DOCTRINES AND STORIES: Can We Learn Doctrines From Narratives?

 

Maybe you're not new to Bible study—or perhaps you have a background in theology—so you've probably encountered fellow believers, Bible teachers, or even scholars who are hesitant to use narrative portions of Scripture when teaching doctrine. (Or maybe you're one of them.) I’ve read multiple times that doctrines should come from didactic (teaching) texts and not from narratives.

Some are skeptical about learning doctrines or engaging in complex discussions from Bible stories, believing that the clear, instructional parts of Scripture (like the epistles) are the only valid sources for these topics. While that concern has some merit—since doctrinal truths are often presented more explicitly in passages like Paul’s letters—there are several things we need to keep in mind:

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗱-𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴— 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀.

2 Timothy 3:16 clearly states: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” That means all Scripture—not just the didactic parts—is intended for teaching. That includes the narratives. If we treat the stories as less important when it comes to doctrine, we’re unintentionally dividing Scripture into what is “God-breathed and useful for teaching” and what supposedly isn’t. But that’s not what the verse teaches.

Technically, biblical narratives are inspired too—and therefore are also useful for teaching doctrine. As Fee and Stuart (2014) noted when discussing how to interpret narratives: 

“Narrative usually does not directly teach a doctrine”; rather, it “usually illustrates a doctrine or doctrines taught propositionally elsewhere.”

They also said: 

“Narratives may teach either explicitly (by clearly stating something) or implicitly (by clearly implying something without actually saying it).”

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.

The Bible is mostly made up of stories. In the Old Testament alone, around 40% is narrative—more than any other genre. In the New Testament, the four Gospels are narrative-based. Even the teaching parts within the Gospels are within stories and cannot be separated from them.

The Gospel authors chose just a few key events from Jesus’ life that were worth passing on (cf. John 21:25). The book of Acts is one long story. Even the epistles—those go-to “doctrinal” texts—are written within the context of stories. That’s why scholars spend so much effort researching the historical and cultural background of each letter: to reconstruct the story behind the teaching.

As Walton and Walton (2010) put it in their discussion on the importance of Bible stories:

“God tells us His story so that we can understand Him; He could have simply given us a doctrinal statement or a list of His attributes, but this would not have been sufficient. ‘God is good’—fine, but how does that goodness play out in specific situations? Does God’s goodness mean that His actions will always seem good to me? If we had only a list of attributes, we would not have a very good idea of how these work out day by day. But stories! With these we can see how God’s qualities are demonstrated in perfect balance, governed by His wisdom and holiness, in numerous situations.”

Since God chose to communicate many of His truths through story rather than only through direct teaching, we cannot afford to ignore the narratives in doctrinal discussions. We need both—teaching portions and stories—to fully understand biblical truths. Ideally, doctrines should be supported by both.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Another strong argument for valuing narratives in doctrine is that even the didactic portions themselves rely heavily on stories.

• When discussing the Sabbath, Jesus referred to David’s actions (Mark 2:25–26).

• When teaching on marriage, He cited the story of Adam and Eve (Mark 10:6–9).

• Paul used Israel’s history to warn believers and prove his points (1 Cor 10:1–11).

• Paul also used Abraham’s story to argue the doctrine of justification by faith (Rom 4:1–3).

• Peter, in warning about the coming judgment on false teachers (2 Peter 2), referenced several stories: Noah (v. 5), Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot (vv. 6–7), Balaam and his donkey (vv. 15–16).

We could go on and on with examples. The point is, neither Jesus nor the apostles hesitated to use stories to teach doctrines.

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Doctrines can be both challenging and rewarding to study. Whether you’re a new believer or have been walking with Christ for a while, all of us are called to commit ourselves to these kinds of discussions. Thankfully, God has already given us His Word—both in its teaching passages and its stories—to help us know Him better and deeper. Stay Curious.

Sources and Studies:

Fee, G. and Stuart, D. (2014). “Principles for Interpreting Narratives”. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 (p.111). Zondervan (original work published 1981).
McCain D. and Keener C. (2012). “Can We Learn Doctrine from Narratives?” . 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴. African Christian Textbooks.
Walton, J. and Walton K. (2010). “Why Do We Teach Bible Stories?”. The Bible Story Handbook. Crossway