How Do You Read the Bible?
As we
Christians are processing this week’s events, the Atlanta shootings – 8 people
killed, including 6 of Asian descent, our heads are filled with questions. The
suspected shooter, Robert Aaron Long, is a self-identified Christian
nationalist, who was discipled in a white evangelical church (SBC). His self-description on Instagram said, “Pizza, guns,
drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life.”[1] Long’s passion for God and
country led to this anti-Asian violence. How
did he read the Bible?
When I was newly appointed to serve as the lead pastor at the precious church, I had to face racism at first hand. On the day the news about the pastoral appointment change was announced, two families had left that church even before I met them in person. My predecessor, a white male pastor, at that church spread rumors that my ministry would not be successful, even before I started to serve the church, because I am different – because I am a person of color, unlike him. How does the pastor read the Bible?
Today’s scripture (the slave text) is difficult to make sense of it. Howard Thurman shares his experience of reading the Bible for his grandmother, a former slave. She always asked him to omit sections of Paul’s letters. One day he asks her why she avoids Paul. She said this way:[2]
“During the days of slavery, the
master’s minister would occasionally hold services for the slaves. Old man
McGhee was so mean that he would not let a Negro minister preach to his slaves.
Always the white minister used as his text something from Paul. At least three
or four times a year he used as a text: ‘Slaves, be obedient to them that are
your masters . . . as unto Christ.’ Then he would go on to show how it was
God’s will that we were slaves and how, if we were good and happy slaves, God
would bless us. I promised my Maker that if I ever learned to read and if
freedom ever came, I would not read that part of the Bible.”
So how did the slave masters read the Bible? And how should we read today’s scripture and apply it to our lives?
The Metanarrative (Grand Narrative)
First, we ought to interpret the text. In particular, it’s very
helpful to read the particular text from the big picture – an overarching story
of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ as the point of the whole Bible. For
example, one Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his
disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees saw it and
said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the
Sabbath?” Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of
people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of
Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” (Mark 2:23-28). Here apparently, the
Pharisees don’t see the big picture. They just read the scripture literally from
a micro-perspective. Result? They
have missed the point and condemned the innocent. So Jesus expounds the true
meaning of Sabbath from God’s marco-perspective:
“My Father gave Sabbath as a gift for you to enjoy, not to make you miserable.
It’s a day of refreshing your souls and restoring your relationships with God
and with others. It’s a day of playing and praying.”
In the same way, if we read today’s text literally just from a micro-perspective, it sounds like the text justifies slavery. But that’s not the point. Here Paul’s point is neither to condone slavery, nor condemn it. In Paul’s time antagonism was everywhere between husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves. Paul’s solution to this antagonism was regeneration – a new heart from God and a new submission to one another out of respect for Christ.[3] Paul proclaims how God created his new society through Christ Jesus where God is our Father, and all of his members are related to one another in Christ as brothers and sisters. So he proclaims by the Holy Spirit, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28, NRSV). From this grand narrative, Paul exhorts both masters and slaves to love another and submit to one another as sisters and brothers in Christ. So there is no place for proslavery interpretation from today’s scripture.
Living as Slaves of Christ
So what’s the point? If we
summarize today’s passage (6:5-9) into one sentence, it would be something like
this: “Whatever your role is (masters/slaves, employers/employees), live as slaves of Christ” (vv. 6, 9). A simple
definition of slave is the one who
knows and does the master’s will. So good slaves of Christ are those who
know and do the will of Christ from the heart (v. 6). Then, how do we know
his will? George Mueller shares six steps to find the will of God as follows:[4]
1.
Surrender your own will.
2.
Do not depend on feelings.
3.
Seek, the Spirit's will through God's Word.
4.
Note providential circumstances.
5.
Pray.
6.
Wait.
In particular, Mueller emphasizes the
surrendered will as the first and most important quality for slaves of
Christ. He continues,
“I seek at the beginning to get my
heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given
matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here.
Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do
the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state it is
usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.”
The Jews asked Jesus, “How do we know your teaching is from God?” In other words, they asked, “How do we know God’s will?” Jesus answered, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17). God reveals his will to those who surrender their will and are willing to do the Lord’s will. So living as Christ’s slaves means living a surrendered life.
Living Coram Deo
Living as Christ’s slaves also
means living Coram Deo (before the sight of God; cf. vv. 8-9). How can
we recognize more of God’s presence in a real way? I think the following illustration
may help. When actors play, they learn Uta Hagan’s concept of the “fourth wall.”
Simply speaking, in performance theater, the “fourth wall” is an imaginary wall
located in between the audience and the stage. Actors are instructed to
envision specific items on their fourth wall (eg. a sunset, farmland, rolling
ocean waves…whatever is required by the scene), keeping their eyes pointed
toward this foreground. By doing this, by giving attention to the unseen
dimension, the actor’s mind, emotions, and countenance are lifted above the
mundane theater environment in apprehension of a new world.[5]
Just as an actor will concentrate on his character’s foreground, we focus on
the reality of God’s presence. For Christians, the truth is that we have
only one audience to please, the audience always present and to whom we are
accountable – God (v.8).
Then, how may we live before the sight of God? How may we please God? We can please God as we recognize and honor all people as God’s image bearers, especially the weak. In ancient Israel wives (women), children, and slaves were to be obedient, and that was the end of it. But in today’s scripture now Paul also exhorts the strong to do the same, “Husbands, love your wives” (5:25), “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger” (6:4), “Masters, treat your slaves with love” (v. 9). We live Coram Deo by honoring all God’s people, including the weak.
After the Atlanta shootings this
week, some of the Asian American leaders were asked about what they want the
church to know right now. Soong-Chan Rah, professor at Fuller Theological
Seminary, shares it this way:[6]
My eyes are swollen from crying. My
fingers are landing heavy on my computer keyboard in equal parts anger and
deep sadness. My community is reeling from another violent crime
committed against us. Wave after wave. 3,800 anti-Asian incidents of hate
reported during this pandemic. My friends and their children have been yelled
at and called names. I fear for my elderly parents. For my daughter. For
myself.
I want you to know. Learn Asian American history.
I want you to see. Stop erasing. Stop seeing us as the perpetual foreigner.
I want you to care. Don’t write off these murders as a stand-alone act committed by a sex addict. Every act of terrorism at the hands of white men is portrayed in media as an individual act by a troubled victim.
I want you to step in. Commit to speaking up anytime you witness anti-Asian sentiments—in your family, among your friends, and out in public.
I want you to address violence against the AAPI community. Teach, train, equip and disciple believers to honor all of God’s image bearers.
I want you to state from the pulpit, on social media, in no uncertain terms, that you stand with us.
I want you to know we are hurting and tired.
How do you read the Bible? And how do you read today’s world? May we listen to the voiceless and speak up for them. May we see the invisible in our society and care for them. May we step in and stand with the weak. May we honor all people as God’s image bearers. By doing this, may we live before the sight of God always. Amen.
[1]
Jason Dees, “Atlanta Shooter’s Church Ties Raise Questions for Pastors,” https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2021/march-web-exclusives/atlanta-shooter-church-pastor-discipleship-preach-gospel.html
[2] Esau McCaulley, Reading
While Black (p. 18). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Study Series: Ephesians: Gaining the Things That
Money Can't Buy (p. 108). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.
[4]
Precept Austin, Ephesians 6:5-6 Commentary, https://www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_65-6
[5]
Chris Castaldo, Live Coram Deo (Aug 28, 2015), https://unlockingthebible.org/2015/08/live-coram-deo/
[6] “Asian American Leaders on Atlanta Murders: “I Want
You to Step in,” https://www.christianitytoday.com/better-samaritan/2021/march/asian-american-leaders-on-atlanta-murders-i-want-you-to-ste.html?utm_source=CT+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=10578&utm_content=3623&utm_campaign=email
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