Bible Truths Illustrated by J. C. Ferdinand Pittman

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BIBLE TRUTHS ILLUSTRATED
their true position, is in the Word rendered "dividing." Unless
this is done, the reader or expounder becomes hopelessly confused.
A few points will be sufficient to illustrate this. 1. It is
of the first importance to get to know whether any given Scripture
belongs to the covenant which God made with the Jews, or
to us who live in the gospel age. 2. It is also important that we
distinguish between those Scriptures which apply to God's faithful
people and those that apply to the world. 3. It is also of
great advantage to know whether any given Scripture was meant
for particular persons, in special circumstances, or whether it
is of general application. 4. We cannot be too careful in getting
to know the special and particular sense of Holy Scripture. We
may take it as an axiom that every Scripture has but one sense;
that is, the author had a given meaning for every word, not a
double meaning; and it is most important to get to know that
meaning.
One of the most dangerous methods of "handling" the word of
God is that of spiritualising portions that are plainly to be understood
in their natural and obvious sense. This habit renders the
word of God so as to become hopelessly confused. It makes it
a riddle, and one man's guess is as good as another's. A safe
rule is to take the natural and obvious sense always except
where it is clear that a figurative sense is intended.
761. In reading the Scriptures, it is necessary to ask, "Who
speaks?" The Bible is the word of God, but not all of its words
are the words of God. In this book there are the words of the
devil, of false prophets, and of sinners. In it may be found the
opinions and decrees of men, as well as the counsel and command
of God. Again enquire, "To whom spoken?" Is the message
to a patriarch, a Jew, an apostle, a Christian, or a sinner? Does
it belong to you, or only to the one to whom it was specially
addressed? A third question will be helpful: "Under what dispensation?"
Does the teaching belong to the patriarchal, Jewish,
or Christian age? Just as we study the literature of the world
with reference to, and in the light of, the times in which it was
written, so must we do in our meditation on the Book of books.
The fourth question is this : "What purpose?" There is no
pointless argument or message in the teaching of the word of
God. Each writer or speaker had a definite purpose before him.
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