for certain unique situations. There is however great danger in taking a truth and making it THE truth. This is a hazard none of us can afford.

If you keep these things in mind when you read and determine to interpret your Bible, you will be on the road to an exciting time of discovery. Just remember that in order to be accurate the already mentioned three standards of biblical interpretation should be constantly in your thinking. Nonetheless, not everyone possesses good study tools or has the time necessary to do that kind of research. I hope in the next post to offer you the fourth standard for biblical interpretation that will prove to be the most thrilling, but also the most difficult: the Instruction of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth. That will be our next focus in the upcoming posts!