Principle 29
HERMENEUTICS
PRINCIPLE 29
Respect the Insight of Other Christians
No Christian can say that he or she understands all of Scripture and has no need for the teaching of other believers. That would be denying the truth of the body of Christ. The New Testament clearly teaches that all believers make up the body of Christ, and every believer has been given a spiritual gift to use to build up the rest of the body.
Some Christians have been given the gift of teaching or preaching. We should never have the prideful attitude that we don’t need other Christians to help us interpret Scripture (see Romans 12:3). Here are three sub-points to remember for this principle:
Remember Our Narrow Experience
Other Christians may have more insight into certain Scriptures than we do because of their different experiences in the Christian life. Some Christians, for example, may have suffered under more physical persecution than we have. These Christians will have more insight into the Scriptures dealing with this subject. We can learn from these believers and should treat their insights with respect.
Remember Other Cultures
The Bible wasn’t only written for evangelical Christians in America in modern times. It’s the Word of God for all people of all cultures for all of human history. That said, we’ll almost certainly have cultural blind spots in our interpretation of certain Scriptures.
Why is it important, for example, to have the visible symbols of baptism and the Lord’s Supper? By talking to believers from other cultures, we may learn how important these visible symbols really are.
Remember the Commentaries
Have you ever heard a Christian say something like “I don’t read commentaries; I only read the Bible”? A statement like that may sound ultra-spiritual and mature, but it is a prideful attitude.
This attitude denies the universal body of Christ, and ignores this principle of biblical interpretation. Amazing insights from other Christians are recorded in commentaries. We can even gain insight from Christians who have already gone to heaven!
A library of good commentaries will greatly benefit your hermeneutics. Even when he was in prison at the end of his life, the apostle Paul wanted his “library” (2 Timothy 4:13)!