Knowable Word - Bible study help

Proclaiming the Gospel from Old Testament Narrative

May 3, 2023 By Peter Krol

Some friends of mine recently pointed me to this article from Steve Mathewson on preaching the gospel from Judges. Mathewson wrestled through an old debate about whether we ought to teach OT narratives as foreshadowings of Christ or as examples to follow or avoid. And in the end, Mathewson cogently demonstrates that we shouldn’t have to decide between those options.

After wrestling through a philosophical framework for reading the OT, Mathewson gives a few examples from texts about Ehud and Barak.

I agree with many of Mathewson’s conclusions. One thing I would add to his reflection is that, before we even attempt to connect the text to Christ or to application, we must first grasp the author’s main point for the original audience. Mathewson essentially does this in his examples, but he doesn’t state outright that he is doing so. But much trouble would be resolved if didn’t race immediately from the text to the cross, or from the text to today. Taking the time to consider the full meaning for the original audience is the very practice that will enable us to grasp its teaching about Christ and its true implications for people today.

And though Mathewson frames his article around preaching, his framework applies just as much to personal or small group Bible study.

Check it out!

HT: Mark Fodale, Andy Cimbala

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How Jesus Overcame His Enemies

April 28, 2023 By Peter Krol

I’ve been writing on the theme of strife in Proverbs. It’s wise to avoid it whenever possible. But when that’s not possible, we must recognize its complexities. This enables us to overcome our enemies by dying, because “when a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Prov 16:7).

For Real?

But is that for real? Is it possible to achieve peace? Is it possible to please the Lord?

Well, it’s not a magic formula, such that if you plug in certain inputs you are guaranteed an immediate output of peace. Often that peace is a long time in coming, and it comes through much sweat and pain.

‌But the Lord can do it.

‌And If you wish to have peace with your enemies, you’ll never get there by shouting, defending, attacking, or taking revenge. You can’t earn true peace by winning the argument. And you can’t win true peace by letting the enemy steamroll you. Such peace is only God’s to grant when a person’s ways please him.

‌So the big question is: What does it take to please him? What must God’s people do in order for God to grant them victory over their enemies?

‌Look at Christ

The best thing we can do is look at our Lord Jesus Christ to see how he did it, because, make no mistake: He certainly triumphed over his enemies.

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Colossians 2:15

‌Jesus conquered all the demonic spiritual powers who declared war on him. He put them to shame and triumphed over them.

‌But what was his tactic? How did he do it? The two verses immediately prior to this explain it.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14

‌We were Jesus’ enemies. We were dead in our sins. And if you pledge your allegiance to him, it shows that he made you alive by forgiving all your trespasses. Every vile thought, and every rebellious word we spoke—all of it was forgiven, having been nailed to the cross along with Jesus.

‌And his death was his greatest triumph.

‌1 Corinthians says that if the demonic powers of the world knew what was happening, they never would have crucified him (1 Cor 2:8),‌ because they thought they were cutting off his work once and for all.

‌But in reality, his death was his victory. The cross was his throne.

‌So Jesus makes the spiritually dead come to life, and he defeats the supernatural powers by giving his life so we could be forgiven. This. This is what empowers our obedience to God’s call of wisdom, because the call of wisdom is a call to come and die with Jesus.

‌Not to defend your rights or set the record straight. Not to win the argument or get your way. But to die to your self-interest for the good of others. These are the Bible’s marching orders for God’s people when they are surrounded by enemies.

‌Because in dying, we transmit life. By pursuing peace, we win the war. By laying down our arms, we disarm those who attack us.

‌This is the only way we could ever waive our rights, ask questions when we want to explain ourselves, persuade with truth, when it would feel better to just win, or confess to our own wrongdoing, when the other person’s wrongdoing seems so much bigger and clearer.

‌The Christian’s Fight

‌So in the end, Christians see their enemies the way the Lord Jesus saw us: Not as vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, but as needy sinners awaiting redemption. That shift in perspective will empower you to do something they’d never expect.

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Proverbs 25:21-22

‌If you try to win the fight, you will lose. But if you are willing to die to your own interests, if you waive your rights, ask questions instead of making demands, speak compelling truth, make authentic confession whenever appropriate, and in all things seek only to please the Lord—

You will overcome your enemies, and the Lord will reward you for it.

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Applying the Old Testament in Africa

April 26, 2023 By Peter Krol

I appreciate seeing how Christian brethren around the world seek to apply the Bible in their own context. While the interpretation of the Bible is rooted in the author’s intention for his original audience, application of the Bible can and should be as varied and diverse as are the people laboring to apply it.

And there is much we can learn from watching those in other culture apply the Scripture to the particular issues they face. For example, this piece from Africa wrestles with proper application of the Old Testament to contemporary African issues such as circumcision and polygamy.

Polygamy was not God’s plan for humanity. The fact that God made concessions to the polygamous practices of Abraham, Jacob, and David does not mean that he approved their sexual choices. Abraham and Jacob were still influenced by their cultures as they were learning God’s principles for family. David used polygamy to form alliances. Unfortunately, some Christians in Africa have used the example of Abraham to justify polygamy. God honoured Abraham’s faith; he nowhere condoned Abraham’s polygamy.

Check it out!

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Against Springboard Studies

April 24, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

How can a Bible study go wrong when the entire focus is on the Bible? How can a Sunday school class or sermon be steeped in God’s word and leave us feeling empty?

Springboard Studies

Some Bible studies are springboard studies. The Bible study leader reads the passage and identifies connected biblical themes. Then the group time becomes an opportunity to teach on or discuss those themes.

I call these “springboard studies” because the leader takes the given passage as a jumping-off point—a springboard—to a different discussion. Springboard studies have the appearance of being faithful to the text of Scripture because the group is reading numerous Bible passages and talking about theology and doctrine. However, at the end of the hour, participants rarely have a good idea about the meaning of the discussion’s “text of origin.”

This is common for teachers, speakers, and preachers, too. People serving those in those roles should read on with their domain in mind.

What Drives Discussion?

Springboard studies can be lively and engaging. This is often because the leader jumps from the passage to a topic about which they are passionate or interested. As such, the leader puts a lot of energy into defending a doctrine or explaining some theological development close to their heart.

The problem with this approach is that it almost by definition misses the main point of the passage. People attending the Bible study may leave with a better sense of the leader’s allegiances and theological preferences but without an understanding of why the original text was written.

Bible interpretation is hard work, and we often need to fight to understand what the author was trying to communicate. But if a Bible study group claims to be studying a certain book of Scripture, the goal should be to observe, interpret, and apply that text.

Building a Theological Framework

Please don’t misunderstand me. Theology and doctrine are of great importance, and we sometimes build portions of our theological frameworks on the smaller points or assumptions of the Biblical authors. (Although, it is worth asking how devoted we should be to doctrines which are not the main points of any Bible passage.)

My issue is with Bible studies (or sermons) that claim to be expositional, verse-by-verse examinations of Scripture passages which may better be described as “inspired by the text.”

How to Avoid Leading a Springboard Study

Springboard studies come about, in part, because we don’t think the Bible is interesting or important enough to hold our attention for 45 minutes. So we map a word, phrase, character, or scene from the Bible onto something “more relevant” that will sustain a longer conversation. As though merely having a conversation—any conversation at all—were the goal of Bible study!

The main way to avoid leading a springboard study is to let the text of Scripture drive the discussion. After observing the passage, we fire every related question we can think of at the text. The Scripture in front of us may not have answers to all (or many) of these questions, but the work of interpretation is to keep asking and answering questions until we identify the author’s main point.

There is an important place in the church for classes, lectures, and conversations about Biblical topics which are not rooted in a single passage. But let’s not confuse this with Bible study.

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The Sort of Bible I Wish I Had

April 21, 2023 By Peter Krol

Having just closed our annual Bible reading challenge, we had the privilege of giving away a set of ESV Old Testament Scripture Journals for the grand prize. We are deeply grateful to Crossway Bibles for providing the grand prize for this year’s challenge.

These Scripture journals are remarkable, and I buy them for my family whenever we have a new sermon series, Bible study, or Sunday school book study. The text is printed only on the left-hand page, with ample space between lines for marking it up. The right-hand page is blank except for being lined for notes.

Each book of the Bible comes in a separate volume, so you can take your Proverbs journal to church for sermon notes, and your 1-2 Kings journal to small group. They take up a lot of space on the shelf, but not very much in your bag on the go.

These sets are outstanding and are the sort of Bible I wish I had when I was younger (before I began taking all my notes digitally). My only beef is that I wish there were a version for left-handed people (with the Scripture text on the right-hand page), but I understand there probably aren’t enough of us right-minded Bible customers to justify the cost of production.

I highly recommend you check them out. Find them at Westminster, Amazon, or Crossway.

Disclaimer: Westminster and Amazon links are affiliate links. Clicking them will provide a small commission to this blog at no extra cost to yourself.

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Why “Just Your Interpretation” is Never a Reasonable Refutation

April 19, 2023 By Peter Krol

Kevin DeYoung writes thoughtfully about a perceived resurgence of “that’s just your interpretation” as a defeater accusation toward disagreeable Christian doctrine. Whether it’s the uniqueness of Christ, the necessity of his salvation, the definition of marriage, or the distinction of male and female—some folks may think they’ve refuted the Christian position by simply observing that disagreement exists among Christian interpreters. So one interpretation cannot be any more valid than another.

DeYoung exposes the problem with such accusations:

The reality is that “interpretations” are what we have in every area of intellectual inquiry. The problem of pervasive interpretation pluralism is not an evangelical problem. It is a human problem. Do we really think historians, economists, sociologists, and scientists don’t disagree on how to interpret matters in their field? And do we think they aren’t confident that their conclusions are much more sure than mere “interpretations”? If we are going to give up on reading texts and reaching firm conclusions, we won’t just marginalize the Bible; we will render the entire exercise of human reason fruitless and irrelevant.

The objection cannot stand up under its own weight.

Check it out!

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Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Bible Reading Challenge

April 14, 2023 By Peter Krol

We love motivating people to read more of their Bibles. So since 2017, we’ve held an annual 90-day Bible reading challenge with prizes both material and immaterial. (Click here for explanation of the benefits of rapid Bible reading.) This year’s challenge just wrapped up, with 23 entries submitted for the drawing, and winners have been notified.

Congratulations to Abigail H. for winning the grand prize of a set of Scripture journals, and to Charles H. for winning a one-volume reader’s Bible! If you have not responded to me yet with a shipping address, you have a few more days to do so before we have to select an alternate winner.

One of the things I love about our annual Bible reading challenge is hearing what the participants thought of the experience. Here are some quotes from those who entered the drawing, identified by the length of time in which they read the entire Bible:

50 days: It was great! My previous fastest read was 6 months, and I finished reading/listening in 50 days with this challenge, and it was a different experience from any reading/listening plan I’ve done before, because with reading/listening to so much so fast, I was able to make connections I haven’t in the past, because so much of it was still fresh from the few days before.

90 days: This was a gift. I have tried year-long reading plans and never made it past February. This was my first time actually reading every word of Scripture. It has made me crave reading God’s word and stirred up a desire to know him more. I am so excited to do this again and invite others to join me.

88 days: This is my third year participating in this with you. I was really looking forward to it this year. It is refreshing to get the whole story tied together in the quick read. I have a notebook nearby to jot down verses, ideas, etc that I want to explore further and this gives direction for further study along the way. I’ve known for 60+ years that the Bible is one coherent story, but these past few years with these 90 day reads, it is becoming so real. More and more I see connections throughout, way beyond the basic prophecies focused on each December. Thank you again for issuing this challenge. I plan to keep it a part of my yearly plans.

89 days: The experience far outweighs my expectations. I was amazed how the Lord in His grace has provided me with so much insights into his word. I have always refused to do even a yearly overall reading of the Bible as I think that only a good deep study will reap more benefits than just reading. I have never thought I can learn so much through this fast paced reading of His word. So thankful I did this challenge.

74 days: I was surprised by how short the Bible was. (It is the equivalent of 4 novels.) I noticed a lot more connections between the Old Testament and the New by reading quickly and I felt like it was easier to remember the context of each book.

73 days: It drew me closer to the Lord! Always looked forward to reading it!

90 days: I like doing it at the beginning of the year because it helps me to establish a good habit and to set aside time to consistently dig into God’s Word throughout the year.

90 days: I really disliked reading Psalms and Proverbs so quickly. Those literary types did not do as well in big gulps. Overall, it was helpful for the rest of the books.

88 days: The more I do this challenge the more I enjoy reading large sections of Bible text each day. I don’t stop and ponder anything I read but somehow it sticks with me more than it used to. I used to feel lost reading through Isaiah and other prophets who have long sections of poetry. I think the way the CSB Reader’s Bible lays out poetic text helped to make it easier this time.

53 days: The more you read God’s Word the more you fall in love with the one who loved me so much that He sent His Son to die for me so I can be redeemed.

Many thanks to all who participated. Keys your eyes peeled in November for the launch of the 2024 Bible reading challenge!

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Find Friends Who Know the Bible

April 12, 2023 By Peter Krol

Your friends foreshadow your fate. Show me your friends, and I’ll show your odds at ever finding wisdom.

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Proverbs 13:20

Part of the reason for this is that wise friends will tell you what you need to hear, while foolish friends will tell you only what you want to hear.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Proverbs 27:6

Daniel Seabaugh understands these truths as he reflects on the gift of friends who know the Bible. He describes the delight and support to be found when you surround yourself with people who know and have courage to speak the Scripture into your life. Speaking such friends, Seabaugh writes:

When I watch them lead at work, home, and church, I’m encouraged to take Christ-like responsibility for my own life. Whether they realize it or not (and I think they get it), their lives display God’s power. When we acknowledge our weakness and invite Christ into those spaces, God shows up in mighty ways. I’ve seen it over and over in the lives of my friends.

Check it out!

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What Comes After Resurrection?

April 10, 2023 By Ryan Higginbottom

Bruno van der Kraan (2018), public domain

We tend to think of Jesus’s resurrection as his last act on earth, the final event in the Gospel accounts. But this isn’t so.

While the empty tomb is the last major episode of the Gospels, we must read on to know what Jesus did afterward. The Gospel writers did not end their accounts with the resurrection!

What Jesus spent his time doing and saying after the resurrection was crucial, both for the disciples and for us. In this article we’ll look at the Gospel of John, and we’ll see that Jesus spent his time confirming the resurrection and sending his disciples on their mission.

Jesus Confirms His Resurrection

I will not focus on the resurrection itself, as Peter has already written about the resurrection as Jesus’s final sign in John’s Gospel.

Jesus’s meetings with the disciples after his resurrection take up most of the last two chapters of John. Jesus took care to reveal himself and show that he was the same man who had recently died and been buried.

When Jesus first appeared to the gathering of the fearful, hiding disciples, he showed them his hands and side (John 20:20). Thomas had not been present, and he (famously) wanted to see the proof for himself. Jesus encouraged Thomas to touch his hands and side—something we are not told he did for the other disciples. Thomas believed, and said “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:24–29)

John understood that Jesus aimed to persuade. He said that Jesus did many other signs for the disciples beyond those which were recorded (John 20:30). John was on board with this mission—he wrote his Gospel in part so that readers would believe Jesus is the Christ (John 20:31).

Jesus also appeared to seven of the disciples on the sea shore. They recognized Jesus when he told them to fish on the other side of their boat. He invited them to the shore and made them a breakfast of bread and fish. John emphasizes the importance of these appearances: “This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead” (John 21:14).

In these encounters, Jesus repeatedly confirmed that he was alive. His disciples could see and touch and eat with him. He was not a ghost or a hallucination; the resurrection really happened, just as he had said.

Jesus Commissions the Disciples

Jesus also took time after his resurrection to send his disciples on their mission.

When Jesus greeted his disciples at that first post-resurrection meeting, he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” He breathed on them, and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:21–22). John connects the power of the Holy Spirit with the sending of the disciples, just as Luke does (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8).

Jesus commissioned the disciples as a group, but he paid special attention to restore and empower Peter. Three separate times Jesus asks Peter if he (Peter) loves him (Jesus). When Peter says that he does, Jesus points him to his work: “Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” “Feed my sheep.” Jesus also told Peter directly: “Follow me” (John 21:15–19).

Later, when Peter asked Jesus about John, Jesus cut through the question to remind Peter of what was most important: “You follow me!” (John 21:22)

An Important Connection

After his resurrection, Jesus focused on confirming his resurrection and sending his disciples on their mission. But these are not separate tasks for Jesus.

Jesus’s resurrection confirmed all of his teaching and prophecy. Since the disciples were sent out to proclaim the good news of the Messiah, it was vital that they had this validation for themselves. Because they would face intense persecution and hardship for their message, they needed to be convinced of the truth. Jesus sent them on their mission, emboldened with resurrection hope and power.

What was true for Jesus’s disciples in the first century is true for us today as well. This is, after all, why John’s Gospel was written (John 20:31).

Are you convinced that Jesus rose from the dead? If so, does this give you courage and hope to go on the mission God has for you?

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Overcome Your Enemies by Dying

April 7, 2023 By Peter Krol

What do you do when people turn against you? When those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ come after you for daring to follow him? When nitpicking and backstabbing are the standard operating procedure in the workplace? When family members use guilt and pressure to manipulate you into doing what they want?

‌What do you do when your friends turn against you and become your enemies?

‌The book of Proverbs refers to such situations as “strife,” and I’ve previously addressed the causes and complexities of such strife. It’s one thing to try to avoid strife. But what do you do when the dam breaks and the water has come rushing out (Prov 17:14)? When your enemies come after you, and there’s no possibility of staying away?

God does not ask his people to live as idiotic simpletons or punching bags. God wants his people to overcome strife and evil (Rom 12:21). But the way you overcome it matters. To win the fight in the wrong way is to lose.

Fundamental Mindset: What You Can Control

To begin with, the Lord doesn’t expect you or me to try to take his place. None of us can get what we want or predetermine any outcomes. That means we can’t control what others will do; we can control only what we do.

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4

When we focus on what we can do in the midst of strife, we are best equipped to live in a way that pleases the Lord. To speak and act with steadfast love and faithfulness and so imitate the God who has shown steadfast love and faithfulness toward us.

Five Tactics: Overcome by Dying

Once we’ve got the right mindset, we’re ready to practice five tactics found along the way of wisdom.

Waived Rights

Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
Proverbs 20:22

Strife often tempts us to assert our rights—especially the rights to make a defense and to see justice served. But the middle of a heated conversation is typically not the best time for asserting such rights.

The repayment of evil could take the form of vengeance. Even socially acceptable vengeance. For example, if a bully trips a kid walking down the hallway, nobody would complain if that kid got the bully back by tripping him in another hallway. Similarly, when someone shouts and swears at you, it might feel like justice to shout and swear back. But the wise wait for the Lord to deliver them.

The repayment of evil can also take the form of simply seeking to set the record straight or present your resume of good deeds. But it’s usually better to keep quiet and let your enemy show off his folly for all to see.

A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
Proverbs 29:11

The Lord honors such wisdom, when a person waives their right to speak their mind or to defend their actions. But it feels like death to do this.

Genuine Questions

If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.
Proverbs 18:13

The fool always comes out swinging, spouting accusations. But the wise person knows that there is always more to a situation than meets the eye. So—even when they feel great offense by the terrible and false things said about them—they know they don’t have all the facts, and they take the time to hear out their accusers.

And no matter how ridiculous the accusations may appear, something remarkable happens when—instead of going right into their defense—a wise person instead asks questions.

I didn’t realize you felt that way. Can you please tell me more?
What did I say or do that caused you so much pain?
What did you think I meant by it?
How could I have done it differently?
How would you like to see our relationship improve?

It’s amazing how disarming such questions can be. Perhaps you really screwed up, and your enemy is just not expressing his concern in a wise manner. If you are wise, you can still learn from it. And if your opponent’s perspective is foolish and unreasonable, your honest questions may give every onlooker the opportunity to see that folly and unreasonableness for themselves.

The Lord honors such wisdom, when a person chooses not to defend themself but makes sure they first have fully understood their opponent’s perspective. But it feels like death to this, especially if you are the only person who cares about trying to understand before being understood.

Compelling Truth

When it’s eventually time for you to speak and offer some of your own answers, you’ll want to do it as compellingly as possible.

That means minding your tone:

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

It also means speaking only verifiable truth:

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
Proverbs 15:2

If you have done the work of calming your enemy down by asking loads of questions, and by communicating how much you desire to understand their perspective, why would you then wreck the whole thing by responding with a harsh word? Why would you let your disappointment and frustration take over? A harsh word will accomplish nothing except stirring their anger back up.

And if you are wise, your tongue will commend knowledge. In other words, it will formally praise the truth. It will present what is true as something worthy of approval and acceptance.

‌Maybe that sounds self-evident, but most of us don’t do it.

‌If your response to your enemy begins with, “You always…,” then you are not commending knowledge. You are pouring out folly, because nobody “always” says or does the wrong thing.
‌If you frame your response to your enemy as, “I feel that…,” then you are probably not commending knowledge, because the main issue is not how you feel but what was actually said or done.
If you allow your severe emotions to warp the facts in any way, you are not commending knowledge, because we’re never justified to twist reality or rewrite history in order to get our own way.

The Lord honors such wisdom, when a person minds their tone and speaks only verifiable truth. This is how they make the truth compelling. But it feels like death to do this, especially if you are the only person in the room who seems to care about such gentle truth.

Authentic Confession

When our self-protective alarm systems kick in, we’re generally quick and eager to defend our every word and deed. But the way of wisdom is to be patient and not be hasty in rendering such self-acquittal.

It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,” and to reflect only after making vows.
Proverbs 20:25

So don’t be so quick to label your actions or motivations as holy in the heat of the moment. Don’t be quick to judge yourself as being without guilt. Don’t let fear drive you to make irrational excuses for yourself.

Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?
Proverbs 20:9

It is true that we must not make stuff up or apologize for things that aren’t sins (Isaiah 5:20-21). But even with that said, it is simply a fact of reality that I am still a sinner who has not yet been made perfect. I should be able to find something in the accusations against me that has a ring of truth. I can take ownership of that, call it what it is, and confess it authentically, without a hint of bitterness or resentment.

The Lord honors such wisdom, when a person doesn’t make excuses, but takes ownership to confess everything they can legitimately confess as sin or weakness. But it feels like death to do this, especially if you are the only person in the room who seems to take any responsibility for their own actions.

God Pleasing

In the midst of strife, some people are desperate to please themselves, so they fight until they win. And other people are desperate to please their enemies, so they stop fighting and roll over, just to calm things down.

‌But the Lord says there is only One whom we must please. And if we do, in fact, please him, it changes everything.