Nov. 25, 2024

Scripture vs Theology

Scripture vs Theology

A discussion about bible study, bible interpretation and theology

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A discussion about bible study, bible interpretation and theology

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central. Have you ever

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been having a discussion with someone about the Biblical text,

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about something in the Bible, about how to interpret this verse,

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or interpret this verse, or what does this mean? Maybe

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you're having a lengthy discussion about Isaiah chapter forty. Maybe

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you're having a lengthy discussion about James chapter one, verses

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nineteen to twenty seven. Maybe you're having a discussion about

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Hebrews chapter six. Because these are texts that we have

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discussed here on this podcast. But have you ever been

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discussing it with someone? And maybe sooner or later, the

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discussion kind of turns more into a debate. They see

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it this way, you see it this way, and both

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people are arguing, And have you ever decided, you know,

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you just almost want to throw up your hands. Maybe

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you make this decision, maybe you just want to say it,

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maybe you just feel it. You just want to scream,

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hey man, look, your theology is showing. Your theology is

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showing I'm sorry, your theology is showing. That means we

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cannot have this discussion anymore. There's no point. Let's just

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forget this let's just give up. I'm sorry, but your

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theology is showing. Now many people will be like, well,

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thank you very much. I'm glad my theology is showing,

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because theology is important. Theology is the most important thing. Theology, theology, theology, theology.

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I want to be known for my theology.

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Many people may see that almost like hey, that you're

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saying something positive about them. I see that now. Is

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if someone says, I'm sorry, but your theology is showing,

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I see that as a negative thing. Now we're going

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to discuss that well right after, I guess I give

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you a proper introduction. Good morning everyone. It is Monday,

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November fifth, twenty twenty four. It is currently nine fifty

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nine am Central Time, and I am coming to you

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live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abbylee, Texas.

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Now, I know it may sound a little strange.

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That the host of a podcast called Theology Central would

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even insinuate, would even hint that if someone's.

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Theology is showing, that's a bad thing.

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But in this particular situation that I'm describing, it is

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a bad thing.

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See, when people are.

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Talking about the Bible, when you're talking about how to

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interpret scripture. The last thing I want to see is

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your theology. I don't want to see your theology. I

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want to see the text. We need to be discussing

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the text, not your theology. And my concern is is that,

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over and over again, over and over again, what drives

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Bible interpretation is not the text. It's not context, it's

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not history, it's not culture, it's not language, it's not grammar.

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What drives interpretation, over and over and over is people's theology.

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And once their theology is showing, then the text becomes lost.

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The text gets hidden because your theology overshadows the text.

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That to me is a problem.

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Even though I do a podcast called Theology Central, well,

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I want theology to be central, but guess what theology

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should be developed from the text. Theology should not be

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what determines how you read the text. And I hope

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that this discussion will be somewhat beneficial. Now, if you've

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been listening at all, you know we've had some important

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conversations about Isaiah chapter forty. In fact, we're doing a

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study of Isaiah chapter forty all the way to Isaiah

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chapter fifty five. Forty to fifty five. We're dealing with

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that entire section. Why because I have grown sick and

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tired of hearing sermon after sermon after sermon after sermon

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that goes to Isaiah forty or Isaiah forty three, anywhere

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in Isaiah, really just forget just Isaiah forty to fifty five,

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anywhere in the entire book. They just open it up,

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and next thing you know, they insert us into the text,

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They insert the church into the text. Soon Israel is lost,

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the historical context is lost, and it becomes about you.

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It becomes about me and how to live the Christian life.

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And then they take promises that clearly aren't meant for us,

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and they say they're meant for us, and I get

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sick of that right over and over and over and over.

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I get sick of it so that I'm like, Okay,

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we're going to get to the text. Then we stumbled

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upon a sermon on James chapter one, nineteen to twenty seven.

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Once again they were saying things.

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I'm like that, I don't I think that's what the

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text is saying. So we worked on that over and

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over and over. I hear sermon after sermon after sermon,

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and here's what happens. You probably can do this, someone

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could play a sermon. You have no idea the name

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of the church, You have no idea what their theological

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system is.

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You have no idea.

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You start listening, not always, but typically within maybe five

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to fifteen minutes. Once they give you the text and

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then they start talking, you'd be like, oh, well, you

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know that church is reformed? Are you know that church's

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dispensation all? You know that church is all millennial. You

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know that church is pre millennial. You know that church

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is lordship salvation. You know that church is calvinistic. You

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know that church is not calvinistic. Almost within fifteen minutes

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you hear their theology. Now they're telling everyone today, we're

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gonna study the Gospel of John. Today we're going to

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study the Book of Romans. And they sound so sincere,

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and they sound so oh spiritual. We're going to study

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the word of God. We're going to preach the word

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of God. But in reality, all they do is just reinforce.

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They just take the text simply to reinforce the philological

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system everyone already holds to. Because it's their theology that

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you're studying, not the actual text. You can all you

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can listen to a sermon and almost immediately determine the theology.

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And once you determine the theology, like if I if

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I look first at the name of the church, Oh,

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it's Presbyterian, they're going to be an Isaiah. Well, I

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know what they're getting ready to do. It's going to

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be this allegorical spiritualize it. Okay, it's going to be

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the church. Okay, I know what they're going Oh, this

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is this church. Well, I know what they're going to do.

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Oh it's I know what they're going to do. The

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minute you kind of know the church, you almost know

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how they're going to interpret the text because they always

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interpret it according to the theology of the church, the

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theology of the denomination, and that that's just no. Your

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theology should not be determine how you and theology should

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not be the thing that determines how you interpret the text.

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Once you determine how you interpret the text, is the text,

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the language, the grammar, the history, the context. And my

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my perspective is if you truly stay true to the text,

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if you truly stay true to the text, you're gonna

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find yourself in conflict with with every single philological system

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out there. Every you're gonna find your if you truly

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try to stay true to the text, you're gonna take

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off the reform people. You're gonna take off, the non

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reform people. You're gonna take off the Calvinists, the non Calvinist,

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your lordship, non lordship, you're gonna take off everyone. Because

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I don't think if you truly stay true to this

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to I don't think if you truly stay true to

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the text, you're ever going to find yourself in agreement

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fully with any system of theology. I think you're gonna

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constantly find yourself in conflict. I really believe that now

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there may have been time in my Christian life that

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it was like theology, theology, theology, theology. I mean, most

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of my education is in theological studies, so obviously I

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love theology.

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But at some point you're like, well, wait a minute,

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Wait a minute.

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One of the things we constantly say is non Catholic

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says scripture alone, scripture alone. Oh, we talk a big game,

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we say all the right words.

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It's almost just a cliche.

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The scripture is the final authority for belief and practice.

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Oh we it's but it's all just a show. It's

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just a facade. It's it's not true in a practical sense.

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What is the authority is yours, your theology and you

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as an individual, You, as an individual, you interpret the Bible.

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How do you interpret the Bible? Typically, buy a theological

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system that you have been taught. You now read that

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into the text, you interpret it, and then you say

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this is the right way, and anyone who disagrees with

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me is wrong because you think your interpretation is right.

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You basically think your interpretation is infallible. And then you

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go judge everyone else and declare who's a heretic and

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who's not a heretic. Really, the individual, the philological system

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is the authority, not the Bible. And so when we

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were doing all of the work yesterday, if you were listening,

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I spent two plus hours trying to develop a new

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interpretation of James one nineteen through twenty seven. And what

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you start realizing when you get into some of the

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difficult parts in the Book of James, Well, how come

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there's this interpretation and this interpretation, and this interpretation and

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this interpretation, Because no matter what the text you're studying,

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there's always multiple interpretations. But have you ever noticed something, Well,

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this interpretation belongs to this system of theology, and this

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interpretation belongs to this system of theology, and this interpretation

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belongs to this system of theology. Different interpretations are almost

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always associated with a specific philological system. If you believe

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in lordship salvation, if that's your theological structure, you're going

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to interpret James. You're going to interpret First John a

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very specific way. If you are not lordship, you're going

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to interpret James and First John and a completely different

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type of way. If your lordship, you're going to interpret

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the Sermon on the Mount one way. If you're not lordship,

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you're going to interpret a completely different way. Now why

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is it that for some weird reason? What And I

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know we could get into an argument, well which comes first,

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but I'm going to say it. I think what determines

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how text are interpreted is more the philological framework, the

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theiological system which someone holds. I mean, if you really

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think about it. In Christianity, if you really just come on,

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just beyond this with I mean, be honest with yourself,

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be honest with me, be honest with everyone. Right when

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you become a Christian, you are given, you're taught a

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philological framework you're taught this is what we believe about baptism,

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this is what we believe about suff You are taught

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that very little, especially in discipleship. Are you rarely taught?

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You know what?

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Forget the theological system, forget that.

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What we're going to do is we're going to focus

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on reading and studying the Bible based off Bible study

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methods that are more observational than they are interpretive. And

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here are the observational tools and the observational skills. This

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is how to teach you how to do an observational outline,

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how to do it even doing a chapter summary method,

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how to read and do an observational outline, and that

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over all the different methods is about observing the.

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Text, the texts, the text, the text.

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Most Christians either one don't even know most of the

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Bible study methods, and if they know them, they.

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Rarely do them. And this is what will happen.

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Almost inevitably, you'll have someone start arguing with you about

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the text, right, and you'll say, okay, come out, come out,

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come out. All right, So this is the text we're

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arguing about. Maybe it's Romans, maybe it's James. Okay, great,

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So we're in this chapter. At the very minimum, I

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know you've done at least a chapter summary method on it, right,

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I mean, at the very minimum, I know you've done that, correct,

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So show me your chapter summary method. Oh you've not

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done that. We at the very least, I know you've

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done at least this or this, like you can have.

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You've done a word study, or you've done a book background,

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you've done a you can start asking some of them,

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and almost almost in every case, they have done none

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of the Bible study method. Yet they're sitting there telling

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you you're wrong. You're wrong, you're wrong, and you know

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what you want to say, you know what you may

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desire to say, you know what you probably should say.

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Maybe you should stop talking because right now you're theology

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is showy. You are arguing your theology. You're not arguing

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the text. And then what people will do is, if

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they get mad, they'll go get a book from their

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philological system and a book or a commentary and they'll say,

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see the scripture right here, this scripture proves it. No,

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that scripture proves it because you're interpreting it and light

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of your philological system, how can you not see that?

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But it's very difficult to get people to acknowledge that.

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So this is a problem. Basically, what happens if we're

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honest with ourselves, we have this scripture versus theology, theology

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versus scripture.

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Now, the church is very good at.

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Disguising this and making it sound like their theology is

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scripture and scripture is their theology. But if you really

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break it down, no again, And I think the giveaway is, well,

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when people become a Christian, what are they taught? First?

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I mean, just just walk around your church. I mean

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I always tell people to do this, Just walk around

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and ask them. Okay, tell me how you study the Bible?

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Come on, what is your Bible study methods? Now you

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can ask them and at fact, if you really want to,

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kind of do it. And I'm more like, you know,

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this is kind of setting them up. Hey, what do

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you believe about this? What do you believe about this?

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What do you believe about this? They'll give you what

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they'll tell you. They'll be more than happy to say,

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oh I believe this, I believe this, I believe this,

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I believe this.

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Great, you believe all these things?

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Okay, Now, do you have any notebooks that would demonstrate

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your study that led you to this conclusion. You won't

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have notebooks that led them to this conclusion. You will

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have their conclusion that now determines how they read the text.

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It's I'm telling you this is the way it works

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in christiendom. You can deny it, you can tell me

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I'm wrong. It is the truth. The people sitting in

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the pew rarely do any meaningful study. But they're the

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ones who will say, you're wrong, You're wrong, You're wrong,

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you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong. I disagree, Well why

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are you? They'll be on social media, arguing, arguing, arguing.

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Sometimes you want to just say.

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Stop talking.

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Did you study the text?

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And sometimes I'll oh, I study the text? What did that?

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What does that entail?

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That means?

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What did you do? Oh? You read MacArthur's book. Oh

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you read R. C. Sprull, or you read Martin Lloyd Jones.

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Oh great, you didn't study the text. You studied what

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the people who's on your theological team had to say

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about the text. That's not studying the text. So you say, okay,

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what Bible study methods do you know? Go, how do

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you do a thematic study? How do you do a

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topical study. How do you do a word study? How

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do you do a chapter analysis study? How do you

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do a chapter summary? How do you do a book background?

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How do you do a biographical The most likely they

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can't even tell you the steps. They have no clue.

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Yet they'll be the ones that'll be so dogmatic about

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what the text says and will tell you you're wrong.

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Where did they get that from? From their favorite preacher?

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They listen to.

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Theology, I will say, not just often, but most of

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the time drives Bible interpretation. Theology I will say this,

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theology doesn't just drive Bible interpretation. I will go so

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far to say theology determines Bible interpretation. Again, you can

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just start playing a sermon for me. I can just

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close my eyes listen. Go oh that's a Presbyterian church.

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Oh wait, dads, that's an independent fundamental Baptist church. Oh

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that's dispensational. Oh they're premillennial. Oh wait their lordship.

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Wait almost you can. It's almost.

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It's easy to do because you know what and if

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you see the name of the church, or you look

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and see what kind of church they are, and you

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look at the text, they're they're preaching, I can almost

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just go ahead and write out the outline, this is

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how they're going to interpret the text. And almost not always,

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but in most cases it turns out to be pretty

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close to the case, which.

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Is kind of that's kind of sad, but that's the

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way it works.

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Now, this tendency, I will say, you can call it

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Bible interpretation. You can say theology drives Bible interpretation. You

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can I think theology determines Bible interpretation. But I think

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this tendency is especially evident in how different traditions handles

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texts like what we saw in James Chapter one, James

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chapter two, or any other seemingly problematic passage. They will

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do is they'll, they'll, they'll, they'll, They're going to interpret

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that problematic passage according to their systematic theology. Now, how

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does theology determine interpretation? I in some ways I want

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to just say theology drives it, but I think I

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want to be almost more assertive and more dogmatic. Theology

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determines interpretation. I think number one, it's because it gives

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you a pre existing framework which shapes your reading. You

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have a pre existing framework. Your theology is your pre

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existing framework which now is going to shape your reading. Typically,

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Christians come to the Bible with a philological system already

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in place, whether it's Calvinism, whether it's Arminianism, whether it's dispensationalism,

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whether it's covenant theology.

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Because when you become a Christian, you.

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Are given the system. It's like, welcome to Christianity. Here's

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your system.

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Now. It may not even if they don't give it

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a name.

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Even if the church is not very philologically defined, there

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is still a system. Texts are then interpreted to fit

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that framework, rather than letting the text speak on its

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own terms. This is what happens. You become a Christian.

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There is a pre existing framework which is going to

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shape your reading. Christians come to the text with their

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philological system intact. The texts then are interpreted to fit

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that framework, rather than letting the text speak on its

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own terms. This is the problem. So you can go,

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don't bother, don't bother. I know how you're going to

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interpret the text. Don't bother, don't bother, because we don't

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really care about the text. You have a feel because

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and look at I understand. As pastors, you have no choice. Right,

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you get to pick your theological team, and you've got

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to interpret the Bible according to that theological team from

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this point forward, or you'll get fired. You'll tick off.

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Someone in the church.

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And if someone in the church starts changing their theological system,

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they're gonna start disagreeing with you now about how you

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interpret the Bible. If they if they're on your theological team,

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they're gonna be like, yeah, good, good good.

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The minute they.

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Start shifting, or you start shifting, there's conflict because everyone

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is coming at it from their philological framework, the text

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gets lost reform theology. Let's just give some examples. We'll

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emphasize sola fide faith alone. So james discussion of faith

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without works isad is often explained in ways that align

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with Paul theology, even though James appeared to be emphasizing

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something practical. In other words, if you go to James

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and your theology is this, you're going to interpret it

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this way. If your theology, we could get all.

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Kinds of examples. Lordship's gonna see it.

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We can just it. Just it goes on and on

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and on and on and on. Presbyterians, you know, next

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thing you know, you're baptizing babies and you're like, They're like,

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you just don't know how to read the Bible, or

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maybe your theology is reading it into the Bible where

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others will be like, where do you even find this?

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We go on, I mean, just lose salvation. Don't lose

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your salvation. Ohkay, Israel not Israel, Church, not the church,

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all this kind of stuff. This, this proved, this proves

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your salvation. This you know, you don't have to prove

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your salvation just it just never ends. So pre existing

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framework shapes reading. Or we could say this, Christians come

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to the text with a thiological system already in place.

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The text are then interpreted to fit that framework, and

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they do this rather than letting the text speak for itself.

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We have to destroy the pre existing framework. Whenever we

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study the Bible. I say this all the time. I

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use this illustration. Some people think it's too violent sounding,

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but I use it to try to shock people into

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doing this. We're getting ready to study this text, all right,

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Take your pre existing framework, take your system of theology.

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Okay, I know it's fluffy.

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I know you like to refer to your theological system

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as fluffy, and you like to pet fluffy, and you

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love fluffy. Fluffy is your favorite theological system. Well, guess what.

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We're getting ready to study the Bible. So now that

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we've arrived at church, Okay, you got it. Okay, everyone

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pick up their fluffy because everyone calls it fluffy and

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they're holding fluffy. But I love fluffy.

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Fluffy's my favorite theological system.

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Well, you gotta take Fluffy out back, and you got

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to put it down. You gotta put it down. There's

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a gun waiting for you back there. You gotta shoot Fluffy.

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Fluffy has to die. No, No, that's horrible. Look, not

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a real dog, Fluffy. Your theological system has to die.

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Why because we're about to study the Bible. Keep your

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stinking framework outside of the church. Leave it in the

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parking lot here. We're gonna study the text. Now, guess

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what that at times is going to be in conflict

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with Fluffy. That at times is going to be in

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conflict with your favorite theological system. And even if it's

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not in conflict with you want to see the text.

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You don't want me just to lay your theological system

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upon the text. But you know what the reality is.

401
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Even though Christians say, oh, I want to study the Bible,

402
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they don't want to study the Bible because if they did,

403
00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:02.319
it would get offended and get ticked off because it

404
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probably doesn't go with our little philological system. The pre

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00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:10.559
existing framework's got to go. It's got to be burned

406
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to the ground. It's got to be shot, it's got

407
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to be killed. It's got to go away, it's got

408
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to be buried. And then you study the Bible. Now,

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after you study it may fit perfectly with your theological system.

410
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Then you can run outside and try to revive fluffy.

411
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But the next time you.

412
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Study the text, Fluffy's got to go. Anytime the Bible

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is being studied, your philological system has to be set aside. Now,

414
00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:47.799
this can bring about a fear of contradiction. Interpreters often

415
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prioritize maintaining consistency across scripture, even at the expense of

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the natural reading of the text. So what happens over

417
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and over and over is, wait, we got to be consistent.

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So we interpret this, so we interpret this, and so

419
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you have to follow some kind of consistency. But true

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Bible studies sometimes guess what the natural reading of the

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text may go. Oh, man, I don't know if that

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works or does that work? Does that not work, and

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you're going to be willing to deal with and face

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that uncomfortableness, that apparent contradiction. You have to be willing

425
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to do this. You've got to be willing to do this.

426
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Embrace the apparent contradiction, Embrace the uncertainty. Don't fear it,

427
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Embrace it, love it, enjoy it. So the pre existing

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framework has to be burned to the ground. This fear

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of contradiction has to be replaced with accepting possible contradiction,

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accepting unanswered questions. Accepting it may not make any sense.

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A third issue is in confessional commitments. Those who are

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bound by a denominational or a confessional statement may feel

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obligated to interpret scripture in a way that aligns with

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that tradition. And that's kind of what happens. Well, this

435
00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:32.960
is our confession, when now you have to interpret the

436
00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:34.839
Bible in accordance with that confession.

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I love confessions of faith. I love the creeds.

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What I don't love is when the confession or the

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00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:47.519
creed becomes the way I interpret the Bible. Whenever I

440
00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:50.279
study the Bible. I don't care what the confession says.

441
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I don't care what the Creed says, I don't care

442
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when I'm studying the Bible. Now, after I'm done studying

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the Bible, I may compare my interpretation to this Confession

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or to this Creed and see if there's agreement or disagreement.

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The Creeds and the Confessions are awesome and should be

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studied and should be known. They don't determine how you

447
00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:18.920
interpret the Bible. You can't. You just cannot allow that

448
00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:24.079
to happen. So we have the pre existing conditions or

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pre existing pre existing conditions medical terms, pre existing framework.

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00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:31.960
It is a pre existing condition, right, it's your theology,

451
00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:35.759
and it's going to corrupt and impact your interpretation of Bible.

452
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I guess I could build a new illustration there, but

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a pre existing framework. We got to get rid of

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the fear of contradiction and embrace uncertainty.

455
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Embrace contradiction.

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You got to your commitment should be to the Text

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before it is to any confession or any Creed.

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And I love the Confessions and Creed.

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Some people think that when you say things like that,

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that you're at war with the Confessions or Creeds. No,

461
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I tell everyone to read it and study it. The catechisms,

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the create all of it. But your loyalty is to

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the text. And what did we see how many reform

464
00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:12.559
churches preaching on Isaiah forty They kept referencing what the

465
00:28:12.599 --> 00:28:17.880
Heidelbird Catechism because the Heidelbird Catechism references Isaiah forty when.

466
00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:18.759
It talks about comfort.

467
00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:23.519
Well, I don't care that the Heidelberg Catechism references Isaiah

468
00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:27.240
forty and applies that comfort to us. The Heidelbird Catechism

469
00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:30.519
isn't the word of God. The word of God, so

470
00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:33.559
I need to understand Isaiah forty, verse one and how

471
00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:36.160
Isaiah understood it, and what it meant, and how what

472
00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:37.240
it meant at the time.

473
00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:38.240
Based off its context.

474
00:28:38.279 --> 00:28:41.599
It's text, not how the heidel Bird Catechism uses it,

475
00:28:41.720 --> 00:28:43.960
or in some cases misuses it. I don't care if

476
00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:46.319
it's Luther. I don't care. If it's Calvin, I don't care.

477
00:28:46.519 --> 00:28:49.200
I don't care if it's Augustine. I don't care who

478
00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:56.000
it is. I want to read the church fathers, I

479
00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:59.680
want to know them, but they don't determine how I

480
00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:04.720
the text. I don't care if I end up going out.

481
00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:08.400
I'm in conflict with MacArthur R. C. Sproull, Martin. You

482
00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:11.079
name the famous path. I don't care if I'm in

483
00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:15.039
disagreement with them, I don't care. They don't determine truth.

484
00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:21.279
And so many times people just go and you can

485
00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:23.359
tell when you get into an argument with someone about

486
00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:25.119
the text. Next thing you know, they're sending you this

487
00:29:25.160 --> 00:29:28.200
stuff and you're like, dude, you just you just plaged

488
00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:31.319
your eyes half of MacArthur's commentary. You're just you're just

489
00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:35.400
rewriting it. Do you have any original thought on your own?

490
00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:37.759
Did you do any actual study on your own? Can

491
00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:40.720
you actually engage the text? Or all you can do

492
00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:46.440
is just parrot the things you've heard. You're more committed

493
00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:54.119
to your favorite preacher, you're more committed to your theological system. Now,

494
00:29:54.119 --> 00:29:57.480
this sometimes leads to what some may refer to as

495
00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:04.240
pastoral concerns. Logical interpretations are often shared by the practical

496
00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:08.400
implications they produce. Now, this is a different problem. We'll

497
00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:10.599
see if we interpret the text this way, it could

498
00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:13.400
lead to this issue or this issue or this issue.

499
00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:17.279
So sometimes the pastor will go, well, if I do this, well,

500
00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:20.839
this could create concern, or this could create the You've

501
00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:23.799
got to start being worried about pastoral concerns, and you

502
00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:24.759
got to deal with the text.

503
00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:27.440
Who cares if it makes everyone in the pew man?

504
00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:29.799
Who cares? If it makes everyone in the pew uncomfortable?

505
00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:32.160
Who cares if it makes everyone in the pew walk

506
00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:35.279
out of the church. Who cares? You either care about

507
00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:37.440
the text or you're worried about Oh wait, this could

508
00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:40.079
impact this, and this could impact it. Stop worrying with

509
00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:51.960
the pastoral concerns. So pastors may downplay or over emphasize

510
00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:59.960
something based on their pastoral priorities. They have pastoral priorities

511
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:01.519
are like, well, I gotta do this and I don't

512
00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:04.079
want this, because they're trying to balance making sure everyone

513
00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:06.799
stays in the church happy and with there nobody will

514
00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:09.960
get mad and take their ball and go home. Well,

515
00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:12.839
the minute you start doing that, you gotta please little Johnny.

516
00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:16.039
Your little Johnny's gonna get upset. Well, then guess what,

517
00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:19.200
Then everyone in the church can just acknowledge it's all

518
00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:23.480
a big game. It's basically politics. Pastors have to walk

519
00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:27.200
this fine line or are they gonna take everyone just forget? Then?

520
00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:29.319
You know what, can we just throw the Bible in

521
00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:31.640
the trash can and just say we're just here to

522
00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.519
have a little bit of spirituality because nobody really cares

523
00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:35.240
about the text.

524
00:31:35.359 --> 00:31:37.359
If you have to kind of ooh, well, I.

525
00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:38.880
Got to do this with the text. I gotta do

526
00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:40.680
this with the text because I got to make sure

527
00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:45.119
I'm maintaining doing this for the church. Then the church

528
00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:49.480
becomes the priority, not the text. Your theology becomes the priority,

529
00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:51.240
not the text.

530
00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:58.039
So we have this framework that's got to be destroyed.

531
00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:01.079
We have this fear that we got to get over with,

532
00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:05.160
and we got to embrace contradiction, embrace complexity, embrace not

533
00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:09.960
having answers. We gotta stop being so committed to a

534
00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:12.720
confession or a creed and be more committed to the text.

535
00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:15.839
And this pastoral concern. Oh, I can't do this. I

536
00:32:15.880 --> 00:32:17.480
can't say this, I can't do this. I can't do

537
00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:21.200
this because you gotta. I Now, look, it's easy for

538
00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:24.359
me to say I'm kind of basically, you know, in

539
00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:27.319
a sense, done with that whole world. I'm basically done

540
00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:28.200
with that whole world.

541
00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:29.279
I understand.

542
00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:30.799
If you're right there in the middle of being a

543
00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:35.000
pastor and your livelihoods dependent upon it, you're gonna go, well,

544
00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:37.440
you know, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do this

545
00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:39.920
I'm gonna do this because I gotta keep everyone happy.

546
00:32:39.920 --> 00:32:46.640
I gotta maintain That's just that's just that's just garbage, man,

547
00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:56.200
that's just h That's just that's I can't stand that. Now.

548
00:32:56.240 --> 00:32:59.240
Why does all of this happen? Why does all of

549
00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:01.200
this happen? Right? Those are some of the issues. Why

550
00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:03.599
does all of this happen? Well, because I know this

551
00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:09.559
is going to be shocking to everyone. Scripture is complex.

552
00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:13.160
The Bible.

553
00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:15.000
I know this is gonna now.

554
00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:18.200
Look, as someone who's spent most of my entire adult

555
00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:20.799
life pursuing philological education.

556
00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:22.640
This is what you're going to have to realize.

557
00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:27.359
The Bible is not a systematic philological not a systematic

558
00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:34.759
theology textbook. The Bible is not a systematic theology textbook.

559
00:33:35.160 --> 00:33:35.960
It is not.

560
00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:43.119
It's a collection of writing addressing various context addressing various audiences,

561
00:33:44.119 --> 00:33:54.240
having different purposes. This diversity creates tensions. Faith works, law, Gospel,

562
00:33:54.640 --> 00:34:00.799
Old Testament, New Testament, Israel, Church promises this, that covenants

563
00:34:00.839 --> 00:34:05.960
all of these different things. Theology seeks to resolve this

564
00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:09.400
and make it systematized and make it simple, and so

565
00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:12.960
you learn the system. The system attempts to take this

566
00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:18.199
complexity and simplify it. But by simplifying the complexity, what

567
00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:21.840
you tend to do is then the theology overshadows the text.

568
00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:24.719
And so then you just simply read the simplicity of

569
00:34:24.760 --> 00:34:28.320
the theology into the complexity of the scripture. And what

570
00:34:28.440 --> 00:34:36.480
gets lost is the scripture. Scripture is complex. You've got

571
00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:39.000
we've got to embrace its complexity. We got to embrace Well,

572
00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:40.760
wait a minute, Wait a minute. Okay, wait, so we

573
00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:43.199
in Isaiah? Okay, wait, so this is about people in

574
00:34:43.239 --> 00:34:46.159
Babylonian captivity. So I know I love this idea of comfort,

575
00:34:46.239 --> 00:34:48.079
but is that comfort really for me? And wait?

576
00:34:48.280 --> 00:34:50.159
Is Israel the same as the Church? And wait?

577
00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:52.480
Wait, the new covenant that's made with the House of

578
00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:54.519
Israel and the House of Judah, why don't we continually

579
00:34:54.599 --> 00:34:56.599
apply this to us Over there? In Ezekiel it talks

580
00:34:56.599 --> 00:34:58.599
about giving people a new heart. Well, wait a minute,

581
00:34:58.599 --> 00:35:00.639
that's referring to Ezekiel, and once they get the new heart,

582
00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:02.559
they go into the land. What don't I have to

583
00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:05.039
separate that from us? Wait? Wait a minute, So the

584
00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:06.679
sermon on the Mount seems.

585
00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:07.559
Okay, how do we interpret that?

586
00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:10.519
Wait? Okay, wait, Well, the reality is we all continue

587
00:35:10.559 --> 00:35:12.880
to send and wait. The reality is we pray to

588
00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:15.480
a god who supposedly in charge. We got to deal

589
00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:18.360
with the complexities and the problems and the and the

590
00:35:18.960 --> 00:35:25.880
questions that are raised from and all systematic theology will

591
00:35:25.920 --> 00:35:28.119
try to give you a simple way to resolve it.

592
00:35:28.800 --> 00:35:35.079
But that simplicity destroys the complexity of the text. And

593
00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:37.320
that's why pastors will say a lot of people think

594
00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:39.679
this is so complex, a lot of people think this

595
00:35:39.719 --> 00:35:40.280
is difficult.

596
00:35:40.360 --> 00:35:41.880
They'll do this with the Book of Revelation.

597
00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:44.400
I don't know why people think it's really quite So

598
00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:46.760
it's really quite simple because you're about to just give

599
00:35:46.840 --> 00:35:52.159
me page after page of some philological interpretation of the book,

600
00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:54.039
and you're just going to you're not gonna worry about

601
00:35:54.039 --> 00:35:54.559
the complexity.

602
00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:55.760
You're gonna be like, this is what.

603
00:35:55.679 --> 00:35:57.960
The text says, this is what the text means. Because

604
00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:01.719
you're quoting from this common carry this commentary, this commentary,

605
00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:04.760
you're just reading the commentary you studied into the text.

606
00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:12.840
You're not dealing with the complexity of the text. So

607
00:36:13.320 --> 00:36:17.679
scripture is complex. So this leads people do they look

608
00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:22.480
to a systematic theology to resolve that complexity, which then

609
00:36:22.719 --> 00:36:26.199
causes the problem I think another reason this happens is

610
00:36:26.280 --> 00:36:34.559
human beings. They like simplicity, they like consistency, They like

611
00:36:34.599 --> 00:36:38.239
something to be coherent. They have this need. Humans have

612
00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:43.119
these needs that I think sometimes actually are contrary to

613
00:36:43.239 --> 00:36:48.000
the actual study of the text. Humans will naturally seek

614
00:36:48.039 --> 00:36:53.079
some form of consistency. So when a passage appears challenging

615
00:36:54.039 --> 00:37:00.559
a philological system, that's what they will go to. Say,

616
00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:03.480
the text is too challenging, but a philological system, a

617
00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:06.360
commentary will give you a simple interpretation. That's what they

618
00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:12.880
will turn to. So in many cases, people will turn

619
00:37:12.920 --> 00:37:19.719
to kind of a philological system that harmonizes or simplifies it, even.

620
00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:20.639
If that means.

621
00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:29.039
Basically hurting or overshadowing or almost hijacking the actual meaning

622
00:37:29.079 --> 00:37:33.599
of the text. People want they want an answer. They

623
00:37:33.639 --> 00:37:37.199
want it simple. They don't want complex, they don't want questions,

624
00:37:37.320 --> 00:37:40.079
they don't want unresolved issues. They want it to all

625
00:37:40.119 --> 00:37:42.039
make sense, and they want it in three points and

626
00:37:42.039 --> 00:37:48.239
they want to be out by noon. I think a

627
00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:53.800
problem is that human beings have certain needs, wants, and desires,

628
00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:57.480
and that trump's actually studying the text. They go to

629
00:37:57.519 --> 00:38:00.199
the text to get some of their needs met, and

630
00:38:00.559 --> 00:38:04.159
if their needs is for answers and for simplicity, and

631
00:38:04.199 --> 00:38:07.159
for not all this complexity. They'll find they'll take whatever

632
00:38:07.280 --> 00:38:09.840
they need to make the text say whatever they need

633
00:38:09.880 --> 00:38:13.119
to say so they feel better. Everybody just wants to

634
00:38:13.119 --> 00:38:16.159
be They just want to feel better. Well, I'm sorry

635
00:38:16.199 --> 00:38:18.480
when you study the text and you don't always feel better.

636
00:38:19.280 --> 00:38:22.199
You don't always have your nice little wrapped up answer.

637
00:38:22.599 --> 00:38:25.320
You know, no, Sometimes you're like, I don't know what

638
00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:27.440
in the world just happened. I have no idea, I

639
00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:30.679
have no idea. They want the sermons to be simple

640
00:38:31.280 --> 00:38:35.119
three points. Typically they want a very simple outline. They

641
00:38:35.119 --> 00:38:37.559
don't want the pastor to get into all the complexity.

642
00:38:37.800 --> 00:38:41.599
It's too convoluted, it's too difficult. I just give me

643
00:38:41.639 --> 00:38:46.480
a nice little sermon. Well, you gotta stop worrying about

644
00:38:46.480 --> 00:38:54.880
people stink in needs and get to the text. So

645
00:38:54.960 --> 00:38:57.920
scripture is complex, we say what happens? People have these needs.

646
00:38:57.960 --> 00:39:01.440
The needs trump the text. A lot of people live

647
00:39:01.440 --> 00:39:07.079
in a philological echo chamber. Many interpreters operate within philological bubbles,

648
00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:10.760
relying on commentaries, traditions, schools of thought that reinforce their

649
00:39:10.760 --> 00:39:15.000
existing views. This limits engagement with alternative interpretations and you

650
00:39:15.039 --> 00:39:18.239
know what this does. It destroys engagement with the actual text.

651
00:39:18.519 --> 00:39:23.280
You don't actually engage the text. You read the text

652
00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:27.599
in light of your favorite philological system because you live

653
00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:29.840
in that echo chamber. You live in that bubble. So

654
00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:34.719
you just read everything of that into the Bible. You've

655
00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:37.800
got to burn down the philological echo chamber.

656
00:39:38.119 --> 00:39:39.440
You got to get to the text.

657
00:39:48.800 --> 00:39:53.199
Well, guess what happens. A lot of people have a

658
00:39:53.239 --> 00:39:58.480
fear of uncertainty. Allowing the text to challenge a theological

659
00:39:58.519 --> 00:40:04.800
system will feel destabilizing. People will feel destabilized, they'll feel confused.

660
00:40:06.639 --> 00:40:09.440
So it's easier to simply interpret the text in a

661
00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:14.639
way that reaffirms the system that everyone agrees with. To

662
00:40:14.800 --> 00:40:18.559
grapple with unresolved tensions is just going to make people

663
00:40:18.599 --> 00:40:19.599
feel unstable.

664
00:40:19.800 --> 00:40:21.800
It's going to create fear of uncertainty.

665
00:40:21.960 --> 00:40:23.920
They're not going to know what to believe, they don't

666
00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:25.760
know what to do, and they're going to get mad.

667
00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:28.639
They'll get they'll get defensive, they'll get ticked off, and

668
00:40:28.679 --> 00:40:30.920
you get Look, you can go back and listen to

669
00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:33.159
a lot of my sermons, especially when the church was bigger.

670
00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:39.159
I mean, I'm constantly challenging presuppositions, constantly challenging. You know,

671
00:40:40.039 --> 00:40:44.239
they're fluffy, and then you've heard even during sermons sometimes

672
00:40:44.360 --> 00:40:48.039
arguments are pushbacks that would occur in the past because

673
00:40:48.320 --> 00:40:53.440
people don't like that instead of just embracing it, like, man,

674
00:40:53.440 --> 00:40:54.880
this is so awesome to be in the church where

675
00:40:54.920 --> 00:40:57.679
we're questioning and challenging. All of a sudden, it's the

676
00:40:57.760 --> 00:41:01.000
defensiveness and argument to argument their argument.

677
00:41:01.400 --> 00:41:02.519
They are giving an argument.

678
00:41:02.519 --> 00:41:06.400
They're becoming argumentative if I can speak correctly today. And

679
00:41:06.679 --> 00:41:09.159
you're just like, well, well, wait a minute, we're just

680
00:41:09.199 --> 00:41:13.039
now studying the text. Did I miss something you spent

681
00:41:13.119 --> 00:41:15.199
you know, you were at home all week studying the text.

682
00:41:15.360 --> 00:41:17.159
You haven't even looked at the text all week.

683
00:41:17.280 --> 00:41:18.320
But now you're showing up.

684
00:41:18.400 --> 00:41:20.920
You're ready to argue, even though you don't have any

685
00:41:20.920 --> 00:41:23.400
clue what you're talking about. Or you're back there looking

686
00:41:23.480 --> 00:41:25.920
up in your you know MacArthur study Bible looking to

687
00:41:25.960 --> 00:41:29.000
see what he said in his commentary. Do you want

688
00:41:29.039 --> 00:41:31.519
to study the text or not? Well, many don't want

689
00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:33.119
to study the text, so they go find a church

690
00:41:33.280 --> 00:41:38.159
where they get they're nice, little, it's certain, it's comfortable,

691
00:41:38.440 --> 00:41:41.599
it's nice, it feels because they don't really want to

692
00:41:41.639 --> 00:41:49.320
be in a place where they study the text.

693
00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:52.639
Now, I could just take James chapter two.

694
00:41:53.199 --> 00:41:55.760
I could show you how Reform theology would interpret it,

695
00:41:55.920 --> 00:41:59.880
how the Holiness Tradition, Wesleyans or Methodists would interpret it,

696
00:42:00.039 --> 00:42:02.840
and I could show you how Catholic Church would interpret it.

697
00:42:03.039 --> 00:42:06.679
Every system of theology has a completely different interpretation of

698
00:42:06.760 --> 00:42:07.719
James Chapter two.

699
00:42:08.719 --> 00:42:09.519
Not interesting?

700
00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:13.880
Well, guess what wherever team you are on, you're going

701
00:42:13.920 --> 00:42:15.920
to interpret it based off the team. You don't know

702
00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:18.679
if you're even actually studying the text anymore. You're just

703
00:42:18.719 --> 00:42:25.039
looking to see what your team says. And that's why

704
00:42:25.039 --> 00:42:28.280
what happens. Pastor, I'm looking for a good commentary. Can

705
00:42:28.320 --> 00:42:30.800
you recommend me a good commentary? What is he going

706
00:42:30.800 --> 00:42:32.920
to do? He's going to give you a commentary that

707
00:42:33.079 --> 00:42:38.239
reaffirms the philological system that you are already a part of.

708
00:42:38.599 --> 00:42:40.519
And you're never going to get to the text because

709
00:42:40.519 --> 00:42:42.000
everything you read is going to tell you this is

710
00:42:42.039 --> 00:42:44.000
what the text means, and you don't know because you've

711
00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:50.400
never gotten within fifteen hundred miles of the actual text.

712
00:42:53.280 --> 00:42:56.920
So is there anything that can be done about this problem? Well,

713
00:42:57.679 --> 00:42:59.960
I know it sounds cliche. I know it sounds like

714
00:43:01.519 --> 00:43:04.880
a bumper sticker answer, but maybe we could start with

715
00:43:04.920 --> 00:43:08.480
the text and not with our theology.

716
00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:12.599
How about you began interpreting by letting.

717
00:43:12.320 --> 00:43:17.679
The text speak within its historical and literary context and

718
00:43:17.840 --> 00:43:21.920
resist the urge to impose your theological framework immediately. How

719
00:43:21.920 --> 00:43:24.960
About do actual study of the text, do a Bible

720
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:28.039
study method, Actually read it over and over and over.

721
00:43:28.280 --> 00:43:32.840
Do an observational outline, not an interpretive outline. How about

722
00:43:33.119 --> 00:43:35.960
don't look at any commentaries. How about just live with

723
00:43:36.199 --> 00:43:41.360
the text. How about acknowledge what your theological system is.

724
00:43:41.400 --> 00:43:43.559
I'm like, okay, we're getting ready to study this. Okay,

725
00:43:44.199 --> 00:43:47.239
you name the book. If it's Romans, if it's First John,

726
00:43:47.519 --> 00:43:50.599
you know the theological framework that has that has so

727
00:43:50.840 --> 00:43:54.119
impacted how you've interpreted First John or James or Romans

728
00:43:54.400 --> 00:43:57.280
your entire Christian life. You've been taught a certain way

729
00:43:57.280 --> 00:43:59.960
to it. How About you go, I'm going to acknowledge,

730
00:44:00.199 --> 00:44:05.760
here's my philological system, here's my philological framework, and you

731
00:44:05.920 --> 00:44:09.760
in your mind mentally take that theological system behind the

732
00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:12.559
building and put it down. And then you're like, I'm

733
00:44:12.559 --> 00:44:14.920
going to come back to the text, and you don't care.

734
00:44:15.320 --> 00:44:16.679
You don't care if the text.

735
00:44:17.079 --> 00:44:21.199
If your interpretation of the text contradict your theology, you

736
00:44:21.199 --> 00:44:24.400
don't care. If your interpretation of the text contradicts your church,

737
00:44:24.880 --> 00:44:27.760
you don't care because you're not bound.

738
00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:28.239
By any of that.

739
00:44:28.639 --> 00:44:31.360
At least in the non Catholic system, you're supposed to

740
00:44:31.400 --> 00:44:38.440
be bound by this. I don't think we really believe that,

741
00:44:38.480 --> 00:44:43.559
but we at least claim that. Right. How about we

742
00:44:43.960 --> 00:44:49.840
begin interpreting by letting the text speak for itself within

743
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:55.039
its historical literary context and resist the urge to impose

744
00:44:55.400 --> 00:44:59.800
philological framework on the text. Am I saying that theological

745
00:45:00.079 --> 00:45:00.840
and work as bad?

746
00:45:00.960 --> 00:45:01.039
No.

747
00:45:01.400 --> 00:45:03.920
After you come up with your interpretation, you can then

748
00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:07.400
go compare it to Fluffy and you can be like,

749
00:45:07.440 --> 00:45:10.480
oh well, I got a problem here.

750
00:45:11.079 --> 00:45:12.400
Disc seems to contradict this.

751
00:45:12.519 --> 00:45:13.719
What do I do? What do I do? What do

752
00:45:13.760 --> 00:45:14.960
I do? What do I do? What do I do?

753
00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:16.519
What do I do? What do I do? What do

754
00:45:16.559 --> 00:45:18.079
I do? What do I do? What do I do?

755
00:45:27.119 --> 00:45:29.760
So start with the text, get back to the tech.

756
00:45:29.800 --> 00:45:32.719
That's what we have to do. Number two, how about

757
00:45:32.760 --> 00:45:39.920
we recognize and acknowledge our biases. We all come to

758
00:45:39.960 --> 00:45:41.599
the text with the biases. We all come to a

759
00:45:41.639 --> 00:45:50.760
text with presuppositions. Every interpreter brings a bias to the text.

760
00:45:51.840 --> 00:45:56.360
Recognizing these biases can help mitigate.

761
00:45:57.719 --> 00:46:00.840
Their influence. If you recognize to start with the text,

762
00:46:00.880 --> 00:46:03.840
not your theology. But you've got to acknowledge that theology.

763
00:46:03.880 --> 00:46:06.639
You've got to acknowledge that biases that you're bringing to

764
00:46:06.679 --> 00:46:09.440
the text, You're approaching the text with it. You've got

765
00:46:09.440 --> 00:46:14.400
to acknowledge it. If you will acknowledge that, then it

766
00:46:14.440 --> 00:46:18.840
will at least help possibly let you see, Oh, my

767
00:46:18.920 --> 00:46:25.760
biases is showing, my theology is showing. So start with

768
00:46:25.800 --> 00:46:30.159
the text, recognize your biases, and recognize your thiological system.

769
00:46:30.719 --> 00:46:35.639
Here's a third one. How about allow for tensions. Not

770
00:46:35.760 --> 00:46:40.000
every tension in scripture needs to be harmonized. Acknowledging the

771
00:46:40.039 --> 00:46:44.280
tension can lead to our rich ethological reflection. You don't

772
00:46:44.519 --> 00:46:46.679
not everything he's going to have a nice little answer.

773
00:46:47.000 --> 00:46:49.880
Not everything's going to be harmonized. Not everything's going to work,

774
00:46:50.079 --> 00:46:52.440
Not everything's going to fit together. Sometimes you're going to

775
00:46:52.519 --> 00:46:56.079
be left baffled, confused, frustrated, and you're just going to

776
00:46:56.159 --> 00:47:11.000
have to embrace that. How about prioritize Exejesus over semantics

777
00:47:14.079 --> 00:47:17.280
or systematics. Maybe I should say it that way, not semantics.

778
00:47:17.519 --> 00:47:24.360
That wouldn't even make sense, right, prioritize exegesis over systematic systematics.

779
00:47:24.360 --> 00:47:28.119
I think systematics. That's how I should say it. I'm

780
00:47:28.119 --> 00:47:31.400
coming up with the idea of curve you know, while

781
00:47:31.400 --> 00:47:35.159
I'm speaking Exo Jesus over. Let's do it this way.

782
00:47:35.599 --> 00:47:43.840
Prioritize exegesis over systematic theology. There, let's do it that way.

783
00:47:44.760 --> 00:47:46.800
I guess you could call it systematics, but let's just

784
00:47:46.800 --> 00:47:49.719
call it systematic theology. Then it's clearer, right, It makes

785
00:47:49.800 --> 00:47:53.840
more sense that way, exegesis over systematic theology. No. I

786
00:47:53.880 --> 00:47:58.360
love systematic theology. I love it, love it, love it.

787
00:47:58.920 --> 00:48:03.639
Most of my degrees in theological studies, so I've read

788
00:48:03.679 --> 00:48:07.559
systematic theologies. I love them. Now, there was probably a

789
00:48:07.599 --> 00:48:09.800
time in my Christian life that they were probably determining

790
00:48:09.840 --> 00:48:13.960
how I interpret the text more than the text itself.

791
00:48:16.400 --> 00:48:21.920
Systematic theology is important. I'm not against it, but it

792
00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:31.639
should arise from exegesis rather than systematic theology dictating how

793
00:48:32.000 --> 00:48:35.400
you do exegesis, how you interpret the scriptures.

794
00:48:38.079 --> 00:48:38.920
Does that make sense?

795
00:48:39.119 --> 00:48:42.639
Systematic theology is great, but it should arise from your

796
00:48:42.639 --> 00:48:46.920
study of the text, your exegesis exegeting the text, taking

797
00:48:46.960 --> 00:48:50.360
it apart, interpreting it, studying it, observing it.

798
00:48:50.519 --> 00:48:52.639
That should give rise to your theology.

799
00:48:52.880 --> 00:48:57.400
So you've got to have and it says study exegesis

800
00:48:57.679 --> 00:49:01.760
over systematic theology. Bible study should be more important than

801
00:49:01.800 --> 00:49:09.079
systematic theology, and especially in a non Catholic system, your

802
00:49:09.159 --> 00:49:13.440
theology should arise from your study. Your theology should not

803
00:49:13.519 --> 00:49:23.840
dictate how you interpret in your study. You should avoid

804
00:49:24.159 --> 00:49:29.480
bending the text to fit your pre existing existing philological system. Now,

805
00:49:29.519 --> 00:49:31.079
the thing is, it's very hard to see when you're

806
00:49:31.119 --> 00:49:33.199
doing that. You just read it and go, well, that's

807
00:49:33.199 --> 00:49:36.360
what it says. Like a Presbyterian can go to a

808
00:49:36.400 --> 00:49:39.119
text say that's infant baptism, and I could be looking

809
00:49:39.159 --> 00:49:41.559
at it going what in the world are you talking about? Now,

810
00:49:42.119 --> 00:49:44.800
neither one of us thinks we're bending the text. Someone

811
00:49:44.880 --> 00:49:48.239
is bending the text because either infant baptism is there

812
00:49:48.679 --> 00:49:52.880
or it's not there. Both cannot be right. So someone

813
00:49:52.960 --> 00:50:04.840
is bending the text, who whom. So we have to

814
00:50:04.880 --> 00:50:07.599
start with the text, not with our theology. We have

815
00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:11.840
to recognize and acknowledge what are the philological biases.

816
00:50:11.320 --> 00:50:12.199
That we're bringing to it.

817
00:50:12.320 --> 00:50:13.960
We have to allow for tensions, and then we have

818
00:50:14.039 --> 00:50:25.880
to prioritize exegesis study over systematic theology. And then I

819
00:50:25.920 --> 00:50:31.480
think we have to engage with diverse perspectives. Reading interpretations

820
00:50:31.920 --> 00:50:41.000
from other traditions broadens understanding and it challenges your assumptions.

821
00:50:44.639 --> 00:50:49.199
You've got to hear different perspectives. That's why do we

822
00:50:49.280 --> 00:50:52.440
do the sermon reviews, because the key is you get

823
00:50:52.440 --> 00:50:54.880
to hear their perspective. You get to hear my perspective

824
00:50:54.920 --> 00:50:58.440
as a listener. You listen to one broadcast, you get

825
00:50:58.519 --> 00:51:05.119
two perspectives. Now, those perspectives may be confusing. It may

826
00:51:05.159 --> 00:51:08.039
be maddening that there's so much disagreement, and it can

827
00:51:08.079 --> 00:51:09.920
be maddening. Let me make it very clear, it can

828
00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:12.400
be maddening. I mean sometimes you hear my frustration.

829
00:51:12.679 --> 00:51:14.039
Why is it every.

830
00:51:13.800 --> 00:51:15.960
Stink in time I listen to a sermon, it's like,

831
00:51:16.119 --> 00:51:17.679
I don't agree with this, I don't agree with it.

832
00:51:18.679 --> 00:51:21.360
Oh why did I just review this sermon? But then

833
00:51:21.400 --> 00:51:24.159
I reviewed another sermon. That sermon said. That sermon is wrong.

834
00:51:24.239 --> 00:51:26.119
That sermon said that sermon is wrong, and I think

835
00:51:26.159 --> 00:51:28.119
both of them are wrong for crying out loud? Can

836
00:51:28.159 --> 00:51:31.519
there ever be agreement? But you know what, the more

837
00:51:31.559 --> 00:51:40.440
perspectives you hear, it may actually help you determine and

838
00:51:40.559 --> 00:51:46.679
see where theology might be driving these interpretations. Sometimes, the

839
00:51:46.679 --> 00:51:50.639
more different perspectives you hear and read, you'll start going, well,

840
00:51:50.679 --> 00:51:54.039
wait a minute, what is going on here? Why do

841
00:51:54.159 --> 00:51:56.559
they interpret it this way? And why do they interpret

842
00:51:56.559 --> 00:51:59.000
it this way? You know what you'll discover. Sometimes what

843
00:51:59.119 --> 00:52:02.960
you'll discover is that theology is driving the interpretations, not

844
00:52:03.119 --> 00:52:17.880
the text. So those are some things that can be

845
00:52:17.920 --> 00:52:20.239
done about it. Here's some things I think we can remember.

846
00:52:20.280 --> 00:52:23.199
I think there are some things we could remember. Theology

847
00:52:23.440 --> 00:52:26.719
should be a guide. It is not the master. The

848
00:52:26.800 --> 00:52:30.960
text is the master. Theology is a guide, but the

849
00:52:31.000 --> 00:52:32.599
text has to be the master.

850
00:52:33.920 --> 00:52:38.360
Theology may help us understand scripture, but it does not

851
00:52:38.639 --> 00:52:43.320
control its meaning. Your theology does not control its meaning.

852
00:52:43.519 --> 00:52:45.599
It may assist, it may help.

853
00:52:45.800 --> 00:52:47.920
It may give you something to take the meaning of

854
00:52:47.960 --> 00:52:50.480
text and bounce it off of and check it with,

855
00:52:50.920 --> 00:52:57.360
but it does not determine the meaning. Good theology is

856
00:52:57.480 --> 00:53:03.639
built on scripture, not the other way. Theology is built

857
00:53:03.679 --> 00:53:06.519
on your interpretation of the scripture. Your interpretation of the

858
00:53:06.519 --> 00:53:15.599
scripture is not built on your theology. I think that's

859
00:53:15.639 --> 00:53:18.159
something we have to remember. Theology is the guide, it's

860
00:53:18.159 --> 00:53:21.760
not the master. The scripture is the master. I think

861
00:53:21.800 --> 00:53:25.679
another thing we have to consider is faithfulness to context.

862
00:53:25.960 --> 00:53:29.360
When you have something like James two, James one, the

863
00:53:29.400 --> 00:53:35.920
text has to be allowed to speak in its context.

864
00:53:36.960 --> 00:53:39.880
You've got to allow Isaiah forty has to be allowed

865
00:53:39.920 --> 00:53:43.440
to speak in its context. Hebrew six has to be

866
00:53:43.480 --> 00:53:46.079
allowed to speak in its context. You know what the

867
00:53:46.119 --> 00:53:49.639
context is for all of that, James, Isaiah forty or

868
00:53:49.639 --> 00:53:53.320
Hebrew six. It's not your church, it's not your life.

869
00:53:53.400 --> 00:53:58.639
It's not now, it's then, it's them, it's not here.

870
00:53:58.920 --> 00:54:05.800
Now you and I know that you may not like that.

871
00:54:05.760 --> 00:54:08.400
And that may ruin your nice little sermon, because you've

872
00:54:08.440 --> 00:54:10.760
got to make it all about us, and you've got

873
00:54:10.800 --> 00:54:22.440
to give us three little points of application. Theology is

874
00:54:22.480 --> 00:54:25.280
a guide, not the master. Scripture is the master. Be

875
00:54:25.400 --> 00:54:28.599
faithful to the context and don't take the context and

876
00:54:29.039 --> 00:54:30.760
just do.

877
00:54:30.760 --> 00:54:31.880
Whatever you want with it.

878
00:54:37.000 --> 00:54:38.599
And I think that's just another thing we can say.

879
00:54:38.599 --> 00:54:41.719
We just have to acknowledge the complexity of it. All

880
00:54:42.800 --> 00:54:45.960
two thousand years of church history, nobody can agree literally

881
00:54:45.960 --> 00:54:51.440
on anything, So what can you do? Nobody likes to

882
00:54:51.480 --> 00:54:55.559
embrace that complexity. It makes people nervous. So what do

883
00:54:55.599 --> 00:54:58.400
you do. You find a church that teaches a certain way,

884
00:54:58.639 --> 00:55:00.840
you acknowledge that's the way is taught, and then you

885
00:55:00.880 --> 00:55:02.960
interpret the Bible that way, and then you just act

886
00:55:03.039 --> 00:55:04.719
like everyone else who doesn't see it that way. They

887
00:55:04.719 --> 00:55:06.719
don't know how to read the Bible. They're blind, what

888
00:55:06.840 --> 00:55:09.840
is wrong with them? They're stupid, they're heretics, they're.

889
00:55:09.599 --> 00:55:11.760
Idiots, or or or.

890
00:55:13.599 --> 00:55:15.000
I know this is going to come as a shock.

891
00:55:18.840 --> 00:55:22.159
They're interpreting it according to their theology. And so now

892
00:55:22.159 --> 00:55:25.280
it's your system versus their system. And guess what gets

893
00:55:25.280 --> 00:55:35.760
lost when people are debating their systems the texts, and

894
00:55:35.800 --> 00:55:37.960
it's hard to get to the text because as soon

895
00:55:38.000 --> 00:55:41.000
as you start arguing with someone, they just pairrot their system.

896
00:55:45.159 --> 00:55:47.639
Now I started saying this in my church, and I

897
00:55:47.639 --> 00:55:50.159
think it offended some people and may have contributed to

898
00:55:50.320 --> 00:55:53.039
a number of people left. Don't come with me arguing

899
00:55:53.480 --> 00:55:57.320
with me about anything unless you have first done to study.

900
00:55:57.320 --> 00:56:00.159
So many times in whatever we're getting ready to study,

901
00:56:00.360 --> 00:56:02.280
I would be like, Okay, this is going to be controversial,

902
00:56:02.280 --> 00:56:04.639
but here's what you have to do before you come

903
00:56:04.800 --> 00:56:05.320
argue with me.

904
00:56:05.639 --> 00:56:07.760
I need you to come and show that you've.

905
00:56:07.599 --> 00:56:11.159
Looked up every use of this word. You have done this,

906
00:56:11.440 --> 00:56:14.519
You've done a chapter summary, you've done this, you've done

907
00:56:14.559 --> 00:56:18.000
an observational outline. If you have done these things, then

908
00:56:18.039 --> 00:56:20.199
you can come to me. But if you haven't, there's

909
00:56:20.199 --> 00:56:22.679
no point in arguing because you're arguing on the basis

910
00:56:22.760 --> 00:56:25.480
of not doing study. So that means you're probably arguing

911
00:56:25.519 --> 00:56:28.760
from the basis of your presupposition or your theological system

912
00:56:28.920 --> 00:56:30.920
that you're bringing to me. Well, then I'm just going

913
00:56:31.000 --> 00:56:33.440
to be me trying to use the text to argue

914
00:56:33.440 --> 00:56:35.880
against your theological system, and we're never going to get

915
00:56:35.920 --> 00:56:38.119
anywhere because you're not going to be able to see

916
00:56:38.119 --> 00:56:40.880
the text because you're so blinded by your theological system.

917
00:56:41.039 --> 00:56:43.400
And guess what, nobody ever wanted to do the work.

918
00:56:45.320 --> 00:56:48.719
I know, shocking, isn't it. They still wanted to argue,

919
00:56:48.800 --> 00:56:50.719
They still wanted to tell me that I'm wrong. But

920
00:56:50.800 --> 00:56:52.880
I didn't want to come back and say, well, you know,

921
00:56:52.920 --> 00:56:56.079
here's my notebook. I did everything. I did all the work.

922
00:56:57.199 --> 00:57:00.559
Nobody wants to do the work. And if they did argue,

923
00:57:00.599 --> 00:57:03.000
almost inevitably, I could be like, oh, that's interesting you

924
00:57:03.039 --> 00:57:05.920
googled that, huh, because I can google it and look,

925
00:57:05.960 --> 00:57:11.599
I can look at that I've found the same paragraph. Wow, shocking.

926
00:57:13.360 --> 00:57:15.119
So you just want death by Google?

927
00:57:15.199 --> 00:57:17.599
You just want death by who can look up the

928
00:57:17.639 --> 00:57:20.599
best quotes from the best books. Is that how we're

929
00:57:20.599 --> 00:57:23.880
gonna do our theological disagreement? Wow? So let me guess

930
00:57:24.000 --> 00:57:26.320
You're gonna go find books that agree with your lordship

931
00:57:26.440 --> 00:57:28.920
or your a millennialism, and I'm gonna go find books

932
00:57:28.960 --> 00:57:29.800
that don't agree with it.

933
00:57:30.360 --> 00:57:33.760
Which books are better? But nobody's actually studying the.

934
00:57:33.679 --> 00:57:44.119
Text scripture versus theology. The reality is theology has won

935
00:57:44.159 --> 00:57:49.400
and scripture has lost. Now, am I saying throwout theology?

936
00:57:49.440 --> 00:57:52.360
Absolutely not? Am I saying throw out confessions of faith

937
00:57:52.440 --> 00:57:56.360
or creeds? Absolutely not? We need systematic theology, we need

938
00:57:56.360 --> 00:58:00.400
the confessions, we need the creeds because after we've spent

939
00:58:00.480 --> 00:58:03.639
our time working, working, working, working on the text, then

940
00:58:03.679 --> 00:58:07.960
we can look over and go, hmm, wow, this is problematic.

941
00:58:08.719 --> 00:58:10.800
These people all say that I'm wrong. Okay, Now I

942
00:58:10.880 --> 00:58:12.199
got to go back and try to figure out what

943
00:58:12.199 --> 00:58:12.679
I did wrong?

944
00:58:12.719 --> 00:58:13.440
Why am I wrong?

945
00:58:14.400 --> 00:58:18.239
What happened? Am I wrong textually? Or am I just wrong?

946
00:58:18.280 --> 00:58:23.760
Because I now am in at odds with this theological system.

947
00:58:23.840 --> 00:58:26.639
And let me tell you, if you become more committed

948
00:58:26.679 --> 00:58:29.159
to the text than you are a system, you're going

949
00:58:29.199 --> 00:58:33.440
to find yourself really unwelcomed in any church. The church

950
00:58:33.519 --> 00:58:38.440
doesn't want that. You're going to be an outsider. The

951
00:58:38.480 --> 00:58:41.360
institutionalized church is not going to be the place for you,

952
00:58:41.599 --> 00:58:43.480
because the church is not a place where people are

953
00:58:43.559 --> 00:58:46.800
hungry for the text. They come to the text simply

954
00:58:46.880 --> 00:58:50.119
to reinforce the theology they've already been taught. That's all

955
00:58:50.159 --> 00:58:53.800
Bible study is is simply to reinforce the theology of

956
00:58:53.840 --> 00:58:58.519
that particular institution, that particular denomination. Bible study and preaching

957
00:58:58.719 --> 00:59:02.639
is simply to reinforce what you already the system that

958
00:59:02.719 --> 00:59:05.880
everyone's already accepted. And if everyone will just play along,

959
00:59:06.079 --> 00:59:09.000
there's harmony, there's unity, and everything is great.

960
00:59:09.239 --> 00:59:11.039
But if you're like, well wait a minute here, I

961
00:59:11.159 --> 00:59:12.559
got an issue.

962
00:59:13.519 --> 00:59:21.400
Be gone now. He said, well, should a church have

963
00:59:21.440 --> 00:59:24.239
a theological system? It should? It should.

964
00:59:24.280 --> 00:59:25.360
I got no problem with that.

965
00:59:25.920 --> 00:59:28.920
Should have a confession of faith. I'm full support of that.

966
00:59:29.599 --> 00:59:32.320
But everyone in the church should be like, however, our

967
00:59:32.360 --> 00:59:34.880
commitment is to the scripture, So whenever we get ready

968
00:59:34.880 --> 00:59:38.159
to open our Bibles and we are going to study

969
00:59:38.199 --> 00:59:41.760
whichever Romans Hebrews. We're not going to worry about what

970
00:59:41.800 --> 00:59:44.679
our system of theology says, what our confession says. We

971
00:59:44.719 --> 00:59:46.559
don't care about any of that. We're going to study

972
00:59:46.599 --> 00:59:52.559
the text. Now. Is that perfect? I'm not saying it's perfect.

973
00:59:52.559 --> 00:59:55.079
There's still going to be problems even with what I'm suggesting.

974
00:59:55.119 --> 00:59:58.599
Why Because we're sinners, so we're going to become selfish

975
00:59:58.679 --> 01:00:01.000
and arrogant, and we're going to have all of the

976
01:00:01.039 --> 01:00:07.760
same kind of issues. But that's why I try to

977
01:00:07.800 --> 01:00:10.039
come up with a new interpretation of James, because I'm

978
01:00:10.039 --> 01:00:11.800
not bound by any of that. So I can go

979
01:00:11.840 --> 01:00:14.480
to church and say, James Chapter one, nineteen to twenty seven,

980
01:00:14.559 --> 01:00:16.320
we're gonna spend two plus hours trying to come up

981
01:00:16.320 --> 01:00:19.199
with a new interpretation. Well, we already have an interpretation.

982
01:00:19.320 --> 01:00:21.519
I don't care what any I don't care what any

983
01:00:21.639 --> 01:00:24.559
creed says, Confession of Faith says, any commentary says. I

984
01:00:24.559 --> 01:00:27.039
don't care what our theological team says. I don't care.

985
01:00:27.360 --> 01:00:30.760
I'm not bound by any of that. And if I'm

986
01:00:30.760 --> 01:00:32.400
going to be bound by that, then there's no point

987
01:00:32.480 --> 01:00:35.360
studying the Bible. You say, well, what's the sermon on?

988
01:00:35.480 --> 01:00:38.679
Well pick a text. Okay, Well here's what just is

989
01:00:38.679 --> 01:00:41.480
where to act like a Catholic priest. Well, here's what

990
01:00:41.519 --> 01:00:46.239
the church says, here's what our theological team says, it

991
01:00:46.440 --> 01:00:53.000
serves as basically a magister of authority.

992
01:00:53.079 --> 01:00:54.679
Well then I just well just go back to a

993
01:00:54.679 --> 01:00:56.280
Catholic church and.

994
01:00:56.360 --> 01:00:59.679
Just listen to fifteen minute homilies that basically tell me

995
01:00:59.719 --> 01:01:03.239
what the church says it's supposed to mean. Well, great, wonderful.

996
01:01:03.360 --> 01:01:07.679
No actual engagement with the text. We condemn Catholics for that.

997
01:01:07.960 --> 01:01:09.679
All we do is play a better game where we

998
01:01:09.719 --> 01:01:12.920
pretend we're engaging the text when reality we're just looking

999
01:01:12.920 --> 01:01:16.280
at the text through the lens of our theological belief system.

1000
01:01:18.519 --> 01:01:21.400
And I'm just as guilty of this as anybody else.

1001
01:01:29.000 --> 01:01:40.599
Scripture versus theology, theology versus scripture. It's a problem. You

1002
01:01:40.679 --> 01:01:42.639
may not want to admit it, but it's a problem.

1003
01:01:43.079 --> 01:01:47.960
All right, Thanks for listening, everyone, have a great day.

1004
01:01:48.039 --> 01:01:51.360
I hope that went well. I hope so. Man. At

1005
01:01:51.360 --> 01:01:55.480
the beginning, my voice was having some technical difficulty, so

1006
01:01:55.599 --> 01:01:58.960
that did not make it pleasant. But I think we

1007
01:01:59.039 --> 01:02:01.559
did pretty good. There. Now here's what we're going to do.

1008
01:02:02.039 --> 01:02:04.159
It's sixty two minutes. As soon as I end this.

1009
01:02:04.519 --> 01:02:07.039
As soon as I'm done, I'm going to hit the

1010
01:02:07.079 --> 01:02:10.079
stop button and then I just fill out some basic

1011
01:02:10.119 --> 01:02:13.159
metadata and then this is uploaded. It's a spreaker, which

1012
01:02:13.199 --> 01:02:15.920
then sends it out to all of the podcasting apps.

1013
01:02:16.719 --> 01:02:19.679
I had to do some editing of our RSS feed today.

1014
01:02:20.199 --> 01:02:22.119
I won't get into all the reasons why, but I

1015
01:02:22.159 --> 01:02:25.159
had to because this thing that keeps track of all

1016
01:02:25.199 --> 01:02:28.519
of your statistics, it's going away. So now spreakers like,

1017
01:02:28.519 --> 01:02:30.599
you've got to get this out of your RSS feed

1018
01:02:30.679 --> 01:02:32.760
or your RSS feed is going to be broke. But

1019
01:02:33.199 --> 01:02:37.159
when you edit your RSS feed, don't make one mistake,

1020
01:02:37.320 --> 01:02:40.639
because if you do, your entire RSS feed is broken

1021
01:02:40.840 --> 01:02:42.679
and none of your content's going to make it to

1022
01:02:42.679 --> 01:02:45.000
any of the podcasting apps. Well, I had to do

1023
01:02:45.039 --> 01:02:48.960
the editing this morning. I have no idea. I just

1024
01:02:49.119 --> 01:02:51.599
I just grabbed a large section of it and delete

1025
01:02:52.039 --> 01:02:54.800
and just like okay, save, I'm good, am I did

1026
01:02:54.800 --> 01:02:57.519
I do it right? Have no idea. So as soon

1027
01:02:57.559 --> 01:03:00.400
as I upload this, if it does not show up

1028
01:03:00.400 --> 01:03:02.760
on all of the podcasting apps within about ten to

1029
01:03:02.760 --> 01:03:06.920
fifteen minutes. Then I have completely broken my RSS feed

1030
01:03:07.159 --> 01:03:09.159
and then I'm going to just then I don't know,

1031
01:03:09.639 --> 01:03:14.199
I'm going to then quit, give up, and just I

1032
01:03:14.199 --> 01:03:17.679
don't know, do something drastic. Now, for those using the

1033
01:03:17.760 --> 01:03:22.320
church one app Sermonadio, completely different. I upload it directly

1034
01:03:22.400 --> 01:03:26.159
to that platform, so that'll that'll be good to go,

1035
01:03:26.320 --> 01:03:29.199
and it has its own RSS feed, so that RSS

1036
01:03:29.199 --> 01:03:32.199
feed will still work. But let's hope that the uh,

1037
01:03:32.320 --> 01:03:36.480
the other theology central RSS feed the main one. Let's

1038
01:03:36.519 --> 01:03:38.559
hope it works. So we're going to find out here

1039
01:03:38.719 --> 01:03:41.840
in just a few minutes, So thank you for listening.

1040
01:03:42.760 --> 01:03:43.800
Just remember.

1041
01:03:44.960 --> 01:03:49.559
And this war between scripture and theology, if we're going

1042
01:03:49.639 --> 01:03:52.239
to be non Catholic, then we got to find a

1043
01:03:52.239 --> 01:03:57.280
way to let the scriptures win. And if the scriptures win,

1044
01:03:58.719 --> 01:04:00.920
you're going to find yourself in common inflict with pretty

1045
01:04:01.000 --> 01:04:09.679
much other Christians and the Church. Yeah, that's not good.

1046
01:04:11.039 --> 01:04:11.599
God bless