not only the young christian but also the adult christian
will complain that the scripture reading is often too long
for him and that much therein he does not understand.
to this it must be said that for the mature christian
every scripture reading will be 'too long', even the shortest one.
what does this mean?
the scripture is a whole and every word, every sentence
possesses such multiple relationships with the whole
that it is impossible always to keep the whole in view
when listening to details.
it becomes apparent, therefore, that the whole of scriptures
and hence every passage in it as well far surpasses
our understanding.
it is good for us to be daily reminded of this fact,
which again points to Jesus Christ Himself,
'in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge col. 2.3
so perhaps one may say that every scripture reading always
has to be somewhat 'too long',
because it is not merely proverbial and practical wisdom
my God's revealing word in Jesus Christ.
because the scripture is a corpus, a living whole,
the so called lectio continual or consecutive reading
must be adopted for scripture reading in the family fellowship.
historical books, prophets, gospels, epistles, and revelation
are read and heard as God's word in their context.
they set the listening fellowship in the midst of the
wonderful world of revelation of the people of israel
with its prophets, judges, kings and priests,
its wars, festivals, sacrifices and sufferings.
the fellowship of believers is woven into
the christmas story, the baptism, the miracles and teaching,
the suffering, dying, and rising again of Jesus Christ.
it participates in the very events that occurred on this earth
for the salvation of the world, and in doing so
receives salvation in Jesus Christ.
consecutive reading of biblical books forces everyone
who wants to hear \to put himself,
or to allow himself to be found,
where God has acted once and for all for the salvation of men.
we become a part of what once took place for our salvation.
forgetting and losing ourselves, we too
pass through the red sea, through the desert,
across the jordan into the promised land.
with israel we fall into doubt and unbelief
and through punishment and repentance
experience again God's help and faithfulness.
all this is not mere reverie but holy, godly reality.
we are torn out of our own existence and
set down in the midst of the holy history of God on earth.
there God dealt with us,
and there He still deals with us, our needs and our sins,
in judgment and grace.
it is not that God is the spectator and sharer of our present life,
howsoever important that is;
but rather that we are the reverent listeners and participants
in God's action in the sacred story, the history of the Christ on earth.
and only in so far as we are there, is God with us today also.
a complete reversal occurs.
it is not in our life that God's help and presence must still be proved,
but rather God's presence and help have been demonstrated for us
in the life of Jesus Christ.
it is in fact more important for us to know what God did to israel,
to His Son Jesus Christ,
than to seek what God intends for us today.
the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground
of my hope that i too shall be raised on the last day.
our salvation is 'external to ourselves'.
i find no salvation in my life history,
but only in the history of Jesus Christ,
in His incarnation, His cross, and His resurrection,
is with Gos and God with Him,
in this light the whole devotional reading of the scriptures
becomes daily more meaningful and salutary.
what we call our life, our troubles, our guilt,
is by no means all of reality;
there in the scriptures is our life, our need, our guilt, and
our salvation.
because it pleased God to act for us there,
it is only there that we shall be saved.
only in the holy scriptures do we learn to know our own history.
the God of abraham, isaac and jacob is the God and Father of
Jesus Christ and our Father.
we must learn to know the scriptures again,
as the reformers and our fathers knew them.
we must not grudge the time and the work that it takes.
we must know the scriptures first and foremost for the sake of
our salvation.
but besides this, there are ample reasons
that make this requirement exceedingly urgent.
how, for example, shall we ever attain certainty and confidence
in our personal and church activity if we do not stand on solid
biblical ground?
it is not our heart that determines our course,
but God's word.
but who in this day has any proper understanding of
the need for scriptural proof?
how often we hear innumerable arguments
'from life' and 'from experience'
put forward as the basis for most crucial decisions,
but the argument of scripture is missing.
and this authority would perhaps point in exactly
the opposite direction.
it is not surprising, of course, that the person
who attempts to cast discredit upon their wisdom
should be the one who himself does not seriously
read, know, and study the scriptures.
but one who will not learn to handle the bible for himself
is not an evangelical christian.
it might be asked further:
how shall we ever help a christian brother and set him straight
in his difficulty and doubt, if not with God's own word?
all our own words quickly fail.
but he who like a good 'householder...
bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old' matt. 13.52,
he who can speak out of the abundance of God's word,
the wealth of directions, admonitions and consolations
of the scriptures, will be able through God's word
to drive out demons and help his brother.
there we leave it.
'because from childhood thou hast known the holy scriptures,
they are able to instruct you unto salvation' II tim. 3.15 luther's tr
how shall we read the scriptures?
in family devotions it is best that the various members thereof
undertake the consecutive reading in turn.
when this is done it will soon become apparent
that it is not easy to read the bible aloud for others.
the more artless, the more objective, the more humble
one's attitude toward the material is,
the better will the reading accord with the subject.
often the difference between an experienced christian
and the novice becomes clearly apparent.
it may be taken as a rule for the right reading of the scriptures
that the reader should never identify himself with the person
who is speaking in the bible.
it is not i that am angered, but God;
it is not i giving consolation, but God:
it is not i admonishing, but God admonishing in the scriptures.
i shall be able , of course, to express the fact that
it is God who is angered, who is consoling and admonishing,
not by indifferent monotony, but only with inmost concern and rapport,
as one who knows that he himself is being addressed.
it will make all the difference between right and wrong reading
of scriptures
if i do not identify myself with God but quite simply serve Him.
otherwise i will become rhetorical, emotional, sentimental,
or coercive and imperative;
that is, i will be directing the listeners' attention to myself
instead of to the word.
but this is to commit the worst of sins in presenting the scriptures.
if we may illustrate by an example in another sphere,
we might say that the situation of the reader of scripture is
probably closest to that in which i read to others a letter from a friend.
i would not read the letter as though i had written it myself.
the distance between us would be clearly apparent as it was read.
and yet i would also be unable to read the letter of my friend to others
as if it were of no concern to me.
i would read it with personal interest and regard.
proper reading of scripture is not a technical exercise that can be learned;
it is something that grows or diminishes according to
one's own spiritual frame of mind.
the crude, ponderous rendition of the bile by many a christian
grown old in experience often far surpasses the most highly polished
reading of a minister.
in a christian family fellowship one person may give counsel
and help to others in this matte also.
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