When attempting to interpret a passage or verse, always view it literally before coming to some other conclusion.

The literal interpretation is what we apply to life in general. If someone says, 'It's going to rain heavily on Thursday' then we don't take that to mean 'I am going to go through a difficult time at the end of the week.' But this is exactly what liberals do in regards to Bible translation. Because they are not interpreting the Bible literally, they reach a different conclusion to those that do.

For example, the issue of personal and accountable sin is not interpreted in the way that evangelicals do. Rather than something that totally separates us from God and has serious consequences, which only Christ can remove through personal confession, it becomes just a handicap, which is explained by the persons background or upbringing. And as all go to heaven anyway when they do their best (which is very subjective) it isn't really a problem at all. So instead of being a central issue, sin becomes nothing more than a periphery player.

To complicate things slightly though, obviously some will then require a different slant of interpretation i.e. Galatians 5: 15, 'If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.' It is quite clear that Paul was not speaking literally on the issue of the biting and devouring, although of course what he implies by the situation is literal. There was a problem between believer,s and if it wasn't dealt with then it would cause major problems in the Church.

When we decide to interpret a passage in a way other than at literal face-value (as above) we need to ask questions before we do so. First of all, am I interpreting it in this way because it doesn't fit in with my own theological beliefs? When we read the Bible, we do so with an open mind, not with a pre-conceived belief system that moulds the words to our own way of thinking. If we do that, then we are no different to the liberals.

For example, the individual may have strong convictions on the loving nature of God. When they read passages such as when the Israelites took the city of Jericho, and God commanded that everything must be put to the sword (Joshua 6: 21), instead of reading this in a literal sense it is spiritualised. It now speaks to us that we need to deal severely with anything in our lives that hinders our relationship with God. Whilst this may be true, it is not the original intention of the passage.

Secondly, by interpreting the passage in a non-literal way are we really trying to avoid its implications in our lives? The Bible is not a buffet that we pick and choose from! For example for obvious natural reasons the individual may not want to tithe. Therefore, passages that speak of tithing are interpreted in a way that excludes then from that responsibility. It may be that we are now in the age of grace so it is no longer applicable. Or perhaps that it wasn't a literal case of physically bringing 10% of one's income into the house of God. But either way, we decide that it is not for us today.