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Spare Change - September 2022

On the Families for Life Podcast, Pastor Brian Van Doren and I have started a new series called Understanding God’s Word.  This series deals with things like hermeneutics (the science of interpretation), genre, and application of the Bible.  If you haven’t listened yet, check out the first two episodes at oakhillbc.org/f4l. 

The subject of hermeneutics is so important to our study of God’s Word; however, most Christians have never heard of it.  Until I attended Bible college in 1998, I was one of those people.  As I attended school, my mind began to explode with new concepts, and I became fascinated with this subject.  The reason it is so important is because when hermeneutics, or proper interpretation, is applied to our study of God’s Word, the Bible comes alive. 

Proper interpretation deals with not just reading the words on the page, of course that is part of it, but it goes deeper than that.  It means understanding context, history, genre, authorship, theology, and language. This may seem intimidating at first. It was for me when I first began my journey. However, today we have access to unparalleled resources in our time. Every Study Bible I have gives a brief summary of the author, the historical context, the audience, outline of the book, etc. before each individual book of the Bible.  We also have access to other resources like commentaries, concordances, dictionaries, theology books, etc. that all help us understand God’s Word.  You can log onto a website like blueletterbible.org and find a wealth of resources to help you interpret scripture.

All of this became clear to me as I sat in hermeneutics’ class, but access to resources was not my biggest revelation.  The thing that hit me the most dealt with the meaning of the text and how it applied to me.  Before I began learning this, I would read the Bible and would immediately ask, “What does this mean to me?” Why is this the wrong question to ask? For starters it assumes the reader is the one determining the meaning.  Proper interpretation tells us that God’s Word is first inspired by the Holy Spirit and written down by human authors.  This means they have written down things in their historical period, using their language, and their context.  The goal of studying God’s Word is not to find out what a text means to me, rather, what does the text mean, period.  What is the meaning the author is trying to convey?  Once we ascertain the author's meaning then we can ask the question, “How does this apply to me?”

Do you see the difference? When we approach God’s Word to discover the author's meaning first, the word comes alive to us; it is a God-focused endeavor instead of a selfish one.  The application is very important, but it comes second to discovering the meaning of the text.  Often the text will have one meaning but it will have many applications.  The reason is because we are applying the lesson to our lives in our historical time, in our language, and our context.  This is the proper order that must be maintained to properly interpret God’s Word.

The danger for us if we ignore proper interpretation is that we miss discovering the truth of God's Word.  We are also in danger of making ourselves the center of the scriptures when we know that Jesus is the center.  If we become the center, we can easily fall into heresy when we come across something we don’t like or when our cultural context calls for something different.  If Jesus is the center, then no matter the time or place, God's message is maintained. 

The encouragement for all Christians is to do what we are called to do in 2 Timothy 2:15, “rightly handling the word of truth.”  To do this we must first read God’s Word, then we must seek to understand it using proper interpretation; but then we can't stop there, we must apply God’s Word to our lives. The Scriptures are living and active (Hebrews 4:12), which means it is meant to be used to change our lives.  If you do not know how to study God’s Word and do not know where to begin, start by listening to the Families for Life Podcast series on Understanding God’s Word then seek out someone to help you.  I am always available to help with this or any other matter (contact me by email at ).

Student Ministry - September 2022

The school year has begun along with all of its extracurricular activities and busyness. With that come many new opportunities to interact with people and make new friends. More importantly come new possibilities to be the light of Christ in the social settings we find ourselves. And while this is true and important for adults, I think it is even more relevant for children and students. So how should students and their parents approach the school year? My hope is to give some helpful suggestions to ensure we make the most of the opportunities God is giving us anew this year.

Focus on Christ more than school. One way we can miss divine appointments is by being more focused on whatever task lies before us than on our relationship with Christ. Idolatry is when we make something other than Christ primary in our lives. I know it seems crazy to think of school as possibly being an idol, but even good things can be idols. Colossians 1:15-20 makes it clear that Jesus has first place above all things. So even the best things in our lives must be at least second place in our hearts and must not detract from our relationship with Jesus. Sadly, it is possible for school and extracurricular accomplishments to become one’s god for a season. And while students may be hitting all their goals for the school year, they may inadvertently miss the goals that God has for them in their lives making them ineffective for the gospel. So make sure your focus is on the right thing.

Focus on school for the glory of Christ. Parents should not fret my advice above, because if students make Jesus their primary focus, then they will not be able to escape their desire to glorify Him in all that He has called them to do. The average person goes to school and participates in things for his own glory and obedience to his parents. But the Christian student does his best to bring glory to God out of love for Christ and love for his parents. You see, making Christ preeminent in our hearts changes our motivation from vainglory and rote obedience to love. This in turn will make kids and teenagers Christlike in their actions AND better students. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” And Ephesians 6:6-7 tells us that service is to be done from the heart as though it is for the Lord instead of for other people. Being a good student and growing in your faith are not mutually exclusive things. Being an excellent student is just one of the many ways to show love for God and bring Him glory. Do your best because you love Jesus and want to give Him glory.

Focus on friends who lead you to Christ. One simple yet vital piece of advice is to make sure your closest friends are people leading you to Christ, not away. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says “do not be deceived: ‘bad company corrupts good morals.’” This is probably the most ignored truth in the life of students today. Friendships can be hard, but friends who are not seeking to lead you to the Savior are dangerous. Every area of your life can suffer when just one friend starts to pull your focus away from Jesus. So choose your friends wisely.

Focus on sharing Christ with acquaintances. While you are guarding your friendships, you should not ignore unbelievers. They should be acquaintances whom you enjoy and with whom you interact on a regular basis. Paul instructs the church in Corinth again in 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 that they were not prohibited from associating with unbelievers. How else would they hear the gospel? So, the principle is to willingly spend time with unbelievers (without participating in sinful behavior of course), but also to be ready and look for ways to share the gospel.

I believe that if students will focus on these things, then they will be effective at showing the light of Christ wherever they go. Therefore, my prayer is that parents and grandparents will focus on these principles when they talk to their children and grandchildren and will help them grow as effective followers of Christ.