the starting point, part one. The essentials

essential rules for understanding Scripture

a waterwheel and mill set into the countryside, somewhere in Italy

This is the explanation of part one: the absolute essentials, from "The Starting Point". You might want to go there first in case you landed here without seeing the quick-reference version. You can click here to do that.

Here are the 15 essentials. Below the list is an explanation of each essential, with a sample Scripture verse to illustrate the concept. The sample verse is one example to help understand the explanation. There certainly are many more.

The Scriptures cannot be changed.
God informs. He doesn't explain.
Jesus did not come to earth to tell us things we already know.
The Word of God is about what God wants. What we want is of no concern.
The demand upon us is not fulfilled by anyone else.
It is intended to make us feel pain.
Courage and honesty are the two essential qualities to understanding Scripture.
Scripture is not difficult to understand. It's just difficult to do.
If you have painted yourself into a corner, get rid of that paintbrush.
The Word of God tells us nothing about how to live in the world.
The person who writes books on how to do it probably has not done it.
"We" almost never means you.
Scripture is to be viewed equally and evenly. We are not allowed to choose the easy parts and disregard the difficult parts.
It is impossible to follow Christ on a different path.
God does not send prophets to congratulate his people on a job well done.
The mind of Christ and the will of God are granted on a need-to-know basis.

1. The Scriptures cannot be changed.

We agree that the Scriptures cannot be changed, but we nevertheless do it all the time. It is, in fact, the reason we say Scripture is difficult to understand. An example from Matt 5.42:

Give to everyone who begs from you.

Most people says this is not a strict expectation, but is hyperbole or a general principle. Commentary writers make light of it by saying that if we actually did that half the people would be dirt poor and the other half would be filthy rich.

Here's the first principle: If we say the demand is hyperbole, we've changed Scripture. If we change the demand is a principle, we've changed Scripture. If we say Christ wasn't serious, we've changed Scripture. If we say it can't be done, we've change Scripture. If we say it is for those people but not for us, we've changed Scripture.

We change it because we're not going to do it, but we can't just flatly refuse to do it so we find a way to not do it that releases us from the demand. We make it an ethical principle, or a reminder that we should be more generous, or a figure of speech that Christ used to make it more memorable. Disobedience without guilt.

The problem is: it's not an ethical principle: it's the word of God. God didn't say it to make us more ethical. God, in fact, would rather have us do it and not be ethical than not do it and be ethical. Second, Jesus did not come to earth to tell us to be more caring. We already know that (see point 2). Third, yes, Jesus used parables and memorable language, but as a persistent annoying jab in our ribs, not as an allowance to disregard it. Memorable is nothing if we turn it into a wall hanging. Consider the lilies, the Good Samaritan, the widow's mite, you are the salt of the earth... all memorable things that are gutted of their value if we only remember. We do not fulfill the Greatest Commandment by memorizing it.

The way to approach a verse that frightens you is to wade in up to your neck, then walk in further until you're over our head. Now you're in a position to start understanding. Scripture should frighten us. Don't look for a way out; look for a way in. It takes courage to walk in but refusing to look because of what we might see means (duh) we won't see. We then invent an explanation that allows us to move on, without seeing, and defend ourselves by saying it was an ethical principle.

Nonsense. There is nothing in the word of God that's an ethical principle. Scripture is God telling us what we must do. An ethical principle is us telling him what we will do.

Consider: in the very place that Jesus says, "you have heard, but I say to you" our reply is, "he said, but I tell you". Astonishing.

The answer to Matt 5.42 is in Luke 10.27:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"; and, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

When Jesus was then asked "and who is my neighbor?" he told the story of the Good Samaritan. That story has become identified with the way Christians are to act. We all know what it means to pass by.

So now here Jesus says the same thing in different words and we say it's hyperbole. Why? If someone asks, help! What is confusing about that?

Jesus is not saying we hold a flashing neon sign over our head saying FREE MONEY! He's saying simply and clearly: ∙ If ∙ someone ∙ begs ∙ from ∙ you, ∙ help. You don't have to go looking for them. But as you are passing through this life, make sure you are not passing by people who need help. Don't make yourself the priest or Levite who claims to know the Scriptures but doesn't know God.

If you soften Matt 5.42 you also have to soften the lesson of the Good Samaritan, and if you soften that you have to soften the Greatest Commandment, and if you soften that you can soften anything. Now Scripture is soft and the Spirit is silent. We have no sword that penetrates to the soul and spirit. That five dollars that is burning a hole in your pocket is telling you to get rid of it. Go back, find the man, give him the money, and apologize for passing by.

It is actually pretty cheap to have a clear conscience.

We protect ourselves by denying Christ. The simple truth is: giving is always and only a measure of our character and our willingness to live with a dull conscience. You cannot pass by and claim your ethical principles allowed you to do that. You passed by. Full stop.

If you do pass by, be honest and admit it. That will prepare you better for the next time. But if you say Christ allows you to pass by, then you've numbed your conscience to the sword of God and your spirit to the Spirit of God. That cannot turn out well. That shield is to protect you from the arrows of the evil one, not from the word of God.

2. God informs. He doesn't explain.

One of the most serious mistakes we make when we develop a doctrinal statement or systematic theology is we confuse information with explanation. God tells us what he did, but not why, so we invent the why.

The book of Job is the most thoroughgoing example. Job's friends exhaust themselves offering explanation for what has happened. Job insists also that God answer, because something has happened, he doesn't like it, and he wants to know what's going on. God, finally making a reply, does not explain. He informs Job that he is a man. That is it. There is no explanation. God does what God does. A child can ask a parent why, and a parent can explain, or even apologize. God doesn't. We're his children, but we're not his kind. There are only three in the Trinity.

More significant is Gen 12.1: The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” There was no explanation, just the blunt statement: Go. I will tell you when to stop.

If Abram had not done that our history would be nothing as it is.

Then we get to Gen 22 and a similar flat statement: He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” No explanation, just the statement to go, and keep walking until I tell you to stop.

We know the results of these two monumental demands, and Abraham's doing of it, but we don't know the reason. We have no right to. God didn't tell Abraham; it wasn't important. And, in fact, it would have changed nothing. Explaining why Abraham should do it would not make it easier, more fair, or more understandable. A person obeys or doesn't obey because of who they are, not because of anything else. If God is not reason enough, then stay home.

2 Cor 12. Paul prayed for the torment to leave him, and God replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” That is not an explanation. It is a flat statement: No, I am not going to remove the thorn and I am not going to explain.

We want an explanation. God doesn't give one and that frustrates us, so we invent one. For some reason it never crosses our mind that if God didn't explain why to Paul, he certainly is not going to explain it to us. We can probe the Spirit and mind of God all we want: he's not going to tell us something he refused to tell Paul. How absurd to think we deserve to know something that was denied to Paul!

And what would happen if we knew? Would it make any difference? Would it make you obey when you were unwilling before? Were you waiting for the answer to this one question before deciding yes or no to do what God says? We want to know only because we have a curiosity that is fed by wanting to know what Paul knew without doing what Paul did. If you truly must know, the answer is within your grasp: live like Paul did.

An associated example, not exactly on point but related nevertheless, is Phil 4.11-12: "I have learned to be content with whatever I have. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need." If Paul learned the secret, why doesn't he tell us? Why does he say there's a secret and not explain what it is? The answer is the same: because knowing the answer would not make the difference between you doing and not doing what God wants. It is only for your enjoyment, and Paul paid too dear a price to give it away so cheaply.

But, if you really want to know, the answer I have found is in 1 Cor 15.31: "I die daily" and 2 Cor 4.11-12: "Death is at work in us, but life in you." And also Phil 1.23-24: "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." The secret of being content in any circumstance is to have died so often that life and death no longer matter. Contentment is not a matter of being well-fed or having plenty. It is much deeper than that. If you want to get to the point where possessions and food no longer matter, die. Every day. Wealth on Monday is no relaxation when you will die on Tuesday. Poverty on Monday is no deprivation when you will die on Tuesday. Die every day and you will learn the secret of not caring about comfort or discomfort.

Do you really want to know what that feels like? My guess is no.

This is not a matter of suicidal thoughts. It is a matter of being beaten and abandoned and sleepless for so long that getting to the next day is more a fear than a desire. It is building a church and learning after you've left that the disciples and brother of Christ have come to persuade the people you are wrong. Every day there is something that kills you again, and every night you know the next day will bring another surprise. One day it will be over, but until then, it is a life of death. Paul is willing to limp on, but a small inconvenience is only a mosquito bite and comforts do nothing to bring him into the land of the living.

One more secret: Discovering one day that you now fear death is the signal that you have slowed down. The correct pace puts you at the center: neither desiring death nor fearing it. The awareness that you want one or the other is the signal that you have gone too far or not far enough.

Does this make you more eager to obey, or less? Would it have been better without the explanation? The fact is, understanding what is out there would likely be a reason to not go. Not knowing is better.

3. Jesus did not come to earth to tell us things we already know.

People know it is wrong to hate, steal, and cheat. People know they are supposed to take care of their family, work, and help people in need.

Jesus did not come to earth tell us we should be better people. If we read something in Scripture and our impulse is to accept it as a confirmation that we are on the right track, there's a good chance we're reading it wrong. Ask yourself: Did Jesus need to come to earth to tell me to be more generous? Don't I know that already? If you do, then he didn't tell us to be more generous. There's something in there we're not seeing.

Matt 6.24

No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

We read this and say to ourselves, "Of course I don't despise God!" From that you deduce that since you don't hate God (1) you love him, and because you love God (2) you don't love money, and because you don't love money (3) you are not controlled by it. We are not ready to say that because we are not controlled by money we despise it, but, close enough! On to the next verse!

Well, maybe it's worth a second look. Question 1: Did Jesus come to earth to tell you you don't despise God? (The answer is: no, he didn't.) Question 2: In the next verse, Jesus says to not worry what you will eat or drink or wear. Do you care what you will eat and drink and wear? (The answer is: yes, you do.) Plus, we never did resolve point 4. Do you despise money? (The answer is: no, you don't.)

So, if you do care what you will eat or drink or wear, and if Jesus did not come to how much you love God, and if you don't despise money, then possibly our logic is backwards. In v 32 Jesus says it is the Gentiles who strive for such things and the people of God must not live like the Gentiles do: as if God doesn't matter.

You cannot care about food and drink and clothes and still claim you trust God. If one is true, the other isn't. If you care about yourself, you don't care about God.

And, just so we're clear, Jesus is not telling us we should ask God for food and drink and clothes, nor is he promising us that if we do what God wants he will give us what we want. Jesus did not say whether you will eat or drink or wear clothes; he said what you will eat or drink or wear. As soon as we make a joke of it, saying that we would all be hungry and naked, we blind ourselves to the words. Jesus never said that.

What he is saying is that when we disregard the demand of God because of our comforts—not that we will starve but we won't have the food we like, and not that we will be naked but that we won't have the clothes we like—then we are proving ourselves faithless. And importantly, "faith" is not that we trust him to reward us, but that we trust him when he says it is worth it. If someone offered you $500,000 a year you'd go. God offers only his promise that it will be worth it and we say no. For money we'll go; for the promise of God we won't. That is the definition of faithlessness.

And just to be clear: we've already established that you are not controlled by money, right?

"Faith" means we do it now and find out after we die whether it was worth it. Heb 11.39-40.

When our mind assures us we're okay, we know for certain it is not the Spirit of God who is speaking. If it were the Spirit speaking it would hurt. If it were the Spirit speaking we not want to do it. Our natural inclination is to protect ourselves. That inclination is bad. It's natural. Human. Hate it. Say no to it. Let the word of God tell you things you don't want to hear. Do not sooth yourself by saying, "don't worry, everything is fine".

Jesus did not come to earth and die on the cross to tell you you're a good boy.

Wait: we're not quite done yet. There's one more thing Jesus wants us to know.

We still have this nagging contradiction in our explanation: is it the same thing to not despise money and not despise God? We insist we love God and don't love money, but that's not what Jesus is saying. Matt 6.24 has strict love/hate, positive/negative poles. There is no such thing as a magnet that attracts on one end but doesn't repel on the other. We cannot leave the discussion until we resolve this problem: is loving God and not loving money allowed by this verse?

The Church is the bride of Christ. Yes, we know that's a metaphor, but still, it's a metaphor we embrace. Paul says it in 2 Cor 11.2 (I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ) and Eph 5.25-27 (Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her). John fills the image full in Rev 19.7-8:

The marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready;

to her it has been granted to be clothed

with fine linen, bright and pure.

It's a metaphor, but that doesn't mean it's untrue. Leaving aside for a moment the issue of purity, let's look at the issue of love. Paul says in Eph 5.25-27 that the depth of Christ's love for his bride is demonstrated by his death for her. That is a positive/negative image of love. Giving his life meant he cared nothing for it in comparison to the love he had for his bride.

Now, let's look at our response: the bride to the husband. Yes, we love Christ, but to what extent? Enough to die for him? Enough to live for him? Enough to spend more than an hour a week with him?

The image we have of a bride and groom is two people so desperately in love that they care about nothing else. They are happiest by themselves, just the two of them. They care nothing for the clock. They do not eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner on a routine. Breakfast can be in the evening and dinner at daybreak. Food doesn't matter. Time doesn't matter. Things don't matter. They are happiest in a hidden forest cabin with just a fireplace and a kitchen with bread, cheese, and wine. Absolute heaven.

Yes, we must admit that this can't last forever. Ultimately we must reestablish ourselves in real life. We will go back to work, get into a routine, make plans... the honeymoon cannot go on forever.

But what does the husband say when the wife stops talking to him? What does he say when the wife hardly ever expresses delight in coming home, and even stays away for days at a time? What does the husband say when the wife is always on the phone and holds up her hand to shush him when he tries to say something? What does the husband say when she buys a car without talking with him first? furnishes the house without discussing it with him? or worse, buys a house for herself and moves to the other side of town?

Is that love? We can say it's not hate, but only if we're polite, because if this is not hate, what is? Does she have to actually use the words "I hate you" before moving to her own house?

Jesus uses language that expresses his view of things. How we see it is not important. If he says you cannot love God and money, he is saying it because that is how he is treated, and how his Father is treated. We can say we don't hate God, but we cannot say he has no reason to feel that way. If we have moved back in with our old boyfriend, we cannot say it means nothing. It means everything! We cannot tell God to stand over there and expect him to understand. There is no understanding to a statement like that. The pure and simple truth is: no wife ever tells her husband to stand over there while she does as she wants. He has demonstrated his love in clear terms: he gave everything for her. The demonstration of her love is to take his? No. That's not love.

When a parent neglects a child it is called neglect. We don't call it hate, but the defense that "of course I love my child!" falls flat when the child is confused and hurt and won't come when you call her. When a husband never comes home and has a separate apartment where he eats and sleeps, we don't call it hate, but the defense that "of course I love my wife!" falls flat when it is discovered he has bank accounts with only his name on them, a life insurance policy made out to his cousin, and a plane ticket to Hawaii that his wife knows nothing of.

Exactly when does our statement "of course I love God!" reach a magnetic stage of north and south, positive and negative, love and hate? How long can we say "I love God!" and "I don't love money" when the evidence is so incontrovertible? Money will get you what you want. Doing what God says will not get you what you want. That means (1) money controls your desires, plans, and daily life and (2) God doesn't.

You will call it love to defend yourself, but God calls it hate. Telling the God of the universe to stand over there while I live my life as I want is not love. Not even close.

Jesus is not talking about you. He is talking about God. He is telling you how you make God feel when you act like that. The issue is not how you feel. The issue is how you make your child feel when you neglect her so badly she won't come to you and stands across the room. The issue is how you make your wife feel when you don't come home. The issue is how you make your husband feel when you hold up your hand to tell him to be quiet while you're on the phone with another man.

You have no right to tell God how he feels. He's telling you how he feels. Dismissing that with "no! I don't hate you!" only makes it worse. You're telling him she meant nothing. It was only a fling. You're telling him that because it meant nothing to you, it can mean nothing to him either. You're telling him he has no right to be upset, because you still love him.

That's offensive, rude, selfish, unfeeling, and demeaning. God is telling us it feels a lot more like hate than love. We don't have the right to tell him he has no right to feel the way. He has every right to feel however he wants. He's not being silly. He's not being overly sensitive. He's not being unrealistic. He's being God. He's being the husband. He's only asking: come back home, put my name back on the checking account, cancel that trip to Hawaii, never again tell me to be quiet, and never ever presume to tell me how I feel.

3. The Word of God is about what God wants. What we want is of no concern.

4. The demand upon us is not fulfilled by anyone else.

5. It is intended to make us feel pain.

6. Courage and honesty are the two essential qualities to understanding Scripture.

7. Scripture is not difficult to understand. It's just difficult to do.

was written by people who did it.

8. If you have painted yourself into a corner, get rid of that paintbrush.

If you're Catholic, you believe baptism saves. That puts you in a corner that has been a problem since the time of Augustine: what do we do with people who have been baptized but later have no regard for the Church's teachings and sin without embarrassment? Maybe it's time to put down that paintbrush.

If you're Baptist, you say that baptism does not save, but you believe the sinner's prayer does. Same problem. If a person comes down the aisle, prays with the pastor or an elder, confesses, and is baptized, what do we do when they later have no regard for Christ and sin without embarrassment? Maybe it's time to put down that paintbrush.

If you're a Calvinist you believe that all true believers, once saved, are kept saved forever. Maybe yes, maybe no. But we won't know that until we know. Regardless, you've painted yourself into a corner that cannot be sustained. Time to put down that paintbrush.

If you're Arminian, you believe that since salvation is conditioned (on faith), perseverance is also conditioned (on continuing in the faith). Sorry. You have it backwards. That is not to say Calvinism is right, you're demonstrably wrong. It's time to put down that paintbrush.

If you're an Evangelical you believe that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again, and that the new birth of the believer comes only through faith in Christ and that repentance is a vital part of believing. Sorry. Too many rules. It's simpler than that. It's time to put down that paintbrush.

If you're Assembly of God, you believe that speaking in tongues is the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. What do you do with the 97% of Christians who don't believe that? It's time to put down that paintbrush.

If you are Catholic or Orthodox, you believe Mary was sinless. You should never have ever picked up that paintbrush.

In every case, if you can find one example in Scripture that doesn't fit your belief, you need to drop it. If you hold onto it, you will forever disregard Scripture that doesn't fit your belief. What you, your pastor, your church, your denomination, or your Church believes is irrelevant if just one verse says you're wrong.

There are absolutes, but none of our absolutes are. When we create an absolute, we (1) declare we know, (2) declare other people don't, (3) disregard contrary evidence, (4) invent supporting evidence, and (5) get really emotional when people tell us we're wrong. Like right now for instance.

The truth that will not paint you into a corner is this: God does what he wants. We have no say in it. Our duty is do what he says. Forming Scripture into a doctrinal statement is a monstrous abuse and distortion of the word of God. It will inevitably lead us to a place we cannot get out of, and rather than give it up we will fight for it.

Imagine you are the boss of a large international company. One of your managers knocks on the door and asks to come in. He has a bankers box of files and papers, and four other managers in tow. He puts the box on the conference table and tells you he assembled people into teams to go through the entire company, all 1162 branches, and put into clear, organized, readable form the rules and expectations for the work. He explains it has taken three years and now he, and the four managers here with him (who devoted themselves to it night and day), are proud to announce it is finished. We finally have a comprehensive, indexed, cross-referenced manual that explains all the rules of the work, accurately and consistently.

They stand there, smiling, waiting for your "Wow! Good job!"

You have a few questions. Who asked you to do this? Why did you think that the workplace policies I gave weren't good enough? Is it truly your opinion that the totality of my thoughts were in the workplace policies that I wrote? How can you know what I want without asking me what I want? I can guarantee you, without looking, that there are things in there that don't capture my true intentions and desires. I can guarantee you, without looking, that there are things in there that are stronger than what I want and other things that are softer. While you have been working night and day, who was doing your job? How many people did you pull from their work to help you with this? How many total hours of work have been redirected to this? And most crucially: You haven't just set my rules in concrete, you've set me in concrete! Do I now have to read this to know what the rules are? What if I want to change something on Thursday because I want to? Can I do that? Who gave you the right to define me? What made you think you know me so well you can tell people what I want?

The first absolute is that God is God and he can do whatever he wants. The second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth-thousandth absolutes are the same: God is God and he can do whatever he wants! Absolute number ten thousand and one is that organizing and systematizing his word into doctrinal form is inconsiderate, thoughtless, and depersonalizing. Absolute number ten thousand and two is that there is not one hint in anything he has told us that he expects or wants to be defined by us, or that we are allowed to speculate on how he thinks or why he does what he does. Absolute number ten thousand and three is that there are strong statements in his word of what we should be doing. Absolute number ten thousand and four is that there is no "well done good and faithful servant" for people who devote their lives to things that annoy him.

There is no contradiction in the word of God, no confusion. If you find yourself with a belief that contains contradiction or confusion, let it go. Nothing we believe can override, soften, or compromise the word of God. As soon as you find yourself defending the indefensible, stop, look at where you are and how you got there, back out, and start again.

9. The Word of God tells us nothing about how to live in the world.

10. The person who writes books on how to do it probably has not done it.

11. "We" almost never means you.

12. Scripture is to be viewed equally and evenly. We are not allowed to choose the easy parts and disregard the difficult parts.

13. It is impossible to follow Christ on a different path.

14. God does not send prophets to congratulate his people on a job well done.

Matt 4.17

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent.”

Matt 5.3

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Our impulse is to read Matt 5.3 as a confirmation that the people of God are blessed. That cannot be true. Jesus began his ministry with "repent". Everything he then said is an outgrowth of that. Movies that portray Jesus as calmly gliding through the scene with a slight smile are nonsense. He did not come to tell them they were blessed, or that their future in heaven was sure, or that God was satisfied with how they were living. He came to tell them the opposite: You're heading in the wrong direction!

"Blessed are the poor" cannot be good if he has already told them to repent. The words of Jesus must be grounded in the fact that he came to tell Israel they were one step away from destruction. There is nothing pleasant or soothing in his language. Israel was about to be destroyed. Jesus would not be so cruel as to hide that from them.

It is wrong to interpret anything Christ says against any other backdrop than "repent". This was their last chance. Jesus was their last word from God. They were given forty years to turn around. Truly: every word of Christ after the word "repent" must be looked at in that light.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" therefore can mean only that if they were the people God wanted them to be, they would be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven. They're not. "Blessed are the poor" is the measure of how far away they are. Matt 5 and 6 and 7 list all the things they were not doing right. They were not pure in heart, they were not salt, they were not light, they were not building their house on the rock. Their house fell, which means they built it on sand, which means they were not light, they were not salt, they were not pure in heart, they were not blessed.

It is wrong to use Christ's words of warning to them as confirmations of God's delight in us. If it was bad for them, how can it be good for us? The steps in this are crucial:

1. We must determine whether it was meant as a warning for them.

2. If it was, we cannot say it is not a warning to us.

Scripture applies equally to the Church and Israel. The issue is not that they were Israel and we are the Church. The issue is whether the people of God do what he says or not. The Church is not safe just because it's not Israel.

So the question is: Can we say we are blessed even though Jesus never said that?

15. The mind of Christ and the will of God are granted on a need-to-know basis.

to say something more agreeable to our point of view

It is allowed to say I don't understand or I can't do that yet, or even, I'm not going to do that. It is not allowed to say it's not understandable or I don't have to do it.

It has no value when he turn away when we feel its pin pricks. lepros