{"id":32290,"date":"2022-09-10T16:03:44","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/why-church-leaders-should-read-and-teach-the-bible-as-literature\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:03:44","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:03:44","slug":"why-church-leaders-should-read-and-teach-the-bible-as-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/why-church-leaders-should-read-and-teach-the-bible-as-literature\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Church Leaders Should Read (and Teach) the Bible as Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kiwihug photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Mary Wiley<\/em><\/p>\n

Reading the Bible is always a literary endeavor.<\/p>\n

Literature has a genre, context, and intent, and although God\u2019s Word is wholly different from any other piece of literature in its divine authorship, inerrancy, and its ability to transform our hearts, it\u2019s noteworthy that God has chosen to communicate with His people through the medium of literature, or the written word.<\/p>\n

The very act of reading requires a baseline understanding of what a work is and why it was written. We\u2019re so good at this that often we don\u2019t even consider what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n

Is this a grocery list or a bedtime story? Are those words on the screen at church an announcement or a worship song?<\/p>\n

Is this a legitimate news article or satire from the Babylon Bee? (You\u2019ve probably seen some Facebook posts that have completely misread the genre of Babylon Bee, which resulted in outrage rather than the intended laughs.)<\/p>\n

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Is God\u2019s Word not enough?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

But when we talk about recognizing the Bible as literature, that may bring up questions for some. Isn\u2019t the Bible sufficient and clear? Isn\u2019t God\u2019s Word authoritative? Doesn\u2019t the Holy Spirit aid us in understanding as we read?<\/p>\n

Absolutely.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s Word is literature, but it also is alive and active, revealing our hearts and directing how we live.<\/p>\n

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says \u201cAll Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no extra resource required to be able to read your Bible. There isn\u2019t a secret meaning or a numbers and letters code that unlocks the \u201creal meaning\u201d of the Bible. And it\u2019s not only for those with lots of degrees on their wall.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s Word is sufficient. It may seem complicated or we may even unintentionally make it more complicated than it has to be for those we lead.<\/p>\n

We read through the lens of genre, context, and intent so that we may best interpret and apply God\u2019s Word in a way that honors Him and is true to the text.<\/p>\n

Striving for increased biblical literacy <\/strong><\/h3>\n

I grew up in a wonderful church that did a great job discipling me, but I was 23 before I really recognized Scripture as one story about our faithful God who keeps His promises.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t understand how stories fit together on a timeline and I had a hard time understanding how to rectify the Old Testament and its laws with what I knew to be true under the new covenant.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve since discovered how helping people have a stronger framework for reading Scripture can answer some of the questions we run up against as we read.<\/p>\n

For instance, if a member of your church is stuck in Leviticus (we\u2019ve all been there) trying to figure out why it matters, it can be helpful to view the book in light of the entirety of Scripture.<\/p>\n

Readers can look at the giving of the law and see that it\u2019s predicated on the statement, \u201cI am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The law isn\u2019t just a restrictive list of dos and don\u2019ts, but rather is a call to love God above all else so that we might have life. It isn\u2019t focused on duty, it\u2019s focused on the heart.<\/p>\n

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Leviticus also takes on a new light when we see how the Israelites only used positive words to describe the law: good, right, trustworthy, pure, worthy of delight. Psalm 119 is a 176-verse long poem about how wonderful God\u2019s Law is!<\/p>\n

When we arrive at the New Testament, we realize that Jesus came to fulfill the law we couldn\u2019t keep. These truths about the law should frame our reading and understanding of Leviticus.<\/p>\n

Having the right framework can be helpful when we think about how to read, interpret and apply other difficult passages in Scripture.<\/p>\n

We shouldn\u2019t read every proverb like it\u2019s an absolute promise for every person\u2019s life. If we read narrative stories like it is an instructive letter, we can end sharing some weird quotes on our social media accounts.<\/p>\n

We approach the Bible as a book\u2014albeit a holy book and a book breathed out by the God we follow\u2014written by the hands of faithful men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

We trust He will help us rightly understand and rightly know Him.<\/p>\n

We also seek to learn all we can so that we can best interpret and apply His Word in our world and our lives today.<\/p>\n

What can we do?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A diatribe on literary genre from the pulpit or the small group leader\u2019s desk may cause eyes to glaze over and minds to begin to analyze the options for lunch.<\/p>\n

However, presenting content that includes context, both textually and canonically, is a great way to model how to read Scripture as a cohesive story of God\u2019s promises and fulfillments.<\/p>\n

Train your teachers to lead in a way that gives a nod to context, authorial intent, and literary elements. Teach them to ask questions of the text like \u201cWhat situation is Paul addressing in this letter?\u201d \u201cWhy is Jesus telling this story, specifically to the Pharisees?\u201d<\/p>\n

These questions will lead readers to better analyze the text, and in the process teach those they are leading to ask good questions of the text as well.<\/p>\n

Consider offering church-wide workshops and walk through difficult passages together.<\/p>\n

Helping people learn to observe what is happening and ask lots of questions about historical context, literary context, and what the author may have intended can help them better understand the text and also learn some of the intricate depths of the beauty of Scripture.<\/p>\n

After all, the Bible is alive and active and worthy to be read over and over and over again.<\/p>\n

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Mary Wiley<\/h2>\n

@marycwiley<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Mary is the author of Everyday Theology: What You Believe Matters<\/em>, holds an MA in theological studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and works for B&H Publishing Group. She and her husband, John, have two children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n