Answers from the Whole Bible
Reprinted with permission from the Baptist Bulletin Sept/Oct ‘10 issue. All rights reserved.
I enjoy talking with children. It’s fascinating to look at life through their lens. To prime the conversation pump when first meeting them, I will ask kids questions such as, What is your favorite subject in school? What do you like to do when you are not in school? and a favorite question, What do you want to do for a job when you graduate? Kids have some common favorite subjects, after-school activities, and employment aspirations. However, it doesn’t require a PhD research grant to realize that kids are different. Some children like to read, some like science, while others are fascinated with history or geography. Some kids like to dabble with mechanics, some prefer sports, while others like music, art, or drama. Kids have indicated to me a multitude of career choices; they want to be nurses, singers, carpenters, teachers, missionaries, doctors, farmers, and, of course, pro basketball players and firefighters!
Certain educators argue for an interest-based approach to education. They design their instructional program around a child’s aptitude or inclination. However, most educators believe that a general education on the elementary and secondary levels, which provides instruction in a wide range of core subjects, equips a student in the long run for life.
An educational system should compile the course of study with the child’s welfare in mind. While a child may not be naturally drawn to reading, the child must be literate to function successfully. Some kids might not be interested in math, but they still need the skills of computation to cook, keep a balanced checkbook, pay taxes, and tithe at church. Children need the health benefits of being in gym class even if they would rather spend all their time in computer class. An awareness of world and national history is important to gain perspective on the flow of events that shaped and influenced countries and cultures through the centuries. A well-rounded course of study provides children with core knowledge that they will need in life. As students progress in their education programs, they later have the opportunity to pursue particular areas of interest.
What is true in academic education is also true in the instruction a church provides its learners. Whether working with children, teens, or adults, the church must teach people the whole counsel of God. The Bible is written with a skillfully woven story line. Though 66 books comprise the Bible, God’s Word is not a collection of unrelated short stories. There is a progressively developing plot with central characters and an intentional message. Beginning, middle, and end-all of God’s Word ties together. The entirety of the Bible needs to be taught and learned.
2 Timothy 1:3–5 notes that Timothy’s mother and grandmother had a profound influence on Timothy’s spiritual development. As a boy, Timothy was taught the sacred Scriptures that made him wise unto salvation. It wasn’t solely a handful of chapters from the beginning of the Bible that God used to shape Timothy’s understanding of the reality of sin and the need of a Savior. It was “all” of the God-breathed Scriptures available at that time that was profitable developmentally for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). It was “all Scripture” that grew Timothy into a man of God, competent and equipped for every good work.
When the writer of Hebrews was attempting to bolster the flagging faith of believers, he drew heavily upon the entire story line of the Old Testament to develop his argument. He surrounded his audience with the real-life stories of Old Testament heroes (Hebrews 11) that were meant to exemplify living faith. He referred to these Old Testament legends, assuming his audience was familiar with them.
We each have a special area of interest for Bible study. That area can become the consuming focus of our learning. However, children, teens, and new adult converts need a well-rounded, church-based Bible education to build the infrastructure of their faith. Life is complicated. Christians must understand a comprehensive core of Bible knowledge beyond a narrow area of study. We need the ability to integrate all truth into all of life.
By using a deliberate instructional taxonomy, the church can design an educational program that leads a believer incrementally to spiritual maturity. For instance, it is valuable for believers to learn the arguments for creationism in order to withstand the influence of the evolutionary theory. Yet much more of Scripture needs to be learned. Comparing education to the construction process, every building needs a foundation, but you can’t live in a foundation alone. You need to construct the whole building. A believer needs a faith that is authentic, enduring, defensible, and big enough to face all of life. People in our churches need answers to questions such as, How are world religions contrary to true Christianity? How are philosophical systems at odds with truth? and What portions of the world’s literature, arts, history, economics, and wisdom do not appeal to the wisdom that comes from above? All of these questions need answers. We need to study the whole Bible to provide the answers.
We must not shortchange our people by giving them only a portion of God’s Word. We must follow the example of Paul, who did not fail to teach “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). We must obediently carry out the Great Commission as stated, which includes making disciples of all nations, baptizing those believers (by immersion), and as Jesus concluded, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19, 20).
John Greening is the national representative for the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. An eighth-generation pastor, he served for twenty years in youth and senior pastorates. In John’s role as National Representative, he speaks frequently, consults with churches, and provides leadership for the Association. John and his wife, Daria, are the parents of two grown married children.
- 3 views
I’ve often heard Acts 20:27 quoted or referenced when discussing this topic and it has led me to ask, “What does ‘the whole counsel of God’ mean?” Most people imply that it means “the whole Bible”. However, when Paul made that statement, he did not have the Bible we have today. Even with just the Old Testament I find it hard to believe that he meant he had taught them the entire Old Testament.
While Mr. Greening didn’t implicitly state that the whole Bible is being referenced in Acts 20, he did seem to imply it by quoting it shortly after stating, “We need to study the whole Bible to provide the answers.”
In the analogy of children’s secular schooling, he points out, “A well-rounded course of study provides children with core knowledge that they will need in life.” If I could rephrase (hopefully, still remaining to true to the author’s original intent), kids need to learn things that they don’t want to sometimes because they will use that information later and be glad they know it. I think this is the key when discussing spiritual instruction. As was pointed out in the paper, we are called to make disciples and teach others to “observe all things that [Jesus] commanded.” This is a very practical aim. The goal is to develop disciples who can function with spiritual effectiveness in the real world.
So the questions is, does someone need to be taught the ‘whole Bible’ in order to function with spiritual effectiveness? Should we make sure that we take time to focus on books like Jonah, Philemon, or even Revelation? Of course these books were given by God and so they are useful (2 Timothy 3:16), but are they necessary for effectiveness?
I raise these questions keeping in mind that while some people fail in providing “well rounded” spiritual training, I have seen many move to the other extreme claiming that they must teach every nuanced doctrine in church or youth group. This often takes place to the exclusion of other important truth that the audience (whether young or old, mature or new believer) would’ve found much more useful in their everyday lives.
Is there a balance in the middle somewhere? Or should we really aim to teach the entire Bible?
Here’s my take:
Effectiveness exists in degrees. But to reach a level we’ll loosely call “maturity,” (this too is impossible to precisely quantify) you really do need teaching in the whole counsel. But how much? The more the better.
I’m 44 and have been receiving Christian ed for pretty much all of those years (but I don’t think I paid attention much the first three or four!) I still can’t claim to have been taught “the whole counsel of God” in the sense of all there is to know. But I’ve been taught from each major section and each book and traced all the major doctrines from Gen to Rev. I think that’s probably something close to what Paul meant by “whole counsel.”
Kind like in Luke where Jesus taught them all things concerning Himself from the OT on the road to Emmaeus. It had to be a “survey” in that case.
I suspect that John’s point is along those lines: you learn what all the major sections of the Bible are about and what they contain, how they relate to all the major themes, and then take that down to the book level.
And then repeat, going deeper each time… for the rest of your life!
One of the things that resonated with me from the article is the importance of not short changing any section of Scripture. In some circles there is currently such an intense desire to avoid pragmatism and moralism that the practical teaching of Scripture is kind of seen as almost an unfortunate add on. They’d never say it that way, but the attitude is sometimes unmistakable. So these folks apparently want to waste all sorts of very useful information for living well that God inspired for us. These practical and moral parts of Scripture are there to point us to Christ who alone makes us new, but they are also there to be practical and moral. And we shouldn’t look down our noses at practical truth.
I don’t think you needed that lecture, Brandon, just couldn’t resist tacking it on.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Discussion