How Do We Know We've Got the Truth?

Often we get a lot of the ideas, beliefs and practices that we have from our cultural influences, people that we look up to and books. How do we know what we are believing to be true actually is true? We can easily become swayed, like a reed in the wind, by believing in doctrines of people and not those of God from His Word. If we are not careful to "search the scriptures to see if these things are so" (Acts 17:11) like the Bereans (rather than just sticking with a single verse and an argument), then we are in danger of being "tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Eph 4:14). I am all to familiar how in the reading of books and using them as spectacles through which to view scripture, one can easily wander from the truth. Often we don't realize we are doing it, but if we place books and the words of men above the Word of God and seeking His understanding through the teaching of the Holy Spirit, then we will certainly err. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things, not men -- even the best of them! (John 14:26 -- see also Psalm 143:10, Luke 12:12). I certainly don't want myself to stray, nor you nor any brother or sister in Christ... and so to this end I am labouring.

As good Bereans, we should do at least the following 2 things whenever we are offered an interpretation of scripture:

1. First and foremost, we must establish the local context in which the verse in question lies. Who is the speaker? Who is the audience and what understanding did they have of the things being spoken of? For the latter, reading relevant parts of the Talmud (or Jewish oral traditions) would help to understand the mindset of those Jews who joined the early church. What was being done or said before and after the verse? If it is a letter, re-read the entire letter in one sitting to get the greater context as well as tone.
   
2. Secondly, carefully examine key words within the verse in question. Then search the entire Bible for these key words to find out how the Bible uses these terms in the rest of scripture. Anyone is capable of doing this, and with modern computer technology and freely available Bible software (ie. http://www.e-sword.net/), it is quite easy. Without these, a concordance will help. In this case, we want to look at the term "Rock" and any variants, such as "stone," etc.

Of course, whenever approaching scripture, we must do so in prayer and in submission to the Holy Spirit's leading. It is very easy and natural for us to look for support for our current understanding. If scripture disagrees with our current understanding, we must be open to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us and to renew our minds and to correct us. One of the keys to reading the Bible is to never read a verse. Never ever read a verse in isolation; always read it in its contexts (both local and within the general context of scripture).

Interpreting Scripture

The Bible has MOST DEFINITELY been misinterpreted and in several places, innapropriate words were used in translation and even outright incorrect words for some. That is without doubt. One list of several mistranslations that have caused a lot of dispute within the church is here. You understand, though, that this speaks nothing of the original texts, but of the translators. You should be glad to know that no essential doctrines related to the gospel message have been mistranslated to the point that people cannot clearly understand them. But what do we make of these mistakes? Does this mean the Bible is not inerrant?

The Bible is indeed inerrant because the originals are inerrant. We only have copies of the originals, however the mistakes and differences found are for the most part copyist errors such as "rocks and trees" instead of "trees and rocks" or spelling mistakes or other fairly obvious errors/ommissions on the minority of the copies. So the obvious questions I suspect you are asking then is what we are to do if even those highly educated in the original languages make mistakes in the translation? How on earth are we to figure out what is and what is not a mistake? How do we know if we are right or wrong?

The answer is two-fold:

1. First, the Holy Spirit (if we are listening to Him), teaches us ALL things is is the light by which the scripture is illuminated to us in its true meaning. It is much like a Hologram. The Holy Spirit is to be our teacher, not humans -- we are to subject every human interpretation to the authority of the Spirit.... including our own often half-hazzard interpretations. We must come to the Word in prayer and in submission to it. If it speaks against our worldview or corrects us, we need to be willing to listen to it and not stand in judgment over it.
2. Second, and very importantly, is that we absolutely must read scripture in context. There is a local context (scriptures in the immediate vicinity), the context of the book or letter, the historical context (can get a lot from the traditions in force at the time through works such as the Talmud, etc.) and MOST IMPORTANTLY the context of the whole of scripture. One of the best ways to find out if an interpretation is correct when there are multiple available is to seach the whole Bible for every occurrence of the key words in the passage and see what the meaning in the local context is for each. By the end of such a study, you will have an idea as to whether or not the proposed interpretation is likely or not or even plausible. And anybody, regardless of their training can do this as long as they are seeking the truth and submitting to the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
   

A very good book which I highly recommend on the subject of interpreting scripture is "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth," by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart.