More Tense Than Others

Over the past few days, I have spent some time talking about “words” and their value. Something else that is important when it comes to understanding Scripture, or communication in general, is grammar.

Grammar was never one of my favorite subjects. I would always get confused between participles, prepositions, pronouns, past tense, present tense, etc., etc. There seemed to be so many rules and even more exceptions to the rules, especially in the English language. Nevertheless, grammar has its rightful place in the toolbox of any good student of Scripture.

A good example of how grammar presents itself is Revelation 1:5b

“To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood…”

Here are two terrific truths that can serve to transform how we think about what Christ has done for us. Grammatically, both “love” and “freed” are participles. Participles are tricky little critters because they can have the characteristics of both a verb (action) and an adjective (modifier).

Moving one step further, there is the tense of each word, which shows the “time” of each action.  That is, when did it, or does it, take place? In this verse, “love” is present tense – as in on-going.  “Freed” is what is known as aorist tense. Most often, aorist tense is used to denote a summary action or an action that occurred at a point in time not to be repeated.

Therefore, what John is telling us in this verse is that Jesus Christ loves us now and forever and has freed us once for all.  We are forever in his love and never again to be slaves to sin.  How marvelous is that?

“Sing the wondrous love of Jesus, sing his mercy and his grace…”

God’s Word

“An old book” – that is what Ergun Caner said when he issued a challenge to debate a group I have referenced here on a couple of occasions. Who is Ergun Caner? He is the President of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA.

When he made that reference, he was setting the “guidelines” for the discussion saying it would follow the rules of logic, there would be no personal attacks, no surprise questions, and the Bible would be just “an old book”.  In context, what I understood his remark to mean, was that the Bible would be viewed as a historical document for the sake of the debate. To view it as the inspired Word of God would make it a non-viable resource because the opponents discounted its veracity. Whether that was what he meant or not, I have no idea. (He has not replied to my e-mail.)

When we approach the Word of God we always have several options. It can be viewed as a document of history, a collection of spiritual fables, or as the inspired words of God Himself.  Many of us claim it is the third option. However, we treat it as though it is the first or second.

Being a good student of the Word, is not equal to being a good defender of the Word. Most of us would fail in that category. Why?  Primarily because we do not approach Scripture rationally. We approach it emotionally. That is, we expect it to speak to us individually and not to “us” corporately. It can do both, but I suspect that the major intent of Scripture is to do the latter.

Perhaps, if we paid less attention to what we want God to say to “me”, and more attention to what God may be saying to “we”, our study and understanding of Scripture would be enhanced.

In my post yesterday, I indicated my journey into the Book of Revelation. It has been some time since I have visited this particular book. Part of the reason is because it requires me to stop often and determine – “symbolic or not?” – with each phrase, sometimes each word.  And I don’t always like to think that hard on a daily basis. Nevertheless, here is my rational approach to the book.

• It is a revelation of Christ, received from God, given to John
• It involves things that “must soon take place”; the “time is near”
• “Blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in (this prophecy). (1:3)
• It is prophecy, therefore John is viewed as a prophet
• Prophets speak the word of God
• The mark of a true prophet is their prophecy comes to pass or proves to be true (Deut. 18:20-22)
• What I read in this book must have contemporary meaning for its hearers
• It may have future application for those who follow
• Every text has context – local and general

Now any one of those, except the first and last, may prove invalid as I go along, nevertheless, those are my starting points.

The Bible, it may be “an old book” but it is a grand book indeed! If it IS the Word of GOD, then it must be more than what’s-in-it-for-me!

Words

“The LORD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word.” (Isaiah 50:4)

Words are important instruments. Even the smallest word has value and conveys meaning when used properly.  They can cut or heal, inspire or demean, cause us to rise to our potential or push us down to the very depths of “hell”.

When placed properly we will tolerate large quantities of words crafted into a story, such as War and Peace. When constructed poorly, we will seldom give them a second glance.

For Christians even the word “word” is important. It carries its own weight in meaning and significance: “The Word became flesh…”

I raise this topic for a couple of reasons. One is a result of my venturing into the book of Revelation. There, words are regularly used to convey symbolic meaning. The second is because often times, in the context of Christian “teaching”, we may use words too casually. Let me illustrate.

In a recent Bible Study class the instructor said, “Steve may receive a revelation from God regarding….”  Of course you do not own the context of that statement, but I do and I immediately thought, “What kind of revelation could Steve receive?”  Does God still offer revelations?

When I think of  a “revelation” – I think of a divine disclosure; Something that could not be learned by any other means.  I am not certain God still does “revelation” any longer.  If we just take it on face value, in the book of Revelation itself we are told there is rather harsh judgment for adding to or taking away from God’s  word or prophecy. (22:18-19)

Now perhaps the instructor meant, Steve “felt lead to…”, or “after praying it became clear what God wanted…”. These are fairly common phrases used to express how we sense God’s leading in our lives through the Holy Spirit. Many are innocuous and have a rather widely accepted understanding. However, that is not what was said. Which, is my point.

I read a recent article in the local newspaper about the Second Coming of Christ. When I finished the article, I was not sure what the author wanted to convey. What was it that he wanted me to learn, know, or understand from reading his article? So, I wrote and asked him.  I don’t think I should have had to do that.

For myself, I am learning how to use words properly. I fail miserably at times. Nevertheless, all of us are managers or stewards of our words. Those who choose to be teachers, writers, communicators of truth, are held to a stricter standard in that role – James 3:1, 2 Tim. 2:15, Eph. 5:6.  If that is your role, I applaud your challenge and commitment. If your role is different than that, you still are a manager of words. You still impact people with what you “say”. (James 3:5ff) Let’s all be more careful.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the minds of fools. (Proverbs 15:7)

"Measure" of Faith

When following a recipe, at what point does a “dash” of salt or a “pinch” of paprika become something you should actually measure?  How about that phrase, “salt to taste”. What does that mean?  

This past Sunday, our Pastor spoke on the incident with the disciples and Jesus, as recorded in Luke 8:22-25. You may recall the story; they are in the boat, crossing the Sea of Galilee, a violent storm erupts, Jesus is asleep in the boat, the disciples panic and wake him shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”.  Jesus woke up, rebuked the storm then rebukes the disciples with this stinging question, “Where is your faith?”

I learned a long time ago that behind every question is a statement. What is the statement behind Jesus’ question? “Your faith does not measure up!” Or “If you had faith to keep rowing you could handle this on your own!”

Panic during a storm can make us do some pretty unreasonable things. One of those might entail the “d” word – doubt. We begin to question whether we are doing the right thing, going the right direction, making the right choices. The stronger the storm the bigger our questions become.

I also know that at times we confuse emotion with faith. In other words, we mingle what we “feel” with where we want our faith to lead us. Then when the “feeling” fades, our so-called faith slides down the drain with it.

The disciples, just like you and I, had to learn some hard lessons about faith. One of them – that it is not a measurable quality. You don’t take a “dash” here or a “pinch” there based on your circumstances.

Faith is a matter of the will. It is the confidence and courage in our belief that allows us to see our way through the storms. We may be panicking, but Jesus is “asleep” in the back of the boat knowing all along that things are going to be fine, if we will just keep rowing.

My Own Worst Enemy

Technorati Tags: Choice, Micah, Sin

There is a book on my library shelf by that title. It basically talks about how we can sabotage ourselves by our own actions and words. Whether it is in personal or professional relationships, the things we do and say are often the critical factors to success, not the actions and words of others.

In the book of Micah, I am going to take a verse and make a similar application.

Alas for those who devise wickedness and evil deeds on their beds! When morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in their power. (2:1)

In its context, Micah is condemning the rich and powerful for oppressing the people. They even lie awake at night thinking of ways to push them down. When morning comes they put those “deeds” into practice simply because it is in their power to do so.

Here is the application, from my own experience. My mind is exposed to sin and evil every day in a variety of ways -often subtle  ways.  If I choose to open the door and let “it” in, then I begin the rationalization process. Not so much that I lie awake at night. Rather there is this process of mulling, hashing, pondering, coming to the conclusion that – it is not that bad.

Once I have come to that conclusion, then – “when morning dawns” I make the decision to act. It is a conscious choice. Not an accident or a misstep – it is a wilful choice. Not a habit, or a way of living, but a choice I made that particular moment in time.  Do I like it, no. Am I pleased with myself, absolutely not. Should I pretend it did not happen. I can, but it just exacerbates the situation.

The only option is to confess and repent. And then claim these verses in Micah:

Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.

I must bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he takes my side and executes judgement for me. He will bring me out to the light. I shall see his vindication. (7:8-9)

I truly desire to live temptation free and sinless. That is not going to happen today. But I can choose to put myself in positions where I am tempted less and sin-less; cultivate stronger discipline and self-control.

Father Spirit, I am what I am, a sinner saved by grace.  May I be what I can be through the Cross of Christ, a child of the King.