The answer in short is both.  A really good indicator for figurative passages would be if the book or passage starts with the speaker or author saying he saw something in a dream or a vision.  Some other examples would be when Jesus spoke in parables.  Obviously these scriptures use figurative language.  Some other passages are not so obvious, scriptures like John 13:3-17 where Jesus washes the apostles feet.  Which I have discussed in Foot Washing.  Another would be Mark 9:45-47 where we are directed to cut off body parts that would cause us to be condemned.  Are you supposed to poke your eye out?  Maybe, if that was the source of your problem.  Obviously your eye isn’t making you sin, so what is the lesson?  Remove those things from your life that will cause you to lose your soul.  It’s better to not have something in this world than to be lost for an eternity.  So is EVERYTHING literal?  Absolutely not, but does that make the whole Bible a patchwork of nice thoughts and mere guidebook to a righteous life or a history book with a bunch of spiritual principles that one can choose to ignore?  God gave us this information for a reason.  Are you interested in what He wanted to tell you? (2 Timothy 2:15; Matthew 6:33; 1 Timothy 4:15)

I was asked by a friend why we didn’t do foot washing.  Jesus told the apostles to do it (John 13:3-17).  That frazzled me, why don’t we wash feet?  To me, as a modern day man, it seems to be a useless practice, but if He told me I have to do it then bring me your feet.  So I studied the matter as it did concern me.  Is this passage literal or figurative?  Why doesn’t the church teach foot washing?  In all scriptures you must read the entire context.  You must rightly divide it (2 Timothy 2:15) or handle it correctly.  Rightly dividing or handling it correctly doesn’t mean interpret or put your own spin on it.  But sincerely studying that scripture to see what God is telling you.  Was Jesus telling us to wash feet?  Jesus explains his deed within the context of John 13.  Why did Jesus wash their feet?  Jesus asked the apostles, “Do you know what I have done to you?” (John 13:12)  He obviously wasn’t looking for an answer of <You washed our feet>.  They called Him Lord and Master, yet He took the role of a servant.  He performed one of the lowliest tasks that could be performed by a servant and yet He was the master.  So what lesson were the apostles to glean from His example?  The attitude of service.  Jesus instruction in John 13:15 was that you should do as I have done to you.  So whatever answer you gleaned from the question in John 13:12 is what we are expected to from John 13:14-15.  Is it the washing of feet that was the lesson?  I’ll let you answer that for yourself.

I was just wondering when quoting the Bible became a matter of opinion.  If I quote Albert Einstein, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”, is that now my opinion?  No sir, those are the words of Einstein.  If I tell lies, am I not a liar?  If I steal, am I not a thief?  In today’s world we pick and choose the scriptures we like and ignore the ones we do not. We search for a church that agrees with us and do not search the scriptures to see if the church we pick agrees with God.  If God has said it, then He meant it as Jesus demonstrated in John 12:47-50.  What He says I must do, because it is His words that will be my judge.  Our hearts have become hardened, our eyes are blind to the truth.  If we would only listen, understand with our hearts, do as He instructs us, and turn from our sins we would be healed (Matthew 13:14-15).  We must do all He has requested of us (Revelation 22:18-19) and not fall short or even go beyond His instructions.  We may not like what God tells us (Hebrews 4:12), but that doesn’t allow us to only accept what we want.  Having our sins pointed out is not a good experience.  It’s what Jesus did, and why He was so despised (John 15:21-24).  If 1 Corinthians 6 teaches us anything, it is that we can be saved no matter what evil we may have done (1 Corinthians 6:11), if we would only repent and be converted (Acts 2:36-38; Mark 16:16; Acts 22:14-16).  These scriptures are not my opinion, but they are the word of God.

I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker today about whether or not it is possible to live a sin-free life.  The answer to that is always a resounding NO because we all know Romans 3:23.  I ask you, should that answer be no?  I pose to you that a sin-free life is attainable or God would not ask us to live a life without sin.  Jesus told the lame man and the woman caught in adultery to “sin no more” (John 5:14; John 8:11).  We all know we are going to fail on occasion or have failed already.  Why would we need Jesus if we lived sin-free without Him?  Does that mean however that a sin-free life is unattainable?  Just because we live under Grace, does that mean we should just sin?  The answer is obviously no (Romans 6).  You say, “well no man has ever lived a sin-free life.”  I have to say that is not true because Jesus did it.  We cannot deny that He was a man in the flesh being tempted in all ways that we are tempted (Hebrews 4:15).  There is no temptation put in front of us for which God does not provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).  We will not live a sin-free life, but we should try because we have the perfect example of a man who did.