the Bible: reading for transformation

Over the past weeks we have been looking at scripture as something of a faith practice. We grow as more complete disciples of Jesus when we have a regular pattern of spending time in the word of God. And we have talked about that in a few different categories so far. We began by looking at the way in which we read the Bible for understanding; we see the gospel message of God revealed in scripture when we read it in ways which enable us to understand what we are reading. Then we looked at the way in which we read the Bible for identity; we see in the message of the Bible a story that embraces and includes us as part of that story.

we change to become more complete disciples of Jesus as we spend time in scripture

Today I want us to consider the ways in which the Bible changes us. God’s word is meant to be transformative. We change to become more complete disciples of Jesus as we spend time in scripture. Sadly, that is not the way many people approach scripture. And I do not mean for that to be a critical observation just for our time and our culture. I think it has always been that way. I say that because Jesus himself addresses it. Jesus talked about the way in which the Israelites during his time also heard the word of God, but never allowed it to form and shape their lives differently; they never allowed God’s word given to them to be transformative. There are two stories from Jesus that illustrate this point. Both of these stories come from an extended section of teaching from Jesus that is often called the Sermon on the Mount. The more comprehensive recording of this teaching can be found in Matthew 5-7. But a version of these teaching also appear in Luke’s gospel; that’s where we will be turning to see for today. The first story from Jesus is about a tree and its fruit. The second story from Jesus is about two different houses.

Luke 6:43–49 (NIV)

Luke 6:43–49 NIV

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Let’s talk about two things here in this message today. Let’s start by noting what Jesus lays out as his expectations for the word. And second, we will try to give it a practical framework for seeing how the Bible works for us as followers of Jesus today. First, though, the expectations of Jesus. As I mentioned before, this passage is set within a larger section of teaching from Jesus. And in fact, the stories we see here today form the conclusion of those sections. Jesus takes time to give an extended teaching for his disciples that includes many topics and stories. And then Jesus wraps up those teachings with these two stories about trees and houses.

Jesus compares his word to a tree and its fruit

The first comparison Jesus makes is between his word and a tree. Just like a tree is expected to produce fruit, so the word of God is meant to produce something in the lives of those who hear it and receive it. Jesus says that his word is good, like a good tree. Therefore, Jesus expects that those who hear his words will produce fruit that is good. I find it interesting that there is no lack of fruit in the way Jesus tells this story. It is not a matter of whether there is fruit or there is no fruit. The assumption is that there will always be fruit. The difference is the kind of fruit. A good tree produces good fruit. A bad tree produces bad fruit.

apostle Paul identifies the good fruit that the Holy Spirit produces as a result of the word: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

We know from elsewhere in scripture what that fruit looks like. The apostle Paul identifies the good fruit that the Holy Spirit produces as a result of the word: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Paul also talks about the bad fruit: bitterness, envy, jealousy, greed, anger. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a person who is bitter or envious or angry. I want to be a person who, more-and-more, sees the good fruit of love and joy and peace. Jesus makes a connection here in this story between that good fruit and his word.

Jesus compares his word to a house and its foundation

The other story in this passage is about two kinds of houses. There is a house that is built upon a firm foundation, and there is a house that is built on loose ground. The house with a solid foundation is able to withstand the storm. But the house on loose ground is washed away to complete destruction in the storm. Again, Jesus says that his words play into the difference between the two. Jesus expects his people to hear and respond to the word of God in ways that produce a particular result, that his people would bear good fruit and that his people would be established on a solid foundation.

Jesus expects his people to hear and respond to the word of God in ways that produce a particular result

These things come to us through the word of God as transformation. Followers of Jesus are people who become more and more sanctified by the Holy Spirit as we spend more and more time in the word of God. That means something very particular. It means I should always be reading the word of God looking for and expecting moments of this transformation to be happening in my life. It is not an approach to scripture as a club to beat over the heads of others to change them. It is an approach to scripture as a mirror to better see a reflection of my own life. It is not an approach to scripture as proof-texts to justify my own stances and opinions. It is an approach to scripture which affirms I am justified only through Christ, and am now being renewed into his image.

the key to transformation is not just reading scripture; it is obeying scripture

There is a very important detail in the way Jesus tells these stories. Jesus insists that it is not just hearing the word, not just knowing the word; it is doing what the word says. It is not just about reading scripture; it is about obeying scripture. That, according to Jesus, is what makes all the difference between producing good fruit or producing bad fruit, between a house with a solid foundation or a house with no foundation. However, this also leaves us with a bit of a problem because we do not want to be legalistic. We do not want to reduce the word of God to just being a list of rules because that is not transformative either. So, now we are left with a more significant question; how should we be reading the word of God in order to produce real spiritual transformation in our lives?

how to read scripture for transformation instead of legalism

This leaves us with a bit to untangle. I want to read the Bible for personal transformation in my spiritual life. But I do not want my reading of the Bible to be reduced to checking off a list of rules. Let me suggest today that perhaps we tend to get the paradigm wrong. And it is not just us. There are so many examples in the gospels in which Jesus calls out the Pharisees and religious people for reducing God’s word to just a set of rules. On the one hand, Jesus says that we experience transformation when we do what the Bible says. On the other hand, the Bible is not meant to be a book that just tells us what to do and how to behave.

There is another way to see it. Let me give credit to Mark Baker’s book Centered-Set Church for helping to frame this paradigm. Baker, in his book, talks about growing up thinking about the Bible and how Christians respond to the Bible in two ways. He calls those two ways the bounded set and the fuzzy set. Bounded set Christianity sees the Bible and the Christian life as existing inside a set of rules. The Bible exists to reveal the way to salvation by defining the boundaries. All the different rules and laws and regulations in scripture pull together to form the fences and walls that Christians are supposed to live within. And the way you know you are a Christian is if you can live by staying within the boundaries.

the bounded set approach to the Bible

Baker points out that there are far too many rules and regulations in the Bible for us to ever successfully pull this off. and so every tradition tends to pull forward and prop up whatever it happens to see as its set of essential rules which form this boundary. The problem is, every different tradition within the Christian church has created different boundaries. I might be inside one groups set of boundaries, but at the same time outside of another groups boundaries. Just earlier this week someone was telling me a story from years ago about going to see a friend make profession of faith at her friend’s church. What this person did not know is that this particular church had a boundary about the way women were required to dress: only dresses or skirts were permitted for women. She told me that the ushers would not let her into the sanctuary that day sit and be a part of the worship service in which her friend was making profession of faith. Wearing pants to church was inside the boundary of her own church, but it was outside the boundary of another church.

scripture defines the boundaries to tell us who is Christian and who is not — problem: people arbitrarily select different boundaries

Go on down the list and pick your issues. We in the church have spent a lot of time and effort trying to keep inside of boundaries and trying to keep others outside those boundaries. The bounded set church just ends up being legalistic and judgmental. Real spiritual transformation is hard to see in a bounded set way of approaching scripture.

the fuzzy set approach to the Bible

The obvious alternative to that is what Baker calls the fuzzy set. If the bounded set is too legalistic and judgmental, the answer for the fuzzy set it to remove the boundaries. Or at least make the boundaries so vague and undefined that they appear “fuzzy” if in fact any boundaries exist at all. In this set anyone and everyone is welcome no matter what. There is no judgmentalism and there is no legalism. In fact, when you take a fuzzy set kind of Christianity to its furthest extreme, you are free to make up whatever rules you want and are free to believe whatever you want.

scripture has no boundaries to tell us who is Christian and who is not — problem: people have no unifying identity to their faith

Now the Bible becomes a take-it-or-leave-it buffet of teachings and wisdom which end up amounting to another more than suggestions. In the fuzzy set we solve the problem of legalism, but exchange it for a whole new set of problems. In the fuzzy set there is no group identity which holds everyone together, there is no vision or mission which compels the church. The only mission is that there can be no mission except just trying to all get along. There is no room in the fuzzy set for what we Jesus saying in the passage today; that followers of Jesus need to not only hear the word of God, but need to do what it says. This set doesn’t work either.

the centered set approach to the Bible

That leaves Baker to suggest what he presents as a paradigm which makes sense for Christian faith. He calls it the centered set. In the centered set scripture does not act as a fence or boundary defining who is in and who is out. Rather scripture defines the center point towards which everything else is directed and moving. And it should come as no surprise that Baker places Jesus as this center point in our faith. And now scripture becomes for us something more like a compass. Scripture tells us what direction our spiritual lives would be pointing and moving.

scripture is pointed towards Jesus and invites us to move closer to Jesus — problem: tension among Christians being a diverse group of people

What is unique about a centered-set way of viewing the church is that it is no longer a boundary that defines who is in and who is out. Rather, it is direction and movement which defines who is in and who is out. This means there may be individuals who at this moment may be living way outside of what others might consider a boundary of scripture, but if their hearts are turned towards Jesus and their lives are taking steps in a direction to be closer to Jesus, then they are inside of the Christian faith. Alternatively, there may be people who live by all the right rules and meet all the expectations to be inside the boundaries, but if their hearts are not directed towards Jesus and their lives are not seeking God in faith, then they are outside the Christian faith.

regular time spent reading God’s word keeps my soul pointed in the direction of Jesus — regular time spent reading God’s word allows the Holy Spirit to do the transformational work in my heart that keeps my life moving closer to Jesus

Within the centered set, there is a place to read scripture and obey scripture that is truly personally transformational for your spiritual life. And within the centered set, there is a way to hold and value the word of God which is not reduced to judgmental legalism. Regular time spent reading God’s word keeps my soul pointed in the direction of Jesus. Regular time spent reading God’s word allows the Holy Spirit to do that transformational work in my heart that keeps my life moving closer to Jesus. I started this series on the Bible several weeks ago with this definition of using scripture as a faith practice: the Bible is the life-giving revelation of God immersing us in the true story of God's faithful love so that we become more like Jesus as we grow in recognizing God, ourselves, and the world around us.