There are basically two different approaches to reading the Bible: the verseology approach and the Christology approach. The verseology approach occurs when someone doesn’t take into consideration the context of the passage they are reading in the Bible, but applies it directly to his life and situation. The Christology approach is much different. It involves not only considering the contextual setting, but also factoring in the finished work of Christ when interpreting Scripture. Let’s look at a familiar passage in 2 Tim 2:15 that bears this out. It says: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Let’s look at the broader context of the verse, because it provides the understanding of what Paul is saying here. The previous verse, v.14, says: “Remind them of these things (the gospel of Jesus), charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.” In other words, stick to the gospel message of Jesus, and don’t become distracted by other ‘gospel’ messages. Then v.16 says: “But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.” We see then, from v.15, we are to be diligent to know the word of truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not to veer off by other messages, because those messages are words to no profit, and will increase to more ungodliness. A little later he explains how we’re to accurately divide the word of truth in 3:16: “All Scripture (* is *) given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. I’m going to take out the first “IS”, because it shouldn’t be there. It should read: “All Scripture given by inspiration of God…is profitable…” It’s from “God’s inspiration”, that we rightly divide the word of truth. This is Christology, the inspiration of Jesus. The Christology approach is allowing the indwelling Spirit to blow upon the eyes of our heart, giving us enlightenment in the knowledge of Jesus and everything He accomplished for us in His finished work, as Paul talked about elsewhere, Eph 1:17-19.

Let me show you how important it is to have the correct approach, not only when reading the Bible, but how our approach reflects in our present lives. These two approaches describe our overall attitude toward spiritual things, and reflect in the way we think, believe, and act. For the way we perceive spiritual things influences the way we interpret worldly events (This is the reason why so many blame God or the devil for the things that happen to them.) Let me explain these approaches a little more.

The verseology approach:

Verseology is like getting a letter that was addressed to your neighbor, but placed in your mailbox. You read it, and try to make it fit your life and situations. People with a verseology approach tend to have these characteristics:

* He thinks of the Bible as a ‘Rule Book’ that he is to follow. 

People are always running after rules. They think that God will bless them, or give them more attention, if they keep and obey what’s in the Bible. Or, that He will curse them, and give them less attention, if they don't follow the Bible. They also think that Biblical rules will keep them from sinning, but it never works out that way. This kind of teaching has been drilled into our psyches by leadership. Most think of the Bible as a Guidebook for living a good life. People teach the rules of the Bible like a recipe book to cook a great meal, or an instruction manual to put together a bicycle. 

* He thinks that his obedience to God is doing things for Him. 

The verseology approach has misconstrued New Covenant obedience, making it similar to Old Covenant obedience. In Luke 10:38-42, we read the story of when Jesus came to the house where Lazarus, Mary and Martha lived. Most think of their obedience to God is to be like Martha, when it is really to be like Mary. Our New Covenant obedience causes us to sit at the feet of Jesus, listening intently to His every word; not doing stuff for Jesus. This mindset makes us like Martha, for sure—busy and troubled about many things. 

* Still thinking that God is condemning him. 

Condemnation is that deep feeling that causes us to think we’ve come up short of what God requires. This always takes place in the mind of one who has the verseology approach. This condemnation gives birth to guilt and shame. For those with the verseology approach, he knows that there are thousands of requirements from the Bible, and that he could never do enough to obey them all.

* He believes that the sin he did is bigger than Jesus and what He did. 

Although he might not say this explicitly, his fixation on sin clearly reflects this mindset. It’s the old approach of Psa 119:11: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” One who thinks he can ‘hide’ enough verses in his heart that he won’t yield to sin, will keep sinning. Because his fixation on sin gives it strength. He ought to be fixated on what God has already done for him through Christ, providing him complete forgiveness of sins and a new, righteous life. It’s like the basketball player who’s fixated on not fouling, instead of playing the game; wondering why he keeps fouling out of the game. This old approach causes one to rely on self-effort, instead of God’s grace.

* He esteems ‘the word’ rather than Jesus. 

Without realizing it, he looks to the word, the Bible, instead of looking to Jesus, for his answers and deliverance. This is the old approach that Job had: “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food”. It’s a mindset that leads us to question when things go wrong, “Lord, am I prizing Your word enough, because it’s not working like it should?” Please don’t misunderstand me. I would never discredit the Bible. As you can tell, I use it a lot in my writings. In the New Testament, no one used Bible quotes more than the apostle Paul. However, we mustn’t look to the Scriptures more than Jesus and what He accomplished for us in His finished work. 

The Christology approach:

The Christology approach rightly divides the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). He has learned to rely on the Spirit and see the glory of Jesus in everything (He has learned to tap into his inner treasure, 2 Cor 3:18 and 4:6-7). People with this new approach can’t seem to read enough of the Bible. It’s as if they have an eternal stirring, a fire, burning within them, driving them to know more about Jesus, and what He’s accomplished for us! People with a Christology approach have these great characteristics:

* He gets the true meaning of grace and how important it is to live by. 

He understands that grace is not a movement or doctrine, but it embodies in the person of Jesus Christ, and encapsulates what He accomplished for us through His finished work. He knows that grace is God’s inward help and strength in his time of need. See, only the Spirit, the Spirit of grace, can reveal the truth about grace and its power, as the Lord said to Paul in 2 Cor 12:9. Many of God’s children are actually clueless when it comes to understanding the message of grace, and call preachers of grace, “Heretics”. You hear everything from, “You’ve got to balance grace with obedience,” to, “Having too much grace is dangerous.” However, the fact remains: the Lord meant what He told—His grace is sufficient! They understand that when someone truly grasps that grace is God’s strength and help, he’ll fully rely on it. 

* He understands the true meaning of obeying God.

He understands that obeying God is found in resting in the finished work of Christ. Paul said in Rom 5:19: “For as by one man’s (Adam) disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s (Jesus) obedience many will be made righteous.” This passage has been burned into his psyche by the Spirit. He understands that someone’s spiritual identity isn’t based on the way he behaves, but it’s based on what he believes. Identity comes by birth—both physically and spiritually. When one is born into this world, he’s physically identified with his parents, but spiritually identified with Adam’s disobedience; thus, on the outside, he might be a Smith, but inwardly, he’s a sinner. When he receives Christ, he’s spiritually reborn, and identified with Jesus’ obedience; thus, made righteous. He is still a Smith on the outside, but a righteous child of God on the inside. That said, he knows that his true obedience to God is not found in trying to improve what God has done, but in resting in what Jesus accomplished for us by His obedience. Again, we’re not running around, trying to improve ourselves by our obedience to keep Biblical rules. We are content with what Jesus has accomplished, and who we are in Him.

* He stands firm in his freedom in Christ. 

Standing firm in his liberty is an effortless result of God’s grace working in his life. By the Spirit, Gal 5:1 became a living reality in his psyche: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” He knows how free grace has made him in Christ. He clearly sees how the death and resurrection of Jesus have impacted his life, in forgiving his sins, and giving him a new, resurrected life! His old self has died, and a new self was raised to a new life! By standing firm in this, he’ll never be entangled again with the yoke of law-keeping. He knows that it’s by grace he stands (Rom 5:2). When he reads the Bible, everything is filtered by this newfound freedom established in his heart, and he can’t seem to get enough of the word of truth from it (Heb 13:9 and 2 Tim 2:15—which leads me to my next point.)

* Because he esteems Christ, he loves ‘the word’ and can’t get enough of it. 

In contrast to his past, where he was bogged down in religious traditions and overemphasized the Bible, he now highly esteems Christ, which has given him an unquenchable desire for the Bible. His attitude used to be what we read in Psa 119:14: “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.” But now, his desire is like the apostle Paul’s in Phil 3:8: “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ”. The excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord comes from the Spirit, as He reveals Jesus to him. No longer does he emphasize verses from all over the Bible to back up what he believes to be true—verseology (or, “Navesology”, like the Nave’s topical Bible)—but he esteems Christ in everything he reads from the Bible—Christology. His emphasis is not merely on what the word says about a subject, but what the Spirit reveals to him about it in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6). 

These are the primary differences between verseology and Christology. God never preserved the Bible for us to follow it like they did under the Old Covenant, but for it to confirm what He has already done for us through Christ, and point out what His grace can perform in us as we believe.