I was persistent about getting a bookcase for Christmas. I don’t remember how young I was, early high school or late grade school. Dad built my first bookcase out of half-inch plywood and gave it to me for Christmas. I have needed space for books for a long time.
Through the years I have rarely been close enough to a good theological seminary to avoid the cost of the books I need. Each book has at least one author that I enter into conversation with every time I sit down to prepare a sermon. Some pretty powerful folk in church history went off on tangents that have made their way into books about heresies, and I want to be in conversation with several other folk because there are three sure ways to help us verify our biblical interpretations. All three work in concert together to verify our understandings because we are weakened human beings hindered by our sinful nature: 1) pray when you read the Bible in its immediate context, 2) pray while you compare Scripture with Scripture for consistency, and 3) pray while you rely on the community of faith as a test of your interpretation.
When God oversaw and directed the process of canonization of the books that we have in our Bible — including the books there and excluding the books not there — a key factor in the process was to discover which books that the community of faith (the churches across the lands) were finding to be inspired by God to be of benefit to the people. When I prepare sermons, I am testing my understanding of the Bible with what the community of faith through the ages have come to understand the meaning to be. This is good practice for preachers.
God has used this kind of study since the beginning. Our Gospel writers, starting with the second Gospel written, used the Gospels already written. All the Gospel authors used the Old Testament. We still study the early writing of the first Christians after New Testament times. We refer to them as the early church fathers. I have these books in my electronic library. The reformers used these resources, and we use the reformers as resources. And on it goes. We build our understanding on centuries of Bible study rather than our brief life can afford for we are as grass and appear on the scene one day and are gone another.
The authors of these resources are my friends, my partners in study. Actually, there are at least four persons in dialog together when I study. The author of the book I pick up, myself, and the Holy Spirit are three of them: 1) Jesus (the Holy Spirit), 2) author of the book I take off my shelf, and 3) me enter into dialog together when I study. I actually pretend they are in the room with me. Who else is in the conversation? Who is number four? Well, that depends of which text I am studying. It might be that Jeremiah is the other person in the conversation. Or it might be John reporting the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Or perhaps it is James, or Peter, or Hosea, or Moses.
The four of us have a great time together in some of the best conversations you can imagine. I find such great pleasure in the company of such good people that I have discovered that of all the things I do with my time, I am completely at peace when I am in these conversations about the meaning of Scripture. I can be disturbed about something going on in the world, discombobulated about what people are sometimes capable of, or personally uneasy or anxious; and can begin to pray, open my Bible, reach for a partner to discuss a passage of scripture with; and I find myself to be easy and at peace – completely content.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Stephen Williams