Thoughts on Studying God's word.
- By: ckroboth
- On: 09/14/2009 10:50:39
- In: Faith Extended
Some good discussion after the last post on Galatians, and it got me thinking hard.
When it comes to studying scripture here are just some thoughts.
I started thinking about application of scripture. Scripture applies to life, not life to scripture.
We are also not meant to walk this journey alone. We need to be sharpened, honed, and held to the path of Truth in Christ, we can not do that on our own. We must be willing to take on the burdens of Brothers and Sisters in Christ, so that none of us walk off the path.
We should always be seeking the counsel of scripture, and it should be done by study then application. We can’t get into a situation and then look for scripture for justification of our actions. Our life should be a justification of the scripture as a whole that impacts our life to the marrow of our bones. No picking and choosing what applies and doesn’t apply.
That said is it possible to study scripture in complete isolation? It would seem to study scripture in isolation we would have to read every word of scripture without personal emotions, and attitudes’ interfering with what is written. In isolation what is written is what is written no interpretation could be made. But we read in Hebrews:
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
We are human though, and God gave us a living breathing document of the complete revelation of His plan through Christ. God through scripture meets each individual where they are at in life. Our emotions and attitudes are going to affect how we read scripture, and being human we are quick to shy away from anything that makes us uncomfortable. Christ never said being his follower would be comfortable. As we study we must be careful that our emotions don’t keep us from applying God’s word to our life, even when it is something we don’t want to do. Often what we want to do and what the Holy Spirit is leading us to as we Study the Word are two different things.
What one person reads and interprets one way, another may read and find something else. Is either of them doing something wrong? No. What each must realize is that finding Christ in all things is the key. Now there is nothing wrong with personal study, and reflection. Again, the Bible reveals truth where a person is at in their life, but we must be accountable to the truth of Christ and correctly use God’s word in our lives.
2 Tim 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
With everything said above, how do we know if we are correctly handling the word of Truth? My guess is that if we went through the whole host of believers over time our personal revelation about a piece of scripture is really not that unique. So to say who is right or wrong is difficult, but the fundamental truth should always be Christ and His saving grace. That is where the community of believers is allowed to hold each other accountable.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
One piece of iron can not sharpen itself. Accountability for the Truth is Iron sharpening iron. Many times our pride stands in the way of this accountability. We want so much to be right that we don’t accept correction of our interpretation of scripture when it goes against the Truth of Christ. Like Peter in Galatians, we will hide behind pride or our wanting to be important, many times though our arrogance stands out more than our need to be right.
The first time iron is sharpened there are burs and nicks in the surface, and those burs and nicks get snagged. Allowing someone to correct our behavior hurts our ego gets snagged, but often we learn more about Christ’s Truth if we allow that correction.
I mentioned the host of believers. See the Word of God is the complete revelation of God’s plan. But how the whole host of the Church has lived out that scripture is the story of God’s plan. The current host of believers must hold together in the unity built on Christ truth, while allowing each individual story of Christ’s truth to be lived out. The more we allow accountability and correction the less it hurts, and the more we begin to understand the whole of scripture. The more the sharpening becomes honing us for the straight path of Christ.
We study God's word as part of a growing relationship with Him. Though this relationship is deeply personal, we must understand that the Church of Christ is responsible to holding us accountable to His Truth. Seeking counsel and accountability as we work to apply the whole God's Scripture to our life, helps keep us focused on Christ. The wisdom we gain from counsel and accountability should bring us to the truth of unity as the Bride of Christ. We are his Church, and we are responsible for His Truth, and each other.
