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Otro enemigo de la interpretación es el relativismo

May 19, 2026 By Peter Krol

This is a Spanish translation of a post from our archive. For the original post in English, please click the “Publicación original” link at the top of the post. For further explanation of why we’re posting articles in Spanish for a season, see this announcement.

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Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler

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Ayer escribí, “la observación descuidada causa directamente una interpretación incorrecta.” Alguien se preguntaría si hay tal cosa como la “interpretación incorrecta”.

SÍ, hay.

En Lucas 7:18-19, Juan el Bautista quería asegurarse de que tenía la interpretación correcta.

En Marcos 12:24-27, Jesús culpó a los saduceos por tener la interpretación incorrecta.

El apóstol Pedro nos dice que la ignorancia o la inestabilidad pueden causar que alguien tergiverse o malinterprete la Biblia. Esta práctica tiene consecuencias funestas (2 Pedro 3:15-16).

He escuchado que algunas personas dicen que la Biblia “significa lo que quieres que signifique.”

Aunque aprecio el deseo de relevancia, ¿podría sugerir que el relativismo extremo, de hecho, es contraproducente? Si la comunicación pudiera significar cualquier cosa que desee el receptor, no existiría la comunicación significativa. El orador o escritor tiene la intención de transmitir un significado específico. Podemos estar de acuerdo o no, pero no podemos ignorar que existe una intención original.

O sea, cuando alguien dice que algo significa lo que quieres que signifique, una respuesta provechosa y respetuosa podría ser: “¿De verdad lo dices en serio?”

De todas formas, trabajemos duro para descubrir lo que significa.

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Quoting Scripture Contrary to Its Purpose is Devilish

May 18, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

*Temptation of Christ* (1663), Philips Augustijn Immenraet, public domain

Have you ever tried to hammer a nail with a hand saw? When was the last time you flipped a pancake with a whisk?

Using tools or utensils for unintended purposes just doesn’t work.

Context Matters

When it comes to the Bible, proper usage is even more important, because we are dealing with God’s word.

We have devoted many articles on this blog to the importance of context in the Bible. We have called attention to numerous examples of the proper use of Scripture, respecting the location of phrases and verses within paragraphs, chapters, and books.

But we can learn through both positive and negative examples. So today, we’ll look at a Bible quotation used out of context. And we won’t just look at any example, we’ll look in the Bible itself at an example of the misuse of Scripture.

The Temptation of Jesus

After Jesus is baptized, he is led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). Jesus rebuffs Satan’s three-part temptation by quoting the Bible at each turn. (This narrative is found in both Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–13. I’ll use Matthew’s version.)

This section of Scripture is often used to illustrate the value of knowing the Bible. Memorizing God’s word is a mighty tool in resisting temptation. This is all very good.

But in one of Satan’s temptations, he quotes the Bible, and that is worth exploring.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”(Matthew 4:5–6)

The devil cites Psalm 91:11–12 and, taken as quoted, the verses are compelling. God seems to promise protection in angelic form, without a qualification in sight. If we stick to Satan’s words, his case is persuasive.

Exploring Psalm 91

Jesus’s reply to the devil is simple, coming straight from Deuteronomy 6:16.

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7)

How exactly is what Satan offers a test of God?

Instead of a blanket promise of safety, Psalm 91 is about God’s protection for those who seek their shelter in him. This thread runs throughout the psalm.

It is he who “dwells in the shelter of the Most High” that will “abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).
The psalmist replies to this promise by calling God “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2).
The psalmist says that “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place,” “no evil shall be allowed to befall you” (Psalm 91:9–10, emphasis mine).
God says, “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name” (Psalm 91:14).
Finally, this “holding fast” to God takes a specific form: “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him” (Psalm 91:15).

Psalm 91 does not offer a safety net to rescue everyone from the consequences of reckless behavior. Rather, God promises his protection to those who make him their dwelling place. To those who call to him. To those who hold fast to him in love.

Consider the Text

In the title of this article, I claim that the quoting of Scripture contrary to its purpose is devilish. I mean, very simply, that this is a tactic of the devil.

Not everyone who quotes Scripture in this way is evil or is possessed by a demon. But we should be sobered as we observe this strategy. The Bible can be used as a tool to accomplish evil purposes. The words of God are not a magical incantation of righteousness.

This understanding should affect the way we listen to sermons, digest proof texts, and read theological arguments. Let’s give ourselves to a careful study of the Bible, that we might recognize and avoid this devilish error.

This was originally posted in 2020.

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The Savior, the Sluggard, and the Sower of Discord

May 15, 2026 By Peter Krol

In recent years, I’ve learned that much of parenting involves helping the children learn not to do dumb stuff that hurts themselves and others. One child destroys every tower and confiscates every treasure, then wonders why no other children want to play together. Another child leaps from couch to coffee table and back again, wondering how far the gap can widen before something bad happens. Yet another finds a bag of sweets, devours the entirety in secret, and moans over the ensuing tummy ache.

One glorious incident involved our basement’s air hockey table. One child—who was typically more curious than a PhD candidate—wraps the table’s electrical cord around the rear axle of a big wheel. This child then mounts the vehicle, hits the gas, and begins taking measurements. I’m not sure which hypothesis was being tested, but the experiment resulted in our household inventory becoming minus one air hockey table. And that child went on basement probation for a few weeks.

I scratch my head at these kids until I realize I’m no different. I do dumb things and act surprised when they don’t turn out well. I’ve already written of the time I photocopied my hindquarters at summer camp. With a broken machine, a gash on my thigh, and a humiliating confession behind me, a camp legend was born. Even today, I stay up too late at night and wonder why I’m too tired to carry out important tasks the next day. I belittle my wife in public and get upset when she’s not affectionate with me in private.

Solomon wrote Proverbs 6 to help fools like us: those in danger of harming themselves and ruining the people they love.

Now most people read Proverbs for its practical advice. They crave cuts of beefy counsel to sink their teeth into. They want help with their finances or career path or relationships, but by the end of Proverbs 5, these spiritual carnivores feel like the steakhouse is always under construction and never open for business. So in Proverbs 6, Solomon finally serves up dense shanks for thoughtful chewing.

Proverbs 6:1-19 digresses from the big-picture framework of wisdom to portray three specific kinds of fool. The “Savior” tries to rescue needy people himself rather than pointing them to Jesus (Prov 6:1-5). The “Sluggard” makes a series of lazy choices that take him farther and farther from the Lord (Prov 6:6-11). The “Sower of Discord” breaks up the body of Christ, risking God’s condemnation, which could be atoned for by the broken body of Christ (Prov 6:12-19).

This section is unique in Prov 1-9 in that it doesn’t contain a command to listen. Did Solomon omit the command because his audience should have internalized it by now? He’s given enough theory; now he gets painfully specific. And the assumed question hangs in the background: Will you listen to instruction, even if it hurts to do so?

Question: Which of the three fools can you relate with?

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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How to Derail a Bible Study

May 13, 2026 By Peter Krol

Bobby Miller III recognizes four easy ways to derail a small group Bible study. Maybe you’ll recognize one or more of them. I sure do.

Sideline the Bible to talk about other sources.
Focus on personal issues rather than Bible interpretation.
Look for ways others should change rather than applying the text to ourselves.
Over-comfort and adopt a fix-it attitude rather than trusting God’s Spirit to bring change.

Here’s a taste of his advice on the first danger:

If you want to use other Christian material, do so wisely by having your group read the Scripture passages the sources are based on as well. Don’t assume every group member is already familiar enough with the Bible passage you’re studying. Instead, take the time to revisit each section in its context. You may be surprised by how much you discover.

This is good, practical counsel. Check it out!

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El peor enemigo de la interpretación es la observación

May 12, 2026 By Peter Krol

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Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler

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La interpretación ocurre cuando descubrimos por qué un pasaje dice lo que dice. No logramos interpretar bien cuando nos falta entender por qué un pasaje dice lo que dice.

El obstáculo principal para la interpretación excelente es la observación.

Por supuesto, no creo que la observación sea una mala cosa. Ya he escrito sobre cómo debemos valorar la observación cuidadosa. La observación descuidada causa directamente una interpretación incorrecta.

Sin embargo, al estudiar la Biblia, no puedes quedarte en la fase de observación. Es fácil creer que has estudiado la Biblia cuando, en realidad, solo la observas.

Por ejemplo, mucha gente usa Romanos 1:18-32 para mostrar que la humanidad es pecadora. ¡Una observación excelente! Pero, ¿por qué Pablo hace todo lo posible para demostrar cuán pecadora es la humanidad? Quizás es porque quiere armar un caso contra el lector de forma lenta e imperceptible. “Por tanto, no tienes excusa tú, quienquiera que seas, cuando juzgas a los demás” (Romanos 2:1, NVI).

Encontramos otro ejemplo en Filipenses 4:4-9. Este pasaje está lleno de dichos lindos que los cristianos citan con frecuencia. Nos encanta “alegrémonos siempre en el Señor” (Filipenses 4:4, NVI). Nos consuela presentar nuestras peticiones a Dios, con oración y ruego (Filipenses 4:6).

Esas son buenas observaciones. Pero, ¿por qué están aquí estos versículos? La iglesia de Filipos estaba pasando por una ruptura grave entre dos mujeres prominentes (Filipenses 4:2-3). Por esta razón, Pablo envió instrucciones a uno de sus compañeros en la iglesia para resolver el conflicto. Lee Filipenses 4:4-9 con esta perspectiva, y el pasaje cobra vida.

Las narraciones del Antiguo Testamento nos dan un último grupo de ejemplos. Al observar estos relatos, es posible que nos demos cuenta de todo tipo de personajes para imitar o evitar, pero todavía nos falta seguir con la interpretación. Ver a estos personajes como ejemplos no está mal (mira 1 Corintios 10:11), pero es demasiado fácil quedarse solo en la observación. ¿Por qué están allí estos relatos? Para mostrarnos a Jesús, por supuesto (Juan 1:45, Lucas 24:44-47). Lo importante, cada vez, es descubrir cómo.

Recuerda que no debes permitir que la familiaridad estorbe tu observación. Y no permitas que la observación estorbe tu interpretación.

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What Changed When I Taught My Small Group Leaders to Slow Down

May 8, 2026 By Peter Krol

This is a guest post by Ephraim Schoephoerster. Ephraim serves as a Life Groups and Discipleship Coordinator at Rise Church in Abilene, Texas, and is the founder of Enneagram Ephraim, where he coaches lead pastors of small-to-mid-sized churches through team dynamics. He has been published with ACU Mosaic, Small Church Ministries, XP Pastors, and TheLife.com (Power to Change).

If you’d like to write a guest post for Knowable Word, please see the guidelines page.

I coordinate life groups at our church in Abilene, Texas. I recruit the leaders, train them, check in with them, and walk with them when things get hard. I have done some version of this work for over a decade, first in youth ministry and now with adults. And there is one pattern I see more than any other.

The leaders I work with love the Bible. They believe it is the Word of God. They want their groups to grow. But when they sit down on a Tuesday night and open a passage together, most of them do the same thing. They read the text, and then they skip straight to what it means.

Somebody shares an interpretation. Somebody else shares how it applies to their week. The leader nods and asks a follow-up question. And within five minutes the group is having a conversation that sounds spiritual but has almost nothing to do with what the passage actually says.

a group of people sitting in a room — Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

They are not lazy. They are not apathetic. They just do not know there is another step. Nobody has ever taught them to observe the text before they try to interpret it.

I did not know this either for a long time. I spent years leading Bible studies where I thought the goal was to get people talking. If the room was engaged, the study was working. But I started to notice that my groups could have lively discussions about a passage and still walk away with conclusions the text did not support. We were building application on top of assumptions. And I was the one letting it happen.

The turning point for me was learning to slow down. Before I asked my group what a passage meant, I started asking what they noticed. What words stood out? What was repeated? Who was speaking? What came before this and what came after? Simple questions. Not deep. Not clever. Just slow.

And it changed everything.

Last month we were in John 4. Instead of jumping straight to what Jesus was teaching the woman at the well, I asked the group to tell me what they noticed. Someone pointed out that Jesus asked her for water even though he was the one who had something to give. Someone else noticed the woman kept changing the subject. A third person saw that the disciples were surprised he was talking to her at all. We spent fifteen minutes just observing, and by the time we moved to interpretation, the passage had already done most of the work for us.

People who had been in church for thirty years started saying things like, “I never noticed that before.” Leaders who used to panic about filling silence realized the text had more to say than they thought. The conversations got deeper, not because I asked better discussion questions, but because we finally let the passage set the agenda.

Now when I train new life group leaders, observation is where I start. I tell them that the most important thing they can do for their group is not to have all the answers. It is to help people see what is on the page. If your group can learn to read carefully before they respond quickly, you have given them something that will shape them long after your group semester ends.

This is not a technique. It is a posture. It says to the text, “I am going to look at you before I decide what you are telling me.” And it says to the group, “We are here to listen to God’s Word together, not to pool our opinions about it.”

Most of the small group leaders in your church have never been trained to do this. They were handed a curriculum and told to facilitate. That is not their fault. But it is an opportunity. Because when you teach a leader to observe the text, you do not just improve one Bible study. You change the way an entire room reads the Bible for the rest of their lives.

That is what I get to watch happen in living rooms and coffee shops and church classrooms every week. And it never gets old.

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It’s Not Too Late to Seek the Lord

May 6, 2026 By Peter Krol

According to Joel 1, the day of disaster may already be upon you, picturing the day of the Lord to come. May this drive you to a day of prayer and repentance in hope of finding mercy instead of judgment.

Paul House walks through the argument of Joel 1, modeling how to trace themes, follow the train of thought, and make concrete and specific applications.

How should we think about such events [natural disasters]? Should we simply consider them a bit of bad luck? Should we think they punish bad people? Should we think God is not in control of such events? Should we just put such terrible events out of our minds? How can we think Biblically about what seem to be freakish acts of nature? I do not have all the answers to these questions.

House’s sample Bible study is well worth your time. Check it out!

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¿Por qué interpretamos?

May 5, 2026 By Peter Krol

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Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler

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El segundo paso en el proceso de estudiar la Biblia es la interpretación. Si preguntas “¿por qué debemos interpretar?”, ya estás demostrando la necesidad de la interpretación.

¿Lo entiendes? La interpretación es básicamente preguntarte POR QUÉ.

En la fase de observación, abordamos qué dice un pasaje. En la fase de interpretación, abordamos por qué un pasaje dice algo.

Mi hija de dos años acaba de entrar en la fase interpretativa de la vida. ¡Es un hito significativo! Recuerdo cuando esto pasó. Llegamos a casa desde la iglesia y mi esposa les dijo a nuestros hijos que bajaran del carro y entraran a la casa. Charlotte inmediatamente preguntó: “¿por qué?”

Estoy bastante seguro de que ella no sabe qué significa “por qué”. Simplemente escuchó a sus hermanos mayores decirlo tantas veces que pensó que ella también debía hacerlo.

Dios nos creó para interpretar. La comunicación siempre va más allá del qué hacia el por qué. Una mirada de reojo parece indicar un interés romántico. Un gruñido se interpreta como desagrado. La falta de contacto visual parece indicar incertidumbre. Tal análisis es cosa de fiestas de pijamas y telenovelas. Pasamos constantemente de la Observación a la Interpretación.

Debemos hacer esto en nuestros estudios bíblicos también. No pares con la Observación. Sigue adelante para asegurarte de que entiendas el Por qué. Es la clave de la Interpretación.

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Keep the Whole Book in Mind

May 4, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

Luke 20 begins with a confrontation.

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” (Luke 20:1–4)

Before digging into this passage, whenever I heard this chapter I thought Jesus was simply countering a question with a question. The chief priests and scribes were trying to serve him a trap, so he volleyed back a puzzle. I didn’t see much connection.

I should have known better.

Authority and Baptism

Since John baptized Jesus, when Jesus referred to John’s baptism he was not pointing toward something abstract. For Jesus, this could not have been more personal and meaningful. Jesus’s ministry began with his baptism.

For Luke, the surrounding context of Jesus’s baptism (Luke 3:21–22) was all about authority. John spent time answering questions from tax collectors and soldiers, two groups of people in authority (Luke 3:12–14). This led to questions about whether John was the Christ, but he pointed to one who was coming who would have so much authority that he could baptize with the Holy Spirit and serve as judge (Luke 3:15–17).

John was then thrown into prison for opposing Herod’s evil ways (Luke 3:18–20). Without an eye toward the topic of authority, this might seem a strange section of the passage. But when we know the theme, we see Herod’s obvious abuse of authority.

Finally, we read of Jesus’s baptism. Luke doesn’t explicitly tell us that John baptized Jesus, but this is a reasonable deduction (see Luke 3:7 and Luke 3:21), confirmed in other Gospels.

The Baptism of God’s Son

When Jesus was praying immediately after his baptism, a special guest arrived.

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21–22)

We usually read this voice as divine words of comfort and affirmation; they were this and much more. The title “son of God” was a kingly title, stretching back to the Old Testament and finding its clearest illustration in 2 Samuel 7:8–17. From that point forward, Davidic kings were “sons of God.” The one with ultimate earthly authority toward God’s people was the son of God.

Luke proceeds from the baptism of Jesus to the genealogy of Jesus. Unlike modern Christians, Luke’s first readers would not have nodded off at a list of “begats.” Especially not this list.

The genealogy begins with Jesus and ends with God, with lots of sons in between. Luke is repeating his point in case we didn’t hear it the first time: Jesus is the son of God.

The Confrontation Fizzles

The chief priests, scribes, and elders thought that Jesus’s question in Luke 20 was about John. But Jesus’s question answered theirs. Who gave Jesus the authority to do what he did?

God did. In John’s baptism of Jesus, God declared Jesus to be his son, and Luke wants us to see there is no higher authority.

Context Matters

We write a lot on this blog about how context matters. But we aren’t only concerned with the sentences and paragraphs surrounding your favorite verse.

This example from Luke 20 shows the importance of at least three different Scriptural contexts. The location of the question in Luke 20 and the baptism in Luke 3 reminds us that the immediate context matters. The reference from Luke 20 to Luke 3 reminds us to keep the whole book in mind—the context within the book matters. And the references to the phrase “son of God” remind us that the whole Bible is connected. Old Testament context informs New Testament usage.

This is not just an argument for careful Bible study and for regularly re-reading the book of the Bible you are studying. It’s also a reminder that the whole Bible matters when we interpret the whole Bible.

This was first published in 2019.

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The Illusion of Freedom

May 1, 2026 By Peter Krol

The first section of Proverbs 5 (Prov 5:1-6) highlighted the deceptiveness of appearances. Not all is as it seems, and sexual immorality covers itself under the illusion of freedom. In this closing section, we see that deviation from God’s standards—what the culture calls “sexual freedom”—is not really free.

For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord,
And he ponders all his paths.
The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
And he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
He dies for lack of discipline,
And because of his great folly he is led astray (Prov 5:21-23).

Pursuing immorality is like snapping the handcuffs, donning the straitjacket, locking the cage, or triggering the land mine. You thought to hunt a foxy partner, but the real hunters will “cry ‘havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war.”[1] You are the prey, fit only to become a fur scarf or set of mounted antlers.

Notice first that God sees everything (Prov 5:21). Nothing we do is really in secret, though we reason with ourselves that it is so. To be free from the prying eyes of men is still to be under the fiery, knowing gaze of the Almighty. The First Catechism, a children’s version of Christian theology, summarizes:

Can you see God?
No. I cannot see God, but he always sees me.
Does God know all things?
Yes. Nothing can be hidden from God.[2]

Do these lines inspire you with hope or terrify you with despair, when you consider your sexual life of the past week or month?

Notice second that sin is ensnaring (Prov 5:22). We think that a little sin will produce a little happiness; otherwise, we wouldn’t do it! We must realize instead that every time we sin, we take up the yoke and subjugate ourselves to a harsh master. We choose slavery, not freedom. We more closely resemble unwelcome critters, to be caught and disposed of, than carefree gazelles, frolicking through glade and meadow.

Notice finally that, for the wicked, freedom is elusive (Prov 5:23). The sinner would rather die than become disciplined. The immoral person is full of “great folly” that leads him astray. He missed his turn and will never reach his destination. Life and freedom elude him; they’re always just out of reach.

Those final words (“led astray”) are significant because, in the Hebrew text, they represent the same vocabulary as was used in Prov 5:19 and Prov 5:20. Solomon commanded his reader to be “intoxicated” by the love of his spouse, and not by the forbidden woman. “Intoxicated” could also have been translated as “swerving astray” or “reeling” to show the repetition. The translators of the NET Bible[3] explain it this way in a note: “If the young man is not captivated by his wife but is captivated with a stranger in sinful acts, then his own iniquities will captivate him, and he will be led to ruin.”

The message is clear: sexual “freedom” is an illusion. Fools set their own traps and surprise themselves by springing them. The simple claim insufficient knowledge or education, and their traps are no less painful. Even those who ought to be wise struggle in the chains of self-love, self-focus, self-pity, and self-centered fear or insecurity.

Is there hope we’ll ever find the way of life and enjoy God’s delightful wisdom?

Appearances are truly deceptive. How could the son of a carpenter be, as the Nicene Creed states, “very God of very God?” How could one born in obscurity and killed in infamy provide God’s righteousness to any who want it?

Immorality has real consequences, and the pure and righteous one suffered so we immoral ones might be washed clean.

Marriage has phenomenal delights, and the Great Bridegroom chose to die and not demand his rights as Husband. In so doing, he didn’t coerce his Bride, but won her allegiance for the long haul.

Sexual freedom is truly an illusion. Jesus submitted to the cross and the grave so we could be free of both forever; he proved it by his glorious resurrection. Now we get to image him to the world. Find your freedom in self-denial. Obtain life through your death. Secure satisfaction by serving and satisfying others, especially your spouse.

The wise person sees the culture’s illusions, blasts them with Bible dynamite, and wins others to radically selfless, Christ-like joy, far more exciting than either religious prudishness or enslaving immorality.

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

[1] Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, III.1.273.

[2] Suwanee, GA: Great Commission Publications, Inc., 2003, Questions 11 & 12.

[3] Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C, 1996-2005.

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