Correctly Handle the Bible
2Tim 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
It's common to find people claiming their views are scriptural, but mishandle the Word of truth by reading into the Bible ideas which the Bible didn't intend. In contrast, inductive study involves letting the Bible speak for itself. A few healthy principles of interpretation I recommend:
1. All scripture is inspired by God and therefore though it is subject to scrutiny with regards to its meaning, it is not subject to scrutiny with regards to its validity
2. Translations are not assumed to precisely represent the original manuscripts, and thus to get at the precise meaning one must study it in the original language it was written.
3. Passages which are unclear or ambiguous concerning a particular subject or are historical in nature are to be interpreted in light of passages which which clearly, explicitly and unambiguously devoted to teaching doctrine, rather than the other way around.
4. To say anything conclusively about a subject in the Bible one must first study it comprehensively.
Ironically this very verse has been mishandled. For as the KJV and NKJV translate it "rightly dividing" the word of truth, some have misunderstood this as speaking of simply dividing the Bible into dispensations. For example C.I. Scofield noted, "The Word of Truth, then, has right divisions, and it must be evident that, as one cannot be "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed" without observing them, so any study of that Word which ignores those divisions must be in large measure profitless and confusing." By taking the metaphor literally, Scofield did not handle this verse correctly - shame on him! For the expression to "rightly divide" simply means to handle correctly.
While the world "rightly divide" is only used here in the New Testament, the word is used twice in the LXX. Pr 3:6 In all thy ways acquaint thyself with her, that she may rightly direct thy paths. Pr 11:5 Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing.
2Tim 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
It's common to find people claiming their views are scriptural, but mishandle the Word of truth by reading into the Bible ideas which the Bible didn't intend. In contrast, inductive study involves letting the Bible speak for itself. A few healthy principles of interpretation I recommend:
1. All scripture is inspired by God and therefore though it is subject to scrutiny with regards to its meaning, it is not subject to scrutiny with regards to its validity
2. Translations are not assumed to precisely represent the original manuscripts, and thus to get at the precise meaning one must study it in the original language it was written.
3. Passages which are unclear or ambiguous concerning a particular subject or are historical in nature are to be interpreted in light of passages which which clearly, explicitly and unambiguously devoted to teaching doctrine, rather than the other way around.
4. To say anything conclusively about a subject in the Bible one must first study it comprehensively.
Ironically this very verse has been mishandled. For as the KJV and NKJV translate it "rightly dividing" the word of truth, some have misunderstood this as speaking of simply dividing the Bible into dispensations. For example C.I. Scofield noted, "The Word of Truth, then, has right divisions, and it must be evident that, as one cannot be "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed" without observing them, so any study of that Word which ignores those divisions must be in large measure profitless and confusing." By taking the metaphor literally, Scofield did not handle this verse correctly - shame on him! For the expression to "rightly divide" simply means to handle correctly.
While the world "rightly divide" is only used here in the New Testament, the word is used twice in the LXX. Pr 3:6 In all thy ways acquaint thyself with her, that she may rightly direct thy paths. Pr 11:5 Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing.
