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The Main Reason for Studying the Bible

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Trevin Wax has quite a thoughtful piece called “Don’t Miss the Main Point of Bible Study.” In it, he addresses the common temptations to study the Bible for education or daily inspiration. Such things are worthless, unless they draw us nearer to the Lord to behold his face, that we might break forth into exultation of his glory.

The task of Christian theology isn’t one of invention or establishment; it’s about discovery and explanation. We’ve stumbled across something real, and as we behold with awe the wonders of this reality we seek to expound on it faithfully, trusting that what we’ve seen will change us. “We are changed into the one we see,” said Gregory the Great.

Wax is right. This is something we must not miss. Check it out!

What Not to Do with Difficult Passages

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Elliot Clark has a wonderful piece entitled “6 Wrong Ways to Approach Difficult Bible Passages.” I am certainly guilty of a few of these. How about you?

  1. Avoid hard texts
  2. Exaggerate their significance
  3. Assume correct interpretation is simple
  4. Assume correct interpretation is inaccessible
  5. Research texts like a cold technician
  6. Query the Bible as judge and jury

Clark’s counsel is both concise and practical. For example, regarding point 2:

As I recently prepared to teach from 1 Timothy 2—one of the most controversial chapters in the Bible—I was struck by Paul’s primary command: urging prayer in the church. This focus is often obscured by the more controversial aspects of the chapter. Yet if we spend all our time thinking about a Christian’s relationship to government or women’s roles in the church and never address our calling, posture, and purpose in prayer, we’ve missed the main point. We’ve made the reader’s questions and concerns preeminent.

These errors are worth your consideration. Check it out!

How Nineteenth-Century Americans Used the Bible to Support Both Slavery and Abolition

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You might be aware of the fact that many Christians used the Bible to support southern slavery in early U.S. history. Did you also know that many people used the Bible to support abolition? How is it possible that groups of people can all believe in the basic truth that the Bible is God’s word, communicating truth to us, and yet reach opposite conclusions on such huge issues?

We can see the same thing playing out with respect to many other issues today: customs for worship, preaching, and church life. Doctrines surrounding sacraments, church government, salvation, and the moral law. Political issues such as immigration, financial policy, and foreign intervention. Social issues such as abortion, race relations, homosexuality, and gender ideology. On nearly any issue, it is not difficult to find people who claim to believe the Bible, who also make use of the Bible to support contradictory positions from one another.

Why is that? How can the same book be used for so many contradictory perspectives?

Photo by Florian Schmetz on Unsplash

An Answer Worth Considering

While there is a complex range of factors contributing to such a complex situation, there is at least one factor we ought to give more attention to: How are people reading and understanding the Bible? What assumptions do they bring to this ancient book that shape the very methods by which they employ it in support of one position or another?

For example, one person presumes that the most literal, surface reading of a given text ought to be the most persuasive reading. Another person wants to string together a collection of verses that all appear to address a particular topic. Another focuses on their systematic theological system as the governing framework for reading any part of the Bible. Another wants to read the text the same way the heroes of old (or a subset of heroes of old) read it. Yet another wants to read the Bible in tandem with other ancient or modern texts that seem to be saying similar things.

My point is simply that we must not only observe the fact that someone makes use of the Bible to support a position. We must also take note of how they are using the Bible to support a position.

A Conversation Worth Your Time

The thing that spawned these reflections within me was a conversation I just listened to, published by the Mars Hill Audio Journal as one of their Friday Features. The host, Ken Myers, interviewed historian Mark Noll regarding his research on how nineteenth-century Americans went about using the Bible in support of either slavery or abolition in their debates. For now, you can find the interview here. I recommend listening to it as soon as you can, as I cannot promise how long it will remain on their site.

Noll discusses how Christians on both sides of the slavery debate resorted to “proof-texting” to make their case, yet the pro-slavery side tended to be better at it (i.e. more persuasive). Many of the proof-texted arguments in favor of the institution of slavery had no clear rebuttal, and as a result many abolitionists were forced to confess that, while the Bible permits the institution of slavery, they just couldn’t support the American expression of it. This led the pro-slavery camp to instill fear that abolition was simply the beginning of the slippery slope toward denying biblical authority at all.

There were a few shining (abolitionist) stars along the way, however, who were able to demonstrate abolitionist conclusions from biblical texts, through careful contextual study of those texts, tracing the unfolding revelation of God over time. In that day, however, proof-texting was believed to be the best way to arrive at truth, so such careful theological and contextual arguments often went unnoticed or unregarded.

I am confident I am not doing full justice to Noll’s research. So again, I commend to you the recording of his conversation with Myers for more detailed nuance and explanation. I commend it to you highly, as an example of why it is crucial that we not merely quote Bible verses but study them in context so as to grasp the larger arguments of the original authors. How we study the Bible matters.

What Book Should New Believers Read First?

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I’ve often been asked where people new to the Bible should start with the Bible. Which book of the Bible should they read first?

I believe the best answer to the question is: whichever book they are most likely to enjoy reading. So my typical response is to ask them what sort of literature they already enjoy: stories, poetry, non-fiction, etc. Then I propose some options within the Bible that are most similar in genre.

But with that said, there is certainly a place for giving more direction for guided reading to assist folks who are new to the Bible. And to that end, this article by Eden Parker has some wonderful advice. Not only does she provide two “best” options for where to begin; she also provides sound advice to guide the expectations of those just beginning to read the Bible.

Check it out!

The Danger of Quoting Verses

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Brandon Smith has a helpful piece on the danger of what he calls “stacking verses,” where we quote verses in isolation for inspiration or to support a particular point.

Some modern examples include Instagram posts and coffee mugs that quote Philippians 4:13 or Jeremiah 29:11. In both cases, these verses appear to promise material, physical, or even eternal blessing from God. However, in both cases, the context of the passage reveals that these verses are a promise of provision amid suffering.

Stacking up these verses might be innocent for some, but this is also the root of the dangerous prosperity gospel that has infiltrated the global church. From as early as Jesus’s ministry to our world today, verse-stacking has plagued the church and brought about countless negative consequences.

The devil quoted a Bible verse to Jesus, attempting to persuade him to test his Father. Ancient heretics had plenty of Bible verses to support their hell-bound doctrines. Sadly, many continue the same practice today.

The problem is not merely in quoting individual verses. It is the danger of quoting verses independent of their context and misaligned with the original author’s intention. Smith provides two interpretive convictions that will help us to avoid much of the danger:

  1. The Bible is a coherent theological book before it is anything else.
  2. The Bible is a canon—a set of 66 books that serve as the rule or measuring rod of our theology.

You should check out his piece to see how he fleshes this all out. I commend his article to you.

Check it out!

Who is the Parable of the Tenants About?

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In a back issue of Tabletalk magazine, Charles K. Telfer has a helpful piece on the parable of the tenants (Matt 21:33-46). In this parable, Jesus describes a vineyard owner who sends his representative to collect fruit from those who have rented the vineyard, who refuse to hand it over. They kill each messenger, up to and including the owner’s own son. The vineyard owner then declares war on the rebels and hands his vineyard over to others who will serve him more faithfully.

In the course of explaining the parable, Telfer makes an important move. He does not immediately look for what the parable says about us, as so many are so quick to do when they study the Scriptures. First, Telfer looks for what the parable says about them—those to whom Jesus was speaking, and especially those to whom Matthew was writing.

The initial historical fulfillment of these prophecies took place in the disasters of AD 66–70 and 132–35, when the Romans destroyed the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and most of the leaders of the people.

This leads him to some crucial conclusions about Jesus’ purpose in this parable:

Look at what Jesus underlines as the foundational offense: rejecting Him. Jesus puts Himself forward as the Son in special relationship with the Father. C.S. Lewis argues cogently that no one can take Jesus as just another good moral teacher. He must be either the Messiah or a megalomaniac. Jesus claims that rejecting Him is the climactic act that leads to judgment. Jesus puts Himself at the center of Yahweh’s purposes in the way He quotes the Old Testament in the parable. In verse 42, He applies Psalm 118:22–23 to Himself: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (see Isa. 28:16). In essence, Jesus is asserting, “The powerful may consider Me a valueless reject, but God will do marvels through Me and give Me a kingdom.” More soberly still, in Matthew 21:44, Jesus presents Himself as the dangerous stone (Isa. 8:14; Dan. 2:34, 44). “Don’t brush Me aside!” He is saying.

And then—get this!—Telfer shows how the early church made application from this parable, and he draws some compelling applications for us today.

Telfer’s analysis is a great example of how our application for people today will be even stronger if we don’t go there too quickly. Go the long way around, by first making sure you’ve grasped how the passage spoke to the original audience, pointing them to Jesus. And then your application for today will connect with much greater force.

Please take a look at how Telfer does this. Check it out!

Studying the Bible is Hard Work

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This brief piece by Craig Thompson highlights the fact that Bible study will not be easy, and that we must be okay with that.

Studying the Bible is hard work, but that is OK. God never promised that it would be easy. He is, after all, eternal, all-powerful, and always present. God is outside of our complete understanding. Attempting to wrap our brains completely around eternity or the Trinity will leave us with a headache.

Check it out!

Tools to Help You Read Your Bible

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We’ve still got a Bible reading challenge underway, and it’s not too late to hop on board! I’ve written before about reading plans and tools I use, such as Logos and the Dwell audio app. But here are some more recommendations of tools from Amy Hall. I’ve not heard of the Bible Box app she mentions, nor have I seen the Discipleship Journal reading plan before that she links to. I will add that one to my list options in the future.

Check it out!

The Order of Old Testament Books

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Did you know that your English Bible puts the Old Testament books in a different order than was used by Jewish traditions? Noah Diekemper makes a brief yet strong case for rearranging the books in our Bibles to be more like Jews have ordered them for millennia. Among his reasons are the effect of the order on our understanding of various books, and the manner in which Jesus himself referred to the Old Testament. Diekemper’s conclusion:

The order that our Bibles printed the Old Testament in is a silent conversation. Bibles are printed in the conventional order either for the sake of mere convention (the lowest form of conservatism), or else because the question is never raised to arrange them otherwise. But when the evidence of historical orderings and intertextual links is considered, the order of the Biblia Hebraica presents a more intelligible whole, a work that more visibly testifies to the singular intelligence responsible for its authorship.

For my annual Bible speed read, I no longer follow the English order of the OT books. I find it makes it more difficult to read in large chunks, especially since it puts so many difficult books together for the last third of the OT, without much contextualizing of them to assist the reader. The Hebrew order seems to have readers more in mind, since the Prophets include some of what we consider histories, and the corpus ends not with persistent prophetic denunciation, but with generally hopeful reflections on life lived in service to Yahweh God (the Writings).

Diekemper’s piece will help you to understand more of the benefits of rearranging the books, and how this in no way violates belief in biblical inerrancy or authority.

Check it out!

Context Matters: The Letter Kills

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“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Some have read 2 Cor 3:6 in a way that opposes “Spirit-filled” ministry to “Bible-focused” ministry. I have not come across this particular perspective very often, but Graham Heslop has, and does a wonderful job explaining how the verse’s context reveals a different argument in the mind of the Apostle Paul.

Oft quoted, and always from the King James Version for effect, is 2 Corinthians 3:6. There Paul writes: “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” This verse is usually cited in support of Spirit led ministries, over against those that prioritise theology and study. Because the letter kills, so the logic goes, we should not overemphasise detailed teaching or a focus on the Bible. For many, Paul’s statement liberates Christian believers from lifeless, dull, and bookish expressions of faith into the exciting and novel. Lively and Spirit led ministries have put the “letter” away, embracing the life-giving work of the Spirit. But is this really the distinction Paul is making?

Check it out!