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The Lens of Glory

Slide 11

Consider how someone who does not believe in the supernatural will interpret the Bible.•Read John 6:1-14; Matthew 28:1-10•What conclusions would that person draw?

Slide 12

It is easier to see an incorrect method for

interpreting the Bible on the part of someone else.

What are some possible incorrect approaches on our

part?

Slide 13

Consider Pastor Rick Warren’s words from the

CBS Morning Show:“What’s the most important thing in the Bible? He said

“Look, I’m going to summarize the whole Bible in two sentences…” then

references Matthew 22:37-39.

Slide 13.5

Consider Pastor Rick Warren’s words from his

address to the 2010 Desiring God Conference:

“Would you write this down? You only believe the

part of the Bible you actually do.”

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Let us apply what we have been told by Rick Warren:Read Matthew 22:36-40Is our belief in the truth of these verses related to how we do them?

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Let us further apply what we have been told by Rick Warren:Read Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-4

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Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-4

Is our belief in the truth of these verses related to how well we do them?How well have you obeyed Genesis 1:1 or John 1:1-4?

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Matthew 22:36-40• In this passage, the Lord is asked for the greatest commandment in the Law, not the most important thing in the Bible• If you see the Bible as law (instruction), you might mistake a summary of the Law as a summary of the Bible.

Slide 16.5

Rick Warren’s advice leads us to conclude that he sees

the Bible as merely an instruction book.

• In this view, the Bible exists for the purpose of mining it for instructions on how to live a godly life.• It is based on an incomplete view of what the Bible tells us• To regard the Bible’s contents as instructions only is a category error (i.e. mixing descriptions which are different in nature; “That milk shake tastes blue to me”)

Slide 17

The Bible contains several types of statements

Interrogatory – A question: “Is today a Sunday?”

Indicative – A statement of truth indicating what is: “The

sky is blue”

Imperative – A command to do something: “Pick up the

book”

Slide 18

In our examples, Matthew 22:36-40

is a set of imperatives

Genesis 1:1 & John 1:1-4 are

indicatives

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A distorted “lens” in reading and understanding the Bible will happen if we misunderstand/forget that•The Bible contains indicatives and imperatives•The imperatives (what we do) must flow from the indicatives (our belief in what God tells us is)•Colossians• Chapters 1-2 (primarily indicative)• Chapters 3-4 (primarily imperative)

•John 6:28-29 & Hebrews 11:6 provide us with a corrective (emphasis on belief/trust in indicatives; Imperatives flow from these

Slide 20

Other models of biblical interpretation are not

necessarily wrong• The Bible presents us with a

model for interpretation.• Not so much a “how” but a

“who”That model (“lens”) of

interpretation is Jesus Christ

Slide 20.5

Which way is the pointer going?

• Some seem to believe that Jesus points us to great Biblical truths that we must follow as a

pattern for living a life of obedience

•Rather, we see that the Scriptures (Great Biblical Truths) point us to Christ