BOOK FEATURE
ten verse by verse treatments of New Testament books, realizing that these will never be best-sell ers. Such a work becomes tire some to the reader very quickly, and he would much prefer to sub stitute a book dealing with a topic relevant to current world hap penings. Yet the expository ap proach is foundational, and with out it there is no limit to the amount o f error human fancy may devise in interpreting the New Testament. Let the student of the New Testament beware o f the sensa tional, therefore. Exegesis (that is, interpretation) is more vital than entertainment when spirit ual issues are at stake. The church of Jesus Christ has been stag gering too long under the influ ence of superficial instruction. Depth of study may not appeal to large numbers, but it will create lasting, fruitful discipleship. For my own library I seek to select the books that represent much laborious effort to arrive at the exact meaning of the words of the passage. I am convinced that the right interpretation is what will be most useful in the hands o f the Holy Spirit when I share the message with others. After all, He inspired the words in the first place. My objective is that He might be able to work through my correct teaching and because of my carefulness in study, and not that He might be forced to work against my erron eous teaching and in spite of my laziness in study. The Bible never glorifies ignorance and falsehood. To be sure, some attention must be given to methods o f communi cation, but only after a solid foun dation has been laid in interpreta tion. Today’s spiritual challenges will be met only as God’s people become serious students o f the Scriptures. “Be diligent to pre sent yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word o f truth” (II Tim. 2: 15, NASB).
U Ü U A T I S A
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By Dr. Robert L Thomas, Th.D.
used to illustrate the problem. This expression, while making a very clever play upon the word “ justified” in Romans, looks at the negative side of salvation and is not an accurate portrayal of what is involved in the doctrine of justification. Would it not be better to be correct and define the word accurately in a p o s it iv e sense, “ declared to be righteous,” than to accept an erroneous in terpretation, even though the lat ter is quite pleasing to the ear? Would it not be better to say, “ I’d rather be right' than elo quent” ? We are suggesting that accur acy is more basic than artistry in the handling of divine truth. This is not the easy path, however. Most frequently the books that are more reliable are those in which the author has sacrificed popular appeal in order to be honest with his own conscience in culling out the precise meaning of a passage. Digesting such a work requires careful read ing and painstaking application, but the reward is a much greater under standing o f what Scripture re cords. On the basis o f such ac curate preparation, God’s servant is able to stand before his class or congregation and declare with au th o r ity and confidence the whole counsel o f God. It is in the interest of correct ness that some authors have writ
W h e t h e r H E be tea ch e r , preacher or author, the ser vant of the Lord is faced with a continuing question: Is he called upon to be a commentator or a communicator? This is a question which must be faced squarely by every echelon of Christian serv ice. Should the emphasis be upon a c cu ra cy of understanding or ability in conveying the meaning of the Bible text? The answer to this question will largely deter mine one’s attitude toward New Testament literature. The ideal answer would be that it should not be a question of “ either . . . or,” but “both . . . and.” The Christian should be a diligent student of the Word and also an expert in capturing the interest of others. Yet the experi ence of most has proven the limi tations of time to be too great for one individual to excel in both areas. The best that most can hope for is to master one area and to gain a reasonable profici ency in the other. It is unfortunate that this is the case even with the authors of New Testament literature. Often the most readable books lack a depth in understanding o f the text itself. In fact, oftentimes a writer may slip in to outright error in an effort to create a pleasing effect upon his readers. The frequently used cliché “ just- as-if-I’d” never sinned may be
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JULY, 1968
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