Knowable Word - Bible study help

4 Simple Language Principles

May 16, 2018 By Peter Krol

Mark Ward writes about “4 Simple Language Principles That Will Improve Your Bible Study.” He’s writing to the Bible student who wants to learn Greek or Hebrew. Or possibly to the person who wants to use original language tools well. You know, the sort of person who can be heard saying things like, “What the Greek word here really means is…”

Ward offers some excellent advice for these folks, and for the rest of us, when he encourages us to learn first how all languages work. Then we’ll be in a better place to understand how Greek and Hebrew work.

His principles are as follows:

Usage determines meaning.
Usage determines meaning—no, I mean it.
Look at every level of meaning, not just the word level
Learn linguistic and literary labels

These principles are so important, especially the first two. Many people tend to think words have specific meaning built into them inherently, like a code. But words only have meaning according to how real people use those words in real communication. Another way to put it is that we assume words get their meaning from the dictionary. But we fail to realize that dictionaries get their word meanings by listening to people use words in conversation (for real: see this TED talk). And therefore, word meanings are constantly changing over time.

Ward’s musings on this topic are worth reflecting on.

Check it out!

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Context Matters: Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak

May 11, 2018 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard it’s a good idea to listen more and speak less. And that, while anger is not always sinful, we ought always be slow to it. Certainly, such virtues are to be commended. But have we really understood James’s intentions when he speaks of these things?

Context matters. If we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not as a collection of independently assembled proverbial sayings—we’ll discover that some of our most familiar passages don’t actually mean what we’ve always assumed.

The Verse

You may have already figured out which verse I have in mind:

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. (James 1:19)

The verse seems clear enough, right? It’s a perfect memory verse for the angry person or jabbering child. But have you considered what it is James wants you to hear more quickly? And what does he want you to be slower to speak about? And what does he expect you’ll be angry about?

Melissa Wiese (2007), Creative Commons

The Problem

James’s writing style differs from other New Testament authors, especially those who wrote letters. Where other authors make liberal use of logical connectors (for, therefore, because, so that, etc.), James relies more on his content to move his argument forward.

Commentators often compare James’s letter with Old Testament wisdom literature, because James draws on similar techniques (poetic metaphor, pithy wording, practical application) in his writing. But we must not forget that wisdom literature—be it Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, or James—always tries to make us think. The message is not always in your face or vibrantly presented. The message is something you’re supposed to ponder.

So the “problem” with James is that he doesn’t spell out how he gets from one idea to the next. He expects us to think about it and notice his careful verbal connections. His thought is less like a train and more like a gently flowing river; sometimes we need to paddle a bit, but we can always drift along behind James’s lead raft. He’ll drop clues into the water for us pick up so we don’t lose him at the next fork.

The Argument

James begins his letter with his main idea: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). James wants to help us. He doesn’t want us to be surprised when trials come. We ought not be discouraged or depressed. We need eyes to see what God is doing in those trials. This perspective is one of “all joy.”

As we work through James’s argument from here, we should observe how each new paragraph (and sometimes each sentence) takes a key word or idea from the previous paragraph to expand on.

Trials make us steadfast (James 1:3), and the effect of this steadfastness is to make us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:4).
One thing we lack is wisdom, but we can ask for it (James 1:5).
When we ask (James 1:6), we can expect to receive something—wisdom, and joy in trials—from the Lord (James 1:7-8).
But when we think of receiving something from the Lord, we typically think of material wealth. We must remember that both poverty (James 1:9) and riches (James 1:10-11) are trials in themselves. We must view them rightly to count them all joy.
The greatest wealth is not found in riches (or poverty) but in the blessing that God promises to those who remain steadfast (James 1:12).
Another trial is related to how we understand our trials! When undergoing trial, we tend to doubt God’s promises and charge him with doing wrong by us (James 1:13).
But God never does wrong by us; any wrong comes from the evil desire that sprouts within (James 1:14-15).
In other words, what we say about our trials really matters. Let us never say God is responsible for the evil that comes from within us.
- For example: While it may be appropriate for someone to say that God is the cause of their season of singleness (he put me here in what feels like a trial), it is never appropriate to say that God is the cause of their lust problem (if he hadn’t put me in this season, I wouldn’t have this temptation).
We must not be deceived, failing to see God as our unchanging Father who gives us good and perfect gifts (James 1:16-17).
One of those good and perfect gifts is to make us good and perfect through steadfastness in trial (back up to James 1:4). This could also be described as a new birth, which he grants us through his word of truth (James 1:18).

Back to the Verse

So when we finally reach James 1:19, having walked through the chapter to that point, we see a few things:

We must be “quick to hear” the word of truth (James 1:18) that declares who God is (James 1:17), who we are (James 1:14-15), and what God is doing in us through trials (James 1:3-4).
We must be “slow to speak” words of criticism about the God (James 1:13) who brings us trials (James 1:2) to make us steadfast (James 1:12), perfect and complete (James 1:4).
We must be “slow to anger” toward the Father of lights (James 1:17), who gives generously (James 1:5), promises assuredly (James 1:12), and transforms us personally (James 1:18).

The Argument Moves On

Your anger toward God will never produce the righteousness in you God desires (James 1:20). Put away your stubborn and rebelliously self-centered interpretations of your trials—which are filthy and rampantly wicked—and receive the word of God which speaks to your trials (James 1:21). And don’t just listen, but actually do it; let God’s word change your perspective and make you truly steadfast in trial (James 1:22-25). When you’re ready to bridle your tongue, and speak of your trials (even your religion) the same way God does in his word (James 1:26), you’ll be transformed to move out beyond yourself to serve the weakest among you (James 1:27).

Conclusion

So while James 1:19 remains a marvelous memory verse, it might be helpful to know James especially has in mind our listening to God, our speaking about God, and our anger toward God. We must deal with this before we’ll be equipped to love our neighbor (James 1:27, and on into chapter 2).

Context matters.

Many thanks to my colleagues Dave Royes and Mark Fodale for showing me the way, just this week, through James’s river of thought here in chapter 1.

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Does the New Testament Misquote the Old Testament?

May 9, 2018 By Peter Krol

When you look up Old Testament passages quoted in the New Testament, you may notice that they don’t always line up exactly. For example, look at Isaiah 61:1-2, and then look at Luke’s quote of those verses in Luke 4:18-19:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor. (Is 61:1-2)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

Michael S. Heiser explains the cause for discrepancy in this brief article. In short, the New Testament authors were typically working off a Greek translation of the Hebrew original. So our Old Testaments are translating the Hebrew directly into English. But when the NT quotes the OT, our English New Testaments are translating a Greek translation of the original Hebrew. The more languages involved in the conversion, the more adjustment gets made at each step.

For a helpful example, try the following experiment. Go to Google translate, and translate a normal English phrase (such as, “My shoulder hurts from throwing too much at baseball practice yesterday”) into any other language. Copy the result. Now paste that text and translate it back into English. After just those two steps, going into Danish and back, I got: “My shoulder hurts to throw too much of baseball practice yesterday.” The discrepancies from the original should not surprise us.

(I understand that going from English to Danish to English—two total languages—is not identical to going from Hebrew to Greek to English—three total languages. My point is just to show, to an audience that is likely unilingual, what happens when you have two steps in translation.)

This doesn’t mean we can’t trust translations. It just means we have to be reasonable and sensible about how language works. Remember: The original languages don’t function like a code to be cracked. They were real documents written by real people in ordinary languages. There’s no need for concern when languages function linguistically.

Heiser’s article helpfully explains this example. Check it out!

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Context Matters: the Faith Hall of Fame

May 4, 2018 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard about “The Faith Hall of Fame” (Hebrews 11:1-40). It’s a lengthy list of Old Testament heroes and the mighty deeds our great God accomplished through them. Children’s Bibles could derive their tables of contents from this chapter, and many believers come here for inspiration and encouragement. And for good reason. But how many, like Abraham, wander into this text, not knowing where they are going? And how many of our good intentions fall like the walls of Jericho by the author’s encircling, and clearly stated, intentions? And how many come away with assurance of things hoped for, and conviction of things not seen in the text?

Context matters. If we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not as a collection of independently assembled inspirational stories—we’ll discover that some of our most familiar passages don’t actually mean what we’ve always assumed.

psmckiernan (2011), Creative Commons

The Big Idea

You don’t have to dig far into articles or commentaries on Hebrews to get the letter’s* main idea. Few would dispute it: Jesus Christ is superior. He is:

superior to angels (chapters 1-2)
superior to Moses (chapter 3)
superior to Joshua’s rest (chapter 4)
superior to the Levitical priesthood (chapters 5-7)
superior to the old covenant (chapter 8)
superior to the tabernacle (chapter 9)
superior to animal sacrifices (chapter 10)

The Main Application

As the text concludes a whirlwind review of the Old Testament legal and sacrificial system, it pulls everything together. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places” (Heb 10:19) by superior blood, through a superior way, with a superior priest, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb 10:22). “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope” (Heb 10:23) and stir one another up to love and good works.

Remember, there is no sacrifice for deliberate sin. This was the case under Moses’ law, and it remains the case under the Son of God and the Spirit of grace (Heb 10:26-30).

Wow! Sound harsh? Sound unchristian?

Perhaps. Unless you pay attention to which deliberate sin it is that cannot be covered by any sacrifice, including Christ’s. It was mentioned in Heb 10:19-25, but he brings it up again:

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings… Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward… We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Heb 10:32-39)

The sin that cannot be covered by sacrifice is the sin of throwing away one’s confidence in Christ. The sin of shrinking back from enlightenment regarding Jesus’ superiority. The sin of not holding fast the confession of hope in Jesus. The sin, that is, of lacking faith.

In other words, the only people who will be in hell are those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ as their true rest, true tabernacle, true priest, and true sacrifice. No sacrifice or religious duty could ever rescue such people. But those who maintain their believing loyalty to Christ will receive the promised reward. Don’t ever let this go; it’s not worth it. With such loyalty, you can endure any suffering.

The Hall of Fame

And on this note, the discourse launches into a litany of Old Testament examples of people whose primary hope and assurance came not from their own performance of religious duty (temple, priest, sacrifice), but from the promise of God to preserve and reward them through hardship. But the text doesn’t want us to look at these examples. No, their eyes are on us (Heb 11:39-12:1), so that our eyes can be on him (Heb 12:2-3).

The litany nearly becomes a mantra that you can’t miss: “By faith… By faith… By faith… By faith,” eighteen times. Then a “through faith” (Heb 11:33) and a “through their faith” (Heb 11:39) are thrown in for a little variety at the end.

When reading through the faith hall of fame, we sometimes miss the fact that it’s a faith hall of fame. It’s not a works hall of fame. It’s not a list of strong people who did great things for God. It’s a list of weak people who trusted that God could do great things for them. We don’t have to try to imitate the heroes of old. They’re cheering us on, encouraging us to fix our eyes on Jesus. He endured hostility so he could win us as a prize. Can we endure a bit of ridicule to win others to him as well?

Context matters.

*While it’s obvious that Hebrews comes in the section of “letters” in the New Testament, there is good reason to believe that this “letter” is really a transcribed sermon with an appended P.S. (Heb 13:22-25). But that’s another post for another day.

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What To Do When the NT Quotes the OT

May 2, 2018 By Peter Krol

Mike Leake has some great advice for what we should do when we’re reading the New Testament, and it quotes an Old Testament verse. He looks at 2 Cor 4:13, where Paul quotes Psalm 116:10, and he shows how Paul has the entire Psalm in mind as he makes his argument. Leake’s analysis is rich and compelling.

Then he concludes:

But we miss all of this if we think the biblical authors quoted verses the way that we do. So here is a little tip for your Bible reading. Whenever you see that a New Testament passage is a quotation of an Old Testament passage, don’t just go back and read that one verse in the OT. Instead go back and read the entire Psalm, or the entire context of that quote. It’ll help you to understand more fully why the biblical author quoted that verse.

Context matters. This is basic Bible study at its best, and I commend it to you.

Check it out!

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Sale on Knowable Word

April 27, 2018 By Ryan Higginbottom

If you don’t yet have a copy of the book Knowable Word, written by our own Peter Krol, now is an excellent time to buy one!

The Knowable Word book forms the spine of this website. In everything we write, we seek to help ordinary people learn to study the Bible. Peter wrote this book with that same aim. You will find that the book overlaps in some places with the earliest articles on this web site (especially in the OIA method section), but the book contains some unique material and is valuable as a self-contained entity.

The Kindle version of Knowable Word is on sale right now at Amazon.com for $2.99. I don’t know exactly how long the sale lasts, but it’s been going on for a couple of days.

Check it out!

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Context Matters: Refrain From Anger

April 27, 2018 By Peter Krol

Context matters. If we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not as a collection of independently assembled proverbial sayings—we’ll discover that some quotable quotes have much more to them than we thought.

This week, I’m happy to point you to this article by Mark ward, where he walks through his process of re-discovering a familiar verse by considering its context.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. (Psalm 37:8, NIV)

What is the connection between anger and worry (fretting), at least in the mind of this psalmist? You’ll have to read Ward’s article to find out.

Check it out!

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5 Reasons to Read the Bible Every Day

April 25, 2018 By Peter Krol

Following up on last week’s Check It Out post to “chain yourself to the Word of God,” I’m eager to share this post by Jimmy Needham with “5 Reasons to Read the Bible Every Day.” According to Needham:

Before you get into God’s word, remember that becoming Bible-literate is not about being smarter, or beefing up your spiritual resume, or lording your knowledge over others. It’s about looking through the pages to the Savior on the other side. Jesus says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40). It’s about seeing and savoring Jesus Christ through his word. We don’t worship the font. We worship the Father.

Take this to heart, and Needham’s counsel will change your life. What are his 5 reasons?

You cannot love God, and not listen to him.
Your faith need promises to survive.
We become like what we behold.
You will only find the joy you want in words.
There is work to be done.

The Bible teaches us that God loves the forgotten and the misfit. It shows us the value of shepherding our families. It introduces us to the generosity of other Christians (2 Corinthians 8:1–7), and calls us to be openhanded with what God gives us. It heralds the sanctity of every human life and inspires us to fight for the unborn. It declares that race should not be a barrier to Christian unity, but a beautiful occasion for it. We become equipped for every good work in the Bible.

Check it out!

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Context Matters: Cast All Your Cares on Him

April 20, 2018 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard the verse about casting all your cares on the Lord, because he cares for you (1 Pet 5:7, CSB). Some translations talk about your “anxiety” (NIV) or “anxieties” (ESV), instead of your “cares,” but the idea is the same. Does this mean we can trust God with whatever bothers us on a given day, or through a season of life? And that the greatest comfort we can find in the midst of any anxiety is that God cares for us?

Well…yes. Of course it means such things. For this week’s text (unlike the widow’s mite or the parable of the talents), the context will not overhaul our common usage of this verse. But the context will suggest a particular application I bet you’ve rarely considered.

Kheel Center (1966), Creative Commons

Peter’s Wider Audience

Peter wrote his first letter to “those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Pet 1:1). These people were Jewish believers in Christ who had been scattered across the Roman empire. They were enduring severe trials for their loyalty to Jesus (1 Pet 1:6, 2:12, 3:9, 3:14-16, 4:1, 4:12-14). To capture this dominating theme of suffering persecution, 1 Pet 5:10-11 might serve as the letter’s main point.

I’d like to follow the argument of the section about casting your anxiety on him (1 Pet 5:1-11), but first let me point out how the immediately preceding section concludes with another of those verses about suffering:

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (1 Pet 4:19)

Peter’s overall tone is clear: Suffering is hard. We don’t want to make it any harder than it already is. One way we do this is by trusting God through persecution.

The Text’s Logic

When we hit 1 Pet 5:1, Peter narrows his applications specifically to the church’s elders, whom he exhorts to shepherd God’s flock. Peter then lists three contrasts between proper and improper oversight (1 Pet 5:2-3) before concluding with their hope of glory (1 Pet 5:4).

In verse 5, Peter shifts attention to “those who are younger,” by which phrase he seems to refer to the rest of the church who is to “be subject to the elders.” And then he lumps both groups (elders and church members) together with the command to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.”

So Peter wants elders to shepherd with humility, and he wants church members to submit with humility. All need humility. And this humility is unquestionably precious, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Do you want God to be gracious to you or to oppose you? Whether you are a leader in the church or a follower, seek to put others before yourself, thus clothing yourself with humility. When you do this, you are doing nothing short of humbling yourself “under the mighty hand of God,” who will exalt you at the proper time (1 Pet 5:6).

But let’s be honest: Such humility is terrifying. Are you telling me, Peter, that, as an elder, if I focus more on being an example than on pointing out all the ways my people need to change, God will be gracious? Are you telling me, Peter, that, as a church member, if I submit to the leadership of fallen men who keep making poor decisions and choosing not to consult the congregation, God will exalt me?

Yes, that’s exactly what he’s saying. What does it look like to clothe yourselves with humility toward one another and to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God? It means that you don’t create factions in the church, with the leadership vs. the people, or with strife, suspicion, and power struggles. You don’t lob accusations back and forth across the aisle. You don’t rally supporters to your cause or try to marginalize dissidents.

No. This kind of humility means you will be honest about whatever anxiety you feel toward the other side (either the leadership or the laity), and you will cast that anxiety on the Lord. He cares for you far more than sinful leaders ever could. And he cares for you far more than ungrateful followers ever could. You don’t need the other side to give you your security; you have it in the Son of God, who never reviled those who reviled him (1 Pet 2:23).

(Caveat: Now there are times when we need to speak up and resist real wrongdoing in the church. Peter is not necessarily speaking to those situations. So let’s not go immediately to all the loopholes that might convince us his instruction here doesn’t apply to us.)

Now if our church is under attack from the outside for standing on the truth of the gospel, the very last thing we need is to be mistrustful of either the leadership or the congregation. We don’t need to freak out if we disagree with the decisions being made. And we don’t need to freak out if we don’t feel unquestioning support for our authority. Wherever you find yourself before God: Cast your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Don’t make the situation any worse. The devil prowls about, seeking to exploit just such a crack in the community of God’s people (1 Pet 5:8-9).

Conclusion

Does this mean it would be incorrect to apply 1 Pet 5:7 to a financial loss, parenting heartache, or romantic disaster? Of course not. Peter clearly draws on a larger principle when making his application to relations between church leaders and laity. But as we make a variety of applications, let’s at least not ignore the main thing Peter had in mind.

Context matters.

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Chain Yourself to the Word of God

April 18, 2018 By Peter Krol

This article by Steve Robinson is addressed to church planters, but there is no reason his words can’t apply to any believer in Christ. Steve talks about the entropy of life, which causes us to lose our bearings and drift from one complex situation to another. Eventually we get so busy that we have no time left for Bible intake. We thereby cut ourselves off from the fount of eternal life and true encouragement.

Again, Robinson is speaking to church planters. But replace “church planter” with “Bible study leader,” “Sunday school teacher,” or even “parent,” and the point does not change:

Church planter: do you want to know the most important thing you can do in your ministry? Chain yourself to the Word of God. I know you have a million and one things to do. I know the needs of your congregation feel unending. But if the Word isn’t your lifeline, you won’t have anything to offer your needy people.

These exhortations are worth considering before you begin to feel the drift. In a time of plenty, how can you lay the tracks in your life that will make it easier for you to keep chugging when you’re going uphill? What habits would you like to form now so that inertia will be in your favor when you face resistance?

Robinson’s article describes glorious motives from Psalm 119 for such questions.

Check it out!

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