The Bible is God Preaching (1)

Theology or the Bible?

            This idea was solidified for me while reading a book by Sidney Greidanus entitled Sola Scriptura: Problems and Principles in Preaching Historical Texts. I believe this was Greidanus’ doctoral dissertation and the first of a number of stimulating books on preaching the content of Scripture. I say “the content” to distinguish it from preaching the doctrines of Scripture. Greidanus’ thesis is that to truly preach the Word of God according to the Reformed doctrine of sola scriptura (which means that Scripture alone is our authority in things pertaining to God) one must preach the message of the biblical text and not just a compilation of ideas that come from various texts on a certain theme. A discourse explaining a particular topic of theology is not preaching the Word of God. The discourse may be orthodox and helpful, but the topic, or even an outline of the topic is not the message that is contained in the text one has selected for preaching. The text is a message from God to us.

This is not to say that theology has no role in preaching. It has a very important role: that of the guardrail that keeps us from going off the road. However, theology is not the road itself, to continue the metaphor. The road itself is the text of Scripture. The message of Scripture is the message of the inspired biblical text, not the message of theological treatises. This is because theology, however good, is still the work of man. The categories are selected by man, however well they may fit the data of Scripture, and the definitions are man-made syntheses of various texts from Scripture. Again, this is not to say the theology has no place in the life of the Christian. It is a helpful fence to keep us from going too far afield. But it is not the Word of God. Only the Bible is God’s message to us. Theology analyzes that Book and gives us helpful information about the truths found in that Book, but it is not the Book itself. The Book itself is God’s message to us.

Perhaps an illustration would be helpful here. When we are eating fish, we have to be very careful to remove all the bones so that we do not choke. When we are eating filet mignon, we simply cut and eat. Reading theology, as is true for any book written by man, is like eating fish: eat the meat and throw away the bones. The Bible, however, has no bones. But you cannot eat it without chewing (thinking, studying, meditating, etc.). You must work at understanding Scripture, not just read it for a blessing.

God’s Message

            The biblical text is God’s message to us. The character of the Bible is more than just information; it is proclamation. The text addresses us and charges us to believe and obey not only the gospel, but also the whole revelation of God for our lives as Christians. This is true not only of those portions that are easier to apply, such as the epistles, but equally true of all of Scripture. Through the length and breadth of the Bible God is preaching to us. We can understand this very easily from 2 Timothy 3:16. Paul tells us that the aim of the Scriptures is to “equip” the “man of God” for his work of “teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness.” These God-breathed Scriptures aim not only to inform us, but to reprove us, correct us, and transform us into people who have learned to walk with God according to His Word. God is preaching to us. That is something not theology book can do. 

More to come, God willing...