February 22, 2009

James 1:22-25; II Timothy 3:10-17

Last Sunday, and again today, we are focusing on how God speaks to us through the scriptures. In the church we often argue over what the bible teaches and so we are looking these two weeks at ways we can better hear God speak to us through the bible

Last Sunday we looked at how the bible came to be and its purpose in our life.

I said the bible is really a story book. It tells the story of God’s all out effort to reach us and of our response to God’s efforts.

The Gospel of John 20:31 really captures the essence of why the scriptures were written down for us.

The Apostle John writes – “these stories of Jesus are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

From John’s perspective, the NT message is not neutral. The NT tells the story of Jesus and what he did, so that we might come to see him as the Messiah and to trust him with our life and to embody his life in our church communities.

I also said the bible is not primarily designed to give us information about God – but to invite us into a relationship with Christ and to help us align ourselves more closely with God’s purposes in the world.

As Christians, we are to read the bible over and over again because the false story that our culture uses to define us needs to be challenged by God’s story of love and mercy and forgiveness shown to us in Jesus.

The message of the bible is always intended to change us and to alter our course of action

Now, the challenge for us is – how do we read the scriptures in such a way that we hear God speak clearly to us in our day?

How can we make sense out of this ancient text that was written two thousand years ago?

1. Many people that I meet actually think you can’t make sense out of it. They see the bible as coming from a world that is so vastly different from ours that they can’t relate to it.

They are not able to bridge the cultural, language, and time gap. The worldview of biblical writers just seems too different.

1. Other people I know avoid reading the bible because it has been used as a club to beat them into line. It is seen more as a book of rules than as a story of God’s redemptive love.

Out of fear they simply avoid reading the bible.

1. Some other people say to me, how can one trust the bible because so often Christians – thinking they have understood it correctly – have completely gotten it wrong.

They then go on to name all the ways the church has used the bible wrongly to – endorse slavery, support war and violence, silence women, promote a health and wealth gospel, and on an on.

They are right of course. The bible has been used wrongly way too many times and there is no guarantee that we will always get it right.

At the same time, the bible has been interpreted correctly many times to bring about liberation and justice for many people.

The biblical story always invites people to turn away from evil and oppression and violence and to practice justice and kindness and mercy.

The God of the bible takes the side of those who are suffering and oppressed and seeks to realign the people of God with God’s purposes in the world.

The scriptures, when interpreted correctly and lived faithfully, have always ignited powerful spiritual and social reforms.

The scriptures can challenge our worldviews, they can help us see and hear things we prefer to ignore, and they can invite us to change our false allegiances.

So, for people everywhere the bible is one of the most liberating books, because it invites us into a relationship with God that transforms us and our communities.

The thing I want to look at today is – are there ways to interpret the scriptures so that we are transformed and our churches become grace-filled communities?

When I think about how to interpret the scriptures so that we can be faithful followers of Jesus I am often taken back to our Anabaptist sisters and brothers in the 16^th century.

During the Reformation in the 16^th century the rallying cry for the reformers was – “sola scriptura” – only scripture.

This cry of “sola scriptura” was so important to the reformers and early Anabaptists because for about 1000 years the Roman Catholic Church controlled the interpretation of the bible.

Many people then were illiterate and couldn’t read the bible or, if they were literate, they couldn’t read it because the main translation of the bible was in Latin.

At the time, the Catholic Church didn’t want the bible translated into the language of the people because they were afraid they would misinterpret the scriptures. They felt like only the trained clergy could interpret the scriptures accurately.

They went so far as to have people like John Wycliff, who wanted to translate the bible into the common language of the people, burned at the stake.

Even some of the priests, who were trained in seminaries, had never read the bible before.

The Reformers, as they read the bible for the first time or reread it anew, saw a huge gap between what the church taught and what Jesus said in the gospels.

So when the Reformers cried “sola scriptura” they were trying to establish the bible as their authority for change in the church, instead of relying on church tradition and priestly authority.

The Anabaptist leaders, deeply influenced by the Reformers, also emphasized “sola scriptura” but they said that wasn’t enough.

Anabaptists said the best interpreters of scripture were those who had received the Holy Spirit.

This meant for them that an illiterate peasant who had received the gift of the Holy Spirit was a better interpreter of the bible than a learned theologian who lacked the Holy Spirit.

So the Anabaptists changed “sola scriptura” to “scripture and Spirit together”.

But the Anabaptist leaders soon found out that “scripture and Spirit” was not enough either. Individuals started doing some really weird things and claiming that they were being “led by the Holy Spirit”.

Eventually, the Anabaptist understanding became “scripture and Spirit in community”. The Anabaptist leaders encouraged individuals to read the scriptures and to be guided by the Holy Spirit, but those emerging understandings then had to be tested in the church.

Individual understandings and even more scholarly interpretations had to be brought to the community for wider discernment.

The Anabaptists took seriously Jesus’ teaching that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there with them.”

And then later on when some prophets led a few church groups to do some violent things – (i.e. Munster) the Anabaptist leaders added an additional interpretive tool. They said all interpretations of scripture and individual actions must be measured by the life and words of Jesus.

In other words, an interpretation of scripture or action was seen as valid only if it led to behavior that conformed to Jesus’ life. The Anabaptists came to believe that the Holy Spirit would not lead anyone to do anything that was contrary to the life and teaching of Jesus as revealed in the gospel stories.

And then one other thing became central in the Anabaptist’s interpretation of scripture. Anabaptists argued that obedience to Christ, not just education, was the way to a correct understanding of scripture.

The goal of interpreting scripture was a life of discipleship – not intellectual comprehension. Anabaptists said most of the important things in scripture were easy to understand and simply needed to be obeyed – rather than endlessly debated.

Anabaptist leader Hans Denck once said – “No one can know Christ, unless he follows after him in life.”

Jesus said – “not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord (or I would add not everyone who has a correct doctrine of scripture) will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

Anabaptists believed that if we do what we understand we will be taught further by God. Without a readiness to change and do what one learns from scripture – there is really no understanding of God.

So, what started out for the Reformers and the Anabaptists as “sola scriptura” – scripture alone – turned into the development of some guidelines for helping them interpret the scriptures more faithfully.

The Anabaptist approach to interpreting scripture was not completely unique. Others used similar guidelines and it has found expression in numerous fringe groups throughout church history.

What I find particularly interesting today is that the Anabaptist way of interpreting scripture is finding a home among “Emergent Churches” and a movement called “New Monasticism”.

These Christians see the institutional church as having lost its way regarding Jesus and they are seeking to embody new forms and ways of following Christ in the midst of so much cultural and socio-political turbulence.

These Christians are re-reading the whole bible again and they are looking to Anabaptists and our approach to interpreting the scriptures for guidance.

The Anabaptist approach to interpreting scripture won’t stop all of our debates and it has its own weaknesses, but I also find the Anabaptist approach to interpreting scripture very helpful.

In closing I want to summarize again the six basic principles the Anabaptists used for interpreting scripture.

1. The first guideline the Anabaptists used for interpreting scripture was – that they read everything through the lens of Jesus’ life.

Since God became a human being in Jesus – Jesus became the clearest word of God to us.

In the book of Hebrews the writer says in 1:1-3 – “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.”

Since Jesus clarified and fulfilled what had previously been written – Jesus’ life and teachings became the basis from which to interpret other scriptures.

The Anabaptists saw Jesus’ example, lifestyle, spirit, relationships, and intentions as crucial in providing a basis from which to interpret the rest of scripture.

They saw all scripture as inspired by God but they were drawn particularly to the Jesus described in the Gospels.

They studied his life and ministry to discover how to live and they found his example and teaching relevant to many issues they faced.

Anabaptists also emphasized, though, that a living relationship with Jesus was a prerequisite for understanding scripture. It was faith in Christ, not only his example that made the text come alive.

So, the Anabaptists retained a high view of scripture, but they insisted it be interpreted in a Jesus-centered way, according to the “intention of Jesus.”

1. Closely aligned with the first principle was a second one which stated that the OT must be interpreted in light of the NT.

The Anabaptists read the bible, not as a flat series of propositions and timeless allegories, but with a sense of development from the OT to the NT.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus even says – “you have heard that it was said, but now I say unto you”.

Interpreting the OT in light of the NT was for the Anabaptists one of the biggest differences they had with the other Reformers. And interpreting the OT in light of the NT is still today one of the reasons Christians most often disagree with each other.

When you start with the NT and Jesus it is easy to reach very different conclusions on capital punishment, war, wealth, the nature of the church, role of government, and many other issues.

The Anabaptists saw the OT as very important in understanding the NT but they saw the NT as fulfilling the OT and at times even reinterpreting the prophetic tradition in light of Jesus Christ.

So, Anabaptists insisted on interpreting the OT in light of the NT and this led them to some very different conclusions on issues and it still does today.

1. A third Anabaptist principle for interpreting the scriptures is the need to rely on the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told his disciples that it is good that he goes away because then the Holy Spirit will come and lead them into all truth.

For the Anabaptists the role of the Holy Spirit was not only for help in explaining scripture but also for conviction of sin and assurance of salvation.

The Holy Spirit was not a source of authority over scripture, but was at work revealing the true meaning of scripture.

They came to scripture expecting the Holy Spirit to inspire them and to give them new understandings.

As a safeguard, though, against wild interpretations Anabaptists insisted that all interpretations be tested in the church and they had to be consistent with the teachings and spirit of Jesus.

1. A fourth important principle for Anabaptists was to take the plain meaning of scripture or to seek for the most natural interpretation.

Anabaptists felt like scripture should be free to challenge all church traditions, personal experiences, reason, and political powers.

Anabaptists thought that if an interpretation was so complicated that it baffled all but a handful of experts that it was probably wrong.

They realized that there were some difficult passages of scripture but overall they chose to follow an interpretation of scripture that seemed to naturally flow from the passage and historical context.

Anabaptists also encouraged people to interpret the most difficult texts in light of the scriptures as a whole. One of the safeguards in bible study is to compare scripture with scripture and not to just pick a verse here and another verse over there out of context and use it to make a point.

They also encouraged people to interpret biblical words and whole passages in light of their literary character. Scripture contains parables, poetry, history, narratives, and uses a variety of images, symbols, and metaphors.

Poetry needs to be understood differently than the gospel accounts and the context is always important.

So the Anabaptists took seriously the context of scripture and different literary styles but they also believed that most of scripture had a plain meaning that could be understood by all people.

1. A fifth principle was that the scriptures are best interpreted in the context of the church.

The reality is that all scripture has to be interpreted and it is best to do that with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Anabaptists looked to the Berean Church in Acts as their model. Acts 17:11 says they continually “examined the scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.”

Anabaptists were not only willing to share what they were learning with each other but they were also open to being corrected.

The congregation became a discerning community where people gathered around the bible to hear and discern together what God was inviting them to do as a community.

Bible reading wasn’t just for personal enrichment but was for discerning what God was calling the community to be about in the world.

1. And then the last main principle for interpreting the bible was being willing to obey and do what the scriptures taught.

Reading the bible will only take on meaning as we act on what we know and hear God saying to us.

The message of scripture always needs to be responded to – either in praise, thanksgiving, repentance, confession, or reconciliation.

The bible is not a book we should turn to when we want to find support for positions we already hold. It is the book we turn to when we want to open ourselves up to God and to the ways God wants to change us in order to make us part of God’s ministry in the world.

It is as we act on what we hear the Holy Spirit saying to us that we are transformed and God’s people are renewed.

Now, of course the Anabaptists did not always follow these principles very well and they certainly had their disagreements and splits along the way.

At the same time, I think these guidelines can be helpful to us as we seek to be faithful followers of Jesus and as we deal with issues that arise among us.

So, I want to encourage us, like Paul did young Timothy, when he said – “all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”

As we study and meditate on scripture – my prayer is that we would be equipped for living out the good news of Jesus Christ in our community and world.

And one last thing I would add is that as we approach our task of interpreting scripture – may we come with a humble spirit and open to learn from each other.

We won’t always get it right and we will disagree from time to time – so we need to practice love with one another when we do get it wrong.

God is still actively seeking us – may we be open to hearing God speak to us through scripture and may we always be ready to act in faith on what we know. Amen.