 Okay, good morning everybody to be our course PC 106 on Interpreting scripture. Thank you for connecting to the class today. We have two hours Let's pray together and then we will get started a may request somebody to Please unmute your mic and let's take a moment to pray together as a class Can somebody lead us, please Thank you for this day. You have given us a lot lot in the to us Lord whatever we are going to learn from your word Lord, but it should not be based a lot But it would be added to our knowledge and we should do your ministry Lord more effectively Lord Thank you for this day, but give us your guidance blood If you see your wisdom so that we can understand each and every word said by the pastor in Jesus name We pray amen Man, thank you. All right, so Last week we started getting into the the the practical side of Interpreting scripture We talked about Dependence on the Holy Spirit That means the Holy Spirit illuminates us He gives us Light and understanding Into what he inspired in writing Many many years ago through the prophets and apostles And we looked at that but we also mentioned that just because somebody claims Illumination from the Holy Spirit doesn't mean we shouldn't test it or we shouldn't check it according to the normal hermeneutical principles, which is this is the right way to interpret scripture So we mentioned that last Week when we talked about the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so So that is something for us to you know Be careful about that is okay. It is true the Holy Spirit inspires and gives us revelation or inspiration But it also must be tested to make sure it is correct given the normal principles of hermeneutics, which we are covering then next last week we Also spoke about the issue of culture in interpreting scripture That scripture has to be understood in the cultural context in which it was given That means certain things were said written and done because of the culture of the people And so it has to be understood in that context. What does it mean in that culture example? We said In those days in Bible times all testament times went to people met to Agree on the sale of a land The person selling the land, I mean if they agreed to it he would take off his sandal And give it as a token then this you know this sale agreement is done Now that was very so you find an example of that in the book of Ruth Now that was very culture specific because it is not something, you know, we practice Today now it is in the Bible. It is chapter and verse But it is culture specific. So we don't do those things today So like that in both the Old Testament and the New Testament There are many things They are in the Bible. There is chapter and verse for it people At some point practiced it or did it or God himself may have told us people to practice it and do it but It was temporary Like what we said last class It was a temporary instruction that when it was given to somebody or to a people in a particular time in a particular culture So that practice is temporary. It's not permanent. That means we don't do it today So we went through a list of those things and in class we Identified some examples, right? So let me just quickly share that PDF and then we even move forward from there. I'm just quickly reviewing, right? So we talked about culture These are things that express culture Some are transferable some are so some are permanent some are temporary And then we went through this list where we You know we're identifying What is temporary? What is permanent? That means these things these practices continue today and these some of these practices do not continue today, right? So for example today So in the book of acts for instance when they wanted to find somebody to replace Judas Iscariot This is an acceptor one You know, what they did was they cast lots to find the person who should Fill the place of Judas Iscariot Now we don't do that today Why because At that time this was just before the day of Pentecost Um, they didn't have the Holy Spirit to teach them and guide them Here we are in the New Testament after the day of Pentecost and God has You know given us the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us So today we pray We ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. We ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and then we make choice of leaders and officers in the church in those days Acceptor one is an example where they where the apostles themselves cast lots to pick out the replacement for Judas Iscariot. So we say that kind of uh That is a temporary practice, right? It's not permanent It was something they did. Of course, it's in the Bible. Of course you find chapter and worse for it But it's not an instruction given to us to keep doing it right, so It would be wrong Really for us to Take accept of one and worse 26 and say, okay therefore Every time you want to you know find somebody to To fill a certain leadership role in the church you have to um cast lots no We don't do that in the book of Acts later on Uh, they had other criteria in Acts chapter six They said, you know pick out men were full of the Holy Spirit or full of good report And they laid hands on them. They appointed them as deacons. They didn't cast lots in Acts 14 when they you know, they went to Paul and Barnabas when they went to appoint elders in many of the churches that they had new churches They had blunted they it says that they prayed and fasted And then they appointed elders so it doesn't say anything about casting lots. They only prayed They sought the mind of God and then they picked out the people and they appointed them as elders so Although acts one says they cast lots as you progress The way they were doing it was depending on God through prayer and the Holy Spirit That's how they picked up the appointed the leaders in the church. So we must you know, be very careful and and How we take things and interpret it because sometimes, you know, and this does happen sometimes people take this acts up to one And they say, oh, that's the way to select a leader. No, no Continue on in the bible See what the what the Lord has done And uh, you know go with what what what God has given to us in the New Testament church Okay, so that's one important thing to understand What is permanent? What is temporary? So we stopped there Last week if you're going to speak up from here and move forward Now before I do that I just want to see if anybody has any questions about this table of exercises that we did Last class. I know if you kind of went through it very fast because Have you running out of time? Okay Zillatully acts 1529 says to abstain from blood from things strangled why? So This is something that God gave To his people And I can think of two reasons. I'm not saying this is the perfect answer, but I can think of these two reasons one because leviticus 17 11 In the old testament God had given the blood As a atonement as a way to make atonement for sin So blood symbolizes the life of the animal And and and blood is what is given to make atonement for sin and that's why even Jesus shed his blood And we say, you know by the blood We are cleansed of your team and so on So first God wanted I feel that you know God wanted his people in the old and in the near there to recognize blood as Means for atonement. It's something special. It represents the life of the sacrifice Secondly, I also think it's for hygienic purposes, right? So a lot of the rules God gave in the old testament Were hygiene so if you if you read through Exodus leviticus numbers In the instruction that God gave to his people He gave certain instructions which were You know what to eat what not to eat how to live in the camp those kinds of things Which were from a hygiene perspective for the health of the people so for these two reasons, I think that God told them don't do this and so that carries on in the new testament And so because the blood cat, you know has that significance but of obviously The blood was misused by other religions. So even in other religions The blood could Be used as part of the worship of idols and idolatry and so on. So the first point There is a sacredness as we understand it, but there is also a misuse Of the blood in the worship of wrong things. So when you come to acts 15 the context there is When they are deciding, you know Next 15 29, which is your question Why did the the council in jerusalem? Instruct the new believers the new Gentile believers To abstain from blood of things strangled It's because of It doesn't give us the reason, but I'm just trying to you know, try to understand how they would have approached it That there is this Part of sacredness, but there's also this part of it being used to worship idols because in acts 15 They mentioned very clearly And the worship of idols. So blood was also used in the sacrifice sacrifices Right and paul repeats that in first Corinthians 10 Avani talks about The law and stable he says you don't you know that the things the Gentiles offer to idols. They actually offer it to demons Yeah, that's in first Corinthians chapter 10 So That's the first reason and secondly for hygiene purposes So that's why we say, okay, you know, that's given You know there now I like we mentioned last week In some Parts of the world and even in the western world, you know, if you order a steak, they will say You know well done or medium well done or medium rare Which means the blood is still there on the On the meat, you know, so People eat it whether you're even eating a steak. They could be this thing. So I don't think we should You know feel like okay. We have sinned. We've lost our salvation or something. No, it's just that There's a reason why this was given as long as we are not engaging in that meaning we're not engaging in a blood sacrifice towards some god or goddess and Hygienically that things are clean I think we don't need to You know be afraid of that, you know, and we can't go and tell people to change Uh completely all their diet and so on. So Okay Fine All right, so we're going to go forward from where we paused last week And we will take up questions as we normally do towards the End of each class So let's go back and Continue this so when we are trying to interpret scripture keeping culture in mind We ask ourselves some questions What did the text mean? To its immediate readers in that cultural setting Right and what does the text mean? to us now In our context meaning how do I apply that? to me and how much of that cultural aspect Do I need to apply today and what should I leave as? purely cultural in nature right So that that that is what we must do when we're trying to interpret scripture in the cultural setting that means What did this mean to the people there? and What is it that I need to take away right? in in order to do that Uh, we have put, you know some Principles and some things to some examples as well. So we will go through this and I think it'll become clear How how to do that? Okay, so We use the following principles When we try to determine, you know, which cultural practices and situations Are transferable to us today? right, that means They are permanent and we also should practice them And which ones are non transferable? That means it was given to them. It's fine for them But it's you know, we don't need to follow it. How do we determine that? Here are some guidance So number one Some situations or commands or principles are repeated And they are continuous And they are not revoked So they are repeated They are continuous and they are not revoked And usually this would be In relation to moral that is the way of life and theological meaning Things about God So then we would say that's permanent and transferable such things What would be some examples? for instance Uh, capital punishment that means death for death It has not been revoked anywhere in the bible so It is transferable It is okay that You know, of course today we have the judicial system in every country And in many countries, I can't say this for everyone, but for many countries, there is capital punishment. That means If you do certain crime and of course there are the laws Things that are judged by It could lead to capital punishment right And so in scripture we find that death for death And it has not been revoked. It's still there and so it's perfectly fine Now think about something else polygamy Now that was practice in the old testament but The new testament explicitly or very clearly instructs monogamy That means it is overdoing or what to say it's replacing Or undoing what was in the old testament So when you come in the new testament the bible says that every man be the husband of one wife You know, very clear And we we have the scriptures here so This is an example where Something was practiced in the old testament But it is clearly inexplicitly revoked at a later point in time or Think about something else A naserite in the old testament and and this is more of a cultural thing. We don't have to fight about it But I'm just giving it as an example A naserite in the old testament He was not supposed to cut his hair. That means he Was so consecrated to god This was part of his Lifestyle, he wouldn't cut his hair. That means his hair just grew But in the new testament And this is not a rule but a comment that is made Paul in the context of that culture. He says long hair is considered dishonorable And again, that is this is also Part of the culture. I'm not saying that today god is telling us how long whether we should have long hair or short hair But he's just saying that you know Or men It's not typical to have long hair, right, but For a man who chooses to be a naserite, he's going to let his hair grow Right now. I'm just showing the difference. I'm not saying either one is a rule Today, you know, each one can do as they they wish with their hair. It's up to them But I'm just showing this difference Okay, so Within the scriptures we look and see Has the bible revoked anything And the bible will set its Will place the limit on what is supposed to be cultural and what is not and so we go with what the bible says But let's look at some more examples Another principle here when we're trying to determine whether there is something that is specific to culture or not is Some situations commands a principle are very specific to an individual meaning it's not given to every person Therefore It is non-repeatable And usually this has to do with things that are You know, not establishing theology or a way of life but it is More specific to that individual's walk with God example is God told Abraham To take up his son Isaac And offer him as a sacrifice Now Abraham is the father of faith We know that and we are supposed to follow The example of Abraham Does that mean all of us after you know take our first born and go up to mount morayah and offer offers born as a sacrifice or something like that. No, no, no It would be a complete misapplication because What God told Abraham to do was very specific to the individual that is to Abraham And it was meant for him Have concerning his walk with God And therefore it was not transferable for us today So like that When in God's dealings with people throughout the Bible, you know, whether it was Noah or Abraham or Isaac or Moses or so on In their lives, we have to distinguish what was God's specific dealing to them, which was for their walk with God and which is You know, but yet we can learn from Abraham's obedience So in this case God told Abraham go for your son the only son Isaac Okay, that is not transferable But the principle behind it Behind Abraham's action is transferable. So what do you mean? Well When Abraham obeyed that instruction And he went up the mountain now went up to mount morayah to offer us an Isaac. He was walking in faith And he was walking in obedience So the principle Is transferable God wants us to follow that His example Not the specific command Right, so that's another example where something is Temporary in nature, but the principle is transferable to us A few more scenarios number three Let me talking about, you know interpreting scripture in the context of culture Another thing to keep in mind is That There are similar situations Similar situation that means it situations today May not be exactly the same as then but they are similar So The practice will not be the same but the principle is transferable So The practice Is not the same But the principle is transferable. So example is Take You know the new testament church The gathering of believers And take gathering of believers today, of course, it is similar Believers gathered then believers gathered now Now when believers gathered in the new testament, we saw this last class Paul instructs, you know, for example in roman 16, he says Greet one another with a holy kiss So greet one another the holy kiss So of course, there is chapter and verse for it Does that mean today also we have to explicitly Follow that same practice Or do we follow the underlying principle? You know, what are we supposed to follow? Now there's chapter and verse that says greet one another with a holy kiss Settings are quite similar the gathering of believers We still have gathering of believers today. We practice that but When we greet each other or for that matter in different cuts in different parts of the world How they greet each other can happen in different ways Some may shake hands. Some may give a hug. Some may You know, just the greetings can be very, you know in different expressions So the underlying principle is You greet each other as to express your love your kindness your warmth, etc It's not that it has to be done with a holy kiss. No, it could happen in different ways The principle is you greet each other How you practice it it will vary from place to place so In such situations We should think about Not imposing the same practice but in transferring the principle and then in some examples will be that Neither the practice nor the principle neither the practice nor the principle needs to be you know I guess so the principle will be there, but the practice doesn't have any similarity to us But the principle is understood and the principle is transferred Example would be Moses, you know when he encounters God he sees the burning bush And God says Moses take your sandal off now Does that mean every time we go to prayer We have to take our sandals off Does it mean every time we sing worship Or you know gathered together we have to take our sandals off. No, we don't do that, but the principle is Hey, you have reverence for the presence of God Hey, that's that's the that's the key thing. It's that's the underlying thing That we all have It's not taking it's not about taking off our sandals. So you can pray with your shoes on You can worship with your shoes on your footwear on But the important thing is to have reverence for God. So we don't force people, you know, hey Moses God told you, you know, God told Moses you are standing on holy ground. Take off your sandals Therefore everybody every time you pray wherever you pray you have to take your sandals off We don't impose that And because that was given to Moses in that moment in that setting It's not something everybody does and you don't find it, you know, practiced elsewhere And similarly and we this is a passage, you know, we will talk about some difficult questions towards the end of the this course After we have gone through, you know, all the principles we would pick up some difficult passages And one of those passages, you know, usually is first Corinthians chapter 11 Whether a woman should cover her hair or not. So now today, I will just give a very brief Thing on this and if you you know, maybe later on towards the end of the course when we pick up the difficult passages We can get into it a little bit more but Should a woman cover her head or not? you know, so That that is a big discussion. I mean at least in in Some parts of the world. I'm not I'm not sure it's a big discussion everywhere, but in some parts of the world And definitely in our part of the world I've had, you know Deal with this people will come and You know, ask this why are people not covering their head and so on now In general, I mean, okay, let's understand first Corinthians 11 there Paul was addressing a particular And people in a particular culture He was addressing the believers at Corinth In their setting and the Corinthian setting So what do we know about the Corinthian setting? Corinth was a place of a great big idolatry and a lot of prostitution associated with the temples And as a sign of That somebody was prostitute They didn't cover their head and they they they What do you call it? They shaved their head That was a sign now Some of these people have gotten saved and now they're coming to The christian church they've come out of that background. They're coming to the christian church So that is the background that is the context And so in that context paul is saying it's good for a woman to have hair on her head and And you know and then she covers her head So He's speaking to women in their context and he's saying it's good to do this He also says that it is a symbol it's a sign of you being submitted As unto god but He does not Make it a rule because he ends that passage in first Corinthians 12 Sorry in first Corinthians 11 He concludes that by saying If any man has any questions or is contentious about this We do not have such practices in our other churches That means he's saying look I am writing this to you specific to the Corinthian church But this is not something we practice everywhere In all other churches. We're not telling everybody else to do this So that is in a sense first Corinthians 11 We can read the text, you know and later on when we have time Towards the end of the course but the so the point is Something like you know head covering for women Can be understood to be very cultural very specific to the Corinthian church in their context because of certain reasons That had to do with the cultural setting. That's why he was now today We don't enforce it on everybody like we don't tell everybody every woman who comes to church You have to cover your head down somebody wants to cover their head. That is their choice If they want to wear a hat or they want to wear a shawl or they want to wear something else on their head That is entirely up to them, but we don't force it You know For various reasons people may want to cover their head. It's up to them But we don't force it as a rule Okay, so Going back. That's this quickly review So when we want to you know interpret scripture text Taking into account culture We are asking us two questions. So we are just thinking through What did this mean to the people in that time? You know, why was it given? So like we interpret 1st Corinthians 11 There was a reason why Paul had to talk about head covering to that particular church There's a reason there's a background. There's a cultural context to it. So we need to understand that What is the what is what is the problem he's trying to address? and then We have to say, okay What is the meaning we for us today? How do we transfer it? Uh in our day and time for us to use And Then we transfer so then we can understand or we see we look for that The other things we also look for is has something been revoked Or is it permanent? If something has been revoked Then we don't enforce it today If something Is left as it is Then we say, okay, we will continue its practice Some things we say, okay, was it given this for that individual or was it given for everybody? Well, you can say well, it was given for that individual then it we shouldn't enforce it on everybody It was given for them, but we can learn from their example and follow their example And in some cases like we saw in three and four The we may not practice the same thing But the principle Is what we practice the underlying principle is what we should look for Okay, so let me pause here and just take up any questions if anybody needs any clarification On this, you know interpreting scripture in the context of The culture in which it was given Any questions on this? Or if if you think of any passage Um that you feel we should discuss We could take it up. Yeah, they are ones. Okay so far Yes, pastor Out of curiosity pastor. Yes. Yes from We've seen in traditional christian culture in India and especially south india. We see people You know covering their head just out of curiosity Any idea how it came into existence? Hmm. Yeah um See, I know I know because it has happened in some of our conferences um there There are certain traditions church traditions where They take first quran teens 11 and they say see it's written there. So you have to practice it Yeah, and so Um There are certain church traditions. Maybe certain pentecostal traditions Where they take first quran teens 11 And they say it's written there paul said you have to cover your head so therefore Everybody has to cover. I mean all the women have to cover their head And they practice that Now I don't I'm not going against it. I don't and I don't try to waste time. I mean if you want to cover your head it's up to you but And I don't try to argue with them because sometimes You know, it becomes a very difficult argument. So I don't say that's not even waste time on this but That's where it comes from. That is they take that text literally And they don't look at it as Okay, this is something that was given to the quran teen believers because of their culture They don't look at it that way. They look at it like hey, it's written in the bible. You have to do it So It's okay, you know, if it's anyway, it's nothing big, you know, you're just covering your head. So doesn't matter But that's how it comes and that's how it's still being enforced, you know, so they will still preach To their people First quran teens 11 is written. You have to do it But they don't interpret it the way we are talking about, you know, interpreting it in the light of culture What's temporary? What's permanent? So that practice is continuing Yeah, yes, thank you Nicholson, please go ahead with your question Yeah, pastor. I just wanted like clarity personally I've heard of a lot of people who've taken this nazi in the old then I know one person personally as well Has taken it now would Of course, we know in the new covenant it doesn't make too much sense But should we correct them and tell the like with the head covering thing Should we correct them and say go cut your hair or just let them be? What would you suggest? Uh You know, I would just see if somebody wants to do it. That's their personal choice Um, we can ask them here. We can try to talk to them saying look see, you know in the new testament we don't need to do these things right, we have to live by faith and And depending on the holy spirit, so we don't need to do these things um But if they choose to do it We let them it's their choice between them and god. We let them do it The only thing I would become concerned is if they start forcing others to do it or they try to tell others You also have to do this Then that becomes a problem, right? But as long as they're not, you know Putting that on other people. It's just a personal decision They have made they want to stay like that It's okay. We will leave them alone. Although, you know, it's okay to have a conversation with them and say look, you know Really, you don't need it. Let's just have faith in what jesus did And live by the spirit and live by the word of god. That's enough We can have a conversation if they if they insist that you know, they want to do it It's their choice. We leave them alone Uh, just that we should make sure they don't Start forcing others, you know others should not come under pressure or under Condemnation that I'm not doing what he's doing. That shouldn't happen. Other than that, we just leave them alone. Yeah Thank you, bastard Okay, any any other questions on this? Okay All right, so let's move on to the next chapter. So, you know first principle culture Okay Tobilova your question, please Thank you, sir Please I want the clarifications are in our own culture here Even before the society came We believe in covering We believe that human must cover Our head sorry Must cover our head one of is one of our culture for the society came And we discover that this culture Similar to that current their culture And we have some cultures That they are that's been followed that follow suit and we now before Our forefather in Christianity in this land Wish that we must cover our head especially women when they are praying or for the To respect their house band for nowadays Our ministers are copying other culture to preach that it's not necessary to cover their head I want the clarification What is the impact of culture? In our religion as a Christian He necessary To follow our culture Well, one of our culture is good because this Is a way of showing our morality in our society So even a woman Cover our head She find out whether it's not on that house band Or it's a pursuit That's our own belief What is the relationship between the culture And the Christianity Or this issue So that is what I want to clarify Right What we can see in the New Testament And just as a reference I'm thinking of passages like Romans chapter 14 And I'm also thinking of First Corinthians chapter nine But Paul talks about how he went about Doing his ministry If you look at these passages The essence of it is As long as the culture Is not telling us to do anything wrong As long as the culture doesn't contradict the bible Keep the culture Because That helps us relate to the people of Evia It is only when if the culture Contradicts the teaching of the bible Then we follow the Teaching of the bible The teaching of the bible will supersede that Practice in culture But Otherwise As long as the culture doesn't contradict the bible Then keep it Follow it Continue So for example Like you're saying In your culture It was already a practice For women to cover the head Well, there's nothing wrong in it The bible is not saying don't do it Now what we are saying is We don't force everybody to do it But if somebody wants to do it Or somebody's already doing it Perfectly fine It doesn't matter We don't have to tell them to go and undo it We can only let them know that look As far as scripture is concerned It's not a requirement For women to cover the head But If women Want to cover the head It's fine Uh, sometimes, you know for practical reasons Everybody covers the head, you know So You know if it's very cold And then you want to wear a hat Men and women may be hats Okay, cover the head And in worship god Because it's very cold No problem It's just a practical thing So You know If the weather is very cold Everybody will keep trying to stay warm So So, uh, so we we're just saying There is freedom here But uh, do whatever your culture permits to do As long as it's not contradicting the bible And in this case, it's not contradicting the bible So for example, uh, in some places It's just part of the tradition that They remove footwear before they go into the place of worship So the bible is not saying you have to do that No, it is already there It's just part of tradition They leave their footwear out And then they enter The place of worship And in some cases maybe it's just a practical thing That they don't want to dirty the place to keep cleaning it So they may tell everybody Please leave your footwear outside And then come inside Maybe it's just a practical thing So we don't need to change that Leave it Uh, because it really doesn't matter But we're not forcing people to do it Because, you know, of something in the bible The bible is not forcing us But if it's already there And it's a good thing, uh, we leave it like that Okay, so that's how you make the decision So the basic principle is If there are things in the culture Which don't contradict The teaching of the bible Best to leave it Because then we're able to relate to the people And if you look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 9 Paul says very clearly, you know As he went preaching the gospel He said, to the Jew, I became like a Jew To the Gentile I became like, you know, the Gentile To those who were under the law I became under those without the law So he says, I became like them That means I entered into their world I adapted to what they were living in And I brought the gospel to them You know, he didn't go and tell them You change and, you know Then I will bring the gospel No, he just went in where they were But he said in 1 Corinthians 9 He was in subjection to the law of Christ So he was not contradicting his submission to Christ While he was reaching people Just the way they were, where they were You know, so that's a good, uh, uh, practice A good principle to follow Is that okay? Did I answer your question, Tabilaba? Very correct, sir. Thank you very much, sir Thank you Okay, good. Very good questions Anything else? Okay, so, uh, it's almost a break time What we're going to just to let you know What we will try to cover after break And then we will So we've gone through this part in culture Then what we want to talk about is grammar Right, so grammar The meaning of the word And then also the figure of speech So we want to understand that part When we're looking at scripture And maybe if we get time We'll get into types and shadows How do we understand types and shadows? So let's see if we can do that After our break, right So let's take our break And, uh, we'll come back in 10 minutes And we'll see you, okay? Thank you