I spend a lot of time examining the world’s three major religions, and I noticed that there’s something subtle happening in modern Christianity that most people don’t even realize. We’ve become incredibly good at hearing the Bible, and incredibly dependent on someone else to explain it.
Sermons. Podcasts. Devotionals. Social media clips. We consume more Scripture-related content than any generation before us, and yet many people feel less confident than ever opening the Bible on their own. That’s a problem.
I was thinking about this the other day through something completely unrelated…work. One job I’ve had reflected something in the way they train managers. They don’t train managers by telling us how to handle every situation. That would be impossible. Instead, they train us where to look to be able to solve our own problems. They give us systems, tools, and frameworks so that when something happens, we don’t panic, we go find the answer. Not because we were told it, but because we know how to locate it.
Somewhere along the way, Christianity drifted away from that model. Instead of teaching people how to read Scripture, we’ve often taught people to:
- Wait for someone to interpret it
- Accept conclusions without understanding context
- Rely on voices instead of developing their own discernment
And slowly, without realizing it, we stopped reading the Bible. We started being spoon-fed it.
It is important to state here that teaching is not the enemy. There is value in pastors, teachers, and leaders. There is wisdom in learning from others who have studied deeply. But there’s a difference between: Learning from someone and depending on someone. One builds you. The other replaces you.
The Bible was never meant to be locked behind someone else’s understanding. It wasn’t written to you, but it was written for you. And if that’s true, then you should be able to open it, read it, and begin to understand it without feeling lost every time.
So where do we start? Not with more opinions, but with better habits.
1. Context Before Conclusion
Before asking, “What does this mean to me?” Ask:
- Who is speaking?
- Who are they speaking to?
- What is happening in that moment?
Most misinterpretation doesn’t come from bad intent. It comes from skipping context.
2. Let Scripture Interpret Scripture
The Bible is not a collection of isolated quotes. It is a unified message. If one verse seems unclear, don’t force meaning into it. Find where the Bible speaks more clearly on the same idea. Truth becomes clearer when it’s not isolated.
3. Meaning Before Application
We rush to apply before we understand, but the question isn’t: “What does this mean to me?” The question is: “What did this mean when it was written?” Because you can’t correctly apply what you don’t first correctly understand, and the foundation of interpretation is that scripture can never mean what it never meant.
4. Slow Down
Most people don’t misread Scripture because they’re incapable. They misread it because they’re moving too fast. Reading a verse is quick. Understanding it… takes time.
Here’s the reality: When people stop learning how to read Scripture for themselves, they don’t become more unified. They become more dependent. And ironically, that dependency doesn’t eliminate division, it often increases it.
Because when interpretation is outsourced, it multiplies across voices instead of being anchored in understanding.
This isn’t about rejecting teaching. It’s about reclaiming responsibility. You don’t need to be a scholar. You don’t need a theology degree. You don’t need perfect understanding. You just need to be willing to open the Bible and actually engage with it.
Your teacher should be helping you learn how to read and answer basic foundational questions. Your teacher should not merely give you information to parrot with no understanding of why, or any method to validate the message on your own.
Because at some point, your faith can’t be built on: what someone else said it means. It has to be built on: what you’ve taken the time to understand.
Stop being spoon-fed Scripture. Learn how to read it. Find it for yourself.
If this challenged the way you’ve been approaching Scripture, you’re not alone.
That shift from dependence to understanding is exactly what Finding Your Transformative Life is built around.
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Troy P Zehnder 