Rev. Dr. Karl JacobsonLutheran Church of the Good Shepherd

Opening the Book of Faith:How Can Lutheran Insights Open Up the Bible?

How Can the Bible Be Studied?

Mark Allen Powell◦ “we [Lutherans] sometimes do put a little different spin

on things”

◦ “if there are contradictions or errors or whatever you want to call them in the Bible, it’s because God wants them to be there or allows them to be there”

◦ “the Bible does things to us. In Scripture itself, we often hear about the Word of God as an active, dynamic force.”

The Bible is fully God’s Word, and it is fully the words of human beings.

Some bare bones basics of Bible StudyWhat the Bible Is, and Isn’t

1. The Bible is…1. A book of books – a collection2. Ancient, non-western

2. The Bible isn’t…1. Just ancient, and “other” – this is our book too2. “holy” … there is no article on the Word in the Lutheran

Confessions … we do not hallow the word, the

page, the book

3. The Bible …1. Is a living Word

1. It continues to speak2. It bears the holy…makes one holy

the Book of Concord, 400.101:

“This Word is not idle or dead, but effective and living.”

How Lutherans Read the Bible

1. God’s word is both Law and Gospel2. What shows forth Christ3. The Plain Meaning of a Text

Yes, we are starting with #3.

Do Lutherans interpret the Bible literally or figuratively?The Latin phrase sensus literalis has been mistranslated as “literal meaning,” much more faithful is “apparent sense” or “plain meaning”

The Bible is a library

The Bible is like a newspaper

When we read a newspaper, we interpret each type of literature according to the “plain meaning” of that literature

The Word of God has two uses: Law and Gospel

The Word of God has two uses: Law and Gospel

◦ “uses” is a little misleading

functions effects impact

Finally, it is God who “uses” the Word and makes it effective

The Word of God has two uses: Law and Gospel

Martin Luther: “The person who can rightly divide Law and Gospel has reason to thank God.” (LW 26: 60)

The Gospel: What only God can do for us. The Law: What God expects us to do for our

neighbors and ourselves

“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. . . (2 Cor 5:19)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.” (Exod 2:24-25)

“'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.‘” (Matt 22:37-39)

“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us-- and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” (1 John 3:16)

Two Uses of the Law◦ The Civil Use: God uses the law to order society

so that life can thrive◦ The Theological Use: God uses the law to show us

our brokenness, so that we will trust in Jesus to save us

◦ “if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.” (Rom 7:7)

Final Caveats: One cannot separate law from gospel Law and Gospel are, in an important sense,

two different functions of one Word

Texts that have something to do with Jesus are central – Bonheoffer: Christ the Center

“Canon within the Canon” Some parts of the Bible carry more weight Three things in most Lutheran pastor’s studies:

a cross a picture of Luther a picture of the Apostle Paul

This even true of the New Testament, and its Scripture – the Old Testament

Texts that have something to do with Jesus are central – Bonheoffer: Christ the Center

“Canon within the Canon”

◦ Canon refers to the list of official books◦ is a subset of official books that unofficially carry

more authority or bear more weight◦ In practice, every person, group, or church will

have a canon within the canon◦ So: be clear, be centered on Christ

Martin Luther: “All the sacred books agree in this, that all of them preach and bear Christ. And that is the true test by which we judge all books, when we see whether or not they bear Christ. For all the Scriptures show us Christ.” (LW 35:396)

Notice then, that for Lutherans, the Bible’s authority rests primarily in what it does—it preaches the word that justifies sinners, that gives faith, that raises the dead.

The Bible’s authority does not rest primarily in what it is

Opening the Book of Faith:When You Read Ask Yourself This…

Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7

1. What am I reading?2. What do I need to know to understand it?3. What does this mean…?

1. What am I reading?1. know the genre of the text

narrative…story, historypoetry…prayer, prophecy

2. What do I need to know to understand it?1. vocabulary, technical terms2. names/places3. metaphor, euphemism, imagery

3. What does this mean…1. …for me?2. …for you?3. …for us?