THE REASON WE ARE HERE - TO TEACH THE BIBLICAL TRUTH

    We have all heard an expression similar to “Read it again for the first time”.  That is how the reading of the Bible should be approached.  Most of us do not read the Bible to see what it says.  We read it to find the stories we have been taught.  In that process we overlook what is actually written and only see what we are looking for.  It can be difficult to read objectively when the emotions of religion are involved.  Finding what we want feels good.
    Taking a new first look at scripture is a God given direction.  Hebrews 5:12 can be applied here.  “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” (NIV) This tells us that, as adults, we sometimes need to go back to re-learn the basics.  When we do that, we might realize some of the stories that have been passed down over the years are not accurate to what God inspired the writers of scripture to record.
    Some stories may have originally been told so we can feel good about ourselves and our relationship with God.  Extra biblical sources contributed to the creation of some stories.  Trying to give explanations for scripture we don’t fully understand have yielded interesting stories.  After the passing of time, we may not be able to pinpoint how or why some stories were crafted.  If we do not lay aside prior learning as we read scripture for the second (or third) first time, we probably will not notice the inaccuracies of the traditional stories.
    Our natural human tendency is to read into the text (eisegesis) what we have been taught and expect it to say.  We must be led by the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth) if we desire to gain from the text (exegesis) the true meaning and message.  Then there can be no claims of conflict or contradiction found within scripture.
    What we most commonly identify as the “truth” is simply what we have come to believe from our years of being taught.  It is time to, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV)  We should be careful not to always accept, too easily, the “truth” as taught.  But rather, search for “The Truth As Written”.