Audio Transcript
I hope you had a beautiful Christmas celebration with family and friends and with your loved ones within the religion. We’re again to work in the present day speaking about Bible studying and commentaries in a query from an previous pal of ours. “Hiya, Pastor John. My identify is Calvin from Singapore.” This, by the way in which, is identical Calvin from Singapore who beforehand requested, “Why did demons ask Jesus for pigs?” which turned APJ 1534, one among our hottest episodes of all time. Nice episode. For those who one way or the other didn’t hear it, test it out. Most of you may have as a result of it obtained lodged within the YouTube algorithm and generated large quantities of visitors — over two million views in YouTube alone. Loopy.
So, Calvin, maintain sending us your questions! And he has. As a result of Calvin is again to ask this query: “Pastor John, each time I learn the Bible, I take advantage of a Bible commentary to assist me perceive it. However I fairly often find yourself not studying the Bible and discovering myself simply studying straight from the commentary, which will be very illuminating and edifying. However I don’t wish to neglect the Bible itself. What’s the fitting stability of studying the Bible and studying commentaries? How do you progress forwards and backwards from textual content to commentary to profit from nice lecturers however not on the neglect of the textual content of Scripture itself? How do I do know if I’m overusing commentaries?”
It’s attainable to fall off the horse of unbiased considering in two instructions. In a single course, we fall off on the facet of, “I don’t want anyone else. Simply me and the Holy Spirit and my Bible, and I can see what I must see.” Or we are able to fall off on the opposite facet of the horse by failing to assume for ourselves in any respect and changing into nearly completely depending on what others have thought.
If we make the primary mistake, we’re in all probability smug, and we’re denying the biblical actuality that God has given to his church lecturers (Ephesians 4:11). It’s a tremendous factor. God has given to his church lecturers. He didn’t simply give us a Bible; he gave us Bible lecturers. That has large implications. As a result of nobody individual aside from the assistance of different lecturers goes to see all that God has to show us within the Bible.
And if we make the second mistake, then we’re in all probability going to grow to be inauthentic second-handers. I don’t wish to be a second-hander. I don’t wish to be, and I don’t need you to be, a second-hander — that’s, individuals who can by no means say something with confidence from the Bible as a result of they’ve really seen it for themselves instantly. Reasonably, they’re all the time echoing what different folks have mentioned in regards to the Bible. Second-handers are like ambassadors of a king who’re by no means certain what he says. They’re by no means capable of say, “Thus saith the sovereign king . . .” As an alternative, they’re all the time saying, “Nicely, my commentary says that the king says . . .” That’s a second-hander.
So, we wish to keep away from falling off the horse of unbiased considering on both facet.
Extra Widespread Hazard
Now, on the earth I dwell in — the place I perform at Bethlehem School and Seminary and Bethlehem Baptist Church and Needing God — and the circles I’m going in, there aren’t many people who find themselves falling off the horse on the primary facet, who say, “I by no means learn commentaries. I by no means learn books in regards to the Bible. I simply learn my Bible, I pray, and that’s all I want.” I don’t know anyone like that in my sphere. That’s not the world I dwell in. I’m certain they exist; I simply don’t have something to do with them.
“Nobody individual aside from the assistance of different lecturers goes to see all that God has to show us within the Bible.”
In my sphere, the error is nearly all the time on the opposite facet, the opposite course. And subsequently, I’ve devoted most of my life to encouraging folks to not be depending on commentaries and books in regards to the Bible however to present assiduous consideration to the biblical textual content instantly — for themselves. In terms of church management, I see extra hazard in changing into an inauthentic second-hander than in spending an excessive amount of time assiduously considering for your self about what the Bible textual content is instructing.
In actual life, most of us have a restricted period of time that we are able to commit to check. And I’ve typically mentioned, “Look, when you’ve got eight hours to get a lesson or a sermon prepared, and also you’re going to spend 4 hours finding out and 4 hours writing, then use most of these 4 research hours — nearly all of it — serious about, praying over, trying on the textual content, not studying commentaries.” That’s going to be my recommendation. Now I say that trembling as a result of I do know some persons are going to assume, “Oh, Piper doesn’t worth commentaries. He’s obtained his head within the sand. He thinks folks can do it on their very own.” That’s not true. I really like commentaries. I’m grateful for commentaries. I take advantage of them each week, alright? Let’s do away with that misunderstanding.
Suppose, Weigh, Decide
However right here’s what’s behind my emphasis. The Bible teaches us that doing our personal considering with our personal thoughts is crucial for Christian residing.
- 2 Timothy 2:7: “Suppose over what I say, [Timothy,] for the Lord gives you understanding in all the things.” Suppose over. You assume — assume. Use your thoughts, Timothy.
- Or 1 Corinthians 14:20: “Brothers, don’t be kids in your considering. Be infants in evil, however in your considering be mature.” In different phrases, don’t make silly errors in your considering. Be rigorous in your considering. Be coherent in your considering.
- Or Luke 12:57: Jesus says, “Why do you not choose for yourselves what is true?”
- Or 1 Corinthians 10:15: “I communicate as to smart folks; choose for yourselves what I say.”
- Or 1 Corinthians 11:13: “Decide for yourselves [what is] correct.” So, Paul (and Jesus) are saying, “Use your thoughts. Suppose over what I’m saying. Have a look at the scenario. Make correct judgments along with your thoughts. That’s why I gave you a mind.”
- Or Romans 12:2: “Be reworked by the renewal of your thoughts.”
We may go on and on with texts that time on this course. The truth that God has given us a Bible, a guide, doesn’t take away the necessity for considering; it creates the necessity for considering. Six instances, Jesus mentioned to essentially the most well-read Bible readers of his day (Pharisees and scribes), “Have you ever not learn?” This will need to have completely galled these guys. “What do you imply, ‘Have we not learn?’ That’s all we do is learn.” In different phrases, that they had learn, however they hadn’t learn. They hadn’t thought rightly about what they learn. The requirement to learn a Bible is the requirement to assume rightly about what you learn. They obtained it fallacious. They used their minds in a method that distorted the texts.
The truth that we’ve got a guide, an impressed Bible, creates the necessity for rigorously, insightfully studying — good considering, not dangerous considering.
Tracing the Arguments
And right here’s the catch with regard to considering. John Dewey was primarily proper when he mentioned, “No person thinks till he has an issue.” Pondering is difficult psychological work. And constitutionally, we’re all disposed to be lazy, to keep away from onerous work, which implies we naturally default to letting anyone else assume for us, after which we get the reply once they’re executed considering. And that sounds environment friendly. He did the considering; I’ll simply take his reply and save myself a variety of time. What that does is flip the thoughts into passive mush and switch us into second-handers, inauthentic folks.
The most effective trainer I ever had advised us, “Don’t learn commentaries for his or her conclusions. Learn them for his or her arguments.” Now that reworked the way in which I learn all the things. In different phrases, when you’re going to hunt assist in getting a solution from a commentary, be sure to are letting the commentary assist you concentrate on tips on how to discover the reply, not substitute your considering with their considering and their reply. That’s what I imply after I say we must always take a look at their arguments and never simply their conclusions. Who cares about conclusions, until you’re a second-hander?
“Pondering our method by way of biblical texts means asking query after query after query.”
Second-handers love conclusions. They did the arguing. I’ll simply take the conclusions and inform my folks, “So-and-so has a conclusion. Right here’s their conclusion,” and that’ll be my sermon or my lesson. No person desires to be a second-hander like that. It’s inauthentic. Folks can see it’s inauthentic, and they won’t belief you in the long term. What you wish to see in a commentary is arguments — and arguments from the textual content of Scripture which you could see for your self within the textual content in order that the commentary helps you grow to be a first-hander fairly than making you a second-hander.
Questions: the Key to Understanding
Now, again to John Dewey for a minute. “No person thinks till he has an issue.” The way in which this is applicable to studying the Bible is that we have to type the behavior of asking good questions, as a result of questions are merely a method of stating issues. Questions are the interrogative type of issues, which get us to assume. Pondering our method by way of biblical texts means asking query after query after query. And the higher the questions, the deeper the perception. And naturally, this suggests we have to use our God-given minds in reliance on the Holy Spirit at each second to assume our method into good Bible solutions. We don’t simply ask questions; we attempt to reply the questions by trying on the textual content.
Asking questions is the important thing to understanding. Probably the most illuminating questions usually are not what and the place and when questions. They’re who and how and why questions. Then we apply our minds. We apply our minds to assume and assume, and take a look at the guide and take a look at the guide, and doodle with our piece of paper with attainable concepts scratched in each nook, watching God carry wonderful issues to mild. And if we run out of time and get caught, then we attain for our good pal, the commentary, and we take a look at his arguments.
