Bible Interpretation 101

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

We Have the Definition of Truth, Whether or Not We Choose to Honor It or Use It

It’s a sad reality, but in our modern world lots of things pretend to be true which are not true at all. So what does Scripture, (the ultimate dictionary), identify to be what truth is?

As it is written:

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (John 17:17, NASB95)

“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8, NASB95)

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19, NASB95)

“Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”” (1 Samuel 15:29, NASB95)

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands. They stand this day according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants.” (Psalm 119:89–91, NASB95)

The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.” (Lamentations 3:22, NASB95)

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth.” (Psalm 119:142, NASB95)

So how does EVERLASTING TRUTH somehow stop being truth, after Messiah died?

You are near, O LORD, And all Your commandments are truth.” (Psalm 119:151, NASB95) Notice that NOT just some of His Commandments are truth, but ALL of His Commandments ARE truth.

The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.” (Psalm 119:160, NASB95)

Messiah Himself is also the Physical Living Embodiment of Truth, (John 14:6); that’s because He honored and obeyed ALL of the Father’s Commandments, (John 15:10), so He IS the Living Embodiment of the Truth. Please take notice that Messiah DOES NOT CHANGE either, (Hebrews 13:8).

So, please notice that it specifically says that ALL of the Father’s Righteous ORDINANCES are EVERLASTING. It does NOT say that only some of them are everlasting, but that ALL of them are Everlasting (Psalm 119:160).

So, if some of Yahweh’s righteous ordinances were nailed to the cross and abolished and done away with, and made invalid, then we have a problem because this Scripture would not be true. “Houston, we have a problem.”

ISSUE: These are the verses in Scripture that define, “This is what Truth IS.” Consequently, by definition, anything that runs CONTRARY or OPPOSITE of what Almighty Father actually said, or anything that goes contrary to what He Commanded, or anything that runs contrary to what Messiah said or contrary to what Messiah  physically lived out when He was here, CANNOT be the TRUTH.

Absolute Truth Cannot Contradict Absolute Truth

We just read the biblical definitions of truth. By definition, absolute truth CANNOT CONTRADICT absolute truth and still remain true. YES, I believe and accept the fact that the New Testament is part of Scripture. At the same time, it is absolute historical fact that what we commonly call the Old Testament today was written FIRST, and Yahweh’s Word was CLEARLY declared to be the TRUTH, by the Messiah HIMSELF (John 17:17).

Since Yahweh’s Word in the Old Testament was clearly declared to be the truth, and since the Old Testament was clearly written FIRST, then if my understanding of something I read in the New Testament contradicts what is clearly written in the Old Testament, then my understanding and my interpretation of the New Testament must be WRONG or mistaken in some way.

EXAMPLE: Romans chapter 6, Isaiah 40:8, and Psalm 119:142 are ALL part of Scripture. They are all part of the word breathed out by the Holy Spirit of YAH, and given to people to write down on paper (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

IF my understanding of what I read in Romans chapter 6, contradicts Isaiah 40:8; or if my understanding of Galatians chapter 3, forces Psalm 119:142, and Psalm 119:160 to BECOME FALSE in some way, then I have somehow MISUNDERSTOOD Galatians chapter 3 somewhere, BECAUSE, Yahweh Almighty revealed Isaiah 40:8, Psalm 119:160, and Psalm 119:142 to be everlasting truth FIRST. So if my understanding of the New Testament forces anything that Yahweh Almighty first said in the Old Testament to somehow become false, then I have obviously misread and misunderstood the New Testament somewhere.

People often forget the critical principle of interpretation.

The Reliable Guarantee

When we undermine and undercut Yahweh’s Word in the First Writings, (a.k.a. the Old Testament), we also accidentally undermine and undercut the reliability of the Second Writings or the New Testament at the same time. WHY? Because ultimately, a promise is only as good as the character and the reliability of the one who issued the promises. The Commandments, the Instructions and the promises of the, “Old Testament,” and the Promises, the Commandments and the Instructions of the Second Writings or the New Testament, were ALL issued by the SAME, “God” and Creator.

There are many things within the First Writings which Yahweh Almighty specifically said, “These are an everlasting ordinance, throughout all generations.” (I.e. Leviticus 23, for just one of many examples).

IF the things which Yahweh Almighty specifically said were established to be an EVERLASTING ORDINANCE throughout ALL generations can somehow be abolished, even at the cross, then what the Father said and what He promised in the New Testament is NOT secure, and it CANNOT be relied upon either.

If the things that HE said that HE established FOREVER in the Old Testament can be done away with, then the promises of the New Testament cannot be relied upon either, because IF Yahweh broke His promises once, then any promises he made in the New Testament are not safe and secure either.

A promise is ONLY as good as the Character of the One who gave the promise in the first place. If the EVERLASTING Word, the EVERLASTING Commandments, or the EVERLASTING Promises which were given in the Old Testament were somehow done away with and abolished at the cross, then the promises which were given by the SAME Almighty Father in the New Testament, CANNOT be relied upon as secure.

When you undercut and undermine Yahweh’s ETERNAL Commandments and ETERNAL Promises in the Old Testament, you also undercut and undermine the reliability of the New Testament promises as well, because BOTH were given by the SAME Father and Creator. Think about it.

Brother R. Michel Lankford