You’re Not “Just Reading the Bible”

You’re interpreting it. And your lens is shaping what you see.

Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

Ever notice how two Christians can read the exact same Bible and walk away with completely different views?

• One believes God blesses LGBTQIA+ relationships.
  The other believes God condemns them.

• One sees divine justice as liberation for the oppressed.
  The other sees justice as punishment for the sinner.

• One reads Scripture and finds a God of grace on every page.
  The other reads the same passages and finds a God of wrath.

Both are holding the same book. Both claim to love Jesus. Both say, “I’m just going by what the Bible says.”

But here’s what we rarely talk about: people don’t just disagree about theology… they disagree about how to read the Bible.

And most don’t even realize it.

This might be the most important conversation for your spiritual growth, because whether you know it or not, the way you read Scripture is shaping your understanding of God, your view of others, your moral compass, your political imagination, and your entire spiritual identity.

The Lenses We Inherit

Here’s why it matters.

We don’t just read Scripture. We interpret it. Always.

Even when we think we’re just “reading it plainly,” we are interpreting… bringing our own fears, baggage, traditions, wounds, and assumptions to the text. We read through lenses we didn’t choose but inherited. Lenses shaped by our denomination, our parents, our pastors, our cultural context, and the spiritual stories we were raised with.

And yet, the most dangerous interpretation is the one that refuses to admit it’s interpreting at all. Because that kind of interpretation disguises itself as objectivity. It turns personal readings into universal rules. It weaponizes Scripture in ways that feel righteous but end up reinforcing fear, pride, or control.

What I Was Never Taught

I know this because for years, I did it too.

Growing up, I wasn’t taught how to read the Bible. I was taught how to use it. I was handed a few key verses, a clear framework, and a confident theology, then told, “This is what the Bible says.” That framework shaped my views on everything… God, salvation, sexuality, gender, race, even politics. And for a while, it all made sense.

Until it didn’t.

As I started asking deeper questions, I realized how much of my theology wasn’t based on a deep engagement with Scripture itself…but on a specific way I’d been told to read it. That’s when everything began to shift. I had to unlearn a lot. I had to go back to the beginning and ask not just, “What does the Bible say?” but something much more foundational:

“What even is the Bible?”

The Question Beneath the Questions

Because believe it or not, most theological disagreements aren’t actually about morality. They’re about hermeneutics… a word that simply means how we interpret the text.

And that’s where it gets real.

Is the Bible a divine instruction manual? A legal contract? A flawless science book? A flat voice of God speaking in uniform declarations? Or is it something more complex… more human and holy at the same time? A sacred library. A collection of stories, poems, laws, letters, genealogies, and parables. A chorus of voices across centuries, inspired by God, but not reducible to a single tone or genre.

The way you answer that question changes everything.

If you see Scripture as a rulebook, you’ll look for commands and compliance.
If you see it as a divine hammer, you’ll use it to strike down anyone who disagrees. If you see it as a living story that culminates in Jesus, you’ll read with curiosity, context, and compassion.

Reading Isn’t Just Reading…It’s Formation

I’ve come to believe that spiritual growth is impossible without also growing in how we interpret. You can’t just “read better.” You have to read differently. That means slowing down. Asking better questions. Paying attention to history, context, genre, audience. It means holding your theology with humility instead of certainty, and letting the text read you as much as you read it.

But maybe most of all… it means re-centering Jesus.

Because Jesus is not just the subject of Scripture. He is its fulfillment. Its lens. Its heartbeat. And when we forget that we end up reading the Bible in ways that can actually lead us away from Christ.

If You’re Deconstructing, You’re Not Losing Faith

So, if you’ve been deconstructing… if your theology has changed, if you're wrestling with old beliefs… you’re not drifting away from Scripture. You might be stepping into it more deeply than you ever have before. You’re not being unfaithful. You’re finally learning to see.

New eyes. New lenses. New freedom.

And yes, it’s messy. It can feel like the ground is shifting beneath you. But that’s what growth is supposed to feel like. That’s what happens when we trade certainty for transformation.

Because at the end of the day, the Bible doesn’t just inform your theology… it forms your view of God. And if your interpretation of Scripture leads you to shame, fear, control, or pride… maybe it’s not God you’re seeing, but the lens you were given. Maybe you don’t need a new Bible. Maybe you need a new way to read it.

This Isn’t “Extra.” This Is Discipleship.

That’s not just an academic exercise. It’s spiritual formation. It’s discipleship. It’s maturity. If you care about being like Jesus, loving your neighbor, growing in grace, and wrestling honestly with truth… this conversation matters.

So, let’s stop pretending that our interpretation is “the Bible is clear.” Let’s get honest about the frameworks we’ve inherited. Let’s do the work to read faithfully, contextually, and with Christ at the center. Not to win arguments. But to become more like Jesus.

I’d love to hear your thoughts…especially if you’ve had to relearn how to read Scripture. What shifted for you? What lenses were you given? And what new ones are you picking up?

And if this conversation stirred something in you, I go even deeper in my behind-the-scenes videos for paid subscribers every Friday. These are off-the-cuff, unscripted reflections…where I unpack what didn’t make it into the written piece, share more personal stories, and talk about what I’m learning behind the scenes.

If you want to keep growing, questioning, and reconstructing alongside me, I’d love to have you join us.