Part 1 — You Don’t Read the Bible Neutrally
Recognizing the Lenses We Wear
Most of us don’t realize it, but we rarely come to the Bible with a blank slate.
We come wearing glasses.
Those glasses are shaped by who taught us, where we grew up, the church culture we were formed in, the sermons we heard, the wounds we carry, and the questions we were never allowed to ask. Long before we ever opened the Scriptures for ourselves, someone had already shown us how to read them.
That doesn’t make us dishonest—it makes us human.
But it does mean we must become honest about the lenses we’re using.
Everyone Has a Lens
Some of us were taught to read the Bible primarily as a rulebook.
Others were taught to read it as a system to defend.
Some were taught to read it selectively—highlighting verses that comfort us while avoiding the ones that confront us.
And many of us were taught what to believe long before we were taught how to listen.
Paul warned the church about inherited distortion:
“Watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned.”
— Romans 16:17–18 (CSB)
False teaching isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s familiar—passed down unquestioned and rarely examined in the light of Scripture and the Spirit.
Neutral Reading Is a Myth
Two people can read the same passage and walk away with very different outcomes—one defensive, the other humbled; one hardened, the other healed.
The difference isn’t intelligence.
It’s posture.
Jesus said people could hear and still not understand. The issue was never access to Scripture—it was how it was received.
The first step toward clarity is humility:
“Lord, I may not be seeing as clearly as I think.”
That prayer changes everything.
Next in Part 2: Who taught you to read this way—and what happens when those voices become filters?
Thoughts from Pastor Toney 