“The shortest road to an understanding of the Bible is the acceptance of the fact that God is speaking in every line.” Donald Grey Barnhouse
As the global market opened in the 1990’s international marketers had some monumental cross-cultural miscommunication blunders concerning brand names and slogans. For example, Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, the Coke company did not discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase meant, “Bite the wax tadpole.” Then, in Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan, “Finger-lickin’ good” came out as, “Eat your fingers off.” In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan, “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” came out as, “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.” When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its advertisements were supposed to say, “It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you.” However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word embarazar meant embarrass. Instead the advertisement said, “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”
Clear communication is vital. And nowhere is it more vital than in the clear communication of God’s Word. At Grace Church, we prefer the term understanding in relation to studying the Bible rather than interpretation. We don’t want to be accused of “that’s your interpretation.” It’s why we’re committed to understanding what God has written and Scripture says. God’s Word is not soft clay to be molded, shaped or re-shaped according to our whims, presuppositions or culture. It’s God’s Word. We’re committed to understanding what He’s written, not imposing our own interpretation.
2 Timothy 2:15 commands us, “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.” The Bible is God’s “word of truth.” Truth is accurate, objective and knowable. If a carpenter came to your home without a level, square, tape measure or a set of plans, you’d be concerned. If you asked him about his methods and he responded, “We all have different ways of seeing things. No way is absolutely right. Who’s to say that your house has to be plumb and square?”—you’d be very concerned! You want your house built carefully and accurately according to the plans. God’s Word is not the sort of thing where one person can see it one way and another can see it another, and ultimately, it doesn’t matter because no one can really know what it means.
Every biblical text has a fixed meaning that’s true and never changes. It’s imperative that we study, seeking to discover the meaning of each text. Otherwise, we’re sloppy workmen and should be ashamed.
“Rightly handling” means “to cut a road in a straight direction, so that the traveler may go directly to his destination.” To use a farming metaphor, it means plowing a straight furrow. The idea is to focus and accurately cut through the words of Scripture, so we reach the destination of godliness.
Change doesn’t come from feeling good or liking certain ideas that we think come from Scripture. Change comes when we’re confronted with God’s truth and submit our lives to it. All of us, and especially those who teach, must be skillful and accurate so Scripture is clearly understood. How can you obey, apply and submit to God’s truth if you don’t understand it? The application of Scripture to our lives is what brings about life change.
Today we’re returning to our study of Luke’s Gospel, Finding Jesus. Because we hold a high view of Scripture, we’re committed to what’s known as “expository preaching.” Expository preaching is firmly rooted in God’s Word. It means that the text of Scripture is the starting and ending point of the message. The biblical text is the foundation for the sermon’s theme and shape. A clear understanding of the biblical text is a prerequisite. Application must be rightly related to what God intended to convey, not some pastoral hobby horse. The point of the passage must be the point of the sermon. God wants people to hear from Him, not us.
Expository preaching is not a lecture or meandering through a passage. It’s preaching that sees the goal of the sermon as conveying the truth the Holy Spirit intended in giving the Word. It’s a necessary corollary of the doctrine of the God-breathed nature (2 Timothy 3:16) of Scripture. The idea is not so much that God breathed into the Scriptures, but that the Scriptures are the product of His breathing out. Independent of what we may feel about the Bible as we read it, Scripture maintains a “breath of God” quality. The preacher must make God’s Word understandable and limit himself to Scripture without adding or subtracting to fit his own perspective. Expository preaching is the method least likely to stray from Scripture by keeping to the main thing. It also teaches the congregation how to read their Bibles and how to think through a passage to understand and apply Scripture to their own lives. It gives confidence to the preacher and authorizes the sermon. He’s not sharing his opinions. When the preacher is faithful to the text, he’s confident his message is God's message, and it forces the preacher to handle the tough truths in a text.
When Jim Elliot, the famed missionary martyr, was a student at Wheaton, he wrote in his diary, “My grades came through this week, and were, as expected, lower than last semester. However, I make no apologies, and admit I’ve let them drag a bit for study of the Bible, in which I seek the degree A.U.G., ‘approved unto God.’” May we have that same commitment of preaching, teaching and applying of God’s truth to our own lives so that we may be “approved unto God.”
Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.
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