Are You Reading the Bible through Law-Tinted Glasses?

Imagine you have a friend who wears rose-tinted glasses. Real ones too, not the metaphorical kind.

People used to wear colored glasses – Teddy Roosevelt did it – and some people still do today – think Sir Elton John. People wear rose-colored glasses because they believe it makes the world warmer, more beautiful.

Which is all well and good if you like that sort of thing.

But imagine your friend is so attached to their rose-tinted glasses that they come to believe that the world is actually rose-colored. Tell them the sky is blue, and they argue with you. Tell them that trees are green or clouds are white, and they insist you are wrong.

Nothing you say can change their mind. Only one thing will do the trick – they need to remove their glasses and see the world as it is.

Reading Scripture through a distorted lens

I sometimes wonder if people read the Bible through tinted glasses because what they see differs from what is there.

You show them a verse trumpeting the promises of a good God, but they see threats and punishments. You tell them the good news of grace, but they hear conditions and qualifications.

The problem is they are reading the Bible through the wrong kind of spiritual lenses. And when you read the Bible through a distorted lens, you come away with a distorted message.

You may think, “This would never happen to me,” but it might happen to your pastor or that influencer you watch on YouTube. If your pastor or that preacher is wearing a lens shaped by law and works, you’re going to hear messages about law and works.

They may be experts on Greek verbs or church history, and they may be able to quote the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. But if they’re reading Scripture through the wrong lens, their expertise will only reinforce their wrong conclusions.

I’m not attacking pastors or preachers. But many read the Bible through lenses that mix law with grace and the results are catastrophic. Too many people are hearing distorted messages because the messenger is wearing the wrong lenses.

A few years ago, I wrote an article on the two books your pastor reads, namely their Bible and their favorite commentary. I also did a semi-scientific study measuring the amount of mixture in popular study Bibles and commentaries.

The result: almost every commentary I surveyed mixed law with grace.

I would like to say that things have improved since then, but I’d be wrong.

Even grace preachers get it wrong

Recently, I came across a so-called grace commentary that was riddled with greed and toxic mixture. It said things like: Christians are obliged to keep some laws (e.g., the command to love your neighbor); if you don’t keep those laws, you’ll lose your salvation; and if you don’t give to ministers, you’ll end up poor.

Honestly.

If this had been written by a 19th-century hellfire preacher that would’ve been one thing. But this was penned by someone who has played a key role in the modern grace movement.

People who trust this commentary and have no idea that they are imbibing mixture. They rely on the author’s reputation rather than judging for themselves.

Now I have no interest in playing Grace Policeman, and I’m not going to name names. I recognize that we are all on a journey. We’re all learning and growing in grace. But if you are reading the Bible through any lens but Jesus Christ – who he is and what he has done – you’ll miss it every time.

Check your lenses

You can’t change what other people see, but you can check your own spiritual lenses by asking these questions:

1. When I read the Bible, do I interpret Scripture through the language of law or grace?
2. When I read the Bible, do I find myself thanking Jesus for what he’s done or am I more conscious of what I must do?
3. When I read the Bible, am I filled with fear and anxiety, or praise and joy?

If reading the Bible or hearing a sermon or watching a clip leaves you feeling condemned or rejected, you are not hearing the true gospel.

If you are constantly being told what you must do to be saved or stay saved, someone is wearing the wrong glasses.

If you think grace is all well and good, but we need to balance it with a little law-keeping and works, then you have bought into a mixed-up message.

It’s really very simple. The Bible reveals the good news of Jesus Christ, and there is no bad news in the good news.

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Further reading: “Are You Trusting a Distorted Gospel? Take the Test” and other self-assessment tests can be found on my Patreon page.

My new book, The Parables of Jesus, is now available in German. Thanks to our supporters you can download it for free.

Week 3 of my ongoing “Tour of Thessalonians” – a 9-week jaunt through two of Paul’s oldest letters – has just gone live, also on my Patreon page. Learn more about the Tour here.