Teaching, Rebuking, Correcting, Training: A Paradigm for Scripture Application
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16).
Paul's word to Timothy is often quoted--but is it practiced? And practiced in a balanced way? We certainly teach the Scriptures and learn from them. Do we use them as frequently for rebuking? When were you last corrected with the Scriptures? Is it a habit to use the Scriptures to train yourself and others in righteousness?
Teaching --Understanding truth about God, Jesus Christ, the Christian life, the church, man, etc. (What does it say? What does it mean?)
Rebuking --Conviction of deviation from truth (i..e., How do I fail to live up to this?)
Correcting --Restoration to truth (What thoughts, actions, emotions, beliefs, etc. do I need to add or solidify?)
Training -- Developing ways of living in truth (What steps do I need to take? What spiritual disciplines will develop this in me?) (1)
The last paradigm I applied to wisdom literature, so lets move on to the gospels. What might this look like? How can we use this paradigm to help ourselves grow in the Spirit to become more like Christ or how can we use it to help others?
Mark 2:1-12
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
In this passage, Mark is continuing to develop his purpose in writing to give the "gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1). He has talked about Jesus' healing ministry, and now focuses on some of Jesus' words and deeds. It is still early in Jesus' ministry and this passage is the first that mentions some conflict and resistance to Jesus.
Teaching-- The truth shared is that Jesus has (not merely been given) the authority to forgive sins--a Christological, divine claim. The healing is important, but secondary. Mark has already shown Jesus has the authority and power to heal. Rather, the primary purpose of the healing is to prove that Jesus does have the authority to forgive sins, despite the protests of the teachers of the law. Jesus' ability to know their thoughts and the people's reactions of praising God and amazement serve to emphasize the Son of Man's Christological claim.
Rebuking -- Where do I deviate from the truth? Do we really live in light of who Jesus claims he is? Do we recognize his authority to forgive sins? There are subtle ways in which we undermine this divine authority:
Correcting -- How do I return to the truth? What do I need to do to submit to his lordship? Do I need to repent? Do I need to accept his forgiveness? Do I need to forgive someone? Do I need to rejoice in his forgiveness of sins and his mercy and trust him deeper? Do I need to focus on he is God no matter what, in good or bad, and he is good, no matter what? Do I need to take back stage and recognize he is God and worthy of all the glory? Do I need to take my eyes off of myself?
Training -- How do I consistently learn to walk in this truth? How do I develop an attitude and a lifestyle of forgiveness? How do I learn to rest in his grace, how do I practice preaching it to myself daily? How do I continually refocus myself on his goodness in the midst of suffering? How do I continually look to him as my center and my Lord?
Correcting and training can sound easy written out above... But in practice they are hard. The Spirit uses Scripture to correct us and to train us. He uses the body of Christ to encourage us. He himself equips us and enables us to obey (Phil. 2:13; Phil. 1:6; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 Thes. 5:23). Yet, we work as well (Phil. 2:12). Above all, we rest in the Son of God, who has the authority to forgive sins and has forgiven us and given us his perfect righteousness. In him we hope. And this grateful hope propels us to be more like him, using his Word to teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us to be more like him for his glory.
NOTES
(1) My takes on from Brad Hambrick, "Studying the Bible According to its Functions," Crossroads, www.crossroadsaugusta.org (accessed October 2012); Thomas L. Constable, "Notes on Second Timothy," Sonic Light, http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes.htm (accessed November 2012).
Paul's word to Timothy is often quoted--but is it practiced? And practiced in a balanced way? We certainly teach the Scriptures and learn from them. Do we use them as frequently for rebuking? When were you last corrected with the Scriptures? Is it a habit to use the Scriptures to train yourself and others in righteousness?
Teaching --Understanding truth about God, Jesus Christ, the Christian life, the church, man, etc. (What does it say? What does it mean?)
Rebuking --Conviction of deviation from truth (i..e., How do I fail to live up to this?)
Correcting --Restoration to truth (What thoughts, actions, emotions, beliefs, etc. do I need to add or solidify?)
Training -- Developing ways of living in truth (What steps do I need to take? What spiritual disciplines will develop this in me?) (1)
The last paradigm I applied to wisdom literature, so lets move on to the gospels. What might this look like? How can we use this paradigm to help ourselves grow in the Spirit to become more like Christ or how can we use it to help others?
Mark 2:1-12
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
In this passage, Mark is continuing to develop his purpose in writing to give the "gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1). He has talked about Jesus' healing ministry, and now focuses on some of Jesus' words and deeds. It is still early in Jesus' ministry and this passage is the first that mentions some conflict and resistance to Jesus.
Teaching-- The truth shared is that Jesus has (not merely been given) the authority to forgive sins--a Christological, divine claim. The healing is important, but secondary. Mark has already shown Jesus has the authority and power to heal. Rather, the primary purpose of the healing is to prove that Jesus does have the authority to forgive sins, despite the protests of the teachers of the law. Jesus' ability to know their thoughts and the people's reactions of praising God and amazement serve to emphasize the Son of Man's Christological claim.
Rebuking -- Where do I deviate from the truth? Do we really live in light of who Jesus claims he is? Do we recognize his authority to forgive sins? There are subtle ways in which we undermine this divine authority:
- For those who have never submitted to the lordship of Christ and recognized him as the Son of God, there is a clear message gospel message: Jesus is the Lord and is the only one who can offer forgiveness. Over and above healing, the passage reminds us what is humankind's chief problem--sin. After all, what good is it to gain the whole world, to gain health to a body that will die again, if we lose our soul (Mark 8:36)? We so often buy into the world's belief that we are, basically, deep down good people to whom bad things happen. Yet, Jesus reminds us that our chief problem is sin--but he does so in the context of the great hope that we can be forgiven!!!
- Perhaps we undermine his authority in a more subtle way, feeling like we are unforgivable. While this appears humble, in doing so, we make ourselves to be our own judge, elevating ourselves above God. We think we know the standards better than he; we think we know the payment better than he. In short, whether we mean it or not, we are telling Christ that his sacrifice to pay for our sins is not sufficient.
- Or we enfeeble his authority by not forgiving others; we do not recognize the great power (and the great cost) of his forgiveness when we do not give freely forgive. He who has been forgiven much by his Lord, loves and forgives much (Luke 7:47 with Col. 3:13). It can seem hurtful to say so--forgiving others can hurt as one decides to bear the pain with or without their repentance. Yet, we are commanded to do so in the context of a) the grace of God in Jesus Christ who forgave us, b) the grace of God who not only forgives us, but heals us and blesses us, and c) his lordship--it boils down to whether we accept his lordship and will follow our Lord in character and actions.
- To those who are suffering and sick and perhaps struggling with doubts about the goodness of Christ, it reminds us not only of Jesus' power to heal but also that he has already dealt with our most significant enemy, sin. How will he not graciously give us all things (Rom. 8:31-32)? How can we not trust him to do what is best for us if he has already dealt with our most insidious enemy?
- Or, we take the glory off of him and put it on ourselves. How many of us have read this passage and focused on the healing, on what he does for us? Mark's focus is not the healing and the benefits the man receives, as wonderful as those are. It is about Jesus. He is great. He is good. He is the Son of God. We don't take center stage.
Correcting -- How do I return to the truth? What do I need to do to submit to his lordship? Do I need to repent? Do I need to accept his forgiveness? Do I need to forgive someone? Do I need to rejoice in his forgiveness of sins and his mercy and trust him deeper? Do I need to focus on he is God no matter what, in good or bad, and he is good, no matter what? Do I need to take back stage and recognize he is God and worthy of all the glory? Do I need to take my eyes off of myself?
Training -- How do I consistently learn to walk in this truth? How do I develop an attitude and a lifestyle of forgiveness? How do I learn to rest in his grace, how do I practice preaching it to myself daily? How do I continually refocus myself on his goodness in the midst of suffering? How do I continually look to him as my center and my Lord?
Correcting and training can sound easy written out above... But in practice they are hard. The Spirit uses Scripture to correct us and to train us. He uses the body of Christ to encourage us. He himself equips us and enables us to obey (Phil. 2:13; Phil. 1:6; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 Thes. 5:23). Yet, we work as well (Phil. 2:12). Above all, we rest in the Son of God, who has the authority to forgive sins and has forgiven us and given us his perfect righteousness. In him we hope. And this grateful hope propels us to be more like him, using his Word to teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us to be more like him for his glory.
NOTES
(1) My takes on from Brad Hambrick, "Studying the Bible According to its Functions," Crossroads, www.crossroadsaugusta.org (accessed October 2012); Thomas L. Constable, "Notes on Second Timothy," Sonic Light, http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes.htm (accessed November 2012).
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