“Taking Scripture Seriously”      2013

Psalm 119:24-35          Hebrews 4:12-16

 

Psalm 119:24-35

24Your decrees are my delight, they are my counselors. 25My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word. 26When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes. 27Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. 28My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29Put false ways far from me; and graciously teach me your law. 30I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your ordinances before me. 31I cling to your decrees, O Lord; let me not be put to shame. 32I run the way of your commandments, for you enlarge my understanding. 33Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end. 34Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. 35Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.

 

Hebrews 4:12-16

12Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. 14Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

While I was still a businessman, a friend chastised me one time

            for being an elder at a Presbyterian church.

Then he explained, “You Presbyterians don’t obey the Bible.

            You let women lead in worship and ordain them,

                        and you allow women to teach men…

                       … and all of that is prohibited in the New Testament.”

            Then he cited some Bible passages from 1^st Corinthians.

 

In those days, I had read some of the Bible,  but not all of it,

            and I had no idea what he meant or what the Bible had to say.

So when I got home, I looked up the passages he had mentioned,

            and sure enough, there it was in plain English.

                       Then I looked at some other translations to make sure,

                                        and they all seemed to agree with my friend,

                                                about excluding women from church leadership.

 

I certainly believed that the Bible is the word of God,

          and of course I wanted to follow and obey Jesus faithfully,

                so those Scripture passages became a real problem for me.

 

I also knew of several women

            who were wonderful teachers and leaders in the church.

Then I read some other Bible passages, in which

                 Paul seemed to appreciate, and even named women who served

                        in leadership and teaching roles in the early church.

 

When I spoke with several other Christians,

            who I respected and admired

                        for their knowledge and faithfulness to Scripture,

     I found that they didn’t all agree on the ordination question.

 

*I wondered, how could faithful Christians reading the same Bible

          end up with such different and opposing conclusions?

 

I really wanted resolve my question about ordaining women,

            so clearly, I had to go deeper into understanding Scripture.

 

I lived near the main branch of the VA Beach public library,

            which had an expansive section on religion and Bible topics,

                        so I went to work and did some research on my own.

 

I started checking out and reading commentaries,

            then books about differing views on the ordination question…

                           … and over the next few months

                                    I did a lot of reading, thinking, and careful study.

 

It was fascinating to learn about

            how various words were translated from the original Greek,

                        what the Greco-Roman world was like in the 1^st century,

                             and something about the role of women in that culture…

          … and why Paul might have written what he did.

 

It was all new to me, but as I studied and learned,

          it made sense to me that being obedient to Scripture

                   is actually more complicated than simply quoting,

                          or selecting a few verses and doing exactly that.

 

I learned that Paul’s letters in the New Testament were written

      as specific instructions intended for a particular situation,

                 and not always a complete picture or the universal answer.

 

Also, sometimes God doesn’t give us a final answer all at once,

            but we are challenged to learn, to grow à

                        amid the struggle of our faith seeking to understand,

                                    as through the Holy Spirit, God gradually reveals…

          … and uses our differences, our confusion and ambiguity

                   to drive us to seek, to think, to study and grow deeper.

 

The authors of the books I read all seemed to agree that

          the words of Scripture are absolutely the inspired by Godà

                    à and were written   to deal with some particular problem

                            at that specific time, place and circumstance.

Every text was written

            by someone, sometime, somewhere for some particular reason.

 

Since the words of Scripture were written in an ancient language,

            thousands of years ago in different place and context,

                    they may not always be a perfect fit in every context,

                          or the right answer for every question, for all time.

 

Sometimes a passage is for just that single situation,

            and other passages do apply in any context or situation,

    because Scripture

            is more than just a collection of documents of the past.

 

          The Bible absolutely has a unique and abiding authority…

                             … and the God to whom all Scripture points

                                      is the living, active and true God

                                           whose word, purpose & truth continues today.

 

From my study of what Paul wrote about women in the church,

            and considering the arguments on both sides of the question…

 

…I concluded that when Paul excluded women from leadership,

            & insisted they keep silent & wear hats in worship in Corinth,

                             it was not a universal ban for all time of any woman

                                    ever teaching or serving in leadership in a church.

 

I support women serving in the church as leaders and teachers

          because I believe that position more faithfully respects,

                   honors and reflects the whole witness of Scripture

                             as the authentic, true and inspired word of God.

 

   As I learned,    to be faithful and obedient to Scripture

            is more complicated than just quoting Bible verses,

                    and blindly applying them directly into every situation.

 

The inspiration of Scripture by the Holy Spirit

          is both, when it was written and when it is interpreted.

 

So, we may be distorting the message of a Scripture passage

            if our interpretation strips away

                        or ignores its cultural and  historical context,

                              and we try to press it directly into our modern world…

 

… so our task,

          through the Spirit, is to discern its meaning in context,

                    and then somehow bridge the gap

                              between the world in which it was written

                                       and the world and culture in which we live …

 

… for as we read in   Hebrews, vs. 12

            Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

 

The point is, that the word of God is not just some

            ancient writing or a rulebook of the distant past,

                           but as we explore Scripture

                                    it continues to speak and call us to grow deeper,

                 as we are inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit of God.

 

Far more than just ink and words printed on a page,

            the Holy Spirit’s inspiration confronts us and exposes,

                        and communicates with us through Scripture.

 

In order to answer my questions about ordination and women,

            guided by the Spirit, I had to dig deeper into God’s word

                          and let the context and other Scripture passages

                              help shape my interpretation and understanding…

 

… and it became a process of listening more carefully to God;

         trying to understand the plain meaning of the text in context

                   then I trying to discern what it might mean to me, today.

 

*  The use of Scripture for guidance and direction requires us

          to  use a two-step process for interpreting a Bible text.

 

First, I had to determine its plain meaning in context,

            and what did the author intend to say to the original reader.

                        We need to study its historical and cultural context,                                              and how that Bible text was understood in the past.

 

It is only after

            we know what a passage meant to its original listeners

                        that we can consider, & try to discern what that passage

                              means to us in our life, in our context and situation.

 

The goal is not to find some new insight never thought of before,

            or to look for verses that support my opinion or bias,

                        but it is to understand its plain and simple message,

                               so that we can know more about God,

                                      ourselves, and God’s will for our lives;à

à knowing that a correct interpretation will never contradict

          the truly holy, righteous and merciful character of God.

 

Generally, Christians can all agree on the first question,

            which is, what did a text mean in its original context,

                        but we don’t always agree on the second part,

                                    which is how a passage applies to us in our world.

 

Christians trying to be faithful, to follow and obey Scripture

            do not always come to the same conclusion & understanding,

   but when Jesus is indeed our Lord over all else,

          and that is our priority and purpose,

                                 then that unity in faith that Jesus prayed for,

                                       matters more   than the issues that divide.

 

The critical doctrines of salvation are clear in Scripture,

        the essentials of faith are not what divides true Christians.

 

But there are countless other issues,

            less important issues than salvation   that can be ambiguous,

                        and that can cause terrible divisions in the Church…

… so the lesson may be,       don’t major in the minors,

            but try to keep our perspective, keep our focus on Jesus.

 

… and some issues

            may take time for the faith-community to hash out … à

                        … it took more than 300  years to work the Trinity…

                                                … and some questions are taking even longer…

 

… and some controversies of the church

            may not be as important to God   as they seem to us.

 

The point of reading and studying Holy Scripture

          is not just to answer every question and gain knowledge,

                              but really the goal is to grow closer to God,

                                       so that we learn to walk in His gracious love.

The word of God has the power and can transform us,

        renew our minds, our thought, feelings, dreams and desires

                               so that we are shaped and reshaped   more by

                                         God’s word and grace than by things of this world.

 

The more we are in God’s word,

            the more we will be able to think  like God thinks,

                                    the more we will be able to perceive  God’s way,

                        the more we will be able

                                    to distinguish truth from falsehood,

                                                     and the more we will know  and love the Lord.

                       

If studying the Bible doesn’t

          make us more loving, a more gentle and compassionate person,

                   then we are doing it wrong!

 

Much of this sermon has focused on                                 

            questions about studying and interpreting Scripture.

                        I want to get very practical and specific about methods

                                    that can help us read, study and grow in the Bible…

… because

          we need more exposure, and to know more of the Bible better.

 

- private quiet time for study and reflection

            e.g. Upper Room type devotion,   plus some serious study à

                          that might involve a pen, highlighter, or a notebook.

 

- also with your spouse and family,  or small group Bible study

            somewhere we can learn and discuss as a faith community.

 

Modern technology aids I find helpful:

 

            engaging new translations on CDs,

                        can be played on the way to work or while running errands

                                    great use of time,  and exposure to the word of God.

 

Internet study aids:  (listed in the bulletin)

- link to PC(USA)document (Bible authority and interpretation)

 

- Biblestudytools.com  ( a useful website among many)

            free resources, Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, maps…

                       

- oremus.org,(my favorite),  on-line Bibles, many translations,

            I copy into my word processor without verse & chapters #’s

                        reads more clearly like an ordinary book, new insights,

                                    also can display passages in parallel columns,

                                                can do word searches, e.g. light in John…

*  If you want or need help, email me, call me, come to see me.

 

The Bible is  a most incredible gift of God revealing Truth …

          … of who God is, who we are, God’s plan and purpose----

                             --- and all we need to know

                                                to live meaningful and satisfying lives,

                                                          that fulfill our purpose for being.

 

          If we are not engaged in regular Bible reading and study,

                   then our walk with God will probably not grow deeper ---

                                   --- for the word of God is really that important.

 

{prayer}  (Psa 119:30-35)

            I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your ordinances before me. I run the way of your commandments, for you enlarge my understanding. Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.   Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.