11:7,6 - The Mennonite

use the Bible
Indeed our minds have a pivotal place in our vital
relationship with God.
The Spirit’s active work in our minds is key to
our new life and continuing growth. We must not
permit belief and faith to be defined in a nonbiblical
way—as something for only our minds to do. This
makes belief and faith shallow, and it puts spiritual
wellness in trouble by forcing Christians into
agreement on the mental level rather than inviting
them to move toward that good level of unity in the
Spirit of Christ. With our modern culture’s strong
use of believe as a mental thing, it is easy to forget
how the Bible uses this wonderful word, and spiritual
health regularly suffers as a result.
4. Always keep a Bible text joined to its context.
For starters, avoid separating details of a Bible
story from the rest of that story. Sometimes we
are tempted, for example, to focus on a glorious
promise in the Scriptures and largely ignore conditions
for those promises. Or we find and use a
verse we like but give no heed to verses close to it
that may provide more depth and integrity to our
faith. As mentioned briefly (#1 above), it’s sometimes
critically important to know what needs the
writer of this part of the Bible was dealing with.
Then let that knowledge inform how we interpret
that passage.
Lifting texts from here and there to build support
for what we want to think can make our Bible
interpretations sound temporarily powerful. But
this attempt to prove can actually weaken our position.
This happens if others look closer and discover
the text has been separated from other key
statements in its biblical paragraph. And just as a
sentence or verse should be treated within its
paragraph, so its paragraph or chapter needs to be
seen as within its biblical book. Finally (as in #2
above), that book needs to be consciously viewed
as within one of the Scriptures’ two different testaments.
A careless approach here can reduce the
integrity of Bible teaching, and thus have a negative
effect on one’s spiritual wholeness and our
relationships with one another.
5. Avoid the spirit of the modern scientific age.
Instead of treating the Bible as a book of proofs,
see it as providing us with dynamic evidence.
While Bible writers were certain of what they
wrote, they did not participate in the misleading scientific-proof
approach so common today. The Bible
is not a modern book. Its inspired writers had a
spirit of direct faith/trust, and our “prove it” mentality
does not build on their spiritually healthy mindset.
When today’s readers then treat the words of
those writers as proof, the unique faith authority of
these precious words is actually weakened.
While we imagine ourselves building up the
Bible’s divinity by treating it as proof, we paradoxically
lower it to the limits of earthly science. The
relational effects here are also negative, since the
common results are defensiveness and an argumentative
spirit. One’s spiritual wellness often suffers
in this way, since faith is being replaced and
there is nothing left to produce joy or humility.
6. Learn to let the Bible read me. If I believe
God’s Word is “alive and powerful” (Hebrews
4:12), I am likely to respond to it in a unique way.
We can let the Bible form us
rather than simply inform us.
We can actually present ourselves to it. We can let
the Bible form us rather than simply inform us.
Thus we can permit ourselves to unhurriedly
live with some of the powerful Bible statements or
questions. As someone has said, “Marinate yourself
in’’ the Scripture God seems to be using to
change your life at a particular time. Not only
God’s Living Word, Jesus Christ, but also his written
word is sent as a gift of love. Something spiritually
dynamic and healthy is happening here.
Isaiah has God revealing God’s clearest intent in
sending his words to us (55:10-12). Trusting a person
is different from mentally believing in facts
and moves us toward humility, wisdom, the joy of
submission and healthy relationships with those
around us.
Dan Longenecker is a member of Immanuel
Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Va.
November 7, 2006 TheMennonite 15