"Thy Word: A Light Unto My Path
"
The Bible: get between the covers
Sermon Preached by
The Rev. David McMaster
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Text: 2 Timothy 3:16, 17
Richard was one of my father's best friends. He is a great fellow. In his youth he was active in sports. He was an avid and talented soccer player who almost made the big leagues. In his 20s, Richard was called into the ministry and trained at Edgehill College in Belfast. From there he became a padre in the Royal Air Force. His rank during the Falkland crisis put him in the war room and the planning team for the recovery of the Islands from the Argentines.
In the post-war United Kingdom, we were brought up to revere the contribution of the military. That's why I was so pleased one Christmas to find a present from Uncle Richard and Auntie Margaret under the tree. I was all of 14 years of age when they sent me a small New Testament. Normally, a 14-year-old may not be too excited about a NT, but this particular NT was an RAF New Testament, it bore the RAF insignia on the front and inside had the words that indicated it was among those produced for Her Majesty's Naval, Military, and Air Force. I treasured this NT and set it in a prime place on my bedside table. When I emigrated to this country, I wasn't able to bring many personal effects but my RAF NT made it to a new bedside table on this side of the Atlantic. When I bought my first car, my NT made its way into the car. I put it in the glove box because, with some magical thinking, I thought it might keep me safe; like others put St. Christophers in their vehicles, I put my RAF NT in my car to guide my travels.
But, do you know something? Much as I treasured that NT, for years I never read it. I never opened the pages to see what was inside. That is so true of many who go to church. Statisticians tell us that we have an average of 3.7 bibles in our homes, yet few of us actually read them. That fact is really quite astonishing, for we are called as Christians to live out Christian lives, to take Christian stances on all sorts of issues including moral ones, yet few us actually know what is in here, in our book, in what should be foundational for our faith.
With that in mind, I want us to think about our sacred book and ask, “What is the bible? What does it mean when we say of it, ”˜This is the word of God'? What is the bible for?”
What is the bible?
The bible is actually a collection of sacred writings about God and his interactions with human beings from the beginning to the end of time. More specifically, it deals with God's interactions with one part of the human family from about the year 2,000 B.C. until approximately A.D. 100. The story tells how human beings strayed from God and became separated from him because of sin, and how God was at work to cover sin, restore the relationship and save the world. As God worked within one family in order that they would in turn bless all, the bible reveals that family's ups and downs, their good points and their many flaws. It holds nothing back; we read of tremendous high points of faith in the likes of King David and tremendous low points, even in the same man. Bad things are not edited out - it is an honest book, a real book about God and human beings.
The bible is divided into two sections, one called the Old Testament, the other called the New Testament. The word “testament” is an English translation of a word which can also mean “covenant”. The designations old and new refer to God's older covenant with Abraham and his descendants, and the new covenant that he brought about in Jesus, his messiah. The Old Testament is much longer than the New Testament. In most bibles, the OT is about 900 pages while the NT is around 350 pages.
In both cases they are collections of sacred writings, coming from various ages and authors. Though the stories are older, the oldest sections of the OT may date back to the period of Judges, the 11th or 12th centuries B.C., the latest section is probably to be found in Daniel, from the early to mid-second century B.C.
Traditionally, the Jewish people divided their sacred books, which we call the OT, into three. The first five books - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy - are in the first division, called the Torah. These were deemed the most sacred and tell us about creation, God's dealings with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the giving of ”˜the Torah' or law and the wilderness wanderings. The second division is called the Nebi'im or ”˜The Prophets' and contains what we would call historical writings like Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, and the greater prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. The third division is called the Kethubim or ”˜The Writings' with Psalms and Proverbs the best known. All these books, 39 of them to be precise, from different times, different people, and different places come together. Within them, there is an abundance of narrative and poetry with all sorts of literary devices such as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, understatement, irony, sarcasm, symbolism, various kinds of parallels. They all come together to form a unique unity - the story of God and his interaction with humanity until just before the time of Jesus.
Unlike the OT, the 27 writings that make up the NT focus for the most part on one person, God's son, Jesus, and how the earliest Christians followed him. It is divided into four Gospels, which are about Jesus' life; Acts, which gives a history of the church including letters from a few church leaders; and Revelation, a book rich in symbolism and an example of apocalyptic literature. Whereas the OT was written in Hebrew and a few pages of Aramaic, the NT was written in Greek and has to be translated into English.
Today, there are many English translations of the original languages, which remind me of a situation my first Greek professor, John Rook, found himself in. When John was doing his Ph.D. at Oxford, he would often go to church with his Greek bible in hand so that he could follow the readings in Greek. One Sunday, as he was leaving the church, a woman started talking to him. Noticing his different bible she asked, “What's that?”
He told her that it was a Greek bible.
“How does it compare to the original?” she asked.
As he opened his mouth to speak about ancient manuscripts, she continued:
“I like the King James Version. If it was good enough for St. Paul, it's good enough for me.”
What do we mean when we say the bible is the word of God?
With that very brief introduction to the bible, I quickly want to add that the bible is a book like no other. To say that the bible is a book would be a true statement, but it is a book like no other. There is something special about the writings that we know as scripture within the bible. I recall a time in my life when a Roman Catholic friend began chatting about the bible and prophecy. Neither of us were church-goers at that point in our lives, but one night over a drink he began to talk about how God was working in our world. He had read a book about biblical prophecy and as he spoke, some of what he said rang bells of recognition from my Sunday School days. But some of what he said about the end of the world was a little scary. He spoke about it a few times until I could stand it no longer; I had to check some of this stuff out for myself. So I took my little RAF NT out of the car and found time to read. I read through a couple of the Gospels and then some of Paul's letters. I became engrossed in its story and the salvation it speaks of. Before long, I realized that I needed and wanted that salvation. I accepted Christ and wanted to follow him.
What happened means that, through the bible, God was revealed to me. The bible, therefore, is itself revelation and God's word. A couple of years later, I began to think about what the bible is in more depth. As I continued to read, I noted that some parts of the bible were different than others and I began to ask questions. In what way is the bible revelation? When in the midst of public worship we say, “This is the word of the Lord,” what do we mean?
Soon, I met people who were thinking about the same things and we began to talk about revelation. I remember, over lunch, saying to them,
I get it that when a prophet like Jeremiah says, ”˜The word of the Lord came upon me…' and he speaks what has come upon him, that is revelation. But what about bits of the bible that are just historical notes of some ancient battle? Can we say those are revelation too? I get it - if God speaks, there is revelation. But what is it when Moses speaks, when David speaks, when Paul writes and says that on a certain topic he has ”˜no word from the Lord,' or when the serpent in the garden speaks? Would it not be true to say that the bible contains revelation? To say it contains the word of God as opposed to is the word of God?
One of the guys got really upset at that remark and called me a heretic for even thinking such a thing. He said that the bible is the revealed word of God; it is infallible and inerrant and that is the end of it! He was equally not pleased when someone else talked about how God reveals himself. He said,
That is revelation - when God reveals himself that is revelation. What the holy men and women wrote down, therefore, was not revelation itself; it was a witness to what God had revealed.
The inerrantist was fuming, so I helped him out by referring to my own personal experience. I said that when I read the bible God was revealed to me, thus the bible is in some way itself revelation. For a moment, I came off the endangered species list, but most of us left knowing that we were onto something mysterious. It became a favoured topic for budding theological students.
The Apostle Paul said that the sacred books were “inspired.” The Greek word there, theopneustos, translated literally would be “God-breathed.” When the translators say that they are inspired, it is not so much the kind of inspiration we would associate with a great piece of art or music. Paul meant something far greater. He was trying to express heaven and earth coming together as one: God breathing out his word, the human vessel picking it up and writing without distorting the humanity, personality or cultural context of that individual. The scriptures are God-breathed and written by humans.
I think Jesus gives us some indication as to how we are to think of the scriptures. In all that he did, Jesus never once undermined the scriptures. In all that he did, Jesus never once undermined them. He used them to settle disputes. He regarded their prophecies as true and sometimes confirmed and fulfilled them. He interpreted what was going on in light of the scriptures. Sometimes he went beyond them, but their authority as the word of God was unquestioned. Personally, throughout my life, I've found it not wrong to follow Jesus. Moved by Jesus' attitude and my own experience, I have had no trouble saying, “This is the word of God,” understanding it in all its mystery as God's revelation.
What's the bible for?
If we grant special status to the bible, what is it for? St. Paul stressed that,
All scripture is inspired by God [God- breathed] and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (I Timothy 3:16, 17)
When we interpret this verse, we find that scripture reveals God, reveals truth, and also reveals how we are to live. We've talked already about it revealing God, so let us not linger there. But what about how we should live?
I think it is at this point that people start to worry about the bible. There are those who feel the bible will cramp their style; it gives them too many rules to live by; it is too restrictive. There are those who fear they would have to change their lives too much if they read it and tried to follow its teaching. I remember a young woman in university who told me that if she followed the bible, life would be no fun any more. But is this really true?
Nicky Gumbel, a priest within the Church of England, tells a story of how a soccer match had been arranged for 22 small, eight year old boys, one of whom was his own. One of his friends, Andy, was supposed to referee, but at game time Andy hadn't shown up. They waited, and when they could wait no longer, Gumbel was pressured by other parents to referee. The trouble was, Gumbel wasn't much of a sportsman and began to referee most unwillingly. He said that there were no uniforms, he didn't know all the boys' names or which teams they were on, there were no markings on the field for boundaries nor did he really know the rules that well. He said,
The game soon descended into complete chaos. Some shouted that the ball was in. Others would say that it was out. I wasn't at all sure, so I let things run. Then the fouls started. Some cried ”˜Foul!' Others said, ”˜No foul!' I didn't know who was right. So I let them play on. Then people began to get hurt. By the time his friend Andy arrived, there were three boys lying injured on the ground and all the rest were shouting, mainly at me!
Then, Gumbel said, his friend Andy arrived.
Andy blew his whistle, arranged the teams, told them where the boundaries were and had them under control in no time. Then the boys had the game of their lives.
Now, Gumbel asks,
Were the boys more free without the rules or were they in fact less free? Without any effective authority they were free to do exactly what they wanted. The result was that people were confused and hurt. They much preferred it when they knew where the boundaries were. Within those boundaries they were free to enjoy the game.
In some ways the bible is like that. It is God's rule book. God tells us what is “in” and what is “out.” He tells us what we can do and what we must not do. If we play within the rules, there is freedom and joy within the game of life. When we break the rules, people get hurt. God did not say, “Do not murder” in order to ruin our enjoyment of life. He did not say, “Do not commit adultery” because he is a spoilsport. God does not want people to get hurt, nor does he want their lives messed up. The bible is God's revelation of his good and beneficial will for his people. The more we discover his will and put it into practice, the freer we shall be to enjoy life, avoid hurting ourselves and others. That is why the psalmist can write, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119)
So here we have this book. It is God's book. It is the church's book. It is our book. It reveals God, truth and the way of life to us. It is my hope that we will not just set it upon the bedside tables of our lives merely to admire the cover and insignia, but that we will become familiar with this book. It is the word of God - foundational if we call ourselves Christians. I encourage you to get to know it, that you may be equipped for life.