Over the past four Sundays, Christ United Methodist Church
in Lincoln has been exploring, “How God Speaks to Us
through the Scriptures.” This Sunday,
September 29th, we conclude this exploration reflecting on discernment as an
integral component of using Scripture to guide our lives as followers of
Christ.
We know that the holy scriptures
are intended for all persons, living at different times and in different
contexts. For instance, scripture must
speak to the early Christians who were being put to death for their faith, as
well as Medieval Christians trying to understand the Black Plague and its
devastation of whole towns, as well as contemporary middle-class Christians
living in Nebraska. Since the scriptures
must speak to all persons, then properly interpreting the scriptures for our
own time and context is vitally important.
So, in this final sermon in the
series, I intend to focus on faithful interpretation of scripture for our time
and context. When hearing how someone
else interprets a particular scriptural passage, how can we be sure that their
interpretation is faithful? Indeed, how
can we be sure that our own way of interpreting scriptures is faithful to God’s
intent for us?
In my proclamation this Sunday,
then, I will propose seven guides for faithful interpretation of
scripture. Here they are:
1.
The Bible is intended to be read within a
community of faith. While it is
important to read the Bible alone and individually, ultimately our
interpretation of scriptures must be tested within our community of faith.
2.
Diversity of Christian perspectives offer a
potential corrective to misinterpretation.
(This may mean looking beyond our community of faith, if our faith
community is mostly homogeneous.)
3.
When disagreeing with another Christian
individual or community, be respectful and always assume the best of intentions. Ask yourself what you can learn from their
perspective (see #2 above). Try to
re-state their interpretation in words which they would agree with.
4.
Interpretation needs to be consistent with
recurring themes in the Scriptures
a.
God affirms the goodness of Creation (see 1
timothy 4:4a) and charges us with its care.
b.
God continues in God’s work of creation, but now
God works to redeem all of creation and establish God’s Reign fully.
c.
God is love.
d.
All human persons are created in God’s image and
loved by God
e.
In response to God’s love for us, we should love
God, other persons, Creation, and ourselves.
f.
Part of loving others includes sharing the Good
News of God’s love with them.
g.
As his followers, Christ invites us to join with
him in the work of building the Reign of God.
h.
As a Resurrection People, Christians should live
lives of joy, hope, and love.
5.
Correct scriptural interpretation takes into
account the passage’s context. Other interpretive
tools may also be useful. “Proof-texting”
almost always leads to misinterpretation of scripture.
6.
Beware of interpreters who stand to gain materially
from their particular interpretation of scripture.
7.
Scriptural interpretations should always promote
good and reject evil.
If you live in the Lincoln,
Nebraska area and do not have a place of worship, then I invite you to come and
join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, September 29th, as we explore
how to faithfully interpret scripture.
During the service, I will provide some “test-cases” and ask members of
the congregation to use the seven guides to determine whether a particular
scripture was properly interpreted in the case.
Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A”
Street. We have three worship services
on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00.
The 8:30 and 11:00 services feature a traditional worship format and the
services are held in our Sanctuary. “The
Gathering” at 9:45 is held in our Family Life Center (gym), and it is more
informal and interactive.
Come, join us. Everyone is welcome and accepted because God
loves us all.
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