Playing with Fire: The Risks of Misreading Scripture

The Power of Fire

In my days as a Boy Scout, I was captivated by fire. Fire is this mythic, elemental force with mesmerizing, dancing flames. We used the heat to cook our meals.

But we mainly wanted to dare each other to jump over the hot coals.

While fires are powerful, if you lack wisdom in handling them, the results can be devastating.

I once saw someone recklessly pouring lighter fluid onto a bonfire. They thought it would be funny, but the fire exploded in size almost immediately. They were fortunate to only suffer embarrassment!

Similarly, the Bible can illuminate and warm our lives.

Yet, without wisdom, it can cause unintended harm.

Getting Burned

For instance, many approach the Bible as rules, almost like "God's Handbook for Righteousness."

I confess I once held this mindset and might have led others down this path. If you're one of them, I apologize.

Because this perspective leads us astray.

First, even applying Biblical rules requires wisdom.

Take the first commandment: to love God. But what does this look like in practice?

Expressing love for God differs from a Sunday service to a Monday morning meeting to a weekend evening.

We need wisdom to reconcile seemingly conflicting teachings.

For example, Jesus emphasized letting our deeds shine before others (Matthew 5:16), but he also said to pray secretly (Matthew 6:6).

So, do we keep our faith private or display it openly?

You could read these tensions as a contradiction and walk away from Jesus.

Or you can pair the pursuit of righteousness with a quest for wisdom.

Here’s another pitfall to avoid: literally obeying hyperbolic commands.

Imagine literally gouging out your right eye to avoid sin (Matthew 5:29). It’s an extreme example.

Another more common example is mistaking the Bible’s genres. What happens if we confuse poetry with history, narratives with apocalypse, or prophecy with epistles?

Or what if we aren't aware of these genres and read the Bible as a modern self-help book, scientific text, or newspaper article? Some products at the grocery store even assume parts of the Bible intend to give us recipes for nutritious living.

We might think every page of the Bible is "God's love letter to us."

Again, I confess that I've taught this, and there's a sense in which it is true. The Bible does help us to understand God's love! However, the conventions of a Hallmark card are somewhat different from the appropriate expectations for understanding Isaiah's prophetic warnings.

Or let's say we read a description of what flawed humans did. If we think, "Well, it's in the Bible, so God approved of these actions," we might completely misunderstand the passage.

I've also assumed, "All I need to understand the Bible is my common sense and the Holy Spirit." Both common sense and the Holy Spirit are essential! But that doesn't mean our first impressions of the Scriptures are direct revelations from God!

Instead, common sense and the Spirit of God invite us to understand the Bible with others. Why? Because we need help to make sense of ancient languages, the challenges of translation, re-imagining the original audience's social situation, gauging the genre's significance, and applying the text to our current and very different situations.

Even reading the Bible in light of Jesus can lead us down the wrong path! For instance, Jesus is the Messiah. But how familiar are you with Messianic expectations?

Talking about Jesus involves Trinitarian theology. But what does it mean that God is triune? Simply saying "Jesus" is a poor substitute for understanding the fullness of his identity.

In Jeremiah 23:29 we read, “Is not my word like fire”—this is the LORD’s declaration—“and like a hammer that pulverizes rock?”

If I proof-texted this verse to wrap up the article, I might give you the impression that all of God’s word is a consuming fire. But in context, Jeremiah is revealing that God is opposed to false prophets who lead people astray with reckless lies! Sometimes, God’s word is described as a guiding light rather than a fire of judgment.

Getting Warmer…

The Bible is more than just a rule book - it's a tapestry of poems, stories, dreams, visions, letters, and songs.

All divinely inspired, these complex texts require wisdom for proper interpretation and application.

Simplistic readings miss the profound depths of God's words. We can harm ourselves and others by stamping God's name on our foolishness.

We must approach God's word with awe, care, and discernment, seeking the Spirit's guidance.

A righteous person desires wisdom. And a wise person wants righteousness. The two are intertwined; each enhances the other.

May we read Scripture wisely.

When we do so, with God’s help, we develop maturity, are transformed into Christlikeness, and learn to love God and others.

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