On Simplicity and Scripture: Struggling with the Word

One thing I've noticed over the years of being involved and associated with different ministries and programs is this: we¹ seem to crave simplicity. Not that I have a problem with simplicity, it's just that, in certain contexts, it becomes dangerous.


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Let me explain via a couple of scenarios that I find quite common:

1. I attend a church service in which the preacher's text is a single verse. And from that verse, the speaker (who is usually quite gifted), paints a beautiful and complete picture of the Christian life. He points out things I have never seen, he reveals things hidden in the original text (because the rough accent mark is used, this word is inverted, giving the word a completely different meaning, etc) Life is g0od. I am enlightened. Until a few days later I try to explain my new-found knowledge to a friend. Questions are raised. The puzzle pieces which fit together so neatly a few days ago now have imperfect edges. I explain that I must have missed some of the points. I assure my friend, the fault must lie with me.
2. I come across a difficult passage in scripture. I re-read it. I re-re-read it. I consult Strong's for each word in the passge, including "the". I check different translations. Finally, I stumble across a translation that abstracts away enough of the text that I make some sort of sense out of it. I am elated. I mark the verse down as "Assimilated" in my Conquer the Bible Diary.
   
3. My wife asks me a question about a verse or a passage of Scripture. I begin answering her as best I can. My answer is incomplete and only raises more questions (But if that is true, then wouldn't that mean...). I grow exasperated. She becomes frustrated. I finally answer the question with an answer to this effect: Well it sort of works like this, blah, blah, and somehow works together with blah, blah, and I'll look into it and get back to you. I never exactly get around to answering the question.

I hope you can see the common thread that runs through each of these examples.

1. A speaker takes a single verse and builds a system around it.
   
2. I, in my desire to "understand" God, am willing to trade away his word.
3. I, in my desire to end my wife's questioning or to get back the television show I am watching or to avoid having to change my life due to the implications of Scripture, simplify the word of God, and in so doing, show contempt for it's authority

This is where I see the danger in desiring simplicity. God did not give us a single verse, he gave us his complete word. God did not give us 500 translations to pick and choose from, there are good ones and there are bad ones, and we are to seek HIS meaning, not the verson that is simplest or the most expedient or the most culturally correct. God did not say that every verse would take five minutes to explain, he did not say that his teachings would fit in an email tag line or on a T-shirt. We are to struggle with the word, we are to wrestle with his meaning. No single verse can give us a complete understanding² of God. No ten minutes of study will equip us for life's battles. No man-created system can ever replace a dynamic relationship with Him.



¹ Look up "we" in the lexicon
² By this, I don't mean that single verses aren't important, or that a single verse can't express a black and white concept. What I do mean, is that even the verse "Thou shalt not kill", while crystal clear in its stance on killing, is still fleshed out by the rest of scripture on issues such as being a soldier in a just war, defending your family, etc.

On Preaching: Proper Focus

A while back I receieved an email from a friend on why their church has laymen within the church fill the pulpit. It was so good, that I thought others might benefit from reading it.

Click here to read the full list

1. It focuses the people on the Word of God, not the preacher. Our fleshly desire is that our ears would be tickled, but God wishes to be the center of attention and multiple preachers almost forces the people in the church to look for God in the message instead of the giftedness or the entertainments of the man preaching.
2. If the preaching is God centered and Word centered, it directs the affections of the people toward God and not the gifts of a man. The best thing church leaders can do for the people is to cast a vision of God.
3. It reveals to you your own heart, that you would rather have a great preacher and your ears tickled than to grapple with the words of scripture as your source of spiritual nourishment.
4. It broadens the church with the different perspectives of men in the church. I have heard it said that most preachers really have only about ten sermons that you hear no matter what they speak about.
5. It is an equipping experience for the man because the process of study, prayer, contemplation of God, introspection and struggle sends him into a crisis of the soul.
6. It helps the man preaching see how stupid he really is and works to humble him.
7. It saves the church from having the best attendance when the big preacher is in town, and less attendance when the “pulpit supply” guy is preaching and the very worst attendance when the missionary is speaking and unthinkabley abominable attendance when the service is for prayer – as is the pattern all around us. This reminds me of Voddie Baucham who says, “if you can’t say AMEN, say OUCH.
8. It prepares men to plant churches
9. It helps men, women, boys and girls grow up into maturity by keeping them from an entertainment mentality.
10. It helps the gifted preacher grow up by helping him understand that he is not the only one who can minister to the church.
11. It tortures the man by sending him through several crises (trials) that lead him to joy.
1. With himself – because he sees his own inadequacy.
2. With God – because he knows that in the light of the passage he is dealing with, he is a sinner.
3. With the people of God – because he knows he must bring the knowledge of Almighty God to the people.
4. With his schedule: - because it is very time consuming and it will challenge him to be more disciplined with his time during the week he is supposed to preach.
12. It gives all the people in the church an opportunity to experience the joy of watching men grow.
13. It keeps the church from leaving fellowship and “one anothering” in the dust. If you have one great preacher who is viewed as the center of the church, it is easier to forget the importance of operating like a family and a body.

Ultimately though, our prayer is that this practice will have the effect that John the Baptist expressed in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease".

I'm interested to see what others think about this, and I have a few thoughts of my own that I'll be posting in the days to come.

On Words Used Here: A Rough Lexicon

This is a rough and rarely updated lexicon of words used in my blog(s).

Click here to access the lexicon

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Love: When I think about bibilical love, one word constantly comes to my mind: DUTY. If that doesn't make sense by itself, think about it this way: we are commanded to love one another (I John 4:7, many others) but the way in which we differentiate that love is through the responsibility we bear. This is how Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. makes sense. The parent that spares the rod, is not doing the duty he was assigned to his child, it is no matter that he says, "I love my child too much to do that", he is only deceiving himself. Going further, we can see that true love, is the application of faith. It is first hearing the word of God, and then doing it. (James 1:22-25) Anything less is mere lip service, feigned faith, and not love at all.

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We: I use the word "we" when I'm making general observations about a group, typically, one in which I would include myself, or at least have some degree of familiarity with. Sometimes these groups will be as general as "all humans", or "men" and sometimes as specific as "30ish year old men who like cheese, video games, reading, loud arguments and have almost no sense of fashion whatsoever". I don't meant the word to be used authoritatively and I realize that there are many many exceptions.

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Bittersweet Life: Consoled by poetry

as the leaves in twos were dying
courtesy of Adam.

- excerpted from a poem by Ariel Vanderhorst, from his flagship blog Bittersweet Life

There is something oddly satisfying in this piece by Ariel. The simple circumstances of the first stanza causes me to rethink the connotations of the phrase "courtesy of". His brother did something and the dock is spinning. Adam simply acted and things are dying. Adam did something and now there is a season called Fall. How appropriate. How chilling. I think I'll go and read it again.

You can read it here

Surprisingly addictive: Guess the Google!

20 images - one search term. Can you guess which search term resulted in the displayed images? Don't click on the link if you are easily addicted, or your dessicated corpse, its fingers poised over the keyboard, eye sockets inches from the monitor will doubtlessly be found by archaelogists in the year 2099. I'm not kidding. I found this several hours ago, and I haven't moved... not even to use the bathroom. I'm kidding, I'm at work. I do nothing but work, while I'm at work. Oh... sometimes... I blog.

doh!

Click here to Guess the Google