But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Pet. 1:20-21).
Biblical interpretation has been grossly abused. To "interpret" is "get the meaning out of" something––"unpack it," if you will.
Absolutely crucial to the whole process is getting the meaning or thought from the text that the Author put there. When we take the liberty of injecting our own thoughts/meanings/definitions into the text, error will be the result.
Peter reminds us that even the men inspired to write Scripture DIDN'T put their own thoughts into the text––the words themselves were from the Holy Spirit!
I may err in my efforts to understand God's Word––the same as anyone else––but we can be certain no one has found the Truth about anything UNTIL we discover and accept what God said about it.
If God's Word is the final word (and it is), and it should be understood by all in the same way (and it can), then God's Word is Truth to you and me alike. It says the same thing to you that it says to me (2 Tim. 3:16; Eph. 3:4).
All that's left for us to do is, well, DO! "Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (Jas. 1:22). No man has the right to be a judge of the Law of Christ (Jas. 4:11-12). The Truth is not what I want it to be, it is what it is. Either I submit to it, or I live and believe a lie.
When folks say, "If you believe something is true, then it is true to you, but it's not necessarily true to me," they have elevated PEOPLE above the final, objective, exclusively authoritative Word of God.
If I have good, biblical reasons to believe you are in error, then honesty and love for your soul should compel me to point this out for your own good.
I'd be glad to know that you have the same concern for my eternal welfare, and want to help me understand God's way more perfectly (Acts 18:26).
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