- I have four questions for you as we begin. Let me hear an “Amen” if you agree with what I say:
a. The Bible is the Word of God.
b. We believe in the Bible.
c. The Bible is literally true.
d. When I came into church, I greeted everyone with a holy kiss.
- Where were all the cries of “Amen” on that last one?
- Why didn’t you? Our verse for this sermon clearly states that we should greet one another with a holy kiss! Why are you so flagrantly flouting the Bible’s command?
- Well, thankfully there is a reason we don’t.
TAKING IT "LITERALLY"? We are supposed to take the Bible’s writing the way the author intended.
- We often say that we take the Bible literally. We certainly believe the Bible is true, but we need to be careful with that word literally, because it doesn’t always mean what we think it means.
- And understanding the way we are to take the Bible clears up issues like whether you’re supposed to have greeted everyone with a holy kiss when you came in.
- We are supposed to take the Bible’s writing the way the author intended. To do that, there are some questions and thoughts that we need to keep in mind. Let’s look at four of the most important.
THINGS TO REMEMBER TO READ THE WORD CORRECTLY:
1. WHAT'S THE GENRE OF THE BOOK?
- Proverbs 22:6; Ecclesiastes 1:1-11.
- The Bible is made up a number of different genres: law book, history, poem, song, biography, epistle, prophecy, etc.
- The type of genre makes a difference in how you read the book and interpret the passages in that book.
- Two examples:
a. Train up a child.
- In Proverbs 22:6 we read, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” This is a passage that is usually quoted in the context of someone raised in church but who has now gotten away from the Lord. Don’t worry, their friends say, and then quote this verse.
- First, we should note that this verse is not specifically talking about coming back to God, but rather just general life direction. But let’s run with the point normally made for a moment.
- So if you raised your kids in church, is this verse an absolute guarantee that they will come back to the Lord? Let me put the question a different, more potent way: can you name anyone who was raised in church and then never came back to the Lord? You can, can’t you? Actually, more than just one person. So does that mean the Bible is wrong?
- No. It’s essential to understand the genre of this book. What’s this book called? Proverbs. What is a proverb? A proverb is a statement that is generally true. They tell you the way the world usually works. We know with a proverb that there will be exceptions. It’s a proverb! But it’s generally a good idea to follow their advice.
- That means that most people who are trained up in the way they should go return to their raisings as they get older, including coming back to God. But not everyone. But that doesn’t make the statement untrue. It’s a proverb.
b. Life is meaningless.
- Ecclesiastes 1:1-11.
- My favorite Old Testament book is Ecclesiastes. But it’s a strange book.
- If you just read it straight through and take it literally, you might end up feeling like hanging yourself. The first two chapters can be summarized in four points: wisdom is meaningless, pleasure is meaningless, folly is meaningless, everything is meaningless! Let’s ready 1:1-11 for a taste.
- So if I take that literally, where do I end up? Completely depressed!
- The book does eventually come around to a partial endorsement of living for God, but overall it’s pretty grim stuff.
- So what’s up with this book? Well, you need to understand the genre. This book is wisdom literature. In particular, it's the thoughts of someone trying to find meaning and purpose in the world without God. And he ends up looking around and saying, “Everything is meaningless.”
- This is why it’s my favorite Old Testament book. I find it a compelling description of what life looks like when you try to find a life of meaning apart from God. That’s so essential today when increasing numbers are becoming “nones” and more people are trying to live a life without anything more than a cursory nod in the direction of whatever they classify as God. It’s an indictment of that approach to life.
- But if you just take the book literally and don’t appreciate the genre and the author’s intent, you’ll end up in a horrible place.
2. IS THE LANGUAGE OBVIOUSLY FIGURATIVE?
- Isaiah 11:12; Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:16; Revelation 19:15; Revelation 19:21.
- We say we are take the Bible literally, but there are times when the Bible is obviously using figurative language.
- Let’s look at two examples:
a. Sword from His mouth.
- In Revelation there is a lot of figurative language. Let’s just use one example.
- In Revelation 1:16, 2:16, 19:15, and 19:21, there is talk of the sword from His mouth.
- Now, do you believe that means that there is literally a steel sword coming out of the mouth of Christ or do you think that’s figurative for the Word of God (the “sword of the Spirit”) going forth? No doubt it’s the latter.
b. The four corners of the earth.
- In Isaiah 11:12 it refers to the four corners of the earth.
- Now, do you believe that the earth is flat and has four literal corners or do you think that’s figurative language that envision north, south, east, and west as the four limits of the world? No doubt it’s the latter.
- So there are many times in Scripture where the author is obviously using poetic, symbolic, or figurative language. That is not to be taken literally, but does not diminish the accuracy of the
Bible. We all understand that’s the way we communicate.
3. WHERE IS THIS IN THE SALVATION STORY?
- Leviticus 19; Matthew 5:17; Acts 15:1-35; Romans 7:22-8:4.
- There is a progression to the story of salvation throughout the Bible. The simplest division that we all understand is this: the Old Testament tells the story of Israel failing to live for God through the Law, then Jesus comes and opens up a new way, and the New Testament tells us how we can live out that new life.
- Just three passages that speak to that change:
a. Romans 7:22-8:4.
- The Law imprisoned me spiritually; Jesus freed me.
b. Matthew 5:17.
- Jesus came and fulfilled the Law.
c. Acts 15:1-35.
- The Council at Jerusalem.
- Understanding that, let’s look at some Old Testament examples of what I’m talking about. There are many examples, but let’s just look at one chapter: Leviticus 19.
a. v. 19d – clothing with two kinds of material.
b. v. 26 – meat with blood in it.
c. v. 27 – trimming your beard.
d. v. 28 – no tattoos.
- We are not obligated to keep these commandments because (a) we’re not Jews and (b) we are not under the Old Testament Law system anymore. Jesus has done a new thing.
- Now, does that mean that Leviticus is no longer in the Bible. Of course not. It’s still Scripture. But when we read it, we read it to learn how God interacted with Israel during that part of the salvation story. We do not read it and literally apply its commands to our lives.
- A side note: A.J. Jacobs wrote a book called The Year of Living Biblically where he spent a year trying to obey these obscure commandments. It was a New York Times bestseller.
4. WE ARE READING OVER THE SHOULDER.
- Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 11:3-16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26.
- What do I mean by “reading over the shoulder”?
- The Bible was not written as a book of abstract spiritual truths. One book named “Truth,” another named “Grace,” yet another named “Relationships.” No, it’s the stories of God’s interactions with the world.
- Take the book we started with this evening: 2 Corinthians. Why is it called that? Because it is the second letter that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. A historical person writing a series of letters to a historical church with a very specific set of problems and possibilities. It’s not abstract at all – it is pastoral advice to a struggling church on the things they were having problems with.
- Well, anyone who knows much of anything realizes this, but doesn’t always think about the consequences. Among the consequences is that when we read these books centuries later, we are “reading over the shoulder” of the Corinthians. Paul wrote this book as a pastoral letter to them and we are looking over their shoulder to see what advice he gave them.
- Is it Scripture? Yes! Is it the Word of God? Yes! The structure God chose for that Word was practical letters to existing churches. The gospels are historical tellings of what Jesus did as He walked around. The Old Testament shares primarily stories of God working with a little nation called Israel.
- This takes us back to where we started.
- In 2 Corinthians 13:12, we see Paul urging the Corinthians to greet one another with a holy kiss. This is not the only place he shares that instruction: Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:26.
- This raises a question: is the holy kiss a binding command for all time for the church or is it something that reflects the culture of the day?
- I should note as we begin to discuss this that the kiss Paul had in mind was a cheek-to-cheek kiss, not anything romantic or sexual.
- It’s an important question and one that we should not dismiss carelessly. We want to think through it before we decide that it’s not binding on us today. Why? Because we don’t want to get off-track by doing this to the wrong passage.
- So there are basically three ways that I can take this:
a. Yes, it is binding for today and I should be doing this today.
b. The kissing is not binding but it does give us a principle to live by.
- The principle would be that we are to warmly and affectionately greet our brothers and sisters in Christ. That was shown by a kiss in Paul’s day but might be fulfilled by a handshake in our day. Further, it might be fulfilled by a respectful bow in certain Asian cultures.
c. No, the passage is not binding at all on us today.
- What’s another example of this type of thing? Head coverings and the length of hair.
- In 1 Corinthians 11:3-16, Paul talks about the length of men and women’s hair as well as about head coverings for women and men.
- Look at vv. 4-5. Paul argues that women should wear a head covering and men should not. For him it is a sign of submission to authority.
- Look at vv. 14-15. Paul argues that men’s hair should be shorter and women’s hair should be longer. There is also a comment at the end of v. 15 to make you wonder if the longer hair was considered a covering.
- Adding to the intrigue here is Paul’s statement in v. 16 saying that this is standard practice in his day.
- Again, we have similar issues at play. How much of this is tied to the specific cultural norms of that day? Are head coverings required today? Is long hair required for women and shorter hair for men? Are there principles here to be drawn out even if we don’t apply them in the same way?
- These are difficult questions. And we didn’t even get into the 1 Corinthians passage about women being silent in church!
- There are obviously enough issues here to merit a sermon of its own, but all I have time to do here is recognize the issues in play here and the fact that these are questions that all serious Bible students have to contend with because we are reading over the shoulder of the Corinthians.
- So, as we think about all this, we need to look at various passages and think about what it would have meant to the original audience and what it should mean to the rest of us.
- I would argue that we do not have to share a holy kiss. I believe that a hardy handshake fulfills the principle laid out there.
