Knowable Word

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Remember the Risen Christ

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In 2 Timothy 2:8, Paul issues a brief command, remarkable for its profound simplicity. “Remember Jesus Christ” is both the most important and most difficult thing a person could do. And what are we to remember about him?

James Emery (2007), Creative Commons License

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” (2 Ti 2:8–9).

There are five things on Paul’s list:

  1. Risen from the dead—he really died, and he really rose. Not just in the hearts and memories of his followers, but bodily.
  2. Offspring of David—heir to the promised eternal throne of God’s kingdom.
  3. Preached in the gospel—something and someone we simply can’t shut up about. The best news you’ll ever hear.
  4. Occasion for suffering—when you preach the risen Christ, you will suffer and be bound as a criminal, like he was. But fear not: After dying with him comes resurrection with him (2 Tim 2:11).
  5. Impossible to stop—the word of God is not bound. Many have tried to squash this message, but that has only catalyzed the explosion.

Of course, we ought to remember the risen Christ at all times and not only on Easter. But Easter gives us a timely opportunity to remember the risen Christ once again.

Jesus’ resurrection confirmed the passing of the present age, and it signaled the invasion of the age to come. This historic event, which changed everything, is dynamic enough that one explanation of it could never capture its effects. That’s why the four gospel writers have at least four different points to make when they recount the resurrection.

Perhaps this weekend would be a good time for you to remember Jesus Christ. Dig into each gospel and discover anew what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each had to say about the center of human history, the risen Christ.

Are All Who Laugh or Have Wealth Cursed?

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Luke 6:20-26 appears to make no qualification whatsoever:

  • Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God…Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
  • Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied…Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
  • Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh…Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

We may be inclined to race to Matthew’s parallel passage so we can qualify the text with “poor in spirit,” “hunger for righteousness,” etc. But that would violate a fundamental principle of observing and interpreting Luke’s intended message for his audience.

So what should we make of these extreme statements?

In a recent episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper masterfully demonstrates why context matters. He takes up this question on this text, and he observes the context of Luke’s argument to help us understand and apply these verses as Luke intended.

The podcast would be a great use of 11 minutes of you day. Check it out!

Great Bible Study Models for Women

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I have the privilege of serving a terrific campus ministry organization, DiscipleMakers. This blog and my book arose from the training we offer college students in Bible study, which I wanted to make available to a wider audience. But I’m not the only one who can show you how to do this.

For one example, I am delighted by Ryan’s help with this blog. He’s an old friend who learned this stuff at the same time I did, and I’ve learned a lot from his insights into the OIA method.

And for another example, I am happy to commend to you the models found in the videos below. These videos were recorded at the recent DiscipleMakers Women’s Conference, which had the theme of worshiping together as pilgrims (the Psalms of Ascent). Each main session talk from one of my colleagues masterfully models a different aspect of the OIA method.

Now these talks did not have a stated purpose to teach the skills in bold type. They were just normal talks given to explain a psalm to the women who attended the conference. But I share these talks with you to show you how important OIA skills are for effective ministry of the word.

Heather Smartt (Psalm 121) excels at observing the text carefully and making specific and concrete application, directly connected to the text:

Faith Thomas (Psalm 124) models how to observe and interpret the themes of a passage and make satisfying connections to the gospel:

Beth Dripps (Psalm 126) demonstrates the importance of relevant historical context to illuminate interpretive answers that are assumed in the text:

Megan Royes (Psalm 131) is an expert in illustration both to make the text pop and to speak application compellingly to the heart:

It is my privilege to serve the Lord with these ladies, and with many more men and women like them. I am happy to commend them to you as model Bible students worth imitating. If one my descriptions covers a skill you could develop further yourself, I recommend you watch the corresponding video to see how it can be done well.

For more teaching like this, check out our recordings archive here.

How to Use the Law Properly

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Colin Smith has a stimulating piece at Unlocking the Bible about how to use the Old Testament law properly. According to 1 Tim 1:7-8, the Old Testament law is good…if we use it properly. So how do we do that?

Smith first proposes a few negatives:

  • Don’t use the law for self-justification.
  • Don’t use the law for self-sanctification.

Then he states his case positively:

  • Read the Old Testament forward.

In other words, use the law to show you more of Jesus Christ.

I would differ with Smith’s use of Jesus’s “you have heard it said, but I say to you” sayings, but I believe his point can still be substantiated from other Scriptures (Rom 10:4, 2 Cor 1:20, etc.). And I would also mention that the law is useful in showing us the way of love, which is both Paul’s aim (1 Tim 1:5) and Jesus’ greatest commandment (Mark 12:29-31). But Smith’s reflections are still quite useful and worth pondering.

Check it out!

3 Rules for Using Commentaries

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The Logos Talk blog has a great, brief article with “3 Rules for Using Commentaries.” These rules are similar to the “4 Mistakes When Using Commentaries,” which I posted in 2012. But the Logos post goes into more helpful detail.

The 3 rules are:

  1. Bring opinions to the commentary.
  2. Bring questions to the commentary.
  3. Bring out a variety of commentaries.

These are great rules. If we don’t bring our own opinions, we allow the commentary to do our thinking for us. If we don’t bring our questions, we may spend a lot of time looking up irrelevant information. And if we don’t bring out a variety of commentaries, we’ll be simpletons, easily persuaded by one man’s opinion.

My favorite part of the article is when the authors describe their seminary professors, who prohibited commentary usage until the students had done their own work first. The reason?

They wanted us to converse with commentaries, not merely listen to them.

Great advice! Check it out!

Choosing a Daily Bible Reading Method

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Perhaps you just finished speed-reading the entire Bible. Or perhaps you’ve drifted from other New Year’s resolutions and you could use a fresh start to your Bible reading.

Matt Schneider has some great advice for you to consider.

Often people ask for God to speak to them, to give them signs, or to make himself known to them while ignoring regular Bible reading. This is unfortunate. If we want to hear from God, to know him more and more and to see his works in the world, we can do no better than regularly listening to him in Scripture for our entire lives.

Schneider then explains four approached people might take to develop the habit of daily Bible reading. The most important this is to do something. Perhaps one of these ideas can help you to refresh your vision and renew your practice.

Check it out!

How to Know if Your Interpretation is Correct

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I’ve shared before John Piper’s crucial definition of the Bible’s “meaning”: What the author intended to communicate with his words.

Now in another brief video, Piper builds on that definition by showing us how that definition gives us an objective means by which we can evaluate whether an interpretation is right or wrong.

Check it out!

Preparing Children to Read the Bible

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Though I haven’t yet read Joe Carter’s new book, The Life and Faith Field Guide for Parents, I’m intrigued by this excerpt published at the Gospel Coalition. Here is a taste:

Some missionaries spend years or even decades learning how to teach literacy to unreached people. Why? Primarily, to give those people the tools they need to read the Word of God for themselves. As Christian parents—missionaries to our own children—we want our kids to know how to read so they too can one day read the Bible for themselves. This mindset about teaching can lead to long-lasting benefits for your children. Instead of viewing the literacy process as the means to reach the goal of reading, think of it instead as the means by which your child reaches the goal of reading the Bible.

This may appear to be a trivial distinction. After all, children who learn to read will likely be able to read the Bible. While that is true, a profound shift occurs when we teach reading for the primary goal of reading Scripture. Whatever stage your child is at in literacy education—whether they’re an infant learning words for the first time or a high-school student learning vocabulary terms for the SAT—consider this to be your objective: to shape their reading so they can better read the [Bible].

Check it out!

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