Integrity

“I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music.  I will ponder the way that is blameless.  Oh when will you come to me?  I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.  I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.  A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.”  Psalm 101:1-4

“It is easier for most men to walk with a perfect heart in the church, or even in the world, than in their own families.  How many are as meek as lambs among others, when at home they are wasps or tigers.”  Adam Clarke

“Piety must begin at home.”  Charles Spurgeon

          When I was a kid, I had a Sunday School teacher who defined integrity as “what kind of person you are and how you act when no one else is looking.”  It’s not a bad definition but could be improved.  Integrity is what kind of person you are and how you act once you realize that God is always looking.  “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account” (Hebrews 4:13).  The Lord is always looking.  “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless towards him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).  This explains why David says in this Psalm, “I will walk with integrity of heart within my house.”  How a Christian lives when he is home alone is the test of his integrity.  How does he live when God alone is present? 

          I am often reminded of how R.C. Sproul says that Coram Deo is “the big idea of the Christian life.”  Coram Deo means “before God.”  Christians are called to live before the eyes of our loving God who is always looking.  He sees our outward actions and our inward motivations.  Nothing escapes the purview of our omniscient God!

          We can observe the way this consideration impacted David’s attitude in Psalm 101.  It is for this reason that he pondered the way that is blameless (v. 2), refused to set before his eyes worthless things (v. 3), hated the works of apostates (v. 3), desired a perverse heart to be far from him (v. 4), and did not want to know anything of evil (v. 4).  After this, if we were to continue reading in Psalm 101, we would see that he was opposed to slander and arrogance (v. 5) and desired to remove all deceit (v. 7) and wickedness (v. 8) from his house.  David was a man of God who sought to bring his entire house under the Lordship of Almighty God.  He desired his house to be a little temple in which the Spirit of God would dwell.  He did not want to do anything in private or in secret that would compromise the presence of God’s favor upon his life. 

          What a difference this would make in our lives if we walked before the Lord with integrity of heart in our homes!  It’s a matter of consistent holiness.  We would be able to stop pretending that we are one thing in public while we remain another thing in private.  Many masquerade as saints in public but are blatant sinners in private!  Pharisees on the streets may be publicans in their homes!  Integrity of heart and life is a rare jewel.  We should pursue it with intensity, zeal, dedication, and complete devotion. 

          As one application of integrity, consider the line in verse 3 about not setting before our eyes anything that is worthless.  This single line has specific application to our day.  We live in an age of electronics and entertainment.  Christians should celebrate these good gifts and enjoy them in moderation and self-control.  Yet we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that this electronic age does not bring with it a host of temptations.  We might apply this verse to what we see while watching television or surfing the web.  What should we be setting before our eyes?  (Hint: Philippians 4:8)  Since we usually enjoy these activities in the privacy of our homes, it calls for self examination.  We should try to remember that when we are watching the television, God is watching us.  When our eyes go to and fro from website to website, the Lord looks to and fro for those whose hearts are blameless before him. 

          I once heard of a man who placed this verse (“I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.”) on his computer and above his television.  Such reminders are not a bad idea, but it would be far better to have these words sealed to our mind and heart.  We want to walk with the Lord and bear fruit in every good work. 

          It is only the grace of the gospel of our Lord Jesus that can grant us the motivation to live above reproach in all these matters.  The Lord Jesus who died and rose again can make a hypocrite into a consistent Christian.  He washes us clean from all our filth with his precious blood and gives us his Spirit to assure us that we are his beloved and to empower us to live for him.  Integrity of heart is rare indeed, but Christ gives us new hearts with the capacity to live for him in sincerity and truth.

Reformed Bible Conference

     This past Lord's Day evening I had the honor of preaching at First Presbyterian's annual Reformed Bible Conference in Hinckley, MN.  I cannot believe that this was my third time preaching in this conference.  The theme of this year's conference is "The Mediation of Christ" and audio files are available here.  I preached from Hebrews 7:23-28 on "Christ Our Heavenly Intercessor."
     
     Here is my basic outline:

Christ is our great high priest who is presently interceding in our behalf before the Father in heaven.

1.  The Office of Christ's Intercession (vv. 23-24).

     -Christ intercedes as our great high priest.

     -Contrast between Levitical priests and Christ:
    
          -They were many in number and held office temporarily on
          account of death.

          -He hold his priesthood permanently because he lives   
         forever.

     -According to Leviticus 16, there are two phases to his priestly
     ministry:

          1.  Atonement outside the sanctuary.

          2.  Intercession inside the sanctuary. 

2.  The Nature of Christ's Intercession (v. 25).

     -Effective Prayers (Romans 8:33-34).

     -Representative Presence (Heb. 9:24).

     -Continual Advocacy (1 John 2:1-2).


3.  The Basis of Christ's Intercession (vv. 26-28).

     -His Sinless Person (v. 26).

     -His Sacrificial Death (vv. 27-28). 

Clarifying the Clarity of Scripture

 “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”  2 Peter 3:15-16

I firmly believe in the clarity of Scripture (sometimes called the “perspicuity” of Scripture—something we joked about in seminary because the word “perspicuity” is not very perspicuous!).  In teaching through the book of Revelation at Grace PCA, I have realized that I need to clarify the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture.  Contrary to the common assumptions that people have, the clarity of Scripture doesn’t mean that everything in the Bible is equally clear, as the quotation from Peter’s second epistle shows: “There are some things in [Paul’s letters] that are hard to understand…”  We may ask, “What would Peter say about John’s Revelation?”  The fact that some Scriptures are hard to understand doesn’t mean that we are free to twist them to mean what we like.  Peter says that the ignorant and unstable twist them to their own destruction.  In point of fact, the danger of Scripture-twisting is greater when it comes to unclear passages.  Heretics twist unclear passages of Scripture with their own dogmatic interpretations that they have read into the text rather than out of it with the principles of sound interpretation.

Thankfully, the Westminster Confession provides an excellent statement of the clarity of Scripture.

“All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them” (WCF 1.7).  

Observe that the Confession flatly denies that all Scripture is equally clear.  It denies both that all Scripture is equally clear and that all Scripture is equally clear to all people.  Yet the Confession affirms that what we need to know in order to be saved is clearly revealed.  God made the essentials of salvation clear enough for all of his people to understand with the help of his Holy Spirit.  The biblical teaching of salvation, then, may be understood by both the learned and the unlearned.  In order to understand what the Bible teaches, we must make “a due use of the ordinary means.”  The ordinary means for understanding the Bible are reading, understanding language, grammar, syntax, etc.  So we don’t understand the Bible automatically.  We have to do our homework, if you will.  The clarity of Scripture should not be abused as an excuse for mental laziness and unwillingness to study using the resources available.  There are many, many invaluable resources of Bible study in the English language, and we all may make use of them in order to understand what the Bible teaches.

Here are some pointers when it comes to applying the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture to your life.

1.     Focus on what the Bible clearly and repeatedly teaches in many places.  The entire Bible is God’s Word, but some parts of the Bible are more important than others.  Jesus spoke about “the weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23).  Justice, mercy, and faithfulness, are more important than tithing, though tithing is certainly important. 

2.     Do not become discouraged with the sections of the Bible that you do not understand.  Do not become discouraged when your pastor admits that he does not fully understand them (Remember what Peter admitted about Paul!).  God inspired some texts that are hard to understand.  Perhaps he did this to keep us humble and dependent on him.

3.     Beware teachers who claim to have “expert knowledge” of obscure passages of Scripture.  False teachers may claim to have special knowledge or the key to interpretation.  Generally speaking, if a teacher comes up with an interpretation that has never been given throughout the history of the Church, it is a wrong interpretation.  If you become more dependent on the teacher than you are the Bible, then there is a problem.  The mark of a cult leader is that he makes you feel like you are dependent on him in order to understand “what the Bible really means.”  The true shepherd of souls will show you how to understand the Bible with the tools of valid interpretation.

4.     Do not create division in the Church with your interpretation of unclear passages.  We need to be humble about our view of an obscure passage, and we need to be gracious with our brothers and sisters who do not see it our way.

 

5.     Always pursue a deeper understanding of God’s Word.  We shouldn’t develop a defeatist mentality when it comes to interpreting the Bible simply because there are some difficult sections.  If we understood everything in God’s Word after our first reading, then God's Word would be simplistic and shallow.  With our feet firmly planted on the clear, foundational truths of God’s Word, let us pursue a better understanding of the more challenging passages!     



Grace PCA - Forever Small?

Why Are We So Small?

I’m sure you’ve noticed that most Reformed churches are small.  “Why?”  I doubt the answer to that question is either simple or one-dimensional.  Over at the Gospel Coalition’s website, Augustus Nicodemus Gomes Lopes wrote an article entitled, “Solidly Reformed, Strikingly Small,” that got me thinking about Grace PCA and our small church size.  His article is about small Reformed churches in Brazil, but I want to focus on our church.  Here are the facts.  We were planted in 2001 as “Kirk of the Lake Presbyterian Church,” particularized in 2007, and, having entered 2013, we are now “Grace Presbyterian Church” and remain very small.

Church Growth Makes Me Nervous

Let me just go ahead and say that I am extremely nervous about “church growth” conversations because there is so much in the church growth movement that Christians should reject as unbiblical.  And I say that as a person who has read more than a book or two on the subject of church growth.  As Reformed Christians, we all know the biblical arguments against the seeker-friendly approach to the church (“no one seeks God”—remember?).  So I will not take the time to state the obvious problems that we would have with adjusting every aspect of church life and culture in order to get more people in the door.  After all, we should ask, “What happens after we get them in the door?”  So the seeker-friendly approach is something that we simply cannot accept.  Another part of the problem with comparing Reformed churches to other larger churches might be that there is a certain kind of numerical growth that is happening in larger, seeker-driven churches that is not really a reflection of the kind of numerical growth that we desire to see in our churches.  The ends don’t justify the means; we are not willing to do anything in order to get people in the door.

Finding Balance in Talking About Numerical Growth

On the one hand, we shouldn’t think that church size tells us everything about a church’s faithfulness, but, on the other hand, we shouldn’t completely ignore numerical growth entirely. Anyone who has read the book of Acts will realize that it was a church that was growing numerically and that it was a church where they were counting the numbers of people that the Lord was adding to the church (Acts 2:41; 4:4).  Of course, we would underline the fact that it was the Lord who was adding to their number (Acts 2:47).  Yet we should equally recognize that the Lord was adding to their number through the means of their faithful witness.  So we cannot eliminate our responsibility in this matter.      

So What About Grace PCA?

What I’m particularly interested in thinking about in this post is what bearing all this has on the life and growth of Grace PCA.  Why are we small?  Why aren’t we growing numerically?  I know that the membership is growing spiritually (2 Peter 3:18), but we aren’t growing numerically in the way that we desire.  Yes, we have had some people join the church, and, yes, we have been able, by the grace of God, to retain some regular visitors.  But, all in all, we have seen very little numerical growth.  So I’m interested in thinking about why that’s the case.  Here are some of my ideas about our specific congregation (and let me emphasize that these are specifically about our church and may not apply to any other church in the world for all I’m concerned).  As you read through these, which ones strike you?  What ideas does this generate in your life?  Here are my thoughts in no particular order.

Establishing Community Presence 

1.  On an intensely practical level, I think one of our major problems is that we haven’t established a presence in the community.  We rent a building from a local SDA church.  We don’t have a permanent sign at this point (something that we are exploring).  People often have trouble finding us.  Just this past Sunday, we had a visiting family tell us that they were PCA members who had recently moved here from another state, and they had been looking for us for two consecutive Sundays, only to find us on their third attempt.  “Third time’s the charm!” isn’t a good rule for finding the church.  So we need to work on getting our name out there and making it clear where we are worshipping.  If people who really want to come have trouble, then what about people who might make a casual attempt one Sunday morning? 

Cultivating Loving Community

2.  On a deeper level, I am willing to admit that one of the reasons that we may have trouble attracting and retaining visitors is on account of the ethos of our community.  People may think that we are unloving or unkind.  We may not do a great job of welcoming them; however, I have been pleased over the past few years with the way that the congregation has welcomed visitors.  I think we are growing in that area.  Another idea that I have is that we may intimidate visitors.  We are a group of Christians who take doctrine seriously.  Most of us know what we believe and why we believe it, and outsiders may be intimidated by our knowledge or the way that we express our theological commitments.  For example, imagine a non-Christian visitor, who recently decided to go back to church, stumbles into our church on a Sunday morning.  Let’s suppose someone asks him, “When did you come to Reformed theology?”  What kind of impact will that make?  Do you think that it might confuse him?  Is that a question that we should be asking?  I promise you that visitors are asked those kinds of questions.  Another aspect of our community’s ethos is that we tend to talk openly about partisan politics.  I hear conversations all the time about gun laws, the evils of Obama, the follies of political liberalism, etc.  Should we be discussing partisan politics in church?  I can tell you that most unchurched people in Duluth will be from liberal, Democratic viewpoint.  What bearing should that have on the way that we talk about things?

Loving the City

3.  Something else that comes to mind has to with our sense of mission and vision and with practical challenges unique to our congregation.  Firstly, when it comes to mission and vision, we don’t really have a concrete mission and vision for the city of Duluth.  We are starting to change that and reach out to the community, but it has been baby step after baby step.  That’s gotta change.  Secondly, half of our congregation doesn’t even live in Duluth.  I thank God for our commuters.  However, it’s hard to develop a sense of mission, vision, and place when people come from elsewhere.  This is our city.  We need to have a positive outlook on the city.  We need to love the city, serve the city, be involved in the city, and make known the good news of Jesus to it (see Jeremiah 29:3-7).  We cannot be isolationists or fall into quietism.  We are called to be salt and light in this place and at this time.  For those of us who live in Duluth-Superior, we need to ask questions like, “How can I be more involved in the community?  How can I develop kingdom-minded relationships with others in Duluth-Superior?  What am I good at?  What interests me?  How can I serve?  Where are there opportunities for me to interact with non-Christians?”       

The Reformed Faith is Demanding

4.  Another possibility—and I promise that this really isn’t an excuse for our small church size—is that the Reformed faith is demanding.  It demands a lot from our minds, hearts, and wills, but, then again, so did Jesus.  We don’t reduce everything to the ABCs and 123s.  We aren’t theological minimalists.  We have high standards for doctrine and ethics.  Now we can preach our hearts out about how biblical all that is, but if we are living in a church culture where we are competing with a consumerist version of Christianity that demands nothing and is all about meeting your felt needs, we are going to have a hard time.  Consider an illustration.  You have a small town with a McDonald’s and a Subway.  Now there’s no question that Subway is the healthier option, unless you are really, really careful and selective at McDonald’s, but in spite of how healthy Subway is, most people will choose McDonald’s over Subway because it tastes better.  It’s unhealthy, but it tastes better.  So that’s what a lot of this is.  Why would people go to a serious Reformed church when they could go to an entertainment-driven church with dozens of programs for their kids?  So we cannot completely discount the fact that Reformed churches are completely different than seeker-friendly, entertainment-driven mega churches.  If we add to this that there are many “Reformed” churches that have compromised and gone into this evangelical faddism, then we are set up for some disappointment.  A person who has gone to a progressive PCA church for years may move to Duluth and find that our church has almost nothing in common with it culturally.

Developping a Missionary Mindset

5.  Maybe some of this has to do with the fact that we lack the mindset to think about mission.  What kind of church would connect best with the unbelievers that you know?  This doesn’t mean that we change the message to accommodate them, but it does mean that we adapt the presentation.  Paul preached differently to the Jews in the synagogue than he did to the pagans atop Mars Hill.  It’s just a fact.  So we have to think about contextualizing the message for the people in our neighborhood.

  

Resistance to Change

6.  Reformed churches don’t like change.  One man defined insanity as a person who does the same thing and expects different results.  It seems to me that reformation and renewal calls for change.  And people don’t like change.  Well, if we don’t like change, we don’t like improvement because improvement is change for the better.  One of the biggest obstacles to making the necessary changes to reach more people is that we confuse what the Bible teaches with what we prefer.  Reformed people are great at that.  Let me give you an example.  When I first came to the church, I wore a robe.  Now some ministers prefer to wear a robe and others prefer not to do so.  I prefer not to wear it, but it really isn’t that important to me.  I did eventually stop wearing the robe, but what if someone thought that this was an indication that I was becoming liberal?  Or what if someone thought that this was an indication that I was unconcerned about our Reformed identity?  I’m not suggesting that anyone actually thought that, but if they did, they would betray the fact that they confused what the Bible teaches with what they prefer.  There is no biblical mandate for the ministers of the new covenant to wear robes.  So why fight about that?  It doesn’t mean that robe wearing is irrelevant or unimportant, but it does mean that we shouldn’t make it more important than it actually is.  Here’s a good exercise.  What are some of the aspects of our church life, worship, teaching, preaching, and culture which are not a matter of biblical teaching but of personal preference?  How should we think about those issues?  Do they make a difference in reaching people in our community? 

Do Not Forget the Ordinary Means of Grace

Let me emphasize again that I’m not saying that I’m willing to do anything to get more people in the door.  I believe in the ordinary means of grace (the Word, Sacraments, and prayer).  I believe in simplicity in our worship and fellowship.  I don’t want to lose what we have—biblical worship and biblical preaching.  That’s my heart.  At the same time, maybe we should think about other biblical elements that we need to add for the sake of faithfulness.  And maybe we should think about other biblical considerations that we need to think through for the sake of faithfulness.  Perhaps we are too quick and simplistic to wave our hands at the lack of numerical growth in our churches.  What do you think?

Resources on Revelation for Further Study

At Grace PCA we have been studying the book of Revelation.  If you are interested in further study of the book of Revelation, here are some good resources:

In terms of books, I highly recommend Vern Poythress’s book, The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation.  The book will not answer all your questions (it doesn't attempt to do so), but it will help you understand the big-picture issues of interpreting Revelation.  

For general issues related to the study of eschatology (the study of last things), I recommend Anthony Hoekema’s book, The Bible and the Future.  I do not agree with all of Hoekema’s interpretations (something that could and should be said of all book recommendations), but overall this is an excellent resource for the major themes in biblical eschatology. 

There are some good online resources.  Dr. Kim Riddlebarger has made his sermons on Revelation available in text format.  You can read them here.

He has some excellent audio resources on eschatology.  They are available here on the right side of his blog. 

All of these resources are from a Reformed Amillennial point of view.   

Enemies of the Cross

“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”  Philippians 3:18-19

          It’s a sad reality that many “walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.”  It’s sheer insanity that sinners would oppose the only remedy for their destruction, lust, shame, and earthly-mindedness.  This grim reality brought tears to the eyes of the Apostle Paul and should do the same for us.  Should we not weep for those who reject the medicine that could heal their souls?  Why would anyone oppose the good news of salvation through the death of Christ on the cross?

          Some unbelievers enlist as enemies of the cross because they would rather attempt to secure their own righteousness before God by their good works.  Legalists are enemies of the cross.  They hate the cross because they do not see their own need for the cross.  They nullify the grace of God by asserting that righteousness comes through the law, but “if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2:21).  The word of the cross is folly to them (1 Corinthians 1:18), and they perish. 

          Other unbelievers are enemies of the cross because they love their sin and refuse to repent.  “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:20).  Libertines are enemies of the cross.  They believe that the grace of God is a license for sin (Jude 4) and that they should sin that grace may abound (Romans 6:1).  Little do they comprehend that Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). 

          Satan’s messengers always disguise themselves as “servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15).  They pretend to be friends of the cross.  Enemies of the cross may be happy to speak of the death of Christ as a good example for us to follow.  Or they may develop other “theories” of the atonement that sound attractive to naïve Christians.  But you can always discover whether a man is an enemy of the cross by asking him about the death of Christ as our legal substitute.  Enemies of the cross foam at the mouth when they hear that Christ bore our sins in our place!  Ask them, “Did Jesus Christ bear the wrath of God for you?  Is that good news to your soul?”  They don’t want to hear about how Christ suffered the wrath of God as a substitute for the sins of his people.  They find this repulsive and completely reject it.  Enemies of the cross don’t see their need for a wrath-absorbing sacrifice.  They may even speak of the idea of propitiation as outdated.  Lovers of the cross know better. 

          Enemies of the cross will disguise themselves and make the message of the cross into a theology of glory.  They will preach the cross as a way to have personal happiness or success or improve self esteem.  They will speak about how Christ died to make you healthy and wealthy.  They will soothe and entice the unsound Christian with their cleverness and seductive speech.  Discerning Christians will recognize that they have stripped the gospel of the cross because they hate the cross.  They abhor the idea that our right standing with God depends entirely only the bloody death of the sinless Son of God. 

          The enemies of the cross hate the cross because they do not understand it.  They are spiritually blind to the glories of the cross.  They cannot comprehend the depth of the Father’s love and the Son’s sacrifice.  Enemies of the cross find it strange and revolting that Christians sing about the cross, glory in the cross, and preach the cross.  True preachers resolve to know nothing except Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).  The cross of Christ is everything to them.  Likewise, true Christians cannot leave the cross of Christ behind for health and wealth, principles for living, how to have a positive self image, antinomianism, moralism, or any other such thing.  “But far be it from me to boast expect in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). 

          Be on guard against the enemies of the cross!  Know the truth about them and do not join their ranks!  “Their end is destruction.”  They shall be judged by God on the last day.  They travel the highway to hell.  They “disobey the word, as they were destined to do” (1 Peter 2:8), and they were “long ago designated for this condemnation” (Jude 4).  “Their god is their belly.”  They lust for food, drink, money, and sex.  False prophets are always trying to make a profit.  “They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin.  They entice unsteady souls.  They have hearts trained in greed.  Accursed children!”  (2 Peter 2:14).  Sometimes they do this by teaching that the grace of God excuses sin (antinomianism).  At other times they do this by making merchandise of God’s people by telling them that they must obey the laws of men in order to be righteous before God (legalism).  Sometimes they fill their coffers with a marketable idea like the health and wealth teaching that is popular in charismatic circles.  But they are hungry, ravenous wolves who shall devour the sheep unless the sheep can be wise enough to discern that they are wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15).  “They glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”  How can men be so proud of a life that is so morally repugnant in the eyes of God?  The cross of Christ brings forgiveness and cleansing, but earthly-minded enemies of the cross have no need for such spiritual commodities.  They would rather continue to pursue the pleasures and possessions of the world. 

          We should be saddened by the folly of those who consider themselves to be enemies of the cross.  Paul told the Philippians about this “with tears.”  They have joined the wrong side of a battle in which the stake is eternity.  “My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law” (Psalm 119:136).  Why would anyone want to be an enemy of the instrument of their salvation?  Perhaps there is no greater hubris in the whole world than standing in opposition to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.           

How to Study the Bible

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”  2 Timothy 2:15

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:16-17

Members of my congregation frequently ask me, “How should I study my Bible?”  I love getting asked this question because it usually indicates that the person is already reading his Bible regularly and now desires to dig deeper into God’s truth.  There is no substitute for Word of God intake in the Christian life.  “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).  In this post, I would like to provide some step-by-step instructions for Bible study.  In doing so, my target audience is not other preachers or seminary students.  I want to explain how the ordinary Christian can read and study his Bible in order to grow in his faith, hope, and love.  Overall, there are three basic steps in Bible Study.  Firstly, we must determine what the passage of Scripture says.  Secondly, we must determine what the passage of Scripture means by what it says.  Thirdly, we must determine how the passage of Scripture applies to us today.  We might call these three steps: translation, interpretation, and application.  The order is important.  We should never study a passage of the Bible asking the question, “How does this apply to me?” before we ask the question, “What does this passage mean?”  Although a passage of Scripture may have many applications, there is only one interpretation.  What determines the validity of an application is the validity of the interpretation upon which the application is based. 

Translation

          Most Christians know that the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and that the Bible they hold in their hands is an English translation of a variety of ancient manuscripts.  So, unlike pastors, professors, and seminarians who learn the original languages, most Christians are dependent on an English translation of the Bible.  This is not a major disadvantage for two reasons.  The first reason for this is that there are many excellent translations of the Bible in the English language.  The second reason is that there are many Study Bibles and tools in English that can help the reader understand the original words of the Bible.  The most important step in studying the Bible for the average Christian is to choose a word-for-word translation of the Bible. 

There are two major types of Bible translations.  There are those that seek to capture each and every word of the original languages.  This is called formal equivalence.  And there are those that seek to capture each and every thought or phrase of the original text.  This is called dynamic equivalence.  Most Bible translations will have a section at the beginning of the Bible called, “Translation Philosophy,” that will explain what kind of translation the Bible is.  A good example of a word-for-word translation is the New American Standard Bible.  A good example of a thought-for-thought or phrase-by-phrase translation is the New International Version. 

Both approaches have their value, but, in my opinion, the word-for-word translation is the best for Bible study as we should be paying attention to each and every word.  One criticism of word-for-word translations is that they tend to make for a “wooden” reading.  Phrase-by-phrase translations are much easier to read.  Some translations, like the English Standard Version, are somewhere in between. 

It always helps to compare a variety of translations in seeking to determine what the original text says.  Let me make a very important clarification at this point.  When determining what the text says, the key factor is not what reading you prefer.  I have heard many Christians say, “I like the way this or that translation puts it.”  What we like is irrelevant to what the text says.  They key factor, then, in determining what the text says is accuracy (how faithful it is to the original languages), not appeal (how well you like).  It is important to have a Bible that is readable and understandable, but we want to be reading and understanding something that is an accurate representation of what was originally written by the inspired authors. 

In order to get a sense of what the original text says, I encourage people to use the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the English Standard Bible (ESV), and the New International Version (NIV).  The NASB is probably the most literal of the three.  The ESV is a little more readable than the NASB, and the NIV does an excellent job of making the text readable and understandable, even though the NIV does not always capture as literal of a reading as it should.  In order to make sure you have a good grasp on translation issues, I would recommend spending the money to purchase a good study Bible.  I recommend either the ESV Study Bible (Crossway) or the NIV Study Bible (Zondervan). 

Interpretation

          In my experience, evangelical Christians tend to skip interpretation in order to get to how the passage applies to their lives.  The problem is that there is no authoritative application of the Bible that does not first begin with interpretation. 

Usually, when Christians go straight for the contemporary application, they end up assuming an erroneous interpretation.  For example, I once heard a Christian say that we should be vulnerable with one another because 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love bears all things.”  Now it may be true that Christians should be vulnerable with one another, but that is not what 1 Corinthians 13:7 says.  It says, “Love bears all things,” not “love bares all things.”  It is speaking about enduring love, not love that lays bare all the emotions of the heart.  So this Christian had an illegitimate application of this verse because he had a faulty interpretation of the verse.  That is always the way it works. 

Proper interpretation is the first step toward proper application.  There are certain questions that we should always ask in order to interpret a passage of Scripture.  In all these questions, we are trying to discern what the Holy Spirit originally intended when he inspired these words through the original author to the original audience.  At this stage in the process, the question is not, “What does this passage mean for me today?”  The question is, “What did this passage mean for its original author and audience?”  Here is a list of some good questions to ask when it comes to interpretation.

1.     Author:  Who is the human author of this passage of Scripture?  Different authors have different vocabularies and styles.  For example, knowing that Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts helps us to interpret those two books.  Or knowing that John wrote the Gospel of John, 1, 2, 3 John, and Revelation helps us to read those books in light of John’s vocabulary and style.

2.     Date:  When was this passage of Scripture written?  This goes beyond knowing dates and ventures into the significance of what was happening at that time in history.  It is helpful to acquire a Bible timeline for this purpose.  Most Study Bibles contain these timelines including key dates and events in Bible history.

3.     Historical Context:  What was happening at this time in human history that might impact my understanding of this passage?  Are there names, places, people, and customs that need to be researched in order to understand this Scripture? 

4.     Literary Genre:  What kind of writing is this?  Is it historical narrative, poetry, song, apocalypse, gospel, epistle, etc?  What does this tell me about how it should be read?

5.     Word Studies:  Are there important words in this passage that should be researched further?  What do the words mean?  Hint: Do not assume that biblical authors are using their terms in the same way that you would use them.  You must do the work in order to understand what they mean by those words.

6.     Literary Context:  How does this specific passage fit into the whole book?  For example, how does James’ teaching on faith and works in 2:14-26 fit into the entire book of James?  How does it mesh with the overall purpose of the book?  What is said before this passage?  What is said after it?

7.     Cross Reference:  What do other passages of the Bible teach on the subjects addressed in this passage?  Do other passages make qualifications to the truths in this passage?  Are there other passages that bring clarity?  Is balance on a subject achieved by pulling in other verses?  Remember: Scripture interprets Scripture. 

8.     Redemptive Context:  How does this passage fit into the overall redemptive storyline of the Bible (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Consummation)?  You do not understand the passage until you understand it in light of the history of salvation.     

Application

          Application is the goal of all Bible Study.  We want to be doers of the Word, not hearers only, deceiving ourselves (James 1:22).  After we have studied the Bible, there are certain ways to reach the application of God’s Word to our lives.

1.     The most important application is to determine what this passage teaches me about Christ.  Since the entire Bible is about Christ (Luke 24:44, John 5:46, 2 Timothy 3:15), we do not understand it unless we see Christ in the text.  This does not mean that we need to find Christ in the passage by the allegorical method, but it does mean that we should ask, “How does this passage prepare for, predict, picture, or proclaim the person and work of Christ?”  Some passages make answering this question easier than others, but do not rest until you are able to find the answer. 

2.       Use 2 Timothy 3:16 as a grid: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”  How does this passage teach me what is right (teaching)?  How does this passage teach me what is not right (reproof)?  How does this passage teach me how to get right (correction)?  How does this passage teach me how to live right (training in righteousness)? 

3.     Sometimes the application is what you need to know (doctrines), and sometimes the application is what you need to do (duties).  Never assume that application is always something that you need to do.  It is often a comforting truth that you need to hear.  There are a variety of ways to apply God’s Word to your life. 

4.     Avoid the errors of legalism (“If I am good, then God will accept me.”) and license (“Since I am saved by grace, I can do whatever I want”).  Search for the grace-oriented motivation:  “Since God loves me unconditionally in Christ, I will live for him.”    

5.     Consider the variety of applications that the Word of God can have to your life.  Jesus is Lord of all.  His Word applies to your spiritual and devotional life, your church, your family, your vocation and work, your use of your money, your entertainment choices, your understanding of the world and God’s purpose for it, etc.  Never reduce applications of God’s truth to one compartmentalized area of your life.  Think broadly. 

6.     Learn to ask good questions to draw out applications.

Is there a promise to believe?

Is there a doctrine to learn?

Is there a sin to avoid?

Is there a blessing to enjoy?

Is there an example to follow?

Is there a standard to apply?

Is there a command to obey?

7.      Study the Bible in the atmosphere of prayer and devotion to the Lord.  Never approach the Bible in a dry, academic way.  Pray at the beginning of your study.  Pray as your study.  Conclude your study with prayer.  Ask the Lord to illumine your mind to understand his truth.  Ask him to help you to apply his Word to your life.  Confess your sin as you see how far short you fall of his standards.  Believe the promises of the gospel.  Plead for the grace of repentance and the desire to walk in the way pleasing to him. 

A Final Note About Resources

          Christians often ask me to recommend resources for Bible study.  There are a plethora of good resources, but there are also bad ones.  First of all, I would begin with a good study Bible like the ones I mentioned (ESV Study Bible or NIV Study Bible).  Secondly, I would learn to use all the resources in the Study Bible.  Most Christians do not know what they have in their hands when they buy a Study Bible.  If you are having trouble, ask your pastor to sit down with you and show you how to use it.  If not, you probably can learn on your own by reading through the articles in the Study Bible.  Thirdly, I would purchase a whole Bible commentary.  There are not many of them, but Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible has stood the test of time.  Matthew Henry’s Commentary is not the best for in-depth interpretation, but it can really help in making applications to your life.  He does a great job linking interpretation with application.  This probably goes without saying, but always read non-inspired sources critically.  Just because notes are in the Study Bible or in a commentary does not mean that they are accurate.  You must evaluate the validity of the reasoning for the interpretations that are given.  Finally, one of the best ways to learn to study the Bible is to listen to expository preaching.  Pastors should show Christians how to interpret the Bible as they are preaching and teaching through it.  Most Christians learn how to interpret the Bible (for better or for worse!) from the way that their pastor preaches and teaches it.