3 Streams: The Scriptural
One of the heroes of the faith from the 20th Century was known as Brother Andrew. As a missionary from the Netherlands, he and the ministry he founded called Open Doors, made hundreds of trips behind the Iron Curtain smuggling Bibles into the Soviet Union. He risked his life and freedom to bring Bibles to those living where it was illegal to own and read one. Brother Andrew knew the importance of Scripture in the life of a believer.
He chronicled some of the early years of his ministry in the book, God’s Smuggler, where he described the daring boarder crossings in his blue VW Beetle during the 1950s. He would hide Bibles throughout his car and luggage for distribution in the communist block country. Before the guards would search his car he made it aa habit to pray:
“Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to Your children. When You were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.”
This missionary hero died in 2022 at age 94. At the time of his death Open Doors was in 60 countries and expanded to serve the persecuted church in teaching, training, and distribution of Bibles and materials. Getting the Scriptures to those who did not have them continues to be the primary purpose of their ministry.
When we talk about the 3 streams of the church, The Sacramental, The Spiritual, and The Scriptural, the stream concerning The Scripture seems to be the one most traditions agree is very important. No matter what your Christian background, like Brother Andrew, Christendom seems to agree that the Bible is essential to know God.
In the last 100 years, however, doubts about the relevance, interpretation, or the authenticity of Scripture has crept into the church and done damage to the faith passed down from our church Fathers and Mothers. Modernity hasn’t been kind to the culture’s view of this our most important book.
In the Anglican Tradition we hold the teaching and reading of Scripture in highest regard. The daily personal reading, and weekly corporate reading of Scripture is the life-blood of hearing from God, walking in His ways, and encouraging others. The Book of Common Prayer has daily, weekly, and seasonal readings.
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture in God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NIV).
In theory this seems like something that would be obvious. “At church we read the Bible and live by what it says”, we might say. But when you look at practice, even among the churches faithful, it isn’t quite so easy. Too often the church, or we as members of the church, embrace the cultures view of the Bible instead of scripture. Too often we misinterpret scriptures in order to fit our own desires and ideas about God. The Bible isn’t a like a thermometer that changes as the “cultural temperature” rises and falls around it. The Bible its mean to be a thermostat that changes our inner temperature and disposition to the cultural shifts to be more like HIm.
This week I’ve been meditating on the Sermon on the Mount in my morning times with God. Probably more than any other scripture, I have memorized, meditated, and tried to apply Jesus’ teaching in this sermon to my life. What strikes me as I meditate on Jesus’ words again, is how counter-cultural His words are in our society. The generous and loving action and instruction of God towards us is seen in every utterance of this sermon.
“Love your enemy”, “Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven not on earth”, and “don’t be anxious about your life” is such an antithetical message to the heart and action of our culture today.
So here is my question: Will we hear the words of Scripture and allow it to bend our loves to that of the Father, or will it be the other way around? In the Anglican tradition, the stream of The Scripture compels us to look at the Bible carefully and seriously and learn about who God really is. We allow the Bible to change our will and understanding, rather than changing what it was meant to say. This a key to growing in our faith.
Now none of us are so naive to think this is an easy task. The Bible is a complicated book with dozens of authors. The Church has been interpreting scripture for millennia and come to some pretty different conclusions on some issues. However, on the big issues of the nature of God, man, and salvation there has been some pretty strong agreement.
When I speak of the balance of the 3 streams there is a good example here. Out of the corporate contemplation of God’s word, the church has developed Creeds and beliefs that are universal to the church and denominations of all stripes. Anglicans, along with Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Methodist and others, say the Nicene or Apostles Creed each week before the sermon as part of our liturgical practice (The Sacramental).
In this practice we find an example of balance. We listen to the liturgy of the creeds (The Sacramental) and then hold the sermon (The Scriptural) to this standard. Taking the scriptural stream seriously means we look at these interpretations historically, grammatically, and in context to understand and learn.
When we take the approach The Scriptural stream as a “lifetime learner”, then we will be in consistent and constant growth into the person God has created us to be. Our love relationship with God will deepen as we swim in this stream called The Scripture.
Blessings and peace,
Rev. Todd