Sola Scriptura
Acts 8:30-39
"The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He did not open his mouth. In His humiliation, he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of His descendants? For His life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing."
The Bible is such a varied volume collected from writings spanning centuries, a vast geography, languages, cultures, and authors and within it are many genres of literature, history, poetry, biography, apocalyptic, parables, and many others. It contains God's messages to us, but if we cannot properly interpret what it tells us, we're bound to become confused, misinterpret, and probably misapply biblical content. Like the Ethiopian eunuch in approaching Scripture, we must humbly ask “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” (v. 31). The Apostle Paul encouraged St. Timothy, "do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (II Tim 2:15)." Although the task of interpretation, teaching, and helping each other grasp God's works is beneficial and for everyone, correct understanding is gained through the discipline of careful study of God's Word - hermeneutics. It sounds very technical, but simply put, it is trying to understand what the text says and there are many practices that can help us do just that, and I'm sure most of us already do, such as reading in parallel (letting Scripture interpret Scripture), reading in context (preceding and succeeding verses, also context as in culture and setting of when a particular text was written), reading commentary by others who have devoted much time in studying it, consulting concordance, and trying to understand variances in meanings of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic words, and comparing principles with Jewish and importantly established Christian doctrine. In many cases, especially in the central claims about God, Jesus Christ, the human condition, the Church, the community, and the Holy Spirit, Scripture is very clear. It seems what the LORD responded to the teachers of the Law in His time also applies to us, He also tells us, "I have spoken openly to the world, I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret (John 18:20)." It is often loud and clear, and it is up to us to respond with open hearts to His leading found in the Bible. There are also many passages that may be difficult for us in varying degrees, but here, we can "do our best". We may also find it that some of the truths we hold to get "twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools (Kipling)", but God in His grace gives us some guidelines in Scripture itself, the Apostle John reminds us, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already (I John 4:1-3). We can endeavour to be like the noble Bereans, who believed after having received "the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true" (Acts 17:11-12). Finally, we seek God's wisdom, the Apostle James urges us "if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (Jam 1:5)". We also seek understanding through His Spirit. Ultimately it is God's Holy Spirit that teaches us the truth's of Scripture and He reminds us of what the LORD has said when He was on earth, He Himself attested to this to His disciples in telling them, "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you (John 14:26)." Like the Apostle Philip, let us be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and obey to help others and ourselves, however, St. Philip was able to help the Ethiopian eunuch in interpreting the words of the prophet Isaiah about Christ, because He listened at the feet of the LORD Himself and have been reminded of His teachings and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Today, I also like the prayer from Living Life, may we keep these words in our hearts: "Heavenly Father, forgive me when I neglect to listen to Your voice. Help me to hear and obey You so that I can share the Gospel with the people around me and see many more enter Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen."
"The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He did not open his mouth. In His humiliation, he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of His descendants? For His life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing."
The Bible is such a varied volume collected from writings spanning centuries, a vast geography, languages, cultures, and authors and within it are many genres of literature, history, poetry, biography, apocalyptic, parables, and many others. It contains God's messages to us, but if we cannot properly interpret what it tells us, we're bound to become confused, misinterpret, and probably misapply biblical content. Like the Ethiopian eunuch in approaching Scripture, we must humbly ask “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” (v. 31). The Apostle Paul encouraged St. Timothy, "do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (II Tim 2:15)." Although the task of interpretation, teaching, and helping each other grasp God's works is beneficial and for everyone, correct understanding is gained through the discipline of careful study of God's Word - hermeneutics. It sounds very technical, but simply put, it is trying to understand what the text says and there are many practices that can help us do just that, and I'm sure most of us already do, such as reading in parallel (letting Scripture interpret Scripture), reading in context (preceding and succeeding verses, also context as in culture and setting of when a particular text was written), reading commentary by others who have devoted much time in studying it, consulting concordance, and trying to understand variances in meanings of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic words, and comparing principles with Jewish and importantly established Christian doctrine. In many cases, especially in the central claims about God, Jesus Christ, the human condition, the Church, the community, and the Holy Spirit, Scripture is very clear. It seems what the LORD responded to the teachers of the Law in His time also applies to us, He also tells us, "I have spoken openly to the world, I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret (John 18:20)." It is often loud and clear, and it is up to us to respond with open hearts to His leading found in the Bible. There are also many passages that may be difficult for us in varying degrees, but here, we can "do our best". We may also find it that some of the truths we hold to get "twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools (Kipling)", but God in His grace gives us some guidelines in Scripture itself, the Apostle John reminds us, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already (I John 4:1-3). We can endeavour to be like the noble Bereans, who believed after having received "the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true" (Acts 17:11-12). Finally, we seek God's wisdom, the Apostle James urges us "if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (Jam 1:5)". We also seek understanding through His Spirit. Ultimately it is God's Holy Spirit that teaches us the truth's of Scripture and He reminds us of what the LORD has said when He was on earth, He Himself attested to this to His disciples in telling them, "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you (John 14:26)." Like the Apostle Philip, let us be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and obey to help others and ourselves, however, St. Philip was able to help the Ethiopian eunuch in interpreting the words of the prophet Isaiah about Christ, because He listened at the feet of the LORD Himself and have been reminded of His teachings and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Today, I also like the prayer from Living Life, may we keep these words in our hearts: "Heavenly Father, forgive me when I neglect to listen to Your voice. Help me to hear and obey You so that I can share the Gospel with the people around me and see many more enter Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen."
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