Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

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When Being “Christ-Centered” Goes Too Far

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Writing for Logos Bible software, Mark Ward summarizes an article from a recent theological journal, explaining the unhelpful extreme side of “Christ-centeredness.”

I think the swing [away from Christ-less moralizing] has done great good: American Christianity has indeed suffered under man-centered readings of the Bible which offer all law and no gospel, all duty and no delight, all rules and no relationship. And yet the ease with which I just tossed off those three slogans points to the pendulum problem: any time a movement reaches the slogan-generating stage, people will go trampling over necessary nuances to grab their party’s banners and wave them at their enemies. Pretty soon the pendulum picks up so much speed that it whooshes way past plumb.

Ward then summarizes a theological journal article which analyzes Psalm 15 and shows us how to read it in its original context. There ought to be a category in our thinking for “meaningful if imperfect obedience,” as we see on the part of Noah, Simeon, and others. Being Christ-centered does not mean we speak only of our sins and failures.

Check it out!

Not By Sermons and Books Alone

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Following up on last week’s “check it out,” John Piper was asked if he plans to write a commentary on the Bible. After saying no, he elaborates:

I suppose there is a kind of commentary that would put the emphasis on helping people find the meaning themselves. That’s the kind I would want to write if I wrote a commentary, because there’s a deep conviction behind this; namely, that over the long haul, strong Christians are created not by sermons and by books alone, but by a personal encounter with the word of God, the Bible itself.

Piper goes on to explain what sort of questions he’d like to see commentaries (and the people who read them) ask.

It’s a great, short answer to an excellent question. Check it out!

The Limits of John Piper’s Ideas

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John Piper answers a question from a listener about why he’s churned out two recent books focused on the Bible. He tells of a third book on its way, and he gives three reasons for this focus in his remaining years:

[First,] I don’t expect any of John Piper’s ideas to survive me or be useful when I’m gone if they are not faithful extensions of the meaning of God’s word into life. My authority is zero; God’s authority is everything. Whatever I have said that accords with his truth shares in his authority.

[Second,] I desperately don’t want people to substitute my books or my insights for their own inquiry into the Scriptures.

[Third,] generations to come, until Jesus returns, are going to face new crises, new challenges, new issues that I have not faced and others have not faced. Therefore, if people depend on what I’ve written or what others have written, they’re going to be swept away when the challenges come that we never addressed. But I have total confidence in the Bible for meeting those future challenges.

I have not yet read his latest books, but I can heartily recommend his motivations. Check it out!

Top-Notch Overview of Mark’s Gospel

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Kevin Halloran recently posted a few resources to give you “Everything You Need to Read the Gospel of Mark With a Friend (Or On Your Own).” These resources include an infographic outlining the book’s structure and main themes, study guides, and a few short videos explaining the book.

The resources Kevin shares are of the highest quality. They don’t waste time on irrelevant trivia or lengthy academic debates that skim off the text. They will give you a profound understanding of the structure, themes, and main point of Mark. This understanding will enable you to study the book or teach it to someone else in a way that connects each episode back to the main idea.

Mark’s is a beautiful, clear, and focused gospel. May these resources equip us to meet Christ there and reveal him to others.

Check it out!

The Hottest Thing at Church Today

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Tim Challies refers to a new trend:

According to a new study by Gallup, the hottest thing at church today is not the worship and not the pastor. It’s not the smoke and lights and it’s not the hip and relevant youth programs. It’s not even the organic, fair trade coffee at the cafe. The hottest thing at church today is the preaching. Not only is it the preaching, but a very specific form of it—preaching based on the Bible. And just like that, decades of church growth bunkum is thrown under the bus. As Christianity Today says, “Despite a new wave of contemporary church buzzwords like relational, relevant, and intentional, people who show up on Sundays are looking for the same thing that has long anchored most services: preaching centered on the Bible.” Praise God.

Challies goes on to commend this trend, delighting in the reality that God’s children do, in fact, desire the pure milk of the word. However, he also wisely cautions:

I’m glad to read these results. I’m glad that God’s people are choosing God’s Word. But I don’t want pastors and their churches to jump on the biblical exposition bandwagon. Instead, I want them to search the Scriptures, to see what God says about the relationship of his people to his Word, to understand the purpose of the weekly gatherings of the local church, and then to commit from this day forward to preach God’s Word to God’s people.

Here’s the thing: Eventually Gallup or Barna or someone else will come up with a new poll that will display new results and mere bandwagoners will veer to this new course. Their deep-rooted pragmatism will drive them to the next big thing. But people who are convinced from the Bible that there is nothing better than to preach the Bible will stay the course. Even when Bible-based preaching is the very last thing people want, these pastors will know it is the very first thing they need.

His reflections are well worth considering. Check it out!

I’ve Consumed Commentaries But Can’t Study My Bible

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David Murray recently posted a sobering question from a reader of his blog:

I have an M.Div and have read hundreds of books and still feel that I don’t know my Bible. My knowledge has been all second hand as I have consumed commentaries during my devotional times. And yet my faith feels hollow and lifeless. I don’t know how to read the Bible and study it for myself. I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown…I try and start and I get so frustrated that I turn back to commentaries and the lifelessness continues…I can’t do this anymore.

Please help me…I know you don’t know me…but please help me…..

Murray begins his response addressing the immediate mental health needs for rest and recovery to this burnt out soul. And then he moves on to address “what got you into this situation”:

What’s really important is that you do not rely on yourself or on your commentaries but that you rely on God to give you light. Ask God for his Holy Spirit to enlighten your eyes and to shine light on His Word. He has promised to give wisdom and his Holy Spirit to those who ask for it (James 1:5-8; Luke 11:13). And remember, that knowing the Bible is not the end either. The ultimate end is knowing Christ personally, and the Bible is a means to that end. So is going to church; so make sure you are doing that also.

If you do these things and there is still no life in your soul or love for the Scriptures, then you will have to consider the possibility that you still need to be converted. If that is the case, there is still hope for you to repent and put your faith in Christ. There are many M.Div. students who have been converted after graduation and even in the ministry!

Please avoid allowing commentaries to do your Bible study for you. And by all means, don’t miss Christ. The end of that road is not a pleasant one.

Check it out!

More Reflections on Rapid Bible Reading

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Adam Rodriguez undertook my challenge to read the whole Bible quickly at the start of 2017, and he lived to tell about it on his blog. He wasn’t sure about setting aside all the other books he wanted, but found it to be worth the effort. On his blog, he reflects on the experience, with the following reactions:

  1. I Gained a Deeper Appreciation of the Bible as a Work of Literary Art.
  2. I See More How Scripture Alludes To Itself.
  3. I See How the Bible’s Theology Develops Over Time.
  4. My Love for the Bible was Restored.

I especially appreciated Rodriguez’s third point, which arose from using a historical reading plan—reading the Old Testament books according to the Hebrew order, and the New Testament books in the order they were written. Reading in this way, in a short time, highlight the unfolding revelation of God through human history.

I’m grateful to Adam and the many others who took up the challenge and shared their thoughts on it. May the Lord bless our efforts to better understand him through his word!

Check it out!

We Need More Bible in Youth Ministry

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Seventeen-year-old Katherine Forster has some important words for the youth ministries in our churches: We need more Bible. Teenagers themselves see the need for better grounding, greater challenge, and more biblical instruction. Forster gives 4 reasons, from the teen perspective:

  1. We desperately need the truth.
  2. We need to see these truths for ourselves.
  3. We need to be challenged.
  4. We need the fellowship in God’s word.

Do you believe teenagers can learn to handle God’s word? Is there any other way we can equip them to face life’s challenges?

If you’re not sure how to start teaching your youth group to study the Bible, I’ve heard from many youth pastors who have found my book a helpful place to begin. Please consider Ms. Forster’s gracious appeal.

Check it out!

Translating God’s Name

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To build your confidence in your English Bibles, we don’t often get into issues of translation from the Hebrew and Greek scriptures. But Jesse Johnson wrote a recent article at the Cripplegate about why English Bibles should translate God’s personal name as Yahweh instead of the typical “the LORD.” Johnson walks through each argument presented in the prefaces to most English translations about why they keep the superstitious Jewish tradition of not using the name God revealed to us. And then he gives his own reasons why the personal name, and not the title, should be used.

My favorite part is when he answers the objection—often considered the trump card—that we don’t actually know how YHWH would have been pronounced, since its vocalization has been long lost.

This misses the point. We don’t know with “certainty” how any of the Hebrew words were pronounced. I’m not even sure Yahweh spoke Hebrew to Adam in the garden anyway. How did Adam pronounce Eve? Is it the same way Americans do it? We can’t even agree on how to pronounce Isaiah, much less Yahweh. But the solution is not to render Isaiah as “ISH,” and it is certainly not to replace Isaiah with “The PROPHET.”

One commenter on the post asks why Johnson is okay with “Jesus” over the original “Yeshua.” Johnson replies:

At least “Jesus” is a name, not a title. Imagine replacing every use of Jesus with “The SAVIOR.” Wouldn’t that undercut his personhood? I think so.
And, btw, your point about Yeshua — Jesus is exactly the argument that should be made for Yahweh. Nobody says Jesus was pronounced that way, yet we don’t blink about using it. But then we change a name that is thousands of years older than that? Ba humbug.

Johnson’s arguments explain why I repeatedly refer to God as Yahweh in my Exodus series, and why I will continue to do so when I read the Old Testament out loud.

Check it out!