Last week I talked to you about piety. And I did that in the context of talking about goals for our church. I said that we would not succeed unless we were a pious people. I also told you that in the following weeks we would be considering the tools that the Spirit uses so that we might grow in piety, the Spiritual disciplines. Today, we look at the first of those tools, the Bible and we do that asking a simple question. How is the Bible to be used to grow piety?
Let's start with a popular model of how to use the Bible. This is not really stated in black and white, but more assumed, especially among Reformed types. It goes something like this. You need to get to know your Bible because it has information that you really need - for the test. And so, the Bible becomes something like a textbook for that class that you're taking. As a result, you are tostudy it with some diligence. Maybe you underline important parts that you want to remember, or you take notes in the margins or maybe even fill a special notebook with thoughts and questions about what you're studying. And then there are the Cliff notes written by the experts. There is information in that Bible that you had better get. After all, the big exam is coming. And if you want to pass the test you had better know this stuff. So, get cracking. This is what we might call the education model for using the Bible.
That's a pretty popular model, especially in our circles. And it's wrong. There are some serious problems with this way of thinking about how the Bible works. For one thing, following this model is boring. 'Really, how many times do I have to read the parable of the good Samaritan or David and Goliath or about Paul's Damascus road conversion? I know what it says! Give me the test on any of these. I'll pass it with flying colors! I really don't want to have to read them again.' Ever find yourself saying something like that? Ever find yourself bored with the Bible? Then there's the flip side. There are parts of this textbook that are way too hard. Does anyone here really understand Ezekiel or how the sacrifices described in Leviticus actually work - let alone what they mean? Sometimes reading these things feels like reading something in Chinese. There are parts of the Bible that you just have no clue. Why bother reading them? One more. And I think this is the saddest of the three. This model doesn't work. Studying the Bible this way is not all that helpful. What good is it if I know that Paul was defending his apostleship in 2 Corinthians or that the Moabites were to be excluded from the worship of Israel for ten generations? How does that actually help anyone live? We have real problems to deal with; real problems that we need help with. There's that demanding job with people who just like to give you a hard time, or that depressing sense of loneliness that seems to dog your steps or the confusion of trying to sort out how to live in this very twisted world. I really don't think knowing who was king after Josiah or understanding the theological structure of Romans is going to help anyone with these things. Isn't the Bible supposed to help? But this way of using it makes the Bible seem boring, beyond the ability of normal people to understand and not all that helpful in the real world.
Using the Bible according to the education model, studying it so you're ready for the big test, doesn't work. It fails - miserably. And so, it results in people who no longer crack open their Bible - why should they? - unless they are forced to by a pesky pastor or a guilty conscience. These may do something with their Bibles, but they don't really expect it to make a difference when it comes to real living. And all too often, the education model, if it produces anything, it produces people who are proud. After all, they have studied the textbook. They have put in the time and effort. And so, they really do know the information. They know the list of all the kings of Israel. They can rattle off the outline of Romans - in their sleep. They know that they will pass the final exam with ease, and they let you know that too. Their knowledge might be impressive, but their lives are not attractive. They do not draw people to Jesus. This model of using the Bible does not work. It does not produce piety. And that, after all, is what we're interested in.
So, back to our question. How is the Bible to be used to grow piety? Listen again to what Paul wrote to Timothy. 'But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.' Now, what's this about? Let me first tell you what it's not about. Paul is not reminding Timothy about the time when he was converted. He's not saying, 'Timothy, remember how your knowledge of the Bible resulted in your salvation?' And that's clear if you notice the tense of the verb. '... the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation...' Paul's not talking about what the Bible did in the past but what it does in the present. So, does this mean that Paul is now doubting Timothy's salvation? 'Timothy, you need to stick with the Bible so that you can be converted.' Is that what's going on? No. To understand what Paul is saying you need to have a clear understanding of that word, 'salvation'.
Most Christians think of salvation as a something that happened to them in the past. As a result, their sins have been forgiven and instead of ending up in hell they're on their way to heaven. They have been saved. But that is only a thin slice of what the Bible has to say about what Jesus has come to do. Consider what the angel told Joseph when Jesus was about to be born. 'You shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins.' He doesn't talk about the part of salvation that deals with hell or being forgiven. Rather, according to the angel, Jesus has come to rescue us from the sins themselves and the evil that they create.
Think about some sin of yours. The popular - and most significant - sins of our culture are lust and fear. Lust says, 'I demand this!' And it could be pointing to anything from a sense of security and an easy life to another chance to beat the video game. Fear says, 'I could never handle that.' And it could be pointing to pain, not having enough money or not being in control of one's life. Those are the popular sins of our culture, and what goes on in our culture affects us. So, think about some sin of yours. Do you know what is so bad about that sin? Here's one way of looking at it. The problem with sin is not that you've broken some divine rule, and now God is mad at you. Rather, your sin robs you of life. It denies you the opportunity to experience the satisfaction of real life in all its wonder and beauty and joy. How do you think Peter felt when it dawned on him that he had denied his Lord three times? What did David feel when Nathan said, 'You are the man!'? Instead of enjoying more of life, they tasted more of death. So, consider that sin of yours, consider how it leads you to experience more death instead of experiencing more life. Jesus came to save you from that. And He does that now. Not in the sweet by and by. He saves you now!
Back to Paul's comments. 'Timothy, you've seen evil people and how their lives go from bad to worse. And you've watched me, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness. You've seen how I have lived, really lived. If you would be like me, continue in the sacred writings. Continue in your Bible so that you would be more and more saved from your sins. Continue in your Bible so that you can rejoice in real life just as I have.' A pious person is someone who is being freed from his sins and from the death that they bring as he grows in the favor and knowledge of Jesus. A pious person is growing in his experience of life.
This is a far cry from the fruit of the education model and its test-taking. This is being freed from your sins. It's about having life and having it more abundantly. And at the heart of all of this is walking with Jesus more and more deeply so that you understand this place in which we all live and so that being here is something that you can do with joy. The Bible makes you wise for salvation.
Let's move on. How does this work? How does your Bible do this saving from sin? Now, we're ready for the famous part of our text. 'All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness...' We have two pairs of words here. The first pair, teaching and reproof, is about how you think. This isn't about pondering abstract theological concepts. Rather, it's about how your heart thinks about your life in this place. Imagine going to your doctor because you've been feeling these odd pains. Your doctor does what doctors do, blood tests, scans and whatever else. You return when he gets the results, and he gives you the news. You have a very serious disease. Very serious. This is going to dramatically change your life - and not for the better. What will you do next? How will you respond? That all depends on how you think. Is God your loving Father who is also the Sovereign over all things, the God who brings tremendous good out of terrible evil? If your heart thinks that way, you will respond by trusting your Father. Sure, you may feel a little nervous about your immediate future, but you will respond with the same words that Mary used when someone gave her some troubling news, news that dramatically changed her life. 'Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word.' You will trust your Father. If, on the other hand, your heart thinks that you are all alone, if it believes the lies of the lusts and fears of our culture, then you will panic. You might fall apart or you might be stoical, but either of these are just different kinds of panic. Whichever it might be, you will not do well.
Your Bible is useful, 'profitable', to teach your heart how to think. It goes through the mind but the target is always the heart. As the heart learns to think according to what is real, according to the truths of the Gospel, and not according to the lies of our world, you will act well. You will experience more of life.
Teaching the right way to think includes exposing the wrong way to think. Part of this process includes reproving the heart. Sometimes the Bible confronts your heart and points out its errors. It's not very pleasant, especially at times, but it is necessary. So, by instruction and reproof, the Bible is used to teach the heart to think about this world according to the truth. It makes you wise so that you can experience more of the salvation Jesus provides.
The other pair of words are about how to act. 'Training in righteousness' translates into: giving the needed guidance in what right living looks like. And this also has its companion, 'correction'. Our behavior needs to be corrected just as our thinking does. The first pair is about right thinking. The second pair is about right acting. The right acting flows from right thinking, and it should flow naturally, but we are so twisted up inside that we need help seeing how right thinking is supposed to show itself in our actions. But the Bible will take care of that.
So, do you see what's going on? Your Bible makes you wise to salvation. It frees you from the sins that try to destroy life. And it does this by teaching your heart how to understand God, yourself and this place, as well as how to act in light of all of that. If you would be free, if you would grow in piety, you need to use your Bible.
Well, what do we do now? Are we still stuck with some variation of the education model? Do we still need to cram for the exam by stuffing our heads full of Bible facts? No. Remember, you cannot change your heart. Cram all the Bible facts you want into that brain of yours, and you still will not be able to change your heart. Only the Spirit can change your heart. And let me tell you that the more I ponder that the more I am finding it so very freeing. So, first, relax. The pressure is off. It's the Spirit who has to do the hard work. Relax - and then enjoy your Bible. The goal is just to get to know it. So, read it on your own. Read as a family. Read it as a couple. Listen to it during worship. Relax and enjoy it. Pick a place that you would enjoy reading, and read that. Don't cram for any test. There isn't any test. Just read whatever you've chosen and then close the book, and move on to the next thing.
I know that I'm not fulfilling my expected role of the pesky pastor who is supposed to make you feel guilty so that you study the textbook. But I don't need to be like that. And that's because I know what's going to happen. As you simply read your Bible for the enjoyment of it, you're going to see more and more clearly that the Spirit really does use it to change your heart. You're going to be saved from your sins. You're going to experience more of life. Then, you'll find that you'll want to dig in a bit more. When that happens, go for it. But in the mean time, relax. Enjoy your Bible. Get to know it. And be amazed at what the Spirit does. Over time, you will see your own soul become more and more pious as you get to know Jesus and the freedom He brings.
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