So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”
Acts 8:30−31 NKJV
Ravi Zacharias said that people today hear with their eyes and think with their feelings. We all tend to believe pictures more than words and accept truth based on our feelings more than facts. Philip did not ask, “How do you feel about that scripture?”
To know what God has communicated, we study the Bible like literature, seeking the central truth of a passage and never divorcing a verse from its context. For example, many Christians take Philippians 4:13—doing all things through Christ who strengthens us—as a promise that God will give us power to accomplish anything we desire. However, the context involves Paul learning to be content with little or much because he has Christ. By application, we can be content in our relationship with Christ, despite our circumstances. A misapplication would be having this verse as a T-shirt slogan for running a marathon!
We often distort God’s truth by adding our own ideas to a verse and ignoring its context. We should first discern God’s meaning to the original readers, then we can understand what He is saying to us. Interpreting scripture correctly allows the Holy Spirit to customize the application of God’s truth to our needs at the time.
Father, thank You that I will grow in grace and knowledge as I study Your Word. Help me understand what You said and why You said it so Your truths can speak to my heart. Amen.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2017 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Marcia Hornok.