...in Biblical exposition.
Of the (many) synonyms for "earnest" in the thesaurus, I'm specifically thinking of "exacting" and "unrelenting"...I don't think everyone needs a degree in theology and mad skills in the Greek and Hebrew languages to undertake critical Biblical exposition, but there are FAR too many user-friendly tools out there to leave it to a surface view of the modern language when it comes to interpreting the meaning of Scripture.
A good example from my beloved John Stott (emphasis mine):
"The first characteristic of heart-worship is that it is rational; the mind is fully involved in it. For the 'heart' in Scripture is not simply equivalent to the emotions, as it usually is in common parlance today. In biblical thought the 'heart' is the centre of the human personality and is often so used that the intellect is more emphasized than the emotions. Thus, the exhortation in Proverbs 23:26, 'My son, give me your heart,' has often been interpreted as an entreaty for our love and devotion.
It has served as a convenient text for many sermons on whole-hearted discipleship. But in reality it is a command to listen, to pay attention, to sit up and take notice, an appeal more for concentration than for consecration."
--From "Christ the Controversialist" (London: Tyndale Press, 1970), p. 162.
In my (clearly) not so humble opinion, even the most occasional teacher or Bible study leader should consider his role as a faithful steward of the word so weighty that he should devote a considerable portion of his preparation time to an earnest search for the original audience, context and meaning of the text to be reviewed.
Without understanding those things, what's the point of the study?
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3 comments:
Thanks for the good word, Dovie. Teaching is an immense responsibility, and God's word should always be handled with great care. My opinion is that if a teacher purchases only one tool, it should be a concordance. God's word is rich, but we'll misunderstand (and even worse, misapply) it if we don't have the basic word definitions to start with.
I'd get slaughtered at Speaker's Corner!
Maybe I need to pay a visit to the Corner and see what kind of and how big of a fish pond I'd be jumping into.
I do remember a time when I thought "If I can stand up to Jay and Basim, I can stand up to anyone"...so maybe I've got more game than I'm giving myself credit for, but to be fair, I've only ever thought of it in terms of a one-to-one discussion, not a public debate.
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