I watched in horror a couple of years ago as a guest on a charismatic television network explained the "biblical basis" of his ministry of "possibility thinking." "My ministry is based entirely on my life verse, Matthew 19:26, 'With God all things are possible.' God gave me that verse because I was born in 1926."

Obviously intrigued by that method of obtaining a "life verse," the talk show host grabbed a Bible and began thumbing through excitedly. "I was born in 1934," he said. "My life verse would be Matthew 19:34. What does it say?" Then he discovered that Matthew 19 has only thirty verses. Undeterred, he flipped to Luke 19 and read verse 34: "And they said, The Lord hath need of him" (KJV).

Thrilled, he exclaimed, "Oh, the Lord has need of me! The Lord has need of me! What a wonderful life verse! I've never had a life verse before, but now the Lord has given me one! Thank you, Jesus! Hallelujah!" The studio audience began to applaud.

At that moment, however, the talk show host's wife, who had also turned to Luke 19, said, "Wait a minute! You can't use this. This verse is talking about a donkey!"

That incident says much about the willy-nilly way some charismatics approach Scripture. Looking for "a word from the Lord," some play a game of "Bible roulette," flipping at random through their Bibles, looking for something that seems applicable to whatever trial or need they are facing. When they find one, they say, "The Lord gave me a verse."

That is no way to approach Bible study. Perhaps you have heard the familiar story of the man who, seeking guidance for a major decision, decided to close his eyes, open his Bible, put his finger down, and get guidance from whatever verse his finger happened to light on. His first try brought him to Matthew 27.5: "[Judas] went and hanged himself" (KJV). Thinking that that verse was really not much help, he determined to try again. This time his finger landed on Luke 10:37 and Jesus' words there: "Go, and do thou likewise" (KJV). Not ready to give up, he tried one more time. This time his finger came to rest on Jesus' words in John 13:27: "That thou doest, do quickly" (KJV).

That story, which I am sure is apocryphal, makes an important point: looking for meaning in Scripture beyond its historical, grammatical, and logical context is unwise and even potentially dangerous. It is possible of course, to substantiate almost any idea or teaching with Scripture--if one employs proof texts apart from their intended meaning. That is precisely how most of the cults use Scripture to buttress their false doctrines.

The task of hermeneutics is to discover the meaning of the text in its proper setting; to draw meaning from Scripture rather than reading one's presuppositions into it.

The importance of careful biblical interpretation can hardly be overstated. Misinterpreting the Bible is ultimately no better than disbelieving it. What good does it do to agree that the Bible is God's final and complete revelation and then misinterpret it? The result is still the same: one misses God's truth. Interpreting Scripture to make it say what it was never intended to say is a sure road to division, error, heresy, and apostasy.