True and False Humility When Handling the Scriptures

"Hermeneutics is a big word. You may be unfamiliar with it, but it’s a necessary part of all Bible study.  Hermeneutics is the science of interpreting what an author has written. For Christians, it means following the appropriate rules for interpreting Scripture. And although the word “hermeneutics” doesn’t appear in the Bible, its practice is clearly described: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

In that verse, the apostle Paul provides the what and why of hermeneutics—accurate handling of God’s sacred Word. Right interpretation of what God has spoken to us means that we can rightly apply it to our lives, and rightly proclaim it to others. “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33, KJV) and He doesn’t present us with a smorgasbord of doctrinal options. If God wrote it, then all that matters is what Hemeans by what He says, not what I think or want it to mean.

But today, in a culture dominated by subjectivity, an objective, authoritative truth has no place. That’s true even in the church, where, in the early days of the twenty-first century, postmodern theologians gained a significant voice. They called themselves the Emerging church, and argued, in effect, that certainty is overrated. Instead, they invented their own approach to hermeneutics.

Tony Jones, an early leader in the Emerging church, called it the “hermeneutic of humility.” The idea was to interpret God’s Word but stop short of coming to any definitive conclusions that would exclude alternative interpretations. It identified as “humble” what other eras of church history knew as confusion or unbelief.

Presenting God as He Defines Himself in His Word

One of the common features of a postmodern world is the rejection of any exclusive truth claims. Postmodernism views all truth as relative and any exclusive truth claims as arrogant, offensive, and impossible. As we live and minister in that kind of a world, how should we teach God’s Word and present God’s character to those to whom we minister?

What our world needs to hear is a biblically-based presentation of God in all His glory, majesty, and power

On the one hand, we must navigate the fine line between those beliefs and practices that are non-negotiable and those that are negotiable. In light of the Bible’s teaching on “liberty” and the issues of a weaker and stronger conscience, there are times when we must not be adamant about the need for everyone to accept our understanding or arrange their lives according to that understanding. Here are some examples: what music should we listen to, can a believer drink a glass of wine, etc. There is room to disagree without rancor in these cases. Of course, there are biblical principles that offer guidance concerning these issues, but broadly speaking, if the Bible does not explicitly or clearly address a given issue, we need to allow room for disagreement rather than holding to our preference as an exclusive truth claim.  Scripture does exhort to try and "not go beyond what is written."

On the other hand, generally, the above reality is not what threatens the church. Even though this arrogance of a “just my way” attitude can be destructive, it is not as dangerous as the other extreme, reticence. This is a “whatever way works for you” attitude about all beliefs—especially those that are explicitly, clearly, and repeatedly taught in Scripture.

We do not want to crash on either rock of extremity, but desire to allow the Bible to determine those exclusive truth claims that guide our lives and provide content to our preaching and teaching.