The Problem with Studying the Bible Academically

I am looking into an author named Michael Legaspi, who wrote a book titled The Death of Scripture and the Rise of Biblical Studies, published by Oxford University Press in 2010.

I have only read reviews currently, but I am going to purchase his book to read it in its entirety. His premise is that the rise of the scholarly approach in understanding the Bible carries with it the possibility of that scholarly approach being the endgame. 

Worded differently, we could say that the different elements of this scholarly approach, i.e.,  Greek/Hebrew, history, context, grammar, rhetoric, theology, are not enough. None of it is bad. All is necessary, I believe, when we apply ourselves to studying any Bible passage. However, you are not done with that Bible passage when all you have done is complete those stages. Here is an important statement that I believe captures the essence of what I’m trying to say:

We want to study the Bible carefully without reducing the Bible to an object of study.

As necessary as those academic disciplines are, we must not allow them to become the purpose of our study of the Scripture.

Our “endgame” must NOT be JUST the understanding of the Greek/Hebrew, history, context, grammar, rhetoric, and theology of what we are studying. As important as all those things are (and they ARE important), if we stop there, we miss the whole point of studying the Bible.

We need one final step to complete the process of our studying of the Bible:

How will this impact how I am currently living?

In short, here is the process outlined, for example, as I read Paul’s letter to the Roman Church (my current study):

To hear Paul – what was he saying to that 1st-century church?.

To hear Scripture – how does what Paul writes fit within the context of the entirety of the Bible?

For years, that is where my Bible study stopped. I was ever thirsting for the academic side of understanding the Bible. I never realized that Paul wasn’t writing his letters as a professor writing to students. He was an Apostle, writing instructions on how to LIVE as a Christian in an unChristian world. 

That is an important point. I had spent the majority of my years looking at the Bible from the author’s point of view, seeking to understand what the author, whether it be Paul, Peter, John, Matthew, Mark, or Luke, etc had to say. 

My focus has shifted now to seeking to understand the Bible as if I were one of the original RECIPIENTS’ point of view – in other words, (and this is the final step in truly understanding the Bible):

How do I change my life as a result of what I have learned?

Paul was writing to his people what they needed to know in order for them to change how they lived as representatives of the Kingdom of God.

So – back to my original paragraph where I was speaking to what Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 2:

“For by grace are you saved, through faith, and not of yourselves it is the gift of God”

I quickly look at the word “saved”. Why? Because it is the verb – the “action word” of this sentence.

In the Greek language in which it is written, the verb translated as “saved” is an incredible thing. This version of this verb points to an action that took place in the past, from which repercussions carry through the present, pointing to a time in the future when the culmination of that action will finally be reached. So… we COULD say that Ephesians 2:8,9, coupled with other passages from Paul’s letters, his understanding of salvation could be expressed as follows:

“…by grace we WERE saved, so that we could go through the process of BEING saved, so that one day in the future we WILL be saved…”

or

We have been saved from sin’s penalty — justification.

We are being saved from sin’s power — sanctification.

We will be saved from sin’s presence — glorification.

If our study stopped there, we would have completed the academic approach. We will have come to understand the recipients, the author, and the historical context of the Church in Ephesus. We will have come to a deeper understanding of the text itself through grammatical study and our delving into the Greek itself.

Moving One Step Beyond the Academic – How Should I Then Live?

Here is an example of how I might transfer the academic understanding of Ephesians 2:8, 9 to my actual day-to-day lifestyle. In other words, as stated previously:

How will this impact how I am currently living?

Primarily, my reaction to what I now know about Ephesians 2:8 9 could be summarized as follows:

My salvation is not an event; it is an ongoing, not-yet-finished PROCESS. In short, I am not done being saved. Why does this encourage me? It encourages me because it assures me of my security in Christ. I am not done being saved; God is STILL saving me. Satan can not take away what God is not finished with. There is incredible peace that comes with that. I can approach every challenge that life presents me with with the assurance that I am in God’s hand, and He will see me through whatever I am experiencing, because He is in the process of saving me. That process has three stages (justification, sanctification, and glorification)… but those three stages constitute ONE process.

Knowing all that will change the way that I live in my day-to-day.

John 17:17 The Transformative Power of God’s Word

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:7)

Jesus is praying for His disciples.

Insert your name in place of “Them”

“Sanctify Paige by the truth; your word is truth.”

The verb ἁγίασον (hagiason) means “sanctify,” “make holy,” or “set apart.”

And then Jesus identifies the instrument:

“Your word is truth.”

This is the point of the Word of God. This goes beyond academic satisfaction when it comes to understanding what God is saying.

So we have:

God’s Word → truth → sanctification

God’s Word has a transforming effect on the believer.

In other words, don’t stop with understanding what God is saying… don’t stop until you know what God is saying to YOU.

 

YouTube Link:

The Problem with Studying the Bible Academically

In His Grip…

Paige