A few months ago I did a couple of posts on whether the implications we see in the Bible are:

(1) necessary, (2) probable, (3) possible, (4) improbable or, (5) impossible implications.

I mentioned that I learned this from Haddon Robinson who, from his years of experience as a pastor, seminary professor, and mentor to so many, has concluded that more heresy is taught by way of bad application than bad interpretation of Scripture.

Since hearing this from Haddon years ago, I have continued to find the question of whether an idea is a necessary, probable or possible implication of the Bible to be a helpful way of trying to decide whether something is worth thinking about, talking through, arguing around, or dying for.

An additional thing I’ve noticed is that this device works best when comparing notes with others. My own tendency is to think that what I’m seeing is a necessary implication of the Bible until others test my thinking with their own perspective on what a text means– in its context.

The downside of such a process is that we will probably discover that, when tested, some of our pet ideas about the Bible are only possible implications. The upside is that it is a wonderful way to find:

Unity in the essentials rather than conflict over possibilities…

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