Matthew 15 is a very insightful record for anyone who loves Truth. Jesus Christ was being questioned by the religious leaders of his day: “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?” His response turned the tables: “Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

Then Jesus did what he so often did, he quoted Scripture. In this case he cited the prophet Isaiah speaking for God: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

I’m confident that none of us would ever want that rebuttal applied to our lives. And yet, whenever someone exalts the traditional teaching of a man-made doctrine above what Scripture actually teaches, they are putting themselves in the same sincere but erroneous position as those religious leaders in Matthew 15.

So how do we make sure we don’t fall into that same trap of sincerity, of paying lip service to God while teaching doctrines of men? The following is a partial list of simple linguistic principles that will allow Scripture to speak for itself:

Know that Scripture is NOT to be viewed through “one’s own” personal interpretation. 2 Peter 1:20 sets that as a top priority: “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” Truth seekers need only to read what is written without reading into what is written.

Let Scripture interpret itself in the TEXT of each verse. We begin with the meaning of the individual words according to their biblical usage. Then we simply let those words speak, without adding, deleting or changing words (like Eve did in Genesis 3).

Allow the TEXT of each verse to speak for itself in the CONTEXT of that verse. That includes the immediate and remote context, as well as the historical and cultural context. For instance, 2 verses after 2 Peter 1:20, it speaks of false prophets and false teachers. Some who bring their own traditional denominational interpretation to the pulpit could be in danger of such titles.

Let Scripture speak for itself in harmony with all RELATED VERSES on the topic. Without honestly examining related verses, the door is open to confirmation bias. Cherry-picking verses that agree with one’s own pre-conceived belief while dismissing related verses is a clear path to false doctrine.

The application of any verse is to be in light of TO WHOM it is written. Scripture that is written directly TO us as born-again children of God is to be preeminent. Scripture not written TO us is to be viewed as FOR OUR LEARNING (Romans 15:4), and its application has to be in harmony with the sections of Scripture that are written TO us. A quick example: Do we adhere to Old Testament dietary laws? Why not? Simple — it’s not written TO us.

Words that are not literally true-to-fact are to be understood as FIGURES OF SPEECH. Whether something is stated as a literal truth or as a figurative truth, all of God’s Word is truth.

Any apparent contradiction must be due to either an error in TRANSLATION, or an error in our UNDERSTANDING. All Scripture is God-breathed, given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). As such, there are no contradictions in the original God-breathed Word. As Jesus Christ confirmed, “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Wherever there appears to be a contradiction, we need to search for a possible translational error first. If no translational error is found, then our understanding should be re-shaped by allowing any seemingly incompatible verse to be understood in light of any and all clear and unambiguous passages on the subject.

In each “Bible Truth or Tradition” article, I endeavor to adhere to this simple set of first principles listed above. I believe anyone who wants to come to a knowledge of “the Truth” will benefit by doing the same. If you know a better way, I would love to hear about it. In coming articles we’ll take a closer look at certain TRADITIONAL doctrines and practices that have to be examined in light of Scripture and allow Scripture to speak for itself with no contradictions.