Making and Maturing

I have arrived in Boston (South Hamilton, actually) for my second residency in the “Preaching the Literary Forms of the Bible” doctor of ministry track.  I am already encouraged to see my class mates again.  This week will consist of an intensive study of the genre of narrative.  I am thankful for this time already and looking forward to sharpening my interpretive and homiletic skills.  Bring it!

We’ve all been there.  We are doing our read through the Bible in a year program and we come to a verse like Deuteronomy 22:8, When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.  

We were excited to hear from God, to be spiritually energized for our day.  Instead, we feel let down, and that doesn’t seem right.  After all, we believe that every book in the Bible is the Word of God and given for our benefit.  This verse doesn’t seem very beneficial, so now we feel guilty.  But what are we supposed to do with verses like Deut. 22:8?  Should I make sure my house is safe for visitors?  Up to code?  Check my home owner’s insurance?

Often our lack of clarity on how to understand a biblical passage is due to a failure to think about what we are reading.  The Bible is full of different kinds of literature, called genres.  Every day we automatically deal with genres.  When we read an obituary we expect a short life summary.  When we see an ad on a billboard we understand the overall point is to recommend a service or product.  When we read a news story on a website we expect a report.  When someone posts a Facebook status update we expect a brief glimpse into their day.

For some reason, however, when we read the Bible we forget about genres.  The reality is that failing to take genres into account when we read the Bible increases misunderstanding and misapplication.  This is very common, especially in devotional Bible reading.

What are the various genres of the Bible?  In the Old Testament we find narrative, law, poetry, wisdom literature, and prophecy.  In the New Testament we find narrative, epistles, and prophecy.  Within books of the BIble we also find minor genres or genre variation.  The gospels are mostly narrative, but Jesus uses a well known kind of wisdom literature called parables.  Deuteronomy is part narrative, part law.  You get the idea.

The first question we need to ask when we are reading the Bible is “what am I reading?”  In our Deuteronomy 22:8 example we are reading law.  This means we are reading God’s revealed law for the nation of Israel.  These laws are not meant to be followed by Americans, or even by the church.  They do, however, reveal something important about the character of God and his expectations of humanity.

In general, the civic laws found in Deuteronomy are designed to protect Israelites from each other or themselves.  Most ancient Israelite homes had flat roofs and were used as patios, so putting a protective railing on the roof of your home was considerate of others.  It was a way of loving your neighbor and protecting yourself from unnecessary guilt and heartache should someone fall off your roof.

In other words, protect your neighbor.  Now there’s a message that we can apply.  Deut. 22:8 reminds us that God is calling us to look out for those around us.  Not only on our roofs, but on the road, in our classes, and at our workplaces.  Indeed, isn’t protecting neighbors exactly what Jesus has done for us?  By sacrificing his life for sinners he protects us from the wrath of God and offers us forgiveness and fellowship.  Talk about a protective fence!  Maybe Deuteronomy 22:8 wasn’t such a bad devotional after all.

Pages doesn’t know the gospel.  I misspelled “gospel” as “gopsel” and the spell checker came up empty for suggestions.  I am not surprised.

As if American Christianity wasn’t hard enough.  Walking by the Spirit in a culture that worships self and success and cold hard cash is always challenging.  America is particularly susceptible to celebrity worship.  Whether we are talking about the Beatles or Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or Justin Bieber, Americans are infatuated with the famous.  

This creates all kinds of issues, but especially when celebrities publicly promote a sinful lifestyle.  NBA center Jason Collins has made big news by being the first active professional in the “big four” (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL) to come out as being gay.  

What should we think as Christians when celebrities reveal sinful lifestyles?

1. We should not be surprised.  Human culture has  been sinful since the first human culture in Eden.  The reality is that for every sin that is revealed publicly, there are literally countless others that remain well hidden.  Sin is not new, and human culture embracing and celebrating sin is not novel.  Let’s stop pretending God hasn’t warned us repeatedly that the majority will not walk by faith.
2. We should pray for individuals.  Celebrities are people too, and like everyone else they need faith and forgiveness.  Too often our response to celebrity sin is to call for judgement and condemnation.  When we do so without offering grace we have bought the lie that celebrities are two-dimensional fictional characters.  They are all too real, with real souls that struggle.
3. America is a free country.  We cannot legislate holiness or prescribe faith.  One of the hard realities of enjoying life in America is the freedom to sin.  We must acknowledge that those who follow Jesus and those who do not have the freedom to make certain sinful choices under our laws.  We surely do not agree that such choices are wise, but we must respect a person’s right to make such a choice. 
4. We should be up front about sin.  We must not hesitate to label homosexuality, adultery, sex outside of marriage, drunkenness, or any other sinful behavior as sin.  As we do this we should be clear and compassionate, realizing that God is slow to anger and abounding with lovingkindness.
5. We should instruct our children.  Our children are particularly susceptible to celebrity worship.  We need to take these moments as an opportunity to teach our children that everyone struggles with sin, and that the best role models are those who have repented of their sin and put their faith in Christ.  We should warn our children against any heroes who are repentant over sin.
6. We should mourn the destructiveness of sin.  At the end of the day a celebrity announcement of a sinful lifestyle reminds us that every inch of our planet is tainted by sin and cries out for redemption.  Whether we are talking about ancient Sodom and Gomorrah or present day America, sin will continue to destroy until every tongue confesses Jesus as Lord.
7. We should preach the gospel.  Paul’s thought process in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 is instructive for us.  He says, I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.  We are ambassadors for Christ, and much needed ambassadors.  Let us shine the light of the gospel as humble sinners who only by God’s grace have come to faith in Jesus.