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The Danger of an Open Bible

July 22, 2020 By Peter Krol

Jared Olivetti has an intriguing piece at Gentle Reformation, where he reflects on how dangerous it can be for people to read their Bibles the wrong way.

When Jesus and Satan had their showdown in the wilderness, what was the Enemy’s great tactic? To quote, misquote, and under-quote God’s Word, giving his lies the appearance of evil (don’t all the best lies do that?). Every great heretic in the history of the church has been an expert in the Bible and has used the Bible to do terrible things. An open Bible is a dangerous thing. More specifically, poor Bible reading is dangerous Bible reading. In all seriousness, consider how many people have been horribly abused with the Bible.
We certainly don’t have the option of not reading or preaching the Bible! But this is a double-edged sword…and just as I wouldn’t want you swinging a sword around without learning how to use it first, Jesus wants you to read and to read well.

I particularly appreciate his concern with the danger of Bible dissection:

…to read with dissection is to read the Bible with a microscope, to read atomistically, on the most minute level possible. This happens when we read without any sense of the context, just waiting for a verse to jump out at us. And when said verse does jump, we make it our verse for the day (or, worse, our “life-verse”), never bothering to wonder what the author intended to say, what the first audience thought, or how it fits into the whole scope of the Bible. This is the instagram way of reading the Bible.

Check it out!

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How to Share Scripture While Respecting Context

July 20, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

I’ve argued that the context of Scripture is so important that ignoring it is dangerous. One might conclude that I want people to share the Bible less often.

Nothing could be further from the truth! I want the Bible in the hearts and on the tongues of all people from pole to pole, and that won’t happen unless Christians share God’s word with others.

I don’t want the Bible to be shared less. I want it to be shared better.

Reminder: Context Matters

On this blog we have produced many arguments and examples of why context matters. We will not grasp the intended meaning of a Bible passage if we don’t understand how it fits into the larger picture.

Respecting context is particularly important when we talk about the Bible with others. In these situations we are not only communicating the meaning of the Bible but also the proper use of the Bible.

If we fling around solitary verses, this teaches others to do the same. And many, many bad theologies and heresies have resulted from this practice. (Stay tuned for more on this in my next post.)

Our Top Priority

When we talk about the Bible with our friends, we should labor to communicate what is true. So the first step in sharing Scripture with our friends is to study the Bible passage until we understand it.

Here at Knowable Word we advocate studying the Bible using the OIA framework. We have lots of articles, examples, and resources to help ordinary people learn how to study the Bible.

This will take time and effort. But the payoff will be worth it—we will have confidence that the Scriptures we are passing along mean what we claim.

Here are two suggestions on how to share Scripture while honoring context.

Suggestion #1: Share the Context

One way to avoid ignoring context is to provide the context. Instead of lifting a verse out of a chapter, send along the whole chapter.

Having already studied the passage, we will have a good sense of the literary unit in which the passage lives. This unit (at minimum) is what we should share.

Here’s our first example. If I had a friend who was burdened by the weight of his sins, I might want him to understand that salvation means we no longer fear punishment and hell. I would suggest he read 1 John 4:13–21 and pay special attention to verses 17 and 18. Instead of sending along a verse or two, I’d suggest those verses within their context, all of which my friend should be able to read in one sitting.

Suggestion #2: Summarize the Context

If it is not practical to share the entire context of a Bible passage, another approach is to summarize the context of the passage.

Here’s a second example. If I wanted to encourage a friend with the compassion and grace of Jesus, I might consider his conversation with the thief on the cross. Many people are familiar with Jesus’s final words to him: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). In context, this is less a treatise on what happens to the soul upon death than an example of Jesus offering forgiveness to broken sinners who come to him.

To grasp the context, a person should understand the way Jesus loved and identified with the mocked and scorned throughout his ministry. When Jesus was at the height of his own humiliation, he embraced others who were hated and cast out. And in his final act, he took the place of those he loved—he became ridiculed for the ridiculed.

If I wanted to share this passage with a friend, I would not just quote the punchline verse. I would offer a few words (as in the paragraph above) about Jesus’s ministry and companions in Luke. I would also suggest that my friend read Luke 23:32–43.

In this situation, it isn’t reasonable to ask my friend to read all of Luke. But a short introduction and then the Bible text itself can work as a substitute.

Respecting Every Context

Most of the discussion above uses “context” to refer to the literary context of a passage—the author’s flow of thought and how the passage fits with what precedes and follows it. But we must recognize historical context (the occasion, author, and audience) and biblical context (how other Biblical authors refer or allude to it) as well.

This may result in different practices when sharing portions of the Psalms and Proverbs, for example.

Loving Those with Whom You Share

The way we share the Bible with a friend will depend on that friend’s background. Our communication will differ from a Christian to a non-Christian, from a new believer to a seasoned saint. All of this takes wisdom.

One of the most loving things we can do for our friends is to connect them with God’s word. As we pray for opportunities to do this, let’s work hard to share the Bible in context.

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Inviting Guest Posts for Book Overviews

July 17, 2020 By Peter Krol

Right before quarantine-induced cabin fever set in, I began a series of posts with interpretive book overviews. I made it only through Genesis and Exodus before life’s curve ball made me alter my swing for a season. Now I’m just about ready to get back to it.

With that said, I would like to draw your attention to the contents page, where I list all the books of the Bible for which I plan to write these interpretive overviews. Two of them already have pretty little hyperlinks, which will lead you to those first two posts I wrote back in March (which amounts to eons in virus-years).

The keen observers among you will notice that not all 66 books are included on the list. And those who have been trained in asking interpretive questions are wondering: Why are not all 66 books on the list? Have no fear; I will now tell you. The reason is because ~~I must keep close reign on the magnitude of my ignorance~~ I prefer not to write on topics where I have little to say that would be useful. And I have not yet spent enough time in the unlisted books to believe I have anything to say for which I could be accused of being useful.

This is, perhaps, where you come in. I would be pleased—nay, delighted—to publish guest posts from the many competent, yet ordinary, Bible students out there who are actually acquainted with the books absent from my list. For the purposes of this invitation, I don’t care how many degrees you have; I do care how well you’ve grasped the argument of one or more books of the Bible.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

Most Bible book overviews out there are focused on historical context (time and circumstances of writing) and observation: summarizing and re-stating the content. These are very important and helpful, but I am doing something different here. I am looking for overviews focused on interpretation: identifying main points, showing literary divisions, and following the author’s train of thought and/or argument. I am looking for overviews that walk through the argument of a book (see my posts on Genesis and Exodus for examples).
Posts can be up to 1,300 words. But if you can say it in fewer words, please do so.
I prefer your guest post to be submitted as a Google doc. Please simply share the doc with peter.krol@knowableword.com, adding any message you would like to introduce yourself. If you don’t have a Google account or don’t know how to create Google docs, you may attach a Word file to an email sent to peter.krol@knowableword.com.
If I accept your submission, I will publish it here on the blog, link to it from the overviews page, include a bio linking to your own website or profiles page(s), and give you an extra entry in our next annual Bible reading giveaway.

Thank you for your help with this series, and I can’t wait to work together on this project with more of you!

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Mastering the Middle Books of the Psalms

July 15, 2020 By Peter Krol

I’ve written before about my study of Book I of the Psalms (Psalms 1-41), sharing the spreadsheet I created to help with the analysis. I’ve now proceeded through books II (Psalms 42-72), III (Psalms 73-89), and IV (Psalms 90-106), updating the spreadsheet accordingly.

I propose the following as the main point of each book:

Book I: Though the Messiah, like David, suffers at the hands of men, God accepts him as his own.
Book II: We need a king greater than David.
Book III: We are desperate in our exile.
Book IV: We have hope our exile will eventually end.

In addition, I have a strong suspicion that books III and IV are each structured as an extended chiasm, where the second half is parallel to the first but in reverse order.

Please feel free to check out the spreadsheet, make a copy, and use this information in any way that may be helpful to you. The spreadsheet also links to each of the daily devotional videos I recorded over the last few months.

For future reference, you can find a link to the spreadsheet on the Resources page. I’ll let you know when I complete my work on Book V.

Check it out.

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Context Matters: My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

July 10, 2020 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard Jesus’ cry of dereliction while hanging on the cross. “How great the pain of searing loss; the Father turns his face away” (Stuart Townend). Perhaps you knew that Jesus was alluding to David’s lament in Psalm 22. But what exactly was David’s concern, and why was it so devastating? And how did Jesus share that experience in his own crucifixion?

When we learn to read the Bible properly—not as an assortment of quotes and aphorisms—we find that some familiar phrases take on entirely new meanings.

David’s Crisis of Faith

In Psalm 22, David feels utterly abandoned by God (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). The reason is that, as he looks around, he sees no evidence of God’s presence or activity to save (“Why are you so far from saving me?”). David cries and cries, but receives no answer (Ps 22:1-2).

David understands how these things work, and he seeks to console himself with the perspective of history. In Israel’s covenant with her God, there is a direct connection between loyal trust and deliverance.

In you our fathers trusted (Ps 22:4a).
They trusted, and you delivered them (Ps 22:4b).
To you they cried and were rescued (Ps 22:5a).
In you they trusted and were not put to shame (Ps 22:5b).

Those who trusted in God were rescued, and those who proved disloyal were put to open shame. This strengthens David to persevere in trust and believing loyalty (Ps 22:3).

“But I am a worm and not a man” (Ps 22:6). The problem is, it’s not working the way it ought. David has trusted and remained loyal, but he is still put to shame! He is mocked and scorned. His trust in Yahweh is now the very thing for which he is mocked (Ps 22:8).

What’s at stake here is that the connection between trust and deliverance appears to be broken. For generations, the Israelites had a pattern of abandoning God when things didn’t go their way. Will David do the same? Now that he has hard evidence that trust in God will not pay off? Will he change his mind and go back to Egypt? Will he grumble and complain? Will he turn to other gods?

In the rest of the psalm, we see David mature from a questioner (Ps 22:1-10) to a beggar (Ps:11-21), then to a preacher (Ps 22:22-26), and finally to a missionary (Ps 22:27-31). He withstands the test and survives the crisis of faith. With all outward appearances to the contrary, he proclaims that Yahweh remains worthy of fear (Ps 22:23), praise (Ps 22:25), and service (Ps 22:30).

Jesus’ Crisis of Faith

Though David felt that God had abandoned him, we can confidently conclude that this was not truly the case (2 Sam 7:9, 12-15). Yet for Jesus, such abandonment by the Father was in fact a reality. He faced his darkest hour alone (Mark 15:33-34), accompanied only by the sin of the world that had now become his own (2 Cor 5:21).

Once again, we must ask the question of historical habits: Will Jesus survive the crisis of faith? Will he fall to pieces, just like generation upon generation of Jews had done before him? Since trust in the Father is not paying out in deliverance, is it worth it for him to continue trusting at all?

This tension is all the greater when we observe Mark’s attention to the question of perseverance. Those who deride him dare him to come down from the cross (Mark 15:29-30). They doubt his ability to attain salvation for himself (Mark 15:31). They claim they will believe what he has said, only if he will come down (Mark 15:32). If he can’t save himself, they wonder whether Elijah will come to take him down from the cross (Mark 15:36).

But Jesus perseveres. He stays on the cross until all is finished, and he can proclaim that “he has done it” (Ps 22:31; see John 19:30). He remains loyal, even when abandoned by his Father. Because the Father despised and abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and hid his face from him (Ps 22:24), all the families of the nations can now worship before him (Ps 22:27).

And though the answer was delayed three days, we know that he who cried out to his Father was eventually heard (Ps 22:24, Rom 1:4, Heb 5:7-9).

Conclusion

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When you hear or recite the question, don’t allow it’s familiarity to dull your senses to the visceral conflict it betrays. Delight in this hero, who succeeded in every way where Old Covenant Israel failed. Behold the crisis of faith, the disillusionment, and the unbelievable temptation to come down from the cross to prove his worth. And rest assured that you will never have to experience such complete abandonment, because he already went through it once for all.

Tell the coming generations of his righteousness, and that he has done it.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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Can You Trust Your Bible Study if You Don’t Know Hebrew and Greek?

July 8, 2020 By Peter Krol

Tommy Keene has a fabulous piece at his blog entitled “How do I do good exegesis if I don’t know Hebrew or Greek?” Perhaps you’ve been plagued by this question, wondering how far English translations can really take you.

This uncertainty causes some people to question any conclusion drawn from a Bible translation whatsoever. And it causes others to do foolish things when they use original language tools without knowledge of those original languages (for an example, see my post on how a little Greek can be a big distraction).

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Keene proposes an utterly sensible way forward. Here’s a taste:

Let’s say that you want to do some serious exegetical work on a passage of Scripture–perhaps you need to write an exegetical paper, or you’re running this week’s Bible Study, or counseling a client through a trauma, or answering your friend’s very specific and theological questions in a coffee shop–but you don’t know the original languages and therefore feel some lack of confidence when it comes to explaining what the biblical text really means.
Can you deeply and analytically study and reflect on a text of Scripture without making use of the original languages, and if so, how?
The question is particularly important if you’ve already been convinced, as I’ve argued previously, that you shouldn’t make definitive conclusions based on the original languages if you don’t possess a working knowledge of them. The present post began as a kind-of appendix to that argument, but on further reflection deserves a series itself.
“So I shouldn’t come to definitive exegetical conclusions from the Hebrew and Greek if I don’t know the original languages?” one might respond. “If that’s the case, is it still possible for me to mount an exegetical case for my position, and if so, how do I do that?”
The short answer: yes it’s very much possible, but it is vitally important that you account for the limitations of working with the text “in translation.” If you want to properly exegete a passage without the evidence provided by the Hebrew and Greek, you need to (1) trust a native language translation while simultaneously (2) being perpetually aware of its limitations.

The rest of this piece is well worth your time.

Check it out!

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The Dangerous Consequences of Ignoring Context

July 6, 2020 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve read a post or two on this blog stressing the importance of Biblical context. You may have seen a whole catalog of articles showing how familiar verses and phrases may not carry the meanings intended by those who splash them on coffee cups and t-shirts.

Yes, context matters. We won’t tire of repeating this key to interpreting the Bible because ignoring context is not just misguided, it is dangerous.

We Miss the Truth

The obvious danger of neglecting context is that we lose the truth. But we dare not forget how devastating a loss this is. What do we have if we don’t have Biblical truth? We are a parched, dusty land with no hope of rain.

Context drives interpretation. So when we pluck out individual verses we have no chance of arriving at a proper understanding.

In the best situations, this leads to a true teaching through a bad process. (See here for an example.) In the worst cases, we end up with damnable heresy.

We Disrespect God

Imagine writing a letter to a dear friend. You haven’t been in touch for months, so your words stretch into the thousands. You write about children and parents, work and health, joys and sorrows.

Later you learn that your friend lifted one sentence from this letter and posted it on social media. Your friend gave you credit, and the quote didn’t make you look bad, but the meaning is gone. How would this make you feel?

Despite our best intentions, misusing someone’s words always disrespects the author.

God gave us his word to read as 66 books under one cover. When we discount Biblical context, we not only disrespect the original authors, we put ourselves above the Scriptures, insisting we know better how to present it than God himself.

Though perhaps distasteful, we need to name this error accurately. It is arrogance. And God does not think highly of the arrogant (see James 4:1–10, especially James 4:6).

We Mislead Our Neighbors

As Christians we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, and part of this calling is pointing our neighbors toward God through Jesus Christ.

Whenever we rip verses from their Biblical context and slap them on hats or bumper stickers or (gulp!) church signs, we’re telling our neighbors that this is a proper way to handle God’s word. We’re encouraging them to pick and choose what seems good or inspirational from the Bible.

This misleads our neighbors about the nature of both the Bible and God himself, and it may encourage them in error.

The Bible in Context

Now that I’ve shown how delightful a companion I’d be on your next trip to a Christian bookstore, let me reassure you.

I’m not saying we need to quote the whole Bible or nothing. There are plenty of ways to share powerful, helpful passages of Scripture with a friend or neighbor while still respecting the context of those passages. (I will share some of my suggestions on this in my next post.) I am urging, however, that we must be careful.

God’s word brings us joy and encouragement and comfort. But it is a serious, weighty, and holy matter to have and communicate the very words of God.

After all, context matters.

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Taking a Break from the Psalms

July 5, 2020 By Peter Krol

Now that I’ve reached the end of book 2 (Psalm 72), which is almost halfway through the Psalms, I plan to take a break from the daily devotions. The videos worked nicely with my schedule while stuck at home, but with things opening up bit by bit, I find myself unable to keep the pace.

If our region experiences another wave of shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, I will likely pick back up with the daily devotions and try to finish the Psalms.

But for now, you can expect a return to my previous routine of a Check it Out post on Wednesdays and a reflective post on Fridays. Lord willing, Ryan will continue posting every other Monday.

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Psalms Book 2 Wrap-up—Someone Bigger Than David

July 4, 2020 By Peter Krol

Psalms Book 2 Review Devotional
Psalms Book 2 Review Devotional
Posted by Grace Fellowship Church on Saturday, June 27, 2020

Or watch it here.

Book 2 Review

Moving beyond David, new poets join the roster

Sons of Korah (Psalms 42-49)
- Life in and longing for Zion
Asaph (Psalm 50 – and more to come in Book 3)
- Can’t take money with you
Back to David (Psalms 51-70)
- Life in a fallen world
  - 51-59: Dealing with sin, from self to enemies to betrayal
  - 60-64: Fallen systems and structures
  - 65-70: A clear view of God
71: No known poet
- We need old saints to remind us of everything we’ve covered in these many diverse poems
Solomon (Psalm 72)
- Son of David, next king
- Book 2 ends with a poem from Solomon about the coming King who would rule the world in justice and righteousness
Book 2 is not completely leaving David behind
- But it is training us to start looking beyond David for something bigger
- SomeONE bigger
  - Who will spare us, even from the deserved judgment or undeserved consequences of sin
  - Who will lead us in song and service before God
    - Getting us back to Zion, even from pain of exile
  - Who will remind us of all that God has done for us
  - Who will rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth