"Bi-bul-a Stu-dy" - Information or In Formation?

                   

       

Over 25 years ago I listened to a tape of one of the speakers at Creation Fest in Southern PA.  He had a message that I’ve never forgotten.  He was a pastor whose name or place I don’t even remember, but his point was unforgettable. 

He talked about how many Bible studies they did in his church.  He spoke with a thick accent, so when he said “Bible Studies” it came out “Bi-bul-a stu-dies.”  That was a gift, because it made it stick in my head better as a result.  Anyway, he was lamenting the fact that, although they had all kinds of “Bi-bul-a stu-dies,” both in people’s personal lives and through the church’s ministry, the people’s lives demonstrated minimal transformation to the image of Christ.  They were approaching “Bi-bul-a stu-dy” either as  academic (for information) or as a religious act (do it ceremonially and it earns me spiritual “points”).   But they were not living out the truth of God’s Word and being changed. 

One Sunday morning he was overwhelmed by the overabundance of and under effectiveness of all their “Bi-bul-a study.”  So he stood up to preach and just…stood there and looked out at everybody.  After a pregnant pause that seemed like hours (we don’t do well with dead air), he simply blurted out “Brothers and sisters...love one another!”  Then he went to his seat and sat down.  After another longer, pregnant pause, he heard some of the people talking to one another, then a few of them came up to him and said “Pastor, we know what you mean!”  He smiled but thought to himself “Liar…how can you know what I mean when I don’t even know what I mean?”  Then an amazing thing happened.  The people started talking with one another and praying together and encouraging one another.  After a while they left church together and many of them went out for a meal together.  They were simply… loving one another.

The pastor preached this same message…love one another…for a month.  And the church applied it for that month.  Then he changed it to another simple, straight Biblical phrase for a month, then another simple truth for the next and so on.  I don’t remember what those months messages were.  I do remember that they stayed in this mode for a number of months, and that the last month before he went back to more “normal” sermons the month’s message was “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…” (Mathew 5:44).  The congregation spent a month applying that message!

We are pretty good at “Bi-bul-a stu-dy” ourselves.  We are a church built on lots of “Bi-bul-a stu-dy.”  This is right!  May this never change.  In fact, may we have more and more of it!  But a vital question we have to ask ourselves is, do our “Bi-bul-a stu-dies” result in mere information…or do they cause us to be in formation…growing in maturity and Christ-likeness?  

 

I understand the challenge.  I’m an “infoholic” myself, especially related to Bible and theology.  Have you ever seen the amount of books in my office?  But if I have too much information without in formation…I am falling into the category James, the Lord's brother, warns about: But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. (James 1:22).

We see the same truth taught throughout the Scriptures. Note Psalm 19:

     The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.  The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7-11).

Note the emphasis on how God’s truth changes us, and the also on “keeping” the Word.  And we have Psalm 119:11, which reads:

  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

We don't hide God's Word in our heart just for information, but to be in formation.

Our last Old Testament example is these powerful words spoken b the Lord to the prophet Ezekiel:

As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.' My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.   (Ezekiel 33:30-32).

Lastly (and most importantly), Jesus talked about this same issue:

     "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."  (Matthew 7:24-27). 

See what I mean about me being a Bible infoholic? I just felt compelled to give a list of Scriptural support, well balanced, from Old and New Testaments, Psalms and Prophets, Gospel and Epistle…you know the drill.  That is the right way to do it.  But it’s not just the right way to do “Bi-bul-a stu-dy.”  It is also the right way to live.  That’s the challenge.  Are we building on the rock or on the sand?  Building on rock or sand is not a question of whether we do “Bi-bul-a stu-dy.”  It’s a question of whether or not we live what we learn. 

What about our “Bi-bul-a stu-dy?”  Is it about information (built on sand) or in formation (built on the rock)?  

Live Victoriously

Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. Psalm 32: 1-3

           

In Psalms 32 David expresses his joy that God has forgiven his sins.  He goes on to tell how miserable he was when he was living in sin.  He was trying to hide his sin and ignore the consequences.  We do that sometimes too, don’t we?

God has given us the power to live victorious lives (2 Peter 1: 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and goodness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness) but to be able to have that power we need to be honest with God.  He gives us the way to do that too. John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God promises to walk with us through life.  Whatever comes along he promises to be there with us.  We can take great comfort in that.  

David encourages us to “Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”

A Passion for the Cross

    During the 1720’s Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf visited a Dusseldorf art museum, where he was especially moved by a particular painting of the crucified Jesus.  The painter had painted the picture with the intent of conveying his love for Christ.  Below the picture were the words:

                        All this I did for thee,

                        What hast thou done for Me?

    Zinzendorf’s heart was affected.  Christ’s love as demonstrated in the cross became the constraining power of his life, as 2 Corinthians 5:14 states, “The love of Christ constrains (compels) me.”  “I have,” he exclaimed, “but one passion, tis He and He only.”  It was the dying love of Christ mastering his life that fitted Zinzendorf for the work he had to do.

    Zinzendorf returned home to provide spiritual leadership for about three hundred refugees from religious persecution, the majority of which were Moravians, spiritual descendents of the Czech martyr Jon Hus.  The goal of Zinzendorf and the elders was to lead their souls deeper into the love of Christ, into which they had been baptized. 

    In August 1727 the community experienced a breakthrough of love and unity during a special Lord’s Supper celebration.  They asked the Lord to “keep us in the saving power of His grace, and not allow a single soul to be drawn away to itself and its own merits from that Blood-and-cross theology, on which our salvation depends." 

    Following this experience the Moravian brethren were possessed by a zeal for missions.  The Spirit breathed in power on the young and the old.  People’s hearts were filled with a burning love for the Savior who died for them.  They emphasized Isaiah 53:10-12 as their chief incentive, from which they drew their battle cry, “To win for the Lamb that was slain the reward of His sufferings.”  They started a 24-hour prayer vigil which lasted 100 years.  During the following 25 years they sent out more than 100 missionaries.   It is worth noting that this is before the start of the modern missions movement. 

    Some of these Moravian missionaries met John Wesley on a boat bound for America.  In the presence of their sincere and wholehearted devotion to Christ, Wesley realized that his own religiosity was bankrupt.  He was later converted to Christ at a Moravian chapel in London, and became the founder of Methodism and the Great Awakening in England. 

    William Carey, the “Father of modern missions,” was also greatly influenced by Moravian missionaries.  Carey went on, against the overwhelming opposition of his church associates, to be the founder of a missions movement that really continues, in many different waves and manifestations, to this day. [1]

    Think about this.  One artist painted to communicate his deep love for Jesus. One man’s faith caught fire during this encounter with the suffering Savior and became the spark for a group of three hundred refugees to catch fire with a  “blood and cross” motivation that impacted the entire world for Christ.  Our desire is that of the Moravian leaders, to lead our souls deeper into the death of Christ.  It is certain that, if we go there, we will be changed.  Whether we impact people around the world, in our own homes, or in our communities, we will be people of new impact and power.  Author John Stott says that the cross is “the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us."[2]

    We believe that we need to get nearer to the cross, in hope that its sparks will fall on us.  These readings are provided to help us get closer to the cross.  We encourage you to spend these days getting nearer to the cross.  Read these passages reflectively and prayerfully, praying for “Holy Spirit sparks” to land on you and ignite a new passion for the cross as you read. 

2 Corinthians 5:13-21

This passage, referenced above in relation to von Zinzendorf’s life-changing experience, describes the impact the cross had on the Apostle Paul’s motivations. 

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

This passage was likewise referenced above, in relation to the Moravian brethren’s missionary motivation.  This is the most detailed and powerful Old Testament prophecy related to the cross of Jesus. 

Matthew 16:21-28

In this passage Jesus looks ahead to the cross and confronts a bewildered Peter, who is having great difficulty embracing the idea of His Lord heading for a cross. 

  

Luke 22:39-23:56

Here is the basic account of the cross from Luke’s gospel.

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[1] This story is summarized from several sources, most significantly From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya by Ruth Tucker and Come to the Lord’s Table by Claude King.  

[2] From What Christ Thinks of the Church by John Stott