And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
I had another occasion to consider the importance of reading and interpreting the Bible normally. Most disagreements among believers and all the doctrines of heretics result from differing practices of interpretation.
A pastor, whom I know to be sincere, honest, and passionate about the truth, used the book of James’s book to illustrate the necessity of interpreting the Bible literally. Since the book of James says it is written to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, he takes that now to mean that the book of James is not for New Testament Christians. He called on Christians to leave the church they are members of if the pastor teaches anything else. Listen, I agree that the primary audience is “the twelve tribes.” My question is exactly who are they, and is it appropriate to isolate the Book of James to only Jews? Others have said that the whole of the Book of James is written only to Jews during the Tribulation Period. Is there no application to Christians today? To take the book of James away from Christians through a pretense of “rightly dividing, that is foolish.
2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
In our text, we know that this man and his parents had sinned because we have considered all scripture. The question they asked was not meant as generally of all and any sin, but what specific sin had he or his parents done that he should have been born blind. Jesus answered very specifically, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents.” A strictly literal interpretation would indicate that Jesus HIMSELF declared this man and his parents sinless. But a normal interpretation understands that Jesus did not mean he nor his parents had committed a sin that led God to leave him blind.
We interpret the Bible normally, not strictly literally.
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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