Thank you for the question, “Why do we need to interpret the Bible?”
The primary reason one needs to interpret the Bible is that has to ascertain the various meanings of a word or phrase in a sentence or paragraph.
For example as one reads John 3:16 the verse says this, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish.”
Among the words in that verse, one may observe the word, “world” and “perish.” As one looks at the verse, one has to determine what is the “world.” Is God referring to the physical planet? Is God referring to life on the planet? Is God referring to people? The word, world, needs observation and interpretation from the context. The same applies to perish. What is the meaning of perish? Is the perishing referring to loss of physical life? Is the perishing referring to loss of physical and spiritual life? With the negative, not, is it inferring that a person will live forever on earth? Is there something beyond this physical life? Those and other questions can be asked in seeking to understand that verse. The immediate context will help in deciphering the words.
The Apostle Paul states that the spiritual person compares Scripture with Scripture (I Cor. 2:13–15) and that one is to study the Scriptures to show oneself approved to God (II Tim. 2::15). Observation of the text and context may help the reader to come to a tentative or firm conviction of the meaning to the text.
As one reads the Gospels, Jesus observes the Old Testament text, but also interprets/applies it as in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6–8), The Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13) or the Seven Woes of the Pharisees (Matt. 23). Without Jesus interpreting the Parable of the Sower, the disciples would not or would have difficulty understanding its meaning
SUMMARY: Observation is the first step to understanding the text, followed by interpretation, and then application. Living the truth is our goal.
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