Nothing is so rare today in the
evangelical community as the reading of the Scripture during worship. In one sense this is
good: the preacher assumes you have a Bible and that you read it. In another
it is bad, for it deprives the Bible of the respect it deserves within our
formal worship. We need to examine this in closer detail.
Reading the Scripture in
Worship
History
From the earliest days of the Old
Testament, the word of the Lord was read aloud - indeed, quite ceremonially.
It was done on many occasions, but the ones most commonly recorded in the Old
Testament have to do with beginnings - or new beginnings.
·
When Moses brought the people into the Promised Land, they were
commanded to pronounce the blessing and cursings of the Law at Mount Ebal and
Mount Gerazim.[1]
·
A king of Israel, on ascension to the throne, was instructed to
personally copy out the Law for a copy for his own use.[2]
·
When Josiah cleansed the Temple, he commanded that the Law be
read.[3]
·
When Ezra led the exiles back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple,
he began by reading the Law - for hours.[4]
We also know that Paul's letters
were read aloud in the early church.[5]
So the Jews and the early church made it a regular practice to read the
Scripture aloud - a practice we have now abandoned. We also have the
impression (those under 40, particularly) that this is something that happened
long ago - about the time of the invention of the printing press. It is not
so. Those over 50 can well remember the time when the Bible was read with great
formality in worship. Indeed, our time is the exception. Those churches with
a formal liturgy still include the reading of the Scripture; honor to whom
honor is due.
History through the time of
the printing press
That the early church read the
Scripture aloud is no secret. It is a myth of the evangelical church that the
Roman Catholic church locked up the Bible in Latin and thus kept the ordinary
man from reading it, to force dependency on the priest. The truth is quite
different.
In the earliest days of the
church, most Christians spoke Greek, at least as a second language. It was the
language of trade throughout the Roman Empire. As Latin become more and more
predominant, the church commissioned Jerome to translate the Scriptures into
what is now referred to as the Vulgate. Vulgate comes from the Latin word
which gives us "vulgar" - in the old sense of being common, or not of
the nobility. This was the Bible of the western branch of Christianity until
the time of the Protestant Reformation. It was not, as charged, locked up
under the priests. An educated man would certainly have known Latin in those
times - to read the great learning of antiquity. He would certainly have had a
copy of the Vulgate.
This had, however, an unfortunate
effect in England. Recall that the British (as opposed to the Norman/French
nobility) were essentially a subject race from the time of the Norman
conquest. The rich and middle class conquerors had no difficulty with Latin as
the language of the Bible - but the poor did. When the Protestant Reformation
arose, it is easy to see how the common Briton would think that the Scriptures
had been locked up. The use of Latin would have been yet another tool of
oppression. This is one reason that Wycliffe's early supporters, the Lollards,
were actually a political party. It's also one reason why the English speaking
peoples have a wealth of different translations. It's important to them. We
need to take a look at the history of the English Bible, therefore:
Taken from the Thompson Chain
Reference Study Bible NIV with permission of B.B. Kirkbride Bible Company
As you can see, there are two key
features which can be seen in this diagram:
·
Before the King James Version, there were a lot of translations.
Afterwards, it is the dominant Protestant version of the Bible in English,
until the 20th century.
·
The King James Version did not have the benefit of the discovery
of many of the ancient manuscripts, both of the Bible itself and others which
taught us much more about ancient Greek.
What is not obvious is that the
King James is an eloquent version, translated when the English language was at
the height of its glory. It exercised a profound influence on the English
language for almost 300 years. So when the language had changed sufficiently
to call for new translations, the eloquence was lost too. And the appeal of
reading the Bible in formal worship lessened.
Respect in Worship Today
Churches built over a hundred
years ago almost always have two pulpits, or lecterns as they were then. This
was so that the reading of the Bible could be done in two sections (Old and New
Testament, or Gospel and Letters). Respect for the Bible was taught
symbolically by the very architecture of the building. This is still so in
some liturgical churches today. In the evangelical community, the Bible is
respected with lip service, but ignored as far as formal reading is concerned.
But this may be changing. It has
gotten to the point now that we frequently hear the Bible quoted not in
translation but in paraphrase. This is because we pander to the tastes of our
audiences, rather than teaching them the truth. The effect of this will not be
long in coming. For many, Bible reading of any kind will be a thing of the
past. We will then be forced to put the reading of the Scripture back into the
worship - for they will hear it no other way.
Reading the Bible - Outside
Worship
It is the theme of this series
that worship should reflect service and vice versa. If we read the Bible in
our worship (or at least we should) then we should read it elsewhere. How?
Not to be mishandled
One of the reasons poor
interpretation and heresy abound is that we mishandle the word. We are
specifically commanded not to add to it or take from it. But how often does
the Christian read a book which quotes the Bible (and throws in the authors
ideas) as opposed to reading the source?
Indeed, one command to us is that
the Scripture is to be "set forth plainly." We are to read it and
make plain sense of it. We are not to gloss over the hard parts, nor try to
construct some elaborate theories on the easy parts.
Jesus himself, in argument with
the Sadducees, based himself upon the smallest part of the Scripture. It
cannot be divided and parceled out; it must be taken as a whole. But each
piece must also be considered with reverence and care.
Regular Reading
If there is one habit I could
transplant into the hearts of my students, it would be the regular reading of
the Scripture. Indeed, we are commanded not merely to read it, but to search
it. More than searching it (the intellectual side) we are to meditate upon it
(the emotional side). Thus the Bible is to become the great source of wisdom
in our lives.
"Posted"
Have you ever driven through a
country landscape and seen a sign like, "Posted - No Hunting?" The
ancient Jew was told to post the Scripture on his walls and door posts.
Indeed, he was to bind it to his wrists and forehead, a practice the Orthodox
Jew continues to this day. So I ask: is the Scripture in plain sight in your
house? Do you carry it with you? Or is it tucked away discreetly?
To children
One of the most specific
injunctions in the Bible[6]
is that we are to read the Bible to our children. We are fortunate that we
have children's versions that put this into words suitable for small children.
But consider: if they grow up with the knowledge that their parents consider
reading the Bible to be a top priority, what effect does this have on them?
But there is more: the Jew was
taught to read it to his children at home and on the way, rising up and lying
down. Not just on a regular basis, but in all circumstances, the word of the
Lord is to be given to your children - and grandchildren.
The Results of Regular Bible
Reading
Most new Christians just don't
see the sense of it. After all, what do I go to church for? You go to
worship to worship; you leave to serve. In this service you will gain much.
Conviction of sin
Even the most experienced
Christian will tell you: the habit of reading the Bible will produce the
conviction of sin. You will read a passage for the hundredth time and suddenly
see God speaking to you. See how this worked for the ancient ones:
·
Daniel read Jeremiah and was convicted of his nation's sins. He
pleaded for mercy and release; he was given vision and comfort.[7]
·
Josiah read the Scriptures and tore his robes in repentance. In
response, God held up his judgment of Judah until after Josiah's death.[8]
As God put it to Jeremiah:
(Jer
23:29 NIV) "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and
like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
Kept from Sin
The reading of Scripture is not
just for the cure of sin: it is for the prevention of sin.
·
When dealing with temptation, do what our Lord did in the
Wilderness - answer the devil with Scripture.
·
More than that, the Scripture gives light to your life. Things
make sense as you study and meditate on God's word. The puzzles of life seem
less troublesome when you shine God's light upon them.
·
This is the way in which God transforms your mind, renewing it in
his thought.[9]
·
Most of all, it is by the "meat of the word" that you
become mature as a Christian.[10]
It is the way we grow up.
Rewarded
More than cleansed and kept from
sin, God intends to reward the man who diligently studies the word:
(Mat 7:24-27 NIV) "Therefore everyone who hears these
words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his
house on the rock. {25} The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds
blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its
foundation on the rock. {26} But everyone who hears these words of mine and
does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on
sand. {27} The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
God will keep you from trouble by
his word. But is not just in prevention of trouble; it is equipping you to
deal with all of life! We often quote the 16th verse here - but
read the whole passage:
(2 Tim 3:16-17 NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, {17}
so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Thoroughly equipped! That's what
God wants you to be! Now you know how He wants to equip you!
The warning!
Scripture reading is not magic;
it is a key to the kingdom. There is a warning with it, and we must read it:
(James 1:22-25 NIV) Do not merely listen to the word, and
so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. {23} Anyone who listens to the word but
does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror {24}
and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks
like. {25} But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives
freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing
it--he will be blessed in what he does.
Read it, meditate upon it, hide
in your heart - and then go do it.