Tough Texts

Tough biblical texts are those passages of Scripture that prove to be more challenging to interpret than others. Our distance from the cultures, practices, languages, and literary devices of the biblical authors can make some passages more difficult than others. Furthermore, our unfamiliarity with the various biblical literary genres can make certain passages more difficult to understand. Other passages of Scripture raise seeming contradictions.

The Reformers insisted that God’s Word is sufficiently clear on the basic gospel and what it means to live a life that is pleasing to God. Not all passages in Scripture are equally clear or easily interpreted, however. The Reformers stressed that the more difficult passages of Scripture could be understood by a diligent use of analogy of Scripture and the analogy of faith in the interpretive process.

Although the Bible is clear on the basic issues of salvation and God’s moral demands, the scriptural text does present some interpretative challenges. This makes some texts tougher to interpret than others. The difficulty of coming to a right understanding of tough texts is sometimes because of a failure to understand a passage’s immediate and broader context. Additionally, our distance from the cultures, practices, and literature of the biblical authors poses a challenge for us. Limitations in our understanding of Hebrew and Greek words, phrases, and concepts can make thinks difficult for us as well. A failure to understand the nature of differing literary genres can make it harder for individuals to discern the intended meaning of certain portions of Scripture. For instance, the use of symbols, allusions, metaphors, and similes in the poetry of the Psalms and prophetic literature, as well as in the apocalyptic symbols in Ezekiel and Revelation, can make the meaning of those portions of Scripture harder to understand and increases our chance of misinterpreting them.

Some examples of interpretive difficulties in Scripture include the identification of “the sons of God” in Genesis 6:1–4, the spirit brought up by the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28), and the “angel of the Lord” (Gen. 16:7; Ex. 3:2–6; 23:20–21; Judg. 2:1–2; Zech. 3:1–2); the meaning of the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:1–25:46; Mark 13:1–37; Luke 21:5–36); the cursing of the fig tree (Mark 11:12–25); the unpardonable sin/blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:22–32; Mark 3:22–30; Luke 12:10); the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:19); Jesus’ bringing a sword rather than peace (Matt. 10:34–36); baptism for the dead (1 Cor. 15:29); women having their heads covered (1 Cor. 11:2–16); and the binding of Satan (Rev. 20:1–3).

Some people have alleged that the Bible is full of contradictions, and it may at first read appear that there are “apparent contradictions” in Scripture when we are studying certain passages. The vast majority of these are easily addressed, however, and do not turn out to be real contradictions once we consider the variety of styles and perspectives of the human authors as well as things such as numerical approximations that are often used in lieu of exact figures. There are a few apparent contradictions for which there are several possible solutions, and it can be difficult to identify the exact answer. In any case, where we see an apparent contradiction, we should recognize that the problem is not with the Bible but with us.

A renewed recognition of the attributes of Scripture was essential to the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century and, subsequently, to the post-Reformation scholasticism of the seventeenth century. The authority, necessity, sufficiency, and perspicuity (i.e., clarity) of Scripture are all taught in the Bible and are the consequences of the doctrine of sola Scriptura. An emphasis on the perspicuity of Scripture—the clarity of Scripture—was especially significant in advancing the Reformation. Roman Catholic opponents of the Reformation commonly misrepresented what the Reformers were teaching about the doctrine of the perspicuity of Scripture. The Reformers and post-Reformation scholastics explained that the perspicuity of Scripture did not mean that all things in Scripture are equally clear. They recognized that many texts are difficult to understand (2 Peter 3:15–16). Rather, the clarity of Scripture pertains chiefly to the basic gospel of salvation. Concerning the perspicuity of Scripture, the members of the Westminster Assembly wrote:

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them. (Westminster Confession of Faith 1.7)

With respect to the more difficult passages of Scripture, the Protestant Reformers, following the lead of thinkers before them such as Augustine of Hippo, stressed that many of the apparent Bible difficulties could be solved by applying the analogy of Scripture. This principle means that we interpret the less clear portions of Scripture by the clearer passages. The Westminster divines explained:

The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it may be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly. (WCF 1.9)

The principle of the analogy of Scripture is sometimes also called the analogy of faith. The phrase the analogy of faith is often used to stress the importance of weighing the compatibility of proposed interpretations against the overall theology of Scripture. Because the Bible has ultimately one divine Author, a correct interpretation of a less clear passage of Scripture will not contradict the teaching of other passages or the overall teaching of Scripture. In other words, the theology of Scripture is coherent, not contradictory, so we should read each individual text in light of what we know to be the theology of all of Scripture. Historical confessions of faith, trustworthy study Bibles, and commentaries from trained theologians are helpful resources for helping us understand the overall theology of Scripture so that we may study individual passages in light of the whole.