The Path — 4/13/24
Context, Sufficiency of Scripture, 4 Lessons, Small Groups, & Appropriate Responsibility
Welcome to this week's long-delayed post. Last month, I was voted in as the children's pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina. This week, my wife and I have been in the process of moving to Greenville, South Carolina, leaving little time to write (although I did have a previously scheduled post that published this week). So, without further ado…
This week, we will begin studying contexts and how they affect our understanding of God's Word; learn about the sufficiency of Scripture; conclude our discussion of Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Calvin with four lessons; examine biblical counseling and small group ministries as tools for church growth; and discuss how we can assume appropriate responsibility in children's ministry.
Translation & Exegesis
Part 2 of Grasping God’s Word takes a close look at context, "the key to determining the meaning of the Bible." Chapter 6 examines the background of the Bible.
Why do we need to bother with the historical-cultural context? God, the ultimate source of Scripture, spoke through human writers, the immediate source, to address people at a particular time and in a particular place. God's Word teaches eternal principles, but it was delivered in specific situations. So, in order to understand God's Word and apply it in our lives, we need to first understand the text in its historical-cultural situation. The historical-cultural context involves understanding the biblical writer, the biblical audience, and other elements (like geography or social customs).
Learning this information is important, but we should be aware of some dangers associated with the historical-cultural context. First, we must watch out for inaccurate information. Second, we need to avoid elevating background information above the meaning of the text. Finally, we must not become merely a walking database of historical facts. In summary, we need to keep the text of Scripture central.
To identify the historical-cultural context, you need to understand the context of the book that contains your passage as well as the context of the passage itself. Duvall and Hays provide a list of helpful tools and questions to do this, and I encourage you to read this chapter if you wish to see them.
That being said, I will offer one recommendation. I have found the Faithlife Study Bible to be one of the best starting resources for diving deeper into a particular passage. It does a decent job of providing historical-cultural context as well. Here’s one of the best parts about it: it’s free! All you need to do is create a Logos account, and you can access this helpful resource on your computer or mobile device.
Theology
The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture; unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word, and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.
The London Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 1, Paragraph 6
This paragraph discusses the sufficiency of Scripture. The sufficiency of Scripture implies that "it is enough to accomplish God's purposes in the world, in the church, and in our lives" (A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, pg. 52).
All the information we need to know for God's glory, man's salvation, faith, and life is found in Scripture. While nothing should be added to it by "new revelation" or tradition, the illuminating work of the Spirit is required for us to come to a saving understanding of the Word.
Certainly, there are some practical things that Scripture does not address. Regarding those things, the confession states that they should be ordered by Christian wisdom according to the general principles of the Word. Of course, those principles are always to be observed, but different circumstances may require different applications of wisdom.
As always, I am impressed by the brevity and depth of the London Baptist Confession. As I consider the sufficiency of Scripture, so beautifully described here, I find myself encouraged to turn to the Word, as it truly contains everything we need to know concerning God's glory, man's salvation, faith, and life.
Church History
Over the past few weeks, I have examined the lives of three prominent figures of church history with the help of John Piper’s book 27 Servants of Sovereign Joy. Augustine, Martin Luther, and John Calvin all have lessons to teach us, both in terms of what we should do and what we should not do. Piper provides four lessons that we can learn from their lives.
Do not be paralyzed by your weaknesses and flaws:
Comparison with others can be a crippling occupation.
God uses flawed people to accomplish His will. Abraham lied repeatedly, yet God used him to start the nation of Israel. Moses killed a man and disobeyed God, yet he led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Paul persecuted the early church, but he wrote most of the New Testament and started churches in many cities.
Augustine struggled with promiscuity and lust. Even as a bishop, he had problems with his thought-life. His theology prepared the way for the Reformation, but it also laid the foundation for the Roman Catholic Church of the medieval era.
Martin Luther is famous for his angry outbursts and insults. Although he began the Reformation and helped correct much flawed theology, he did so in a way that was demeaning to his opponents. Often, these vicious insults were leveled at genuine brothers and sisters in the faith.
John Calvin wrote the Institutes of the Christian Religion and many other influential works during the Reformation. However, like his counterpart Luther, he was prone to anger and impatience. Additionally, he played a significant role in the execution of Michael Servetus by Geneva’s city council, becoming what he himself had fled years prior.
If you’d like to learn more about the flaws in our Reformers and how we can better understand them, check out this article on Desiring God.
All these men were flawed, yet they were used by God. We can become paralyzed by our weaknesses and flaws, especially if we begin comparing ourselves with others. Instead, we ought to do the work that God has called us to do with all our might. Let us seek to be faithfully obedient, magnify the glory of God, and not grow weary in doing good.
In the battle against sin and surrender, learn the secret of sovereign joy:
We are made for God, and there can be no peace or satisfaction until we rest in Him. This sovereign joy is something that we must find. As we battle for holiness, we ought to learn to consider everything aside from Christ as garbage (Phil. 3:8). Fueling the fires of our passion for Christ is a key tool in our battle against sin and surrender.
Supernatural change comes from seeing Christ in his sacred word:
Change does not come from a blind soul. As we seek to grow into the image of Christ, we must continually learn about the glory of God through His glorious Word. Two key ways to do so are through meditation and prayer. Continually reminding ourselves of the Word and pleading with God for the illumination of Scripture is vital.
Therefore, let us exult over the exposition of the truth of the gospel and herald the glory of Christ for the joy of all peoples:
If God's Word is so important to our development, then we should certainly devote ourselves to hearing the Word of God preached. Preaching should expound the Scriptures for the glory of God. This message from 1 Timothy 4 encapsulates the importance of preaching well.
Biblical Counseling
This week's chapter of Biblical Counseling and the Church was written by Brad Bigney and Ken Long, two of the pastors at Grace Fellowship Church. In this chapter, they discuss how to unite biblical counseling and small groups to grow the church.
We often think of church growth in terms of numbers. However, Bigney and Long use the word "grow" in this chapter to refer to growth in Christlikeness. The goal here is not necessarily to gain members but to help God's people grow in every way to be more and more like Christ.
This also happens to be the overall purpose of small groups. The goal is not just to study the Bible or fellowship with one another or evangelize. Instead, the goal is personal transformation in a community with other believers.
Small groups should be a place where we push past Bible knowledge to the application of that knowledge to life. This transformational group is focused on asking questions with spiritual development in mind. The small group leader helps this process by asking a series of questions, providing opportunities for individuals to examine their submission to God's Word.
In this environment, soul care can take place. When more significant issues arise, churches with biblical counseling centers can refer those individuals to counselors for more one-on-one care. While small group leaders should be trained by church leadership to help their members grow spiritually, sometimes more intensive care is required.
Through both small group and biblical counseling ministries, churches can help their members grow spiritually. More than that, members can be equipped to help other members grow. Ultimately, these ministries, just like any other in the church, ought to be directed at helping believers grow to be more like Christ.
Pastoral Ministry
So far, we have studied the state of American children, the spiritual health of children, why kids matter, and what kids need. This week, we turn to more practical matters, as George Barna addresses how parents can take on appropriate responsibility in Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions.
Many parents recognize that one of the greatest benefits of attending a church is having a community that assumes responsibility for the spiritual development of their children. Unfortunately, while four out of five parents recognize that they bear the primary responsibility for their children’s spiritual development, over two-thirds completely give that responsibility to the church. While churches provide beneficial support for families (and we’ll discuss that more next week), parents ought to remember that God’s plan is for families to lead in the spiritual development of children (Barna provides an excellent summary of Scripture’s teaching on this topic).
Scripture is clear that parents are to lead in their children’s spiritual development, but it gives freedom in regard to methods that can be used to raise godly children. In this chapter, Barna does provide some helpful principles and guidelines as a reminder of the tools God has provided for this important task:
Behavioral Modeling: One of the best ways you can influence another individual is through modeling a desired behavior. In order to raise spiritually mature children, parents need to mature in their faith.
Formal Instruction: Verbalizing lessons or commands, perhaps involving creative demonstration or personal stories, is an effective way to provide spiritual teaching.
Reading: Reading remains an effective method to train children.
Creative Applications: Taking time to reflect on your experiences, particularly through the act of writing, provides an opportunity for spiritual lessons to be organized and clarified.
Personal Experiences: Sometimes, the best way to teach children is to let them experience things firsthand.
Discipline: Discipline involves identifying parameters and expectations, assisting in developing proper habits, situational reprimands, and friendly reminders. Scripture makes it clear that discipline is an expression of love.
Method Combination: Combining a variety of methods increases the impact of certain lessons on a child.
As children learn, so too can parents. Here are a few bits of wisdom that Barna provides:
Get your priorities straight: Does your daily schedule reflect the importance of training your children?
Give it up—whatever it is: Is the spiritual training of your children important enough that you are willing to give up some of your own desires or needs for their sake?
Be a parenting team: It’s important for both husband and wife to be on the same page for their children’s spiritual development.
Earn the right: Children do not automatically give adults unquestioned authority to instruct them. Over time, you must earn that right.
Provide continuity: Perhaps one of the hardest parts of parenting, parents need to help provide consistency from the past to the present.
Lean on God—heavily: Pray, pray, pray.
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Soli Deo Gloria,
Caleb Friske