Black & White - Seeing the Gray

Each of us come to the Scripture with some set of presuppositions. Whether it is from the way we were raised or maybe it comes from a mentor or someone we admire. We all have some type of beliefs that we bring to the table when interpreting Scripture. These presuppositions influence the way we interpret certain passages. We see the Scripture to be teaching a particular doctrine and we consequently believe that doctrine.

There are times, however, our doctrinal belief is challenged by someone with another interpretation who hold to their interpretation just as strongly as we do to our interpretation. We sometimes have a hard time accepting that others do not see it our way. To us, the teaching is black and white and there is no room for any gray areas. Facts are facts, and that’s it!

As we mature, however, and pass our 20s and 30s, we begin to realize that maybe we are wrong, or at least a tad off, in some of our beliefs or convictions. This too can be influenced by many factors. Experience, maturity, wisdom, learning, culture, etc can sometimes impact our views. Much of the time we discover that we were not entirely wrong, maybe just a little off. If we are honest and Spirit led and open minded enough and teachable, we can mature in our faith and understanding. This can also be dangerous in that it can cause us to leave that which is true and arrive at something that is false. Maybe we actually were correct in our original beliefs and over time, we are led astray. This usually happens when we were not quite sure WHY we believed something in the first place.

The big question is… “How do we know?” Well, this article is not written for the purpose of detailing how to study the Bible by learning the proper hermeneutic. For that, you can consult books like “Living By The Book” by Howard Hendricks and others. There are actually many good tools that can be used in the study of the Bible. I will be doing a series of pod casts on the subject, so stay tuned for those in hopes that they may help someone as they search the Scriptures.

What I would like to address here however, is related to the subject. The topic I think all sides of an issue miss is “the other side”.  By that I mean, we usually pretty well know what WE believe. We may not always know WHY, but we at least know WHAT we believe. The issue really lies in not understanding why the OTHER SIDE believes what THEY believe. We fail to identify with their conclusions or manner of interpretation. We should endeavor to study the other side, at least enough to better understand their position. This is important for many reasons. One, it helps us to solidify our own position more when we are challenged to look at more than our own proof texts and ideas. Two, it allows us the ability to better demonstrate their faulty positions by helping them to see the errors in their interpretations. Third, it might just show us that WE are wrong somewhere or cause us to think of something we had previously not considered.

I spend hours and hours sometimes on only one or two verses at a time. It is not uncommon to spend days, weeks or months on one particular doctrine or passage. This is true even if I have already studied and learned it in the past. Each time I approach the Word, it is with the goal to learn more of the text and meaning as if I am studying it for the first time. I use past studies, commentaries, original language tools, history, context, grammar, and other tools to dig deep into the passage. It never ceases to amaze me how much I continue to learn no matter how many times I have studied and taught through a portion of Scripture or how many things I had forgotten.

One of the most rewarding things I do however, is I listen and study other viewpoints and other sides, different from my own, to get a broader viewpoint of a set of verses. It provides me a treasury of knowledge and a glimpse into another way of looking at the text. In the end, I will have first studied it for myself & exhausted as many tools as I can in learning the meaning, and then I turn to others who will either challenge me or strengthen my position. This makes a person more sure of their position while also being able to respect another person’s viewpoint by understanding how they arrived at their position. We must remember, there is only one truth and it never contradicts another truth in Scripture. We should always endeavor to discover what the passage means, not what it means to us, but what does it mean. If our position is correct, it will withstand the scrutiny from the other side.

One example would be that of Eschatology, the study of end time events. Let’s take for example, the rapture. I believe in a pre-tribulational rapture of the church. But the way I arrived at that conclusion is I studied for years on the subject & came to that conclusion. I did not just listen to a favorite preacher and say, “me too”. I have always studied for myself first, came to a basic understanding and then I dove head first into as many tools and positions as I could. I have studied the pre-wrath position and the no-rapture position and the post-trib position. If I was not a pre-trib believer, I would be a post-trib believer. I say that because I know and understand the arguments on each side of the debate. Having studied multiple positions, it has solidified my belief in a pre-trib position.

Another topic would be the issues around Calvinism. I am not just non-Calvinist, I am anti-Calvinist. I have spent years studying the subject, history of the systematic, and many of the characters involved in it’s propagation. I can honestly say, not only do I hold a different position from Calvinists, I KNOW they are in error. Had I not studied their own writings, teachers, history and proof texts, I would only be able to state what I believe and not be able to refute their positions with any certainty.

Another example would be dispensationalism vs. Covenant theology. I knew pretty quickly I was not a Covenant theologian simply on the basis of hermeneutic approach. Then, after endeavoring to learn the topic, I discovered Covenant theology has more holes than swiss cheese. I have always been dispensational. But, I admit, I have not ever held to the classic dispensational breakdown. I have always felt closest to the conclusions of the Charles Ryrie brand of dispensationalism, but even then I felt like something was missing in the systematic. I would usually tell everyone, I am like a general dispensationalist with a belief in the covenants being a huge part of the equation. It has only been maybe in the last 10 years or so, that I was introduced to the subject of Progressive Dispensationalism, which is closest to what I have always held. I just never had a name for it until recently. This led me to study the subject all over again and now, there is something called Progressive Covenant theology. I knew how I saw the whole of Scripture playing out, but did not have a name for it until Progressive Dispensationalism came along.

Now, you might ask, “why would I want to spend any time refuting another person’s doctrine?”. Well, the answer is in the writings of the New Testament. In particular, in Paul’s writings mostly. Paul’s greatest warning and charge to Timothy and those who would follow as teachers of the word - guard the word. Preach it, be instant in season and out of season.  We are told over and over that false teachers would come, not sparing the flock. We, as Bible teachers, are under a mandate & a stewardship. We are to guard the faith once for all delivered to the saints and we are to guard the saints from false teachers - wolves in sheep’s clothing. We are told to rightly divide the word and we are told that not many should become teachers, because we will come under a stricter judgment. Paul tells us in Romans to mark those who cause division among us contrary to sound doctrine. So why do I concern myself with this? I am under the command of God to do so. But it should be with a firm stance & a servant spirit.

In my younger years in ministry, I participated in quite a few debates. I felt it was a good way to refute error. I have never been shy when confronting error. But I have learned over the years, that debates usually only serve to point out the differences but not resolve them. It usually results in a contest where someone “wins” the debate, but very little teaching emerges from it. Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for debate, I just am at the point in my ministry that I want to spend more time in declaring the truth of Scripture instead of arguing about it. So I have come to the conclusion that it is best to point out the error and to counter that error by teaching the truth. Arguing to prove a point usually does little good. Teaching against error & for truth usually does the most good.

So, my challenge to you is to be Bereans. Search the Scriptures for yourselves. See if what you are being taught is true. Stand up against error and stand firm for truth. Don’t be afraid to study the other side. Don’t be afraid to grow and mature. But never, never compromise truth for the sake of unity or to be perceived as “accepting”. The one thing we can never do, is allow error to permeate our churches. There will always be division theologically. That is a good thing. There will always be demonic doctrines and there will always be those who teach things that they themselves don’t understand, speaking great swelling words of emptiness. Some things are black and white, but there is some gray every now and then. Sometimes, it is in the gray that we find the black and the white truth. Many times the extreme ends of opposing sides of a doctrine are in error. Sometimes the true answer is somewhere in the middle, in the gray.

May we always be teachable and may we always be ready to grow and mature in our faith and may we never be weak or uncertain in our beliefs. Having our beliefs challenged is a good thing, not a bad thing. And, not everyone who disagrees with us is a heretic. Even Paul & Peter had a disagreement or two along the way. If we have Jesus as our Lord & Savior, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be ready to stand our ground, hold each other accountable to truth, but also ready to reconcile and be humble. All who are sincere seekers of divine truth should seek to learn with a true heart and discerning spirit. Every day we should seek to learn and grow in the faith. We should all desire to get to the point in our faith to where not only do we BELIEVE, but we KNOW. May the Lord grant you wisdom and knowledge as you seek Him with a pure heart today.

Pastor Tim