BT14: You have just finished telling someone that you do not agree with the oracular use of Scripture (consulting the Bible by opening it and applying the first words one reads as God's instructions to him), because it generally interprets words without regard to their context. This person argues that God has often used just this method to bring comfort and guidance. How would you reply?

Someone with good knowledge of Scripture can probably turn to a particular passage at random, read it, and then, apply it with the proper, contextual meaning. However, if a person has this degree of understanding, then he or she might be able to carefully select the part of the Bible that they would want to apply. In such a case, the person would have forced the results rather than earnestly strive to get an accurate message from the Lord.

When a person does not have a good understanding of Scripture, then the risk of wrongly applying God's Word is very great. Just reading part of a passage does not let the individual view the passage as part of a major block of material. Part of knowing the context of a portion of the Bible is being able to see the big picture. When a person just reads a small part, then he or she also will not be able to easily see how the passage fits into the flow of the author's argument. Only reading part blinds the reader to the author's perspective. Is he speaking for himself, or is he speaking for God? Making such a distinction is important when one tries to apply Scripture to their life. God does not make mistakes, but people sometimes do. Being able to apply biblical teaching also means that the person must understand the teaching focus of the passage, rather than get caught up in the incidental details.

II Timothy 2:15 teaches that people are supposed to study the Scripture to show themselves approved unto God. Nowhere does the Bible endorse the oracular approach for gaining comfort and guidance.

Tom of Bethany

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