Am I Overusing Bible Commentaries?

Audio Transcript

I hope you had an exquisite Christmas celebration with family and friends and with your loved ones within the religion. We’re again to work at this time speaking about Bible studying and commentaries in a query from an outdated good friend of ours. “Hi there, Pastor John. My title is Calvin from Singapore.” This, by the way in which, is similar Calvin from Singapore who beforehand requested, “Why did demons ask Jesus for pigs?” which grew to become APJ 1534, one among our hottest episodes of all time. Nice episode. For those who someway didn’t hear it, test it out. Most of you have got as a result of it acquired lodged within the YouTube algorithm and generated big quantities of visitors — over two million views in YouTube alone. Loopy.

So, Calvin, maintain sending us your questions! And he has. As a result of Calvin is again to ask this query: “Pastor John, each time I learn the Bible, I take advantage of a Bible commentary to assist me perceive it. However I fairly often find yourself not studying the Bible and discovering myself simply studying straight from the commentary, which might be very illuminating and edifying. However I don’t need to neglect the Bible itself. What’s the best stability of studying the Bible and studying commentaries? How do you progress backwards and forwards from textual content to commentary to profit from nice lecturers however not on the neglect of the textual content of Scripture itself? How do I do know if I’m overusing commentaries?”

It’s attainable to fall off the horse of impartial pondering in two instructions. In a single path, we fall off on the facet of, “I don’t want anyone else. Simply me and the Holy Spirit and my Bible, and I can see what I have to see.” Or we will fall off on the opposite facet of the horse by failing to assume for ourselves in any respect and turning into virtually completely depending on what others have thought.

If we make the primary mistake, we’re in all probability smug, and we’re denying the biblical actuality that God has given to his church lecturers (Ephesians 4:11). It’s a tremendous factor. God has given to his church lecturers. He didn’t simply give us a Bible; he gave us Bible lecturers. That has big implications. As a result of nobody particular person aside from the assistance of different lecturers goes to see all that God has to show us within the Bible.

And if we make the second mistake, then we’re in all probability going to change into inauthentic second-handers. I don’t prefer to be a second-hander. I don’t need to be, and I don’t need you to be, a second-hander — that’s, individuals who can by no means say something with confidence from the Bible as a result of they’ve really seen it for themselves instantly. Moderately, they’re all the time echoing what different individuals have stated concerning the Bible. Second-handers are like ambassadors of a king who’re by no means positive what he says. They’re by no means capable of say, “Thus saith the sovereign king . . .” As a substitute, they’re all the time saying, “Effectively, my commentary says that the king says . . .” That’s a second-hander.

So, we need to keep away from falling off the horse of impartial pondering on both facet.

Extra Widespread Hazard

Now, on the earth I dwell in — the place I operate at Bethlehem Faculty and Seminary and Bethlehem Baptist Church and Wanting God — and the circles I’m going in, there aren’t many people who find themselves falling off the horse on the primary facet, who say, “I by no means learn commentaries. I by no means learn books concerning the Bible. I simply learn my Bible, I pray, and that’s all I would like.” I don’t know anyone like that in my sphere. That’s not the world I dwell in. I’m positive they exist; I simply don’t have something to do with them.

“Nobody particular person aside from the assistance of different lecturers goes to see all that God has to show us within the Bible.”

In my sphere, the error is sort of all the time on the opposite facet, the opposite path. And subsequently, I’ve devoted most of my life to encouraging individuals to not be depending on commentaries and books concerning the Bible however to provide assiduous consideration to the biblical textual content instantly — for themselves. Relating to church management, I see extra hazard in turning into an inauthentic second-hander than in spending an excessive amount of time assiduously pondering for your self about what the Bible textual content is instructing.

In actual life, most of us have a restricted period of time that we will dedicate to check. And I’ve usually stated, “Look, if in case you have eight hours to get a lesson or a sermon prepared, and also you’re going to spend 4 hours learning and 4 hours writing, then use most of these 4 research hours — virtually all of it — fascinated about, praying over, trying on the textual content, not studying commentaries.” That’s going to be my recommendation. Now I say that trembling as a result of I do know some individuals are going to assume, “Oh, Piper doesn’t worth commentaries. He’s acquired his head within the sand. He thinks individuals can do it on their very own.” That’s not true. I like commentaries. I’m grateful for commentaries. I take advantage of them each week, alright? Let’s do away with that misunderstanding.

Assume, Weigh, Decide

However right here’s what’s behind my emphasis. The Bible teaches us that doing our personal pondering with our personal thoughts is important for Christian dwelling.

• 2 Timothy 2:7: “Assume over what I say, [Timothy,] for the Lord will provide you with understanding in every part.” Assume over. You assume — assume. Use your thoughts, Timothy.
• Or 1 Corinthians 14:20: “Brothers, don’t be youngsters in your pondering. Be infants in evil, however in your pondering be mature.” In different phrases, don’t make silly errors in your pondering. Be rigorous in your pondering. Be coherent in your pondering.
• Or Luke 12:57: Jesus says, “Why do you not choose for yourselves what is true?”
• Or 1 Corinthians 10:15: “I communicate as to smart individuals; choose for yourselves what I say.”
• Or 1 Corinthians 11:13: “Decide for yourselves [what is] correct.” So, Paul (and Jesus) are saying, “Use your thoughts. Assume over what I’m saying. Take a look at the state of affairs. Make correct judgments together with your thoughts. That’s why I gave you a mind.”
• Or Romans 12:2: “Be remodeled by the renewal of your thoughts.”

We might go on and on with texts that time on this path. The truth that God has given us a Bible, a ebook, doesn’t take away the necessity for pondering; it creates the necessity for pondering. Six instances, Jesus stated to probably the most well-read Bible readers of his day (Pharisees and scribes), “Have you ever not learn?” This should have completely galled these guys. “What do you imply, ‘Have we not learn?’ That’s all we do is learn.” In different phrases, they’d learn, however they hadn’t learn. They hadn’t thought rightly about what they learn. The requirement to learn a Bible is the requirement to assume rightly about what you learn. They acquired it flawed. They used their minds in a method that distorted the texts.

The truth that now we have a ebook, an impressed Bible, creates the necessity for rigorously, insightfully studying — good pondering, not dangerous pondering.

Tracing the Arguments

And right here’s the catch with regard to pondering. John Dewey was primarily proper when he stated, “No person thinks till he has an issue.” Pondering is tough psychological work. And constitutionally, we’re all disposed to be lazy, to keep away from exhausting work, which implies we naturally default to letting someone else assume for us, after which we get the reply after they’re completed pondering. And that sounds environment friendly. He did the pondering; I’ll simply take his reply and save myself lots of time. What that does is flip the thoughts into passive mush and switch us into second-handers, inauthentic individuals.

The very best instructor I ever had advised us, “Don’t learn commentaries for his or her conclusions. Learn them for his or her arguments.” Now that remodeled the way in which I learn every part. In different phrases, if you happen to’re going to hunt assist in getting a solution from a commentary, ensure you are letting the commentary assist you consider methods to discover the reply, not exchange your pondering with their pondering and their reply. That’s what I imply once I say we should always have a look at their arguments and never simply their conclusions. Who cares about conclusions, until you’re a second-hander?

“Pondering our method by biblical texts means asking query after query after query.”

Second-handers love conclusions. They did the arguing. I’ll simply take the conclusions and inform my individuals, “So-and-so has a conclusion. Right here’s their conclusion,” and that’ll be my sermon or my lesson. No person needs to be a second-hander like that. It’s inauthentic. Individuals can see it’s inauthentic, and they won’t belief you in the long term. What you need to see in a commentary is arguments — and arguments from the textual content of Scripture which you can see for your self within the textual content in order that the commentary helps you change into a first-hander slightly than making you a second-hander.

Questions: the Key to Understanding

Now, again to John Dewey for a minute. “No person thinks till he has an issue.” The best way this is applicable to studying the Bible is that we have to type the behavior of asking good questions, as a result of questions are merely a method of stating issues. Questions are the interrogative type of issues, which get us to assume. Pondering our method by biblical texts means asking query after query after query. And the higher the questions, the deeper the perception. And naturally, this means we have to use our God-given minds in reliance on the Holy Spirit at each second to assume our method into good Bible solutions. We don’t simply ask questions; we attempt to reply the questions by trying on the textual content.

Asking questions is the important thing to understanding. Essentially the most illuminating questions should not what and the place and when questions. They’re who and how and why questions. Then we apply our minds. We apply our minds to assume and assume, and have a look at the ebook and have a look at the ebook, and doodle with our piece of paper with attainable concepts scratched in each nook, watching God convey wonderful issues to gentle. And if we run out of time and get caught, then we attain for our good good friend, the commentary, and we have a look at his arguments.