How many times have you heard (or read) someone pointing to a passage in the Bible as 'The most important scripture you will ever read'? How about elevating one biblical concept above another? How can we read the Bible, obey it and (to the best of our abilities) not skew our obedience to a narrow array of verses? 

When raising a child, not every rule or example in a family has the same gravity. Some rules are absolute. 'Do not play in the street.' Some rules may have some flexibility depending on circumstance. 'Bedtime is at 9:00, but because it is the weekend you can stay up later.' If we were to enforce all rules and examples as absolute our children would be exasperated and so would we! Some of the same concepts may be applied to the Bible.

Everything in the Bible must be in the context of Luke 10:27He answered: ' 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' This is the center of all scriptural understanding. This is an absolute. This is the core of God. Loving God and loving people is paramount for understanding the Bible. John 8:31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' First we love, then we understand.

The whole of the Bible is encompassed by Luke 10:27, but there are certainly more passages than Luke 10:27. There are scriptures which provide more definition on what love is and is not. These scriptures are literal and straight forward. There is no flexibility or ambiguity. I.e. Galatians 5:14-26. There should be little debate (except maybe on translation issues) about the meaning of these scriptures. These moral imperatives are there to help us better understand God's expectations and map out the narrow path for carrying out the command of love.

Although many passages are about what love is and is not, there is more depth to the Bible than checklists and do and don'ts. There are (corporate) commands which are practical directions to carry out moral imperatives. I.e. Matthew 28:19-20 is a command based on the moral imperatives of self-denial, love, etc... There is flexibility in the execution of the command, but it is not ambiguous in terms of expected obedience. The passage does not tell us how to go to every nation or how to teach to obey; it only expects the command to be followed.

Some passages give instructions. They are directions (based on moral imperatives) given in specific situations which may or may not be portable to other situations. The letters to the Corinthians are peppered with examples of instructions about marriage, head coverings, contribution, communion, etc... Many of these instructions were given in response to specific incidents and questions within the congregation and not necessarily as 'uber alles' rules for all time.

The Bible also includes examples which may have application beyond their circumstance but may not be binding. Acts 2 is a great example of a primitive church. It is not a complete picture, just an early sketch of the basics. Is it binding to baptize 3000 in a day? Should all the members of the church be Jewish? As an example, it points us to God being loved through obedience and people loving one another. The specifics may also be good guidelines, but we must be careful not to bind them on one another.

Finally, there are personal commands and / or requests which are directed within the confines of a specific scenario. They may not be applicable in other scenarios. In 2 Tim 2:13 Paul requests Timothy to bring a cloak and scrolls. 1 Tim 5:23 instructs Timothy to take some wine with his water for a health issue (stomach problems). Is either of those binding on us? 2 Tim 2:13 would be difficult to emulate in any fashion except in the courtesy of delivering something to a brother or sister. Should Paul's bowel treatment be a sweeping remedy for all who are disciples? Probably not.

Each of the above must be weighted accordingly. Love God, love people has a first priority in every situation. Moral imperatives are also paramount. There is no contradiction in making both Luke 10:27 and moral imperatives number one since there is complete harmony between love God, love people and the moral imperatives of the NT. Moral imperatives may actually be considered a subset of specifics for love God, love people. Commands must be weighted heavily (absolutely) in terms of obedience, but the application may be flexible and taken under consideration. Instructions are templates for situations and must never take precedence over Love God, love people or moral imperatives. Opinions and pleas should be considered without an imperative for compliance. Examples are guidelines but may not be portable or binding.

Questions:

# What are my favorite scriptures? How do they affect my overall view of God? People?

# Are there examples in the Bible which I consider binding? Why? Should they be?

# What influences me to favor certain scriptures and concepts above others?