The Gospel and Scripture: How to Read the Bible
24
The Gospel and Scripture: How to Read the Bible
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Overview
When Christians read the Bible, they’re often unaware of the ways in which their reading influences their interpretation. This is particularly evident when Christians are asked to show how the gospel is related to all of the Bible, not just the first four books of the New Testament. In this new booklet from the Gospel Coalition, Mike Bullmore brings clarity to the relationship between the gospel and all of Scripture.
Bullmore begins by laying a theological foundation for understanding the gospel and the nature of God’s Word. He then outlines principles for seeing Christ in Scripture and discusses helpful strategies for reading and interpreting the Bible properly. This booklet is an important resource for all Christians who don’t understand that Scripture and the gospel are inextricably connected.
The Gospel and Scripture offers a thoughtful explanation for point 2 of the Gospel Coalition’s Confessional Statement. The coalition is an evangelical renewal movement dedicated to a Scripture-based reformation of ministry practices.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781433527999 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Crossway |
| Publication date: | 08/02/2011 |
| Series: | The Gospel Coalition Booklets |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 24 |
| File size: | 291 KB |
About the Author
Mike Bullmore (PhD, Northwestern University) serves as the senior pastor of Crossway Community Church in Bristol, Wisconsin. He was formerly professor of homiletics/practical theology and department chair at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Mike lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with his wife, Beverly. They have three children.
D. A. Carson (PhD, Cambridge University) is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he has taught since 1978. He is a cofounder of the Gospel Coalition and has written or edited nearly 120 books. He and his wife, Joy, have two children and live in the north suburbs of Chicago.
Timothy J. Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. He is the best-selling author of The Prodigal God and The Reason for God.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Christians intuitively agree that there is a necessary and deeply interpenetrating relationship between Scripture and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The exact nature of that relationship is a more challenging matter. While many lines of connection could be (and have been) productively explored, this chapter suggests and unpacks two particular connections between Scripture and the gospel: the gospel is a cause of scriptural revelation, and the gospel is an effect of scriptural revelation. In other words, God's great, eternal purpose of redemption (what is expressed in the gospel) gives rise to the Bible, and the Bible serves to accomplish God's purpose in the gospel.
The Gospel as Both Cause and Effect of Scriptural Revelation
Cause
If we think of the gospel, broadly speaking, as God's eternal good purpose to redeem a people for himself (1 Pet. 2:9) and to restore his fallen creation (Rom. 8:19–21), then this "good news" precedes and gives rise to biblical revelation. All of Scripture is marked by this sense of being born out of some great divine initiative. In this sense, the gospel is a cause of biblical revelation. While Scripture itself is not the gospel, all Scripture is related to the gospel, and the gospel is Scripture's reason for being. The gospel is the Bible's main and unifying message.
God's purposes in revelation can never be separated from his purposes in redemption. In eternity past God planned to redeem a people for himself:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Eph. 1:3–6)
God's plan lies behind and brings into being his spoken communication to humans, which is preserved in Scripture.
Inherent in the idea of revelation is the idea of intention. God means to accomplish something by revealing himself:
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isa. 55:10–11)
God sends his word to accomplish his eternal purpose to redeem a people for himself, and God speaks through Isaiah of gathering a people to himself:
Incline your ear, and come to me;
The New Testament frequently spells out this purpose of revelation with great clarity. Paul writes of the Old Testament, "Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). Hope of what? Hope of the full redemption that the completion of God's good purposes will bring about (cf. Rom. 8:18–25). This, says Paul, is why God wrote the Scriptures. Scripture is essential to reveal God's redeeming purpose and activity. In this sense, the gospel is the cause of Scripture. But the gospel, in at least one crucial sense, is also an effect of biblical revelation.
Effect
We speak of the gospel in the sense of its effective proclamation. In this sense revelation necessarily precedes the gospel, and the gospel flows effectively from scriptural revelation. The gospel is the Bible's main message, and preaching the content of the Bible — that is, the prophetic anticipation of God's redemptive purpose in Christ from the Old Testament and the apostolic witness to the accomplished work of Christ in the New Testament — unleashes the power of the gospel message and achieves its God-ordained end.
Paul captures this so compellingly in Romans 10. Speaking of God's purpose to redeem a people for himself, he writes:
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? ... And how are they to hear to hear without someone preaching? (Rom. 10:12–14)
A few verses later, Paul makes this summarizing statement: "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (v. 17). In other words, Scripture faithfully proclaimed accomplishes God's good purpose to redeem.
Peter makes the same point: "You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. ... And this word is the good news that was preached to you" (1 Pet. 1:23–25). John echoes this theme when he says that he wrote his Gospel "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31). This is simply another way of saying that biblical revelation exists to accomplish God's great purpose to redeem a people for himself in Christ.
So the Bible exists both because of and for the gospel. The key is that the gospel is the message of Christ. The Bible in all its parts points to and explains Christ in some way. Therefore, the Bible in all its parts contributes not only to our understanding the gospel but to our "hearing" the gospel with the goal that we might believe and that God will fully accomplish his good purpose of redemption. This then requires that we appropriate Scripture in keeping with God's good purpose.
Foundational Convictions Necessary for a Right Reading of scripture
If the Bible is going to exercise the particular effectiveness that God intends, certain foundational convictions need to be in place and functioning.
Scripture Is God-Breathed
Paul reminds his dear son in the faith, "All Scripture is breathed out by God" (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul is saying that Scripture originates in the mind of God and is spoken out ("breathed out") from that mind. That God really spoke Scripture is a conviction that Christians must hold deeply so that their lives are shaped by it. When we use the phrase "God's Word" to refer to our Bibles, we shouldn't miss what that term communicates. God has spoken something objective. There is something specific he is saying. He is speaking. He is communicating. God has really spoken, and the Scripture is that word in written form.
The primary implication of this conviction is that the Bible is trustworthy and true. "Every word of God proves true" (Prov. 30:5). Holding to this conviction will profoundly impact both our personal reading of the Bible and our response to it. It will set us free from always questioning and wondering. Conversely, if we do not hold this conviction, we will find ourselves second-guessing, double-minded, and unstable when we face difficulties in life or in the Bible.
Scripture Is Understandable
Paul tells Timothy, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). There is such a thing as rightly handling God's Word. In other words, not only has God said something objective and specific, but he also means for us to get it. God is not some cruel deity toying with us in revelation. He did not say something that he knows we will never understand, like some uncrackable code. He did not give us a communication designed to frustrate. No, he spoke for a purpose. The very concept of revelation indicates an intention to make known. God is accomplishing a greatly desired end, so he means for us to understand what he has said.
We do need to remember, however, the early part of 2 Timothy 2:15. Paul tells Timothy that he must do his best and be a worker. Nobody drifts into understanding. But we need to hold deeply to the conviction that Scripture will yield to believing study. God means for us to understand what he has spoken.
Scripture Is Useful
God's people live and flourish only by believing and obeying his Word. It is uniquely useful and profitable. Scripture is useful not by some mystical operation but through the very ordinary means of teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). By these means the Bible shows itself very profitable.
Scripture Is Effective
Scripture claims to be useful, but what does it actually accomplish?" Consider again the words of Isaiah:
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isa. 55:10–11)
Add to those words these from Hebrews: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). When the writer of Hebrews speaks of the Word of God as "active," he is speaking of its efficacy, that is, its ability to accomplish its purpose, and he says it does so with penetrating ability.
Consider some of the very specific things God's Word claims to do:
1. It initiates faith: "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17).
2. It gives new spiritual life: "You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God" (1 Pet. 1:23).
3. It helps us grow spiritually: "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Pet. 2:2).
4. It sanctifies: "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17).
5. It searches the heart and convicts: "The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).
6. It liberates: "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31–32).
7. It refreshes and renews: "Give me life according to your word!" (Ps. 119:25).
8. It revives and enlightens: "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Ps. 19:7; see also vv. 8–11).
This is only a representative sample of what the Word says it can do. Is it any wonder that David says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked ... but his delight is in the law of the Lord" (Ps. 1:1–2)? Such a person will be "like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither" (v. 3). Simply put, God intends to nurture his people by his Word. Scripture is the primary means through which God feeds us, nourishes us, causes us to flourish, and intends to accomplish his good purpose.
If these four convictions are present and operating in a Christian's life, then that Christian will anticipate and expect God's transforming grace in the gospel mediated through his Word. But another characteristic is absolutely essential.
A Necessary Posture of Heart: Humility
In order for us to appropriate Scripture as God intends, we must actively, eagerly, and willingly place ourselves under its authority. Too often, because we like to think highly of ourselves, we are tempted to place ourselves over the Word as judges or critics.
I've heard the story of a man who was in Paris visiting the Louvre. He was particularly interested in seeing Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. After examining the painting for some time with a critical eye, he announced, "I don't like it." The guard stationed there replied, "Sir, these paintings are no longer being judged. The viewers are." It is the same with God's Word, which is not what is being judged. Its readers are. The question is whether the hearts of readers are humbly postured to submit to the absolute authority of God through his Word.
Part of submitting to the authority of Scripture is being willing to place ourselves under the scrutiny of Scripture. We ought to be in the habit of regularly examining our hearts. But this examination must not take place independently or in a vacuum. It must be done very consciously under God's Word. God declares, "I the Lord search the heart" (Jer. 17:10). In response to this, our prayer should echo that of David's: "Search me, O God, and know my heart!" (Ps. 139:23).
Hebrews reminds us that it is with his Word that God discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12). We ought to regularly and seriously place ourselves under the scrutiny of Scripture with the purpose of changing in light of what Scripture reveals. And this purpose should not be merely a duty; we should joyfully anticipate its being the very means by which God accomplishes his redemptive purposes in our lives.
Too often, when confronted by God's Word, we have a ready explanation for why it doesn't apply to us, and in the process we have talked ourselves out of the very thing that God intends for our good. We would do well to attend to the words of Thomas Watson, a seventeenth-century Puritan pastor:
Take every word as spoken to yourselves. When the word thunders against sin, think thus: "God means my sins"; when it presseth any duty, "God intends me in this." Many put off Scripture from themselves, as if it only concerned those who lived in the time when it was written; but if you intend to profit by the word, bring it home to yourselves: a medicine will do no good, unless it be applied.
Humility is absolutely necessary — an active, eager, humble, even joyful anticipation of God's Word working its purpose in our lives.
An Indispensible Hermeneutic
With these foundational convictions and this necessary posture of heart in place, we come now to the matter of interpreting Scripture. The New Testament sets forth two key principles.
Christ-Centeredness
There is probably no passage of Scripture more compelling regarding the Christ-centeredness of Scripture than Luke 24. Jesus is engaged incognito in a conversation with two of his disciples as they are walking on their way to Emmaus. They have just summarized for him the happenings of the last days during which, they say, Jesus, in whom they had put their hope, had been killed, and three days later there were unconfirmed reports of his resurrection. In response Jesus says, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" Then Luke tells us, "And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).
Later in that same chapter Jesus speaks to the gathered Twelve and says, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Once again Luke adds, "Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45). What is clear from this passage is that Jesus understood the entire Old Testament as speaking in some real way of him.
Jesus communicates much the same thing in John 5. Speaking to the religious leaders in Jerusalem, he says, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me" (v. 39). Again Jesus understands the Old Testament to speak of and point to him.
It is self-evident that the New Testament is about Christ. The apostolic authors are extremely careful that their readers not abstract any part of their writings from the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Bible is all about Jesus in some specific and God-intended way. In his very helpful book Christ-Centered Preaching, Bryan Chapell summarizes the point well: "Every [scriptural] text is predictive of the work of Christ, preparatory for the work of Christ, reflective of the work of Christ, and/or resultant of the work of Christ." This, of course, means that if we are going to read the Bible rightly, we must see it in all its parts as it relates to Christ.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Gospel and Scripture: How to Read the Bible"
by .
Copyright © 2011 The Gospel Coalition.
Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
The Gospel as Both Cause and Effect of Scriptural Revelation, 7,
Foundational Convictions Necessary for a Right Reading of Scripture, 10,
A Necessary Posture of Heart: Humility, 12,
An Indispensible Hermeneutic, 14,
Two Ways to Read the Bible, 16,
Conclusion: The Gospel as Both Cause and Effect of Scripture, 19,
For Further Reading, 21,