Denver Seminary

TO TEACH AND TRAIN Long ago, Denver Seminary professor Donald Burdick taught me that there are three crucial steps in hermeneutics. Put another way, true Bible study requires answering three questions: What does the Bible say? What does the Bible mean by what it says? And, ultimately, what does it mean to me? Whether in Sunday school classes, home Bible studies, or personal quiet times, we must ask and answer all three questions—including the last one. Otherwise we subvert God's purpose in giving us the Scriptures. God's words teach and train, transforming the way we think, what we value, and how we live. Jesus summed up the entire point of the Law and the Prophets: that we love God completely, and love others as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:37-40). The Bible teaches us how to do these things, and we must put this teaching into practice. TO REBUKE AND CORRECT Sometimes, though, we lose our way in the life of faith, and so, second, we need the Scriptures to rebuke us. Just as a faithful friend has the courage to call us up short because of something we said or did, the Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to stop us in our tracks: "Stop that!" We might not want to hear something that confronts us or challenges us, but to consistently do what is good, we sometimes need a rebuke. For example, Paul wrote to his disciples in Asia: "In your anger do not sin. … Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer" (Eph. 4:26-28). Apparently Paul knew that some of them had unresolved anger that led them to sin against others. There were also some thieves among them who needed to be rebuked. We, too, may need rebukes as God gets our attention about values or behaviors that displease Him. By allowing the Bible to transform our lives, we help achieve Jesus' mission in the world: to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). But we also know that rebukes can leave us feeling frustrated or incapacitated. What do we do next? Paul adds, third, that the Scriptures correct us. After Paul rebukes the Asians for getting angry, he says, "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." When you are angry, figure out how to resolve it quickly. To correct those he rebukes about stealing, Paul instructs them that they "must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need." Rather than taking from others, disciples must be productive and share with people who need help. TO EQUIP FOR EVERY GOOD WORK Finally, Paul tells Timothy, the Scriptures equip God's people to do every good work. Here is the outcome of the Bible's teaching, rebuking, and correcting. When I picture what Paul means by "every good work," I think of concentric circles. Good works start within ourselves (which is where the teaching, rebuking, and correcting begin), but then spread to our interactions with those in our families, workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods. In fact, good works keep expanding at every opportunity. Jesus said His followers should be salt and light in their worlds, so that other people would give glory to God. By allowing the Bible to transform our lives, we help achieve Jesus' mission in the world: to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). My pastor friend was correct: true Christianity requires a transformed life that impacts the world. But for Jesus' disciples to make a world of difference, we need to be shaped and steered in godly directions. Paul saw the crucial role of Scripture in this equipping process. For us as individual followers of Jesus, and for churches in their important, disciple-making role, transformation depends upon studying and applying the Scriptures. If today's Christians lose biblical literacy—the kind that changes lives— we will see more desertions and shipwrecks. The biblically illiterate will miss the joy and productivity that God intends in the "Owner's Manual," the Holy Scriptures. William Klein, PhD PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT Dr. Klein joined the faculty of Denver Seminary in 1978 as professor of New Testament. Over his long teaching tenure, his focus has been on the accurate understanding of the Bible's message. He has served as an elder in several churches in the Denver area. His wife, Phyllis, offers spiritual direction. 14 SPRING 2015 Hlib Shabashnyi/iStock

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