Two ways to read the Bible
Monday, February 11, 2008 at 12:00AM Tim Keller comments on Luke 24:27: "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."
If you think the Bible is all about you - about what you must do and how you must live and how you have to do everything in order to get the blessing - then of course you don't need a Messiah who dies for you. All you need is the rules.
But there are two ways and only two ways to read the Bible. You can read the Bible as if it is all about you and what you must do, and what you have to run around doing in order to get the blessing. Or you can read every part of the Bible as all about Him and what He has done for you. Is it all about you or is it all about Him?
The sermon, Literalism: Isn't the Bible historically unreliable and regressive? (MP3), is available as a free download.
Reader Comments (4)
Although I agree in theory, I have a little trouble on the application end of this. Since the Bible is all about God and what He has done (and is doing) for humanity and creation, doesn't it eventually get down to a matter of what we need to do in response? Or is theocentric preaching solely for those of a more densely "Calvinist" perspective, admitting no room for human response and participation, even in non-salvation matters?
Hi Adam,Good question. No, Keller's clear that when we grasp what Christ has done for us, it will result in a profound response. Your point is a good one: some (not Keller) do not go to the next stage and call for response, which is a mistake.
"Is it all about you or is it all about Him?"False dilemma fallacy. It might be about both. The Luke 24.27 text is a great one for not only preaching Jesus, but preaching Jesus from the entire biblical story - as Wright would say, interpreting Act 4 in light of Acts 1-3 (NTPG, p. 143). It also suggests how many other texts ought to be preached (and teached). However, one would be hard-pressed to argue tht the Bible doesn't have some pointed things to say about the appropriate response of the people of God to his story and his covenantal provisions. We are, after all, characters in Act 5.
Ben,You're right. Reading the Bible the second way leads to the Bible also being about us, but it avoids many of the mistakes of thinking that it is first about us.