The Bible is extremely important in the life of a Christian.
Everyone knows this.
But it’s not just “the Bible” that’s important. It’s knowing what the Bible says and how to interpret it correctly.
While no one has a perfect grasp of everything the Bible says, it’s the believer’s responsibility to strive for Biblical accuracy.
That’s why we need something called “Bible exposition.”
What is Bible Exposition?
“Bible exposition” is just a big word for “Bible interpretation” or “Bible explanation.”
We learn how to do this by doing good Bible study.
Maybe you’ve heard of “Bible exegesis.” You’ve probably also heard that “eisegesis” is bad.
Exegesis is where you take out from the Bible what is actually there, thus getting the right interpretation.
Eisegesis is when you put into the Bible your own beliefs, getting the wrong interpretation.
Bible exposition means that you do good Bible study by performing exegesis—understanding what is actually there.
It’s not just reading the Bible and feeling like a verse spoke to you about something you’re going through.
It’s getting the literal meaning of the text first and meditating on the importance of it. Then, you learn how this also applies to you.
Why Bible Exposition is Important
Everyone has a Bible verse for their beliefs, even if they don’t like the Bible.
Lately, I’ve been seeing some believers boldly state their beliefs online, which is fine.
They use scripture to do this.
But if someone challenges that belief because they feel they’re not exegeting the scripture properly, something weird happens.
The person who is being challenged says, “Well, no one really knows, and we have to stop acting like we have it all figured out. I’ve had years of experience talking with people and doing ministry, and I know what’s happening. Some ancient church fathers agree with what I’m saying. Not everyone sees things like you. Be humble and stop acting like you have perfect theology.”
The person who originally started with scripture is now kind of saying that scripture doesn’t matter.
I’ve had this happen to me before.
One popular online believer made a video stating that his beliefs were validated because Jesus did such and such in this or that scripture.
I commented kindly and with sound logic and essentially said he was misreading and misapplying those verses.
The next day, he posted a lengthy statement about how everyone in the Body of Christ is becoming “too sure” of their beliefs and needs to stop acting like we know everything.
He didn’t refute what I said or address me privately. He just essentially said, “Who cares because nobody knows, anyway.”
A moment ago, he knew. But now, when he’s being challenged, nobody knows.
That struck me as odd because I didn’t think that being “sure” of your beliefs was a bad thing.
I don’t have all the answers and could be wrong about many things.
But I am sure about some things because I’ve done the Bible exposition and seen that many others have come to this conclusion, and those conclusions have not been refuted.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, has a scripture for their Christian beliefs.
Therefore, everyone must be asked, “Are you interpreting that scripture correctly, though?”
It’s not a matter of how many years you’ve been doing ministry, who you know, what you think, or anything like that.
It’s very simple. Are we interpreting the scriptures we’re using correctly?
That’s it.
As you can see, it all goes back to Bible exposition, which is why it’s crucial.
Why are there hundreds of different religions within Christianity? Because they’re interpreting scriptures differently.
So, the question becomes, “Who is more than likely interpreting those scriptures correctly?”
And then the question becomes, “Who is doing the Bible exposition, makes more sense, and is presenting the best, sound evidence?”
“But How Am I Supposed to Know If Myself or the People Around Me Are Interpreting Correctly?”
That’s a good question.
Just start by being a little introspective, and ask yourself three BIG questions:
Do you believe that there are “right” and “wrong” interpretations of the Bible?
Do you believe the Bible is the go-to resource for doctrine?
Do you want to strive to be Biblically accurate in everything you do as a Christian?
If we don’t believe there are “right” and “wrong” interpretations, then who cares if we’re interpreting correctly?
If the Bible doesn’t have the authority to give us doctrine, then why strive to be “accurate” with it?
I think that if you can answer “yes” to the above three questions, God will lead you to right interpretations.
He’ll lead you to the content you need to achieve this goal.
Conclusion
Make some room for Bible Exposition in your life today.
If you’re serious about learning to better interpret the Bible, start here with the 9 tips to interpret the Bible better.
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