with Rev Dr Chris Walker
Using the Bible
The Bible is the primary authoritative document for Christians. It can be used in at least three different ways. We can study the Bible giving careful attention to the passage or book that is read. In sermons, we can analyse the Bible for what it has to say in its own time and place and then seek to interpret its meaning for our very different time and context. The Bible can also be used in presentations and articles as a launching pad for the subject under consideration or as an important component to what is being considered. Each of these uses of the Bible has its place but it is helpful to distinguish them. In my view calling a presentation a Bible study is a misuse of the term. Worse is claiming Biblical backing for an interpretation when careful biblical analysis has not been carried out. So I will make some comments about each of these three uses of the Bible.
First is Bible study. Because the Bible is regarded as authoritative by Christians, studying the Bible carefully is an ongoing task. Various tools are able to be drawn upon from literary analysis, form critical analysis, redaction criticism, viewing the passage in its sociological and historical context, to reading it from different perspectives such as feminist, liberation, marginalised etc. I value the expertise of biblical scholars who scrutinize biblical passages uncovering meanings of words and phrases and connecting the passage to the context in which it was first written. What they discover can bring depth or even new meaning to particular passages. If we are serious about the Bible then it is important to take the time to study it carefully with the help of experts in the Hebrew Scriptures(Old Testament) or the New Testament. Those biblical teachers who are able to relate study of the Bible to contemporary issues are valued interpreters. Walter Bruggemann is one such person who comes to mind.
Sermons can take different forms. They may spend time on a particular passage before going on to apply it to the circumstances of the hearers. It may be that the careful analysis is in the background while the sermon itself spends most of the time relating to the hearers. Whatever way the sermon is developed, if it is to carry biblical authority, then there is the need for the sermon to be biblically based. The exegetical work has been done. A story sermon for example needs to be clearly linked to a story in the Bible or to a passage that is central to the point of the Sermon. The hearers are able to identify this and so the sermon is not just the opinion of the preacher but is seen to be connected to the Bible and the lives of the hearers. Effective, authoritative sermons not only have a text that is basic to the worship but also convey that the preacher is steeped in the Bible. The goal of the preacher is not to draw attention to themselves but to bring God’s Word to bear so as to assist people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Presentations or articles are different again. A Biblical passage may be a springboard to considering pertinent issues. The Biblical passage does not so much provide guidance regarding the issue as lead into the issue or subject. It opens the issue but may well not be looked to further regarding it. Instead, contemporary discussion follows which may well go beyond what the biblical witness has to say. On the other hand, the subject dealt with does not have to be a biblical one as such. The Bible was developed in a very different context to ours. In both approaches it is not a matter of bolstering one’s position by drawing on the Bible despite not taking the time to carefully analyse the passages used to do so. It does mean being informed by the Bible in order that its emphases infuse what is said without necessarily quoting the Bible. So the Bible’s concern for the poor and suffering and marginalised for example can be drawn upon without the need for explicit references. When the presentation or article rings true to the Bible in what it conveys it thereby gains in authority.
From a Christian perspective the heart of the Bible is Jesus Christ. If the Bible is regarded as the Word of God, or better conveys the Word of God, then Jesus is the incarnate Word. So our words can convey God’s Word only to the extent that they are linked to the Bible as God’s Word and point to Jesus Christ. Bible study is valuable not just for its own sake but in order to assist us to discern God’s Word found there. The gospels are the centre of the Bible for Christians not because they are infallible words but because they testify to Jesus Christ. Through looking to Jesus we are helped to discern God’s will and what God wants from us. At times this even means critiquing some of what is said in the Old Testament. That does not mean disregarding parts of it. It does involve reading them in the light of the fuller revelation in Jesus Christ.
Preaching is a task to be carried out with humility and fearfully – for those of us who preach should know our inadequacies yet we are called to try to bring something of God’s current Word to people. Hence we proclaim not ourselves and our views but Jesus Christ and his message of the reign of God. This is meant to be good news for people.
Presentations in one sense are easier for they do not claim to be God’s Word. Nevertheless as Christians our goal should always be to be in line with the Bible and with Jesus in particular. It means being true to the thrust of Jesus’ life and ministry. Just as he cared especially for the suffering and outcaste, challenged those in authority to act justly and with compassion, and proclaimed God’s rule of love, justice and peace, so we are to seek to do the same.
Chris Walker
(National Consultant Christian Unity, Doctrine & Worship)