Green (2007) cautions, “For the scientific reader of the
Bible, there is no inherent need to concern ourselves with the significance of
the Bible for ourselves” (pg. 13). What
does it mean to read the Bible as Christian Scripture? How can one be an informed reader of
scripture without turning the Bible into another subject of Study? Reading the Bible as Christian scripture
means recognizing that the various parts of scripture and scripture as a whole is for us, even if it was not originally to
us.
The
narratives of the Bible as Christian Scripture
Old Testament narratives
Fee and Stuart (2003) report, “Unfortunately,
failure to understand both the reason for and the character of the Hebrew
narrative has caused many Christians in the past to read the Old Testament
story very poorly…The intended value and meaning are replaced with ideas read
into rather than out of the text” (p.89).
While it is important that we not interject meanings in the Old
Testament stories that could have never been intended by the authors and
original readers (creating parallels between the ark built by Noah and the
cross of Christ, for example) it is even more destructive to assume that these
stories are irrelevant in lieu of Christ.
For
one thing, the individual stories of both the Old and New Testament help us to
see how our stories and the stories of those around us fit into God’s
story. Additionally, the story of redemption came to its fruition in the cross of
Christ, but it was born long ago. We see God pursuing his children, in
the animal skins made for Adam and Eve, in the story of Noah and the Ark, in
God’s calling of Abraham, the exodus, the life of King David, and throughout
the stories of the prophets. The story of God’s redemptive work is
incomplete without the inclusion of the great many level narratives of the Old
Testament.
New Testament narratives
According to Fee and Stuart (2003),
The crucial hermeneutical question here is whether biblical narratives
that describe what happened in the early church also function as norms intended
to delineate what must happen in the ongoing church…Our assumption, shared by
many others is this: Unless Scripture explicitly tells us we must do something,
what is only narrated or described function in a normative (i.e. obligatory)
way-unless it can be demonstrated on other grounds that the author intended it
to function in this way. (p. 118-119)
The
letters and sermons of the New Testament as Christian Scripture
Letters
Fee and Stuart conclude, “Whenever we share comparable particulars
(i.e., similar specific life situations) with the first-century hearers, God’s
Word to us is the same as his Word to them…A great caution here is that we do
our exegesis well so that we have confidence that our situations and
particulars are genuinely comparable to theirs” (p. 75). Schenk (2009) uses the issue of the household
codes as an example. The instruction in
these codes “probably has more to do with being a good witness to
non-Christians than God’s timeless plan for the household…Ironically, to fulfill
the purpose of this verse, we would need to allow wives to have equal value and
freedom in our households today” (Schenck, 2009, p. 21). Even in the cases where God’s word is not the
same, the spirit of what is said is. In
the example of the household codes, the concept of being a good witness is
certainly applicable, though the instruction on how to do that is not.
Sermons
Fee and Stuart (2003) instruct, “the teachings and imperatives of Jesus
in the gospels should be brought into the twenty-first century in the same way
as we do with Paul-or Peter of James-in the epistles…they are descriptions, by
way of imperative, of what Christian life should be like because of God’s prior
acceptance of us” (143). The New
Testament sermons are not specific and exhaustive commands that must be done,
like some check list. Instead they are general
principals to illustrate what the life of Christians can and indeed should look
like as a result of God’s saving grace.
Willard (1998) states “The teachings of Jesus in the Gospels show us how
to live the life we have been given though the time, place, family, neighbors,
talents, and opportunities that are ours.
His words left to us in scripture provide all we need in the way of general
teachings about how to conduct our particular affairs” (p. 284). The “spirit” of the sermons instruct us how
to live a life that reflects the good news of Christ. In its basic form these principals all relate
to the two great commands (To love God and to love people).
The
prophetic and apocalyptic materials in the Bible as Christian Scripture
The prophetic
materials
Fee and Stuart (2003) state, “The
prophets did announce the future. But it
was usually the immediate future…rather than our future” (p. 182). I agree that prophesies in these texts were
directed to the original audience and thus, are completed items. To use the prophets as some sort of biblical
crystal ball is to “miss the point.”
Their primary function was “to speak for God to their own
contemporaries” (Fee and Stuart, 2003, p. 182). The prophets were God’s
messengers and to think that there message was irrelevant to those they were
delivering it to is ignoring that role.
The prophets were faithfully speaking for God to their contemporaries
and it is for that reason that there oracles could not be referring to the
distant future, to our future. The
prophets did predict future events, but those events have already come to
fruition.
Recognizing that the prophets do
not have future oracles for us does not mean that God does not have a message
for us from them. Fee and Stuart (2003)
note, “Once we hear what God said to them, even if our circumstances differ
considerably, we will often hear it again in our own settings in a rather
direct way” (p. 199). The prophets may
not reveal our future to us, but they reveal to us God’s desires for His
followers, and those expectations are as true for us today as they were for the
original audience.
The apocalyptic materials
Fee and Stuart (2003) report, “Apocalypses in general, and Revelation in
particular, seldom intend to give a detailed chronological account of the
future. Their message tends to transcend
this kind of concern” (p. 257). The
apocalyptic materials, like the prophetic materials, had a relevant message to
their original audience. These materials
have been mishandled by a multitude of people.
This writings are meant to bring hope in the midst of difficult situations,
not be used “to break the code” and discover when the world is coming to an
end.
Once we accept the intended role of the apocalyptic materials role as
scripture, the role of proclaiming the faithfulness of God in the midst of hard
times, and the God’s ultimate reign and victory, these texts serve a very real
role for Christians today. On a personal
level we have all faced hard times, that though different, resonate with what
the original audience was facing in the apocalyptic writings. In a broad sense, the message to this
audience is the same message that these writings have for us today. Things are never hopeless, for Christ is
victor!
The
legal material of the Old Testament as Christian Scripture
According to Fee and Stuart (2003)
the law was “God’s gift to his people to establish the ways they were to live
in community with one another and provide for their relationship with and
worship of Yahweh, their God” (p. 163).
Christians today are part of a new covenant with God through Christ and
that must impact the way we look at the law.
The Old Testament and
the Ancient Near East
The Old Testament Law was connected
with the culture of the Ancient Near East.
It shares characteristics with both the Code of Hammurabi and the Laws
of Eshnunna which preceded it. Yet, as
Fee and Stuart (2003) point out, “The Old Testament Law represents a quantum
leap ahead ethically over such codes” (p. 177).
Fee and Stuart (2003) point out the contrast between the Old Testament
Law and these other laws concerning the Value of women and slaves. This is just one example that shows that the
Old Testament Law called God’s people to a way of life that was
counter-cultural.
The law and God’s
long term design
God presented Old Testament Law in
a way that fit in Israel’s context but that does not mean that it does not
reflect God’s long term design for his followers. Fee and Stuart (2003) suggest that God’s own
character is revealed through the Law.
The Law also establishes a relationship between God and his people. Fee and Stuart state “The Israelites as God’s
people were to worship, and thus be like God” (p171). This is all part of God’s long term
design. God still desires a relationship
with His followers, a relationship that includes loyalty. Likewise, God still wants His followers to be
like Him. Consider Jesus’ instruction to
“be perfect as God is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
The
poetic materials of the Bible Christian Scripture
The
poetic materials of the Bible are unique because they are written to/about God
rather than a message from God (Fee and Stuart, 2003). This is not to say that we cannot learn about
God from these materials and it is certainly not to say that they do not hold
value for today’s Christian. Fee and
Stuart (2003) suggest that “The Psalms…are of great benefit to the believer who
looks to the bible for help in expressing joys and sorrows, successes and
failures, hopes and regrets (p. 205).
Poetic materials and doubt
I
especially find the Psalms of lament to be helpful in this regard. We are often taught today that faith is the
absence of doubt, that it is blind acceptance.
We feel that we should minimize are feelings and “stay the course” when
difficult things happen and when we frustrated and confused by the
circumstances of our lives. I am
convinced that this is a practice that is very destructive to our relationship
with God.
From
these Psalms we learn that faith is not the absence of anger and doubt, but
rather it is trust in God in the middle of our anger and doubt. The closer our relationship with our friends
and loved ones the more real, we can be, the more we can express, even if it is
disappointment. We learn from these
texts that the same is true of our relationship with God. The poetic scripture teach us that we serve a
God big enough to handle our hurt, doubts and anger.
Conclusion: the whole
Bible as Christian Scripture
To read the Bible as Christian
scripture we must realize that the various parts of scripture and scripture as
a whole is for us, even if it was not originally to us. When I think of viewing the Bible as
Christian Scripture I think of those I care about, such as my wife and
children. It is possible for someone to
know all the facts about my family without actually knowing them. One can find out my daughters date of birth,
eye color, and even social security number without knowing her. On the other hand, it is impossible for me to
develop a loving relationship with my wife without knowing many of these things
about her. You cannot but learn all the
details about someone if you care for them.
That is how I think about the Bible as Christian Scripture. The bible can be memorized and known forward
and back, but if it is just a text, it won’t mean anything to the reader. On the other hand the Bible as Christian
Scripture necessitates that we use all the textual tools to learn as much as
possible. The difference with those I
care about is the relationship. The
difference with Christian Scripture is seeking/allowing the Bible to transform
us.
Common literary tools can rightly
be used when reading the Bible to discover more of God’s message, but using
these tools to “master” the sacred text like we would an old work of fiction is
not appropriate. Green (2007) says,
“For the scientific reader of the Bible, there is no inherent need to concern
ourselves with the significance of the Bible for ourselves” (pg. 13). Encountering God’s word is for the purpose
of formation, not just understanding.
Mulholland Jr. states, “The Word is truly the mediator between us and
God.” 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All scripture is inspired by God” (New Living
Translation). The Bible is not something
that we should seek to master, but rather something we should allow to master
us. It is not appropriate to let our
literary tools get in the way of formation through our encounters with
Scripture.
References
Fee, G.D and
Stuart, D. (2003). How to read the Bible for all its worth (3rd Ed). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Green,
J.B. (2007). Seized by truth: Reading the Bible as
Scripture. Nashville, TN: Abingdon
Press.
Mulholland
Jr., M.R. (2000). Shaped by the Word: The
power of Scripture in spiritual formation (2nd ed.).Nashville.
TN: Upper Room Books.
Schenck, K.
(2009). Brief guide to Biblical
interpretation. (2nd ed.).
Marion, IN: Triangle Publishing.
Willard, D.
(1998). The divine conspiracy: rediscovering our hidden life in God. New
York, NY: HarperCollins.
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