Usage of Scripture - Part 1
Into the Ancient Texts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Ideally, we should be moving into the study of the overaching story the scripture is seeking to present to us and studying of the very will of God and how it ties into revelation knowledge, but this becomes quite important as we got a feedback from the teaching over the last few weeks, to study and understand the “usage of scripture”. That is, quoting and referencing a biblical event, and, that the bible can speak to events in our day.
1 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. 3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
So we find a common reading of the scriptures and helping to understand the very meaning of the text of the bible. Similar to what we gather to do on a Sunday morning, Where we gather together to study the word of God and the Pastor helps us to see the sense of the study, of the book.
This is the critical way of seeing the study of scriptures that it is something we should do together, and do that often.
Now, we know the very end goal of that, which is for us to worship God (True worship involves putting God first in one's life and valuing Him above all else).
That means, we am studying the scriptures for this very end goal, to get to see God and value him above all else.
We see this often in how we study the scriptures in-depth, How we dedicate time to it again and again. It is to the point where worship is at the forefront of my life.
God teaching Our Heart.
God teaching Our Heart.
Now, we said that there is a big difference between “knowing” about the scriptures and the scriptures “revealed”. That is, there is the idea I might have about the text of scripture, or God’s will, but I find myself not responding to that, nor am I walking in thesame.
The two are not contradicting each other, but they must be well understood, let us consider an example for this;
Let us examine some examples;
1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord! 2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! 3 They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways. 4 You have commanded us To keep Your precepts diligently. 5 Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes! 6 Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commandments. 7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments. 8 I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!
Notice the people he called blessed! Those who are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD!; He went on to explain those who are that way;
They seek Him with the whole heart!
They also do no iniquity.
They walk in His ways! This is what it looks like to be called blessed.
verse 4 is beautiful,
You have commanded us To keep Your precepts diligently.
verse 5 becomes interesting;
5 Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes! 6 Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commandments.
He distinguished between knowing what to do and actually HOW it will be done, he says, that HIS WAYS were to be directed to keep God’s statutes.
THEN HE WILL NOT BE ASHAMED, When I look into all your commandments.
Notice the separation cleanly again, verse 4 says, THIS IS GOD’S WILL, verse 5 and 6 reveals that for me not to be ashamed when I look into the law of God, my steps have to be directed.
Let us read on;
9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. 10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! 11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
There is a beautiful way the ESV puts it
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
It says, by guarding, it according to your word. Hence, God’s word is the guardrails for my keeping of my way pure.
Then verse 10;
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
He said, whilst I seek you with my whole heart, YOU LORD, LET ME NOT WANDER FROM YOUR COMMANDMENTS.
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
The man begins with a heart posture to know the Lord, to keep his ways pure, and he does that by keeping the law of God in his heart, always before his eyes, not departing from it, then, there is that which the LORD does;
12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Hence, we find a synegy here; where I am seeking the law of God, with my whole heart, to walk in his truth and in his word, and I also recognize my limitation, and that it is God who can teach my heart to walk in his way.
16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. 17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. 18 Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. 19 I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me.
Do not hide your commandments from me.
This is God teaching us his commandment, opening our eyes that we may see wondrous things from his law.
So, whilst we have an idea of things that we are to do; to walk in the law of God, there is something fundamental that we must realize, that it is God who opens our eyes to behold wonderful things from his law, he is the one who enlightens us to recognize beautiful truth from his word, and he is the one who causes us to walk in thesame.
N.B: Something to note, it is those who are indeed seeking with their whole heart that find God and the truth of his word, those with a child-like heart, those who are simple.
Questions of our day
Questions of our day
When we look at the bible, it doesn’t speak of events of our day directly in many ways.
What does “Do not hide your commandments from me.” look like on such subject matters?
For example; The subject matter such as;
Telephone, Social Media, Data Privacy, Cyberbullying and online identity, Organ Transplant and blood transfusion, IVF, Surrogacy, End of life decision such as euthanasia and life support, Remote Work, Global capitalism, Student loans, credit cards, Dating apps, Online relationships, Modern feminism & gender debates, Social justice movements, Mental health awareness & therapy, Climate change and global warming, LGBTQ+ debates and legal recognition of same-sex marriage, Modesty, Fashion trends, tattoos, and body modifications etc.
The question then is this, is God not concerned about these things?
Are we to be subject to individual feeling and interpretation on such matters?
If I am to seek the will of God concerning such matters, HOW DO I APPROACH IT? If I am to seek to know God and seek him above all else on all subject matter, what do I do?
It is easy for things that are directly clear (for example, forgive one another), we would say, it is BY GOD’S REVELATION that we receive both the understanding in our heart, and the ability to do, but the reality is the context of Paul’s walk in love, is within the boundaries of something;
For example; IS PAUL’S LOVE WALK A DEFENSE FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE? Don’t be too quick to say, Yes or No.
Now, it is important to hear what Paul said, and also pay more attention to HOW biblical authors did it.
So, for such matters, we can’t just say “The bible says…”, cos it doesn’t fit right?
Hence, this will go beyond “Do’s and Dont’s” to us fully grasping the revelation of God’s word.
So this is what we call “Usage of Scriptures”.
How do we use the scripture in our day and time?
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
All Scripture has their source in God, and then it is “profitable” for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
I have to believe and find out that God would yet work with same words spoken to the ancient, same words would be the source of HOW he answers the question of our day, carefully.
Let me put it this way, Christianity is a worldview, and a worldview deals with HOW you see the world and interact with it.
Christianity is more than a relationship with Jesus Christ; it is a way of seeing and understanding all reality. It is a worldview that gives meaning to every part of life. - Charles Colson
That means that, since the scripture is to be the source by which all of our realities is shaped, it hold by God’s wisdom the answer to even my questions today.
How would that happen?
It is by God’s spirit, giving a voice to the ancient text, and making it find relevance in our world today.
God is not hiding his law from us, in that same words that do not directly speak about an event, become the source by which God is speaking to you and I today, addressing issues in 2025.
So when we describe revelation of God’s word by God’s spirit, it is also seen in the giving of life to text, whereby they become a means to address issues of our day.
So, God not hiding his law (will) from us, is also that I have divine insight into HOW the text that is ancient is speaking to us today, in 2025, addressing social issues we are experiencing and dealing with.
(We will pick this up in another series much more, in considering Jesus in our world today, exploring alot of these things).
Let us look at an example;
Recognizing underlying issue
Recognizing underlying issue
Let us see what to do and how God’s spirit brings to light such events and moments, whilst I won’t deal with everything today, we want to get to something crucial on how to handle such a matter howbeit, with the help of God’s spirit.
Let us look at Modesty
When this subject comes to mind, certain things immediately runs through our minds, especially in terms of clothing, i.e. HOW MUCH SKIN IS SHOWN?
“A video I saw on this subject”
Look at how the dictionary describes Modesty;
Modesty encompasses both a lack of excessive pride (humility) and propriety in manner, speech, and dress, often involving avoiding undue attention or drawing attention to oneself.
Now, how do we approach such conversation? For example, what we consider modest in 2025 or even in the west, might quite vary from what it is in my country, Nigeria.
What then becomes, the metrics? How is it to be determined?
Popular text we might run to;
9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.
Notice, in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing…
If you notice carefully, Nothing within this text describes the “type” of clothing but rather, flamboyancy. Cos, in his day, what Paul is addressing is not wearing mini skirt, or a man going shirtless, or wearing attention seeking apparel, or a woman, half naked, he was dealing with flamboyancy, that is the (showiness, self-display, wealth flaunting, status-seeking) than “HOW MUCH SKIN YOU SHOW?”.
1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. 3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
Considering the conversation again, it has nothing to do with SKIN, but much to do with flamboyancy i.e. the flaunting (flexing) of wealth, status etc.
Hence, can this conversations really help us in the questions of our day? Can the answer still be in the same scriptures that it is different from ours.
The answer is yes, but it is by understanding human, and God’s plan and God’s spirit is what gives light to man, to see this clearly.
Let us look at Peter abit more;
In their own time and in their own day, the conversation was about restrain even though I have the money or the means to live such flamboyant lifestyle, I am cautioned about it.
Now, What was the restrain all about?
The conversation in 1Peter 3 didn’t start there, it started from 1peter 2:9-12
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Notice, you are God’s chosen generation “THAT YOU MAY PROCLAIM THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT”.
Verse 11 lets us see something, and that thing we see becomes who we are; we are those journeying somewhere, WE DO NOT SEE THIS CURRENT STATE OF OUR WORLD AS THE FINAL THING, BUT THERE IS MORE, TO US THAN THAT., where we are journeying to is A RENEWED WORLD… Hence, we are missionaries in this very present world for God.
verse 12; Having your conduct honerable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Hence, the restrain is not to surpress life, but to further God’s cause (His glory among the nations).
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
Notice again here, BUT FOR THE WILL OF GOD.
Peter’s call to modesty, holiness, and self-control is never about limiting life, but about aligning life to its true cause — which is God’s mission in Christ.
Hence, the question to ask often is not about the act, it is about a futherance of God’s mission vision and also God’s plan for man.
Hence, the conversation doesn’t begin with acts, nor does it end with the actions, it begins with a question that our worldview, which is that LIFE ITSELF IS FOR THE FURTHERANCE OF GOD’S CAUSE.
Hence, How I view conversations of my day, should not begin with HOW I FEEL, OR OPINIONS, It begins with knowing GOD’S PLAN, HIS MISSION AND HIS GOAL.
I should therefore ask, HOW DOES MY OPINION ON THIS MATTER DRIVE THE CONVERSATION OF GOD’S WORK OR MISSION? HOW DOES IT FURTHER OR DETER GOD’S CAUSE? This changes the conversation totally.
Conversations surrounding abortion, or climate change, or IVF, or Feminism etc, are to have in them, my worldview of WHY GOD MADE MAN, WHAT GOD IS DOING, AND HOW THIS FURTHER OR DETER GOD’S CAUSE AND WORK.
9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.
Meaning that it is quite interesting that whilst I will look at the world today, and it is very different from let’s say even 100 years ago, the acts are very different, but the writer here is saying “IT HAS ALREADY BEEN IN ANCIENT TIMES BEFORE US”.
What I am trying to say;
We will find separate kind of actions in our time and day, that are very different, the writer of Ecclesiastes would say, no, they have been in ancient times before us, WHY? Cos whilst we focus on acts, the question actually should be, what has led to this, and also, what does this very act reveal?
It means that the conversation will drive us back to Genesis, in that we will consider WHAT IS MAN? WHY MAN WAS MADE? AND WHAT IS GOD’S VISION FOR MAN AND WITH MAN?
This becomes our incline into dealing with such questions of our day.
Whilst we focus on the act, and even the rules presented to limit immodesty, etc, that is not the root cause of the issue, and nor is it the answer or the WHY to do it.
In Conclusion
In Conclusion
That means, we always begin with “bible study has it’s end in worship”, but what does that worship look like? It is in my furtherance of God’s work and cause in this world.
The usage of Scripture in our day is not about hunting proof-texts for modern acts, but about hearing the Spirit’s voice through the text, showing us how every issue — old or new — must be framed under God’s mission: His glory, His kingdom, His people, His redemption.
