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How
to Know if Something is Biblical, or Not
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION HERE - THIS IS THE WHOLE
ENCHILADA!
1) Simply ask… what is the specific Scripture being taught?
KEY: Look for an EXACT ADDRESS.
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2) Is that Scripture being accurately quoted and conveyed?
KEY: Do the WORDS MATCH UP? Is what is being taught,
what the Scripture ACTUALLY SAYS?
Note: If it's a difference of words because of a
Bible translation issue - use tools to see what the original
language says.
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3) Is the Scripture being used in context, in keeping with the author's original
intent?
KEY: Are proper HERMENEUTICS and EXEGESIS being
applied?
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4) Is the Scripture
itself being opened up to make it more understandable?
KEY: Rather than using a Webster's Dictionary, a
commentary, or personal stories to define and illustrate the
Scripture - are the BIBLICAL DEFINITIONS OF the WORDS being used?
Are the BIBLICAL ROOTS OF the WORDS being brought out? Is the
GRAMMAR in the original language being explained? Are BIBLICAL SYNONYMS and PARALLEL VERSES being used?
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5) Is the practical
application given coming from the specific
Scripture being taught, from other related Scriptures, or at
the very least in line with the Scriptures being taught?
KEY: The application given must be IN KEEPING WITH
WHAT THE BIBLE ACTUALLY TEACHES, or it will not be the Bible that is being applied to our lives.
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6) Finally, is the teaching truly biblical, or not?
KEY: Have we discerned if what is presented lines up
with what Scripture actually teaches?
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Remember:
EXACT VERSE
QUOTED CORRECTLY
PROPER HERMENEUTICS AND EXEGESIS APPLIED
SCRIPTURE ITSELF ACTUALLY OPENED UP
PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN LINE WITH THE BIBLE
Sounds simple, doesn't it? And really, it is just
that simple. With practice and discipline we can make certain
that all things we hear, read, write, and teach are truly
biblical.
(Note:
None of us are perfect. No teacher will ever be 100% accurate,
100% of the time. But that must
be the goal!)
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Putting it Into Practice
In a typical class setting there's only time to just
skim the surface regarding the practice of discernment… but
a few quick helps can be given to get them started.
1) See What's Actually Written
2) Be a Detective
3) Hear Deviations
4) Test Premises
5) Test for Verbatim or Plainly
6) Train Them to See…
1)
See What's Actually Written
The point here is to look closely and take time to
see what the Bible really says. Slow, repetitious reading is in
order. Look at the specific wording of the Scripture, to see word for word what is actually written.
Sample (from Quick Quiz): In Genesis 3 it says that Adam was WITH Eve
when she ate of the fruit.
Sample (from Another Quick Quiz): In Job 1 and 42 it says that Job
received twice as many animals back, but the SAME NUMBER of
children.
2) Be a Detective
The point here is to search for and gather clues, not
reading things into the Bible, but being diligent to pull out what all is actually
there. It's a, "Just the facts, ma'am," kind of thing.
Sometimes index cards with one Bible fact written per card, and
put into the order of events or points can be helpful.
Sample: Here's one we're all probably familiar with.
Who did Cain marry?
One argument put forth is that the Bible records Adam
and Eve had Cain, Abel, and Seth, but that no daughters are
listed. So the conclusion drawn is that Cain's wife had to have
come from somewhere else… some other people created (or evolved)
separately from Adam and Eve.
Bible
Clues:
Gen
5:4-5a - Adam begat sons and daughters
(plural).
Gen
3:20
- Adam's wife's name was Eve because she was the mother of all
living.
Answer: From these clues we know Cain had
to have married one of his sisters.
3) Hear Deviations
The point here is to know God's Word well enough to
catch when it is being misquoted, added to, or altered
altogether. This is usually an 'on the spot,' quickly heard,
quickly discerned, kind of thing. Regular Bible reading (in an organized fashion) helps it become familiar enough so that any
veering from it is quickly recognized.
Sample: We hear someone say that money is the root of
all evil.
Wait a minute! 1 Tim
6:10
says the LOVE
of money is the root of ALL SORTS of evil.
Sample: We hear someone teach that listing our
grievances against someone is the first step toward reconciliation
with them.
Wait a minute! Mt 7:1-5 says we are to FIRST get the
log out of our own eye (deal with our own sins FIRST), and then we
will see clearly to get the speck out of our brother's eye.
4) Test Premises
The point here is to take what we hear, make it a
premise, and test it against what the Bible actually teaches. Many
times we're not sure about something we hear… so we can make
it incumbent upon ourselves to search out the subject to see
if it's biblical, or not.
Write down either an exact quote or the 'pith' of the
statement heard, and look up every place that subject is spoken of
in Scripture, being sure to include all related verses, as well.
Use tools like a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Nave's Topical
Bible, A Study Bible's Cyclopedic Index, etc. We want the whole
counsel
of God on the subject. Some premises will be TRUE
(biblical), some will be FALSE (not biblical), and some will be
PARTIALLY TRUE - PARTIALLY FALSE (for different portions of the
statement).
SAMPLE PREMISE: We hear someone teach that God
commands all New Testament (NT) believers to abstain from all wine.
(The following is only a small condensed portion of
the study.)
After a thorough NT Bible search on the word 'wine'
we see the admonition to not
be addicted to much wine (1 Tim 3:3) and to not
get drunk with wine (Eph 5:18a). These verses do not forbid the drinking of wine, but they do forbid the
drinking of wine to the point of excess or drunkenness.
We must not do that!
Yet, the Bible clearly shows wine can
be used with discretion. Our Lord Jesus Himself turned
water into wine at a wedding (Jn 2:1-10). Wine is to be one
of
the elements of the Lord's Supper / Communion (Mt 26:26-29;
1 Cor
11:20
-34 - note the
rebuke because some were getting drunk
with it vs's 21-22). Wine was used medicinally as when the Apostle
Paul instructed Timothy to take
a little
wine for the sake of his stomach and his frequent
ailments (1 Tim 5:23). (It can be
argued today that wine has been found to have medicinal properties
that are good for our health. Yet now, just as then, it should
only be 'a little wine' used in moderation.)
Note: If the wine of the Bible was only an
unfermented grape drink, and not really wine at all as some claim,
why would our Lord admonish us in His Word to not
get
drunk with that if it wasn't even possible? He
obviously was speaking of regular wine.
Note: If someone is prone to excess wine drinking,
especially to
the point of drunkenness, it's wisest - and biblical, for them to
avoid wine altogether!
Something that is permissible (drinking wine) would not be
profitable for them (because of doing it to
excess and drunkenness).
PREMISE CONCLUSION: The original premise is FALSE.
God does NOT command all NT believers to abstain from all wine. Yet, the issue is modified
by biblical warnings against
excess wine drinking and drunkenness.
Disclaimer: We don't drink any wine (so we're not pushing for wine drinking
just because we want to
do it ourselves - LOL!). We want to know what's biblical, and what
isn't, and live by that. Our abstinence isn't because we're
forbidden by God to drink real wine - we're not. It's our personal
preference at this point in our lives. Brothers and sisters in the
Lord who do drink real
wine can expect from us a word of encouragement to follow the
biblical guidelines of not
drinking wine to
excess or drunkenness, but
not censure for drinking it.
An excellent book to learn why and how to test
premises against what the Bible actually teaches is Jay Adams' A
Call For Discernment (A Call To Discernment older
editions). We highly recommend you read and learn to apply what
this book teaches.
5) Test For 'Verbatim or Plainly'
The point here is to make it incumbent upon the person giving the teaching to
clearly show it
to us directly in Scripture either VERBATIM or PLAINLY.
'VERBATIM' - word for word, in context, explicit
verses used. (i.e. God
is love.)
'PLAINLY' - concept clearly seen, in context,
implicitly arrived at, yet done by
use
of specific verses that make an airtight case. There is no
room here for mere conjecture, vague inference, or ambiguity. The
thing must be clearly
taught or arrived at by rightly divided Scriptures. (i.e. The
trinity.)
Note: If it's not verbatim, or plainly taught in the
Bible, then it's not biblical.
Note: Use extreme caution with those saying things
are 'inferred' in Scripture, who stretch the meanings of passages
in an attempt to make them 'teach' their questionable doctrines,
and who are not able to show specific and accurately handled Bible
verses to prove it. Each teaching must be verbatim or plainly taught in Scripture - to be biblical.
Note: Learn to use proper hermeneutic and exegesis
skills to be able to rightly divide God's Word and to know when
others are, or are not, doing this as wel.
6) Train Them to See…
When we have personally tested a premise and either
not found it in the Scriptures or have found it
to be false…
When the person teaching the thing can't show it
verbatim or plainly in the Scriptures (and we
were open to see it, if it was truly there and
rightly divided)…
We want to be able to train them to discern what is biblical and how to accurately handle
God's Word. We don't want to leave them
in error or ill equipped. (This assumes they want
to know God's truth and are open and teachable
to it.)
Take them through this 'Learn to Discern' curriculum
(as a 'Starter Kit' in discernment) and help
them begin to learn better skills in this very
needed area. Train them to rightly divide God's
Word and handle it accurately so they can correctly teach
it to others.
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A
Pattern to Adopt…
Learn
to differentiate between
what the Bible says and what we say.
This
is 'somewhat' like Paul did when he said, 'Not the Lord, but I…'
Of course, we understand what Paul said became a part of Scripture
- and our words will never do that! But it's an excellent example we
can use of differentiating between the Lord's words and our own.
We
can make it a habit to say, 'Now these are my thoughts on the
subject…', or 'This is my opinion about…' drawing
attention to the fact that what we're saying or presenting is not God's Word. We need to help
those who hear our words discern between the two, because
sometimes some beloved do not know the difference
(like those new to the faith we're endeavoring to disciple).
There's nothing wrong with having our own thoughts,
ideas, or opinions, and expressing them to others (providing
they're in line with Scripture and edifying for others).
Our Lord can, and kindly does, use our words to help others at times
- meager though those words be.
Yet, our words should be differentiated from His,
because His words are the ones that must be understood and obeyed.
His words are the ones that give life! Our own words will never do
that!
Think
about this:
There's
only a small amount of time
any one of us have to share God's Word with others each time we
have the opportunity to be teaching it. Our lives truly are a vapor and we've no
promise we'll be here at the end of any given day.
How
much of that precious time do we want to spend sharing our own
thoughts and words? (Kinda like this post is doing - but we wanted to tell
you our thoughts on this issue! See… we just differentiated
between our words and His for you!)
It
is God's Word that performs its work in the believer, and His Word
that brings life… so we ought to constantly
differentiate between His words and ours.
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Continue to: Learn
to Discern - Part III
Go Back to: Learn
to Discern - Part I
© 2005 John and Kim Namestnik
www.givengrace.com
Permission is granted to copy and distribute this
curriculum - if it's kept intact and not changed in any
way, if it's given
without charge, and if this copyright notice is included.
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