PASTOR JAMIE COOTS DIED AFTER BEING BITTEN BY A RATTLESNAKE IN A CHURCH SERVICE.
Coots and his followers at “Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus’ Name” in Kentucky, believe that God calls them to handle venomous serpents and to drink other poisons.
Even if they are bitten, they will refuse medical treatment because they believe that their fate is in God’s hands.
Proverbs 4:1—“Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.”
Despite his father’s death, Cody Coots said he doesn’t believe snake handling is dangerous. “It’s the word of God,” he said. “We’ve always said it’s a good way to live by and a good way to die by.”
Proverbs 1:2—“I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.”
Charles Spurgeon said, “If you sincerely drink poison, it will kill you: if you sincerely cut your throat, you will die. If you sincerely believe a lie, you will suffer the consequences. You must not only be sincere, but you must be right.”
Proverbs 4:5—“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them.”
Not only must we read the Bible regularly to hear from God, but we must read it rightly.
GotQuestions.org helps us understand how to interpret the Bible: Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible. Second Timothy 2:15 commands believers to be involved in hermeneutics: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who . . . correctly handles the word of truth.” The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to help us to know how to properly interpret, understand, and apply the Bible.
The most important law of biblical hermeneutics is that the Bible should be interpreted literally. We are to understand the Bible in its normal or plain meaning, unless the passage is obviously intended to be symbolic or if figures of speech are employed. The Bible says what it means and means what it says.
A second crucial law of biblical hermeneutics is that passages must be interpreted historically, grammatically, and contextually. Interpreting a passage historically means we must seek to understand the culture, background, and situation that prompted the text.
A third law of biblical hermeneutics is that Scripture is always the best interpreter of Scripture. For this reason, we always compare Scripture with Scripture when trying to determine the meaning of a passage.
Some people avoid studying biblical hermeneutics because they mistakenly believe it will limit their ability to learn new truths from God’s Word or stifle the Holy Spirit’s illumination of Scripture. But their fears are unfounded. Biblical hermeneutics is all about finding the correct interpretation of the inspired text. The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to protect us from misapplying Scripture or allowing bias to color our understanding of truth. God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). We want to see the truth, know the truth, and live the truth as best we can, and that’s why biblical hermeneutics is vital.
Proverbs 4:6—“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.”
Not only must we read the Bible to know God better, we must study the Bible to know God correctly.
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*Find out more about Biblical Hermeneutics here.
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