Rules of Interpretation

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“…have you not read what was spoken to you by God…” (Matt. 22:31). He then went on to quote a verse from the book of Genesis.

Think about that for a moment. Jesus believed (and held people accountable for doing so) that when someone read a verse from the Old Testament, they were reading something spoken to them by God. That is quite a statement, I am sure you will agree.

The testimony of Jesus and of the Bible is that “All Scripture is God breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16). Therefore, when we open up a page in our Bibles, we are treading upon holy ground. The Bible, although a book, is also unlike any other book. It is not simply a book giving facts about God. The Bible is a book written by God. Certainly, human writers were involved, but the text of Scripture is inspired or breathed out by God Himself.

Just having this concept in place would greatly help us in our Bible studies. What do I mean by that? Well, many people view the interpretation of God’s Word as “no big deal” really. To them its nothing more important than the reading of any other book, at least in their methodology. Continue reading →

A Two Hour Drive

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The following is a transcript taken from the first question and answer session at the 2014 Ligonier National Conference.

Questioner: “This couple writes, ‘we live in a rural area without access to solid Biblical teaching, let alone Reformed teaching. The nearest Church with such teaching is two hours drive away. How should we choose a group to meet with and serve when we disagree with the things taught from the pulpit?’ What would you say practically to this couple?”

sproul2_0Dr. R. C. Sproul: “Drive two hours!”

Questioner: “Drive two hours?”

Dr. R. C. Sproul: “Lots of people do. Its that important. If you had to go to the hospital and it was a two hour drive you wouldn’t stay home. You would go to the hospital. You wouldn’t go to a dog pound because it was convenient. Would you?

Seriously! I mean its the old thing. I learned this from a former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chuck Noll. His phrase was “whatever it takes!” and the spiritual nurture of your soul and of your children’s souls are so important that if you have to drive two hours for worship, and for instruction in apostolic truth, then that’s an obvious decision. You drive two hours, or move! But it has to be a priority in every Christian family to be somewhere where there is true worship, true gospel, true doctrine, for the sake of eternity.”

To view the interaction, it can be found at the 36 minute mark on this video: