In the late ‘90s, on my drive home from work at Raytheon, I’d often listen to Chuck Swindoll on the radio. Most of his sermons have long since left my memory, but one illustration still stands out. It had to do with how we use the Bible. He told of a person who was wondering about whether to buy a new car. The person asked God for a sign, randomly opened their Bible, and saw the word “valiant” on the page. As the light from the sunrise began to shine through the window, the page seemed to glow yellow. Later that day, the person was driving by a car lot and saw a yellow Plymouth Valiant and immediately went in to purchase the car. The car turned out to be a lemon!
Though I don’t remember the other examples, Swindoll went on to show other troubling ways we try to turn the Bible into what I might call a “Magic 8-Ball.” I agree with him that this is both bad theology and bad Christian practice.
But how should we use the Bible for guidance in our walk of faith?
I think we have to think of having a relationship with the Bible. Like in any good relationship where we get to know another person, we have to get to know the Bible. That begins by simply reading it, but that can be kind of superficial. We often know people on the surface and try to “read” them, but how often do we get that wrong? Haven’t there been times we have misread people and wound up with egg on our faces?
So, as we would with people who we want to get to know, we need to feel free to ask questions of the Bible to get to know it. Here is an article I wrote last Lent about how to question the Bible to see how God’s grace is active in the lives of people in biblical times and, by extension, in our own lives. Similarly, we can let the Wesleyan Quadrilateral help us ask questions of the Bible. Consider this article I wrote about questions we can ask of the Bible in relation to Scripture, Tradition, Experience, and Reason. If we’re honest, it takes work to get to know a person. As you can see in the articles linked above, getting to know the Bible takes work as well, but it can be very rewarding and is worth the effort.
As our relationship with a person grows, we begin to ask deeper questions with answers that may not be readily available—and sometimes we need outside help with our most important relationships. That’s why it is so important to get to know the Bible in the context of community. Others can often see things we cannot, and we need these insights to help us grow in our relationship with the Bible. For sure, your pastoral staff has good insights, but so do others—even people who are new to the Bible, who can see it with fresh eyes.
But as a relationship goes two ways, as we ask questions of the Bible, what questions is the Bible asking of you and me? As people—even people we love—challenge us, how is the Bible challenging us? It takes commitment to stay in relationship with others, and it takes commitment to stay in relationship with the Bible, especially when it questions and challenges us.
I would be remiss, though, if I didn’t note this: we often call the Bible the word of God, but for us as Christians, we have one Word of God, and that is Jesus Christ. We are not called “Biblians,” but “Christians,” so our ultimate allegiance is not to the Bible (as wonderful as it is) but to God as experienced in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The Bible helps us see and learn about the Word, but it is not the Word.
For sure, the primary way we learn about Jesus is from the Bible. But, as I heard and read Marcus Borg note on many occasions, “Where Jesus and the Bible disagree, Jesus trumps the Bible.” As an example, through the years, I have heard Christians latch onto the passage, “An eye for an eye,” to justify retaliation—“It’s in the Bible, in Exodus 21:23–25,” they say. Yes, but…
You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. When they wish to haul you to court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. When they force you to go one mile, go with them two.
~ Jesus in Matthew 5:38–41 (CEB)
Jesus just reinterpreted—and thus “trumped”—the Bible. If we’re Christians, we give primacy to Jesus over the Bible.
Now, that doesn’t mean we throw out the Hebrew Bible (aka Old Testament). Sometimes, we need it to understand what Jesus says. And when we read it closely, we can see how it must have influenced Jesus, Paul, and other New Testament writers, bringing new depth to what we read in the New Testament.
So, I hope you’ll dig deep into the Bible to grow in relationship with it and join together in deep study of it—by yourself, but especially in a group setting. Be looking for information about the upcoming Pastors’ Bible Study, Covenant Bible Study (a 24-week study of the entire Bible), Sunday school classes, and more. Let’s have a relationship with the Bible together, as we seek guidance from it together.
