Scripture is vast and varied in its writing styles and in the way that it is designed to be interpreted, and one can make mistakes if one is not careful. In this post we will look and 7 possible mistakes that could entangle us.
Assuming what the text doesn't explain is not explainable.
One common mistake that we can make is believing that just because a passage does not fully explain itself then it is impossible to be explained.
In the passage of scripture that talks about the circle of the earth (Isa 40:22) it doesn't come right out and say that the earth is a sphere but just because it doesn't explain it that it is a sphere it can be proven to be a sphere by a combination of other bible passages and science. In (Rev 9:1) the bible tells us that in the center of the earth is a bottomless pit. Mathematics teaches us that only a sphere can be bottomless.
Thinking that an account that isn't complete is not true.
This error is really common but it's really quite illogical For instance the gospel of Mark is only a fraction the size of the other 3 Gospels but it's events are fully explained in the other three gospels and they correlate with the teaching found in the epistles.
Believing round numbers in scripture are in error.
Have you ever borrowed a friends car and the precise distance you drove was 78.36 miles but when you return the car to your friend you say to them "I only drove eighty miles". You don't consider that lying and no one would. Why? because you rounded the number.
Sometime this happens in the scripture example
(Gen 46:27, Act 7:14) it just rounded up to an approximate number, like is an commonly accepted practice among everyone.
Ignoring the Context
Requiring the New Testament to Cite the OT exactly.
How often do we in our lives do this very same thing.
If my friend says to me, "I bought red shoes at noon at the corner store." Then I tell you, "My friend bought some shoes at the store at mid-day," I'm not lying. When Jesus is quoting Isaiah in Luke chapter 4 he is not citing it letter for letter but he is still telling you the truth of the passage. (Isa 61:1, Luke 4:18)
Thinking our Interpretation of Scripture is as good as God's.
We have to remember as Christians, that we are fallible and our understanding is fallible. In Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Before assuming a scripture is contradictory or in error, we should always stop and pray about what we are reading, in order to make sure that it is not our own fallible understanding that is confusing the passage for us.
Thinking God approves of everything he records in his word.
As the bible is as much of an history book as it is a book of doctrine, it is inevitable that it records some things of which God does not approve.
A good example of this is human sacrifice. In 2nd Chronicles 33 where it talks of Manasseh causing human sacrifice it is described as "much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger." It is obvious from this passage that God doesn't approve but His word does record it as history.
Conclusion
It is obvious that there are many mistakes that one can make when trying to interpret scripture. If we are careful to keep in mind these mistakes we can navigate our studies with much more ease and confidence.
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