Education is a precious gift that should not be taken for granted. Like every other good gift we receive, this one is also “from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). It is safe to assume God has the heart of a teacher. Teachers like to share all they know with their students, and Jesus gives a way that He and His Father are like that: “for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:15). What would happen if we read the Bible through the lens of the student-teacher relationship? What if we listened to our divine Teacher and asked ourselves what is God trying to teach me today from this lesson? Taking a walk outside may be no less an opportunity to learn from the Master Teacher, remembering how often He used nature as His chalkboard. All in all, we must settle into, and embrace, the role of student if we are to appreciate fully God’s gift of education.
Perhaps part of God’s motivation for making us “in His image” is so that our similarity to Him would facilitate the communication of His love and knowledge to us. The lesson speaks of a “meeting of the minds,” one divine and one human, that allows this communion to happen. Being rational is one of those qualities that separates us from the rest of creation. To what degree should we rely upon reasoning in order to understand the plan of redemption?
Part II: Commentary
Illustration
This lesson has highlighted the importance of seeing God in the position of the divine Teacher and us as His students. The crown jewel of His teaching is the plan of redemption and restoration of this lost world. We are not only to learn of this plan, we then are to share it with others. The problem is that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to communicate the truths of the gospel to a culture that does not share some of the presuppositions that undergird a Christian worldview.
For example, a Christian may want to witness by sharing a favorite Bible verse with a college friend but soon realizes that the friend sees the Bible as a compilation of myths with zero credibility. Now what? When the Christian skips the Bible and goes straight to explaining how God sent Jesus to die for our sins, he or she is met with a disdainful look over the word sin. “Sin?” the friend smirks. “Sin is an outdated concept from the days when religion controlled the society.” We’ve moved beyond objective morality. In other words, what may be a “sin” for you may be a virtue in another culture. The Christian struggles to look unperturbed and as a last-ditch effort says that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” and that salvation can be found in Him if you believe. The friend patronizingly pats the Christian on the shoulder and remarks that postmodern studies have shown that the term “truth” is problematic and is a throwback to the era of modernity. The friend expresses contentment that the Christian has found a path that brings him peace but that he or she is on a different one. They part ways, and the Christian is left wondering why that whole witnessing opportunity didn’t go the way it was supposed to.
As defeating as that last scenario sounded, it at least highlights another problem. The problem is that there are two distinct responses the Christian is encouraged to adopt. One is to pray that his or her college friend will see the light and exercise faith in spite of the boat load of intellectual arguments compelling him or her not to. The second response also would be to pray, but then to immerse oneself in the relevant academic literature of philosophy, biblical and systematic theology, history, faith/science studies, and other disciplines that would equip him or her to effectively handle the friend’s skeptical concerns. So, which is it? Pray and leave it alone, or take advantage of the democratization of information and seek to educate oneself to the highest levels that are realistic in one’s given situation and to continue to pray, as well?
Discuss:
Ask the pointed question above to your Sabbath School class, and you are bound to receive passionate answers on both sides of the issue. One passage that inevitably comes up is 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2, which reads, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” The next section takes a closer look at this text.
Scripture
On first reading 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2, one could conclude that the only strategy in evangelizing should be the mention of Jesus and His crucifixion. Avoiding arguments associated with wisdom and “excellent” speech appears to be a good thing. But there are some red flags with this interpretation. First, it goes against many sermons in Acts in which careful arguments, historical evidence, and logic are all utilized effectively to convince others of the identity of Jesus Christ and of His resurrection (e.g., Acts 2, Acts 7). In fact, in the same epistle Paul will use these tools to persuasively support the truth of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). The following alternative and contextualized interpretations are offered in part by J. P. Moreland, a well-known Christian apologist (J. P. Moreland, Love Your God With All Your Mind [Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1997], p. 58).
There is a false and prideful use of reason that is not conducive to spreading the gospel. Reason itself and “wisdom from above” cannot be under condemnation, but only its abuse. “It is hubris (pride) that is in view, not nous (mind). God chose foolish (moria) things that were offensive to human pride, not to reason properly used. For example, the idea of God being crucified was so offensive that the Greek spirit would have judged it to be morally disgusting.”
Paul could also have the use of Greek rhetoric in mind. Greek orators prided themselves on being able to argue persuasively any side of an issue for the right price. The truth of a matter becomes secondary in this context, and the prize goes to whoever gives the slickest, most polished speech. Paul may well want to distance himself from these methods.
Paul may also be arguing for the insufficiency of pure reason alone to communicate the gospel. It is not possible first to begin with principles of logic and deduction and somehow arrive at a crucified and risen divine Savior. Revelation, apostolic/prophetic testimony, the draw of the Holy Spirit, and faith are necessary components in conjunction with reason to make the move from unbelief to a commitment to Christ.
There are some things Paul says that are hard to understand (2 Pet. 3:16). Context helps. Also, because it is safe to assume he is not a hypocrite who is violating his own counsel, it is always wise to look at how he himself applies his counsel when he writes and preaches. So when he says, “I’m only preaching Christ and Him crucified,” even a quick reading of Romans 1–12 helps us to realize that his preaching Christ and Him crucified may amount to crafting a dense, difficult, novel, profound, and brilliant theological treatise that has kept scholars occupied for centuries.
The relationship between faith, reason, academic theology, private Bible study, the Holy Spirit’s role, evangelism, and Adventist education is all rather opaque to many Christians. Many are bewildered as to why they should send their children through to higher Adventist education when they already have the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White, and the Holy Spirit at their disposal. Why not save the thousands of dollars and perhaps do an evangelistic Bible study course through the mail?
This question brings us back to our illustration of the young Christian trying to witness to a college friend, and what his or her educational responsibilities are, in order to address the friend’s questions. If all that Heaven expects the Christian to do is pray and quote verses, then it seems reasonable that he or she need pursue neither further college education nor self-education (not everyone can afford a firsthand college experience, but we can learn from the writings and resources of those who can). Perhaps two quotes can move us in the right direction, one from Peter and one from C. S. Lewis:
“Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15).
“If all the world were Christian, it might not matter if all the world were educated. But a cultural life will exist outside the Church whether it exists inside or not. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”—C. S. Lewis (accessed from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/573332-if-all-the-world-were-Christian-it-might-not-matter).
Part III: Life Application
How did people see Jesus when He walked the earth? Search the four Gospels for all the times He was called “redeemer,” and you’ll come up with nothing. Try looking for “savior” in those same gospels (three occurrences—two were spoken either by an angel or by someone before He was born). Search for Rabbi, master, or teacher, and one can quickly see how people saw Jesus. Of course, He was more than a teacher, but the point is He was never not a teacher. His saving work is tied together with His teaching work. How does this point affect how we share the gospel and what type of education we should acquire?
Read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount or Paul’s letter to the Romans, and notice that they have both a theoretical side and a practical side. Looking at your life right now, which of those two sides of development need attention? Do you need to do more or learn more? If the later, what more do you feel you need to learn?
Besides needing to have our souls saved for His kingdom, we also have many ideas that need to be restored or corrected. Do you think there is a place for applying the concept of redemption to the totality of ideas in our minds? Explain your answer.
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Education is a precious gift that should not be taken for granted. Like every other good gift we receive, this one is also “from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). It is safe to assume God has the heart of a teacher. Teachers like to share all they know with their students, and Jesus gives a way that He and His Father are like that: “for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:15). What would happen if we read the Bible through the lens of the student-teacher relationship? What if we listened to our divine Teacher and asked ourselves what is God trying to teach me today from this lesson? Taking a walk outside may be no less an opportunity to learn from the Master Teacher, remembering how often He used nature as His chalkboard. All in all, we must settle into, and embrace, the role of student if we are to appreciate fully God’s gift of education.
Perhaps part of God’s motivation for making us “in His image” is so that our similarity to Him would facilitate the communication of His love and knowledge to us. The lesson speaks of a “meeting of the minds,” one divine and one human, that allows this communion to happen. Being rational is one of those qualities that separates us from the rest of creation. To what degree should we rely upon reasoning in order to understand the plan of redemption?
Part II: Commentary
Illustration
This lesson has highlighted the importance of seeing God in the position of the divine Teacher and us as His students. The crown jewel of His teaching is the plan of redemption and restoration of this lost world. We are not only to learn of this plan, we then are to share it with others. The problem is that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to communicate the truths of the gospel to a culture that does not share some of the presuppositions that undergird a Christian worldview.
For example, a Christian may want to witness by sharing a favorite Bible verse with a college friend but soon realizes that the friend sees the Bible as a compilation of myths with zero credibility. Now what? When the Christian skips the Bible and goes straight to explaining how God sent Jesus to die for our sins, he or she is met with a disdainful look over the word sin. “Sin?” the friend smirks. “Sin is an outdated concept from the days when religion controlled the society.” We’ve moved beyond objective morality. In other words, what may be a “sin” for you may be a virtue in another culture. The Christian struggles to look unperturbed and as a last-ditch effort says that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” and that salvation can be found in Him if you believe. The friend patronizingly pats the Christian on the shoulder and remarks that postmodern studies have shown that the term “truth” is problematic and is a throwback to the era of modernity. The friend expresses contentment that the Christian has found a path that brings him peace but that he or she is on a different one. They part ways, and the Christian is left wondering why that whole witnessing opportunity didn’t go the way it was supposed to.
As defeating as that last scenario sounded, it at least highlights another problem. The problem is that there are two distinct responses the Christian is encouraged to adopt. One is to pray that his or her college friend will see the light and exercise faith in spite of the boat load of intellectual arguments compelling him or her not to. The second response also would be to pray, but then to immerse oneself in the relevant academic literature of philosophy, biblical and systematic theology, history, faith/science studies, and other disciplines that would equip him or her to effectively handle the friend’s skeptical concerns. So, which is it? Pray and leave it alone, or take advantage of the democratization of information and seek to educate oneself to the highest levels that are realistic in one’s given situation and to continue to pray, as well?
Discuss:
Ask the pointed question above to your Sabbath School class, and you are bound to receive passionate answers on both sides of the issue. One passage that inevitably comes up is 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2, which reads, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” The next section takes a closer look at this text.
Scripture
On first reading 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2, one could conclude that the only strategy in evangelizing should be the mention of Jesus and His crucifixion. Avoiding arguments associated with wisdom and “excellent” speech appears to be a good thing. But there are some red flags with this interpretation. First, it goes against many sermons in Acts in which careful arguments, historical evidence, and logic are all utilized effectively to convince others of the identity of Jesus Christ and of His resurrection (e.g., Acts 2, Acts 7). In fact, in the same epistle Paul will use these tools to persuasively support the truth of the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). The following alternative and contextualized interpretations are offered in part by J. P. Moreland, a well-known Christian apologist (J. P. Moreland, Love Your God With All Your Mind [Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1997], p. 58).
There are some things Paul says that are hard to understand (2 Pet. 3:16). Context helps. Also, because it is safe to assume he is not a hypocrite who is violating his own counsel, it is always wise to look at how he himself applies his counsel when he writes and preaches. So when he says, “I’m only preaching Christ and Him crucified,” even a quick reading of Romans 1–12 helps us to realize that his preaching Christ and Him crucified may amount to crafting a dense, difficult, novel, profound, and brilliant theological treatise that has kept scholars occupied for centuries.
The relationship between faith, reason, academic theology, private Bible study, the Holy Spirit’s role, evangelism, and Adventist education is all rather opaque to many Christians. Many are bewildered as to why they should send their children through to higher Adventist education when they already have the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White, and the Holy Spirit at their disposal. Why not save the thousands of dollars and perhaps do an evangelistic Bible study course through the mail?
This question brings us back to our illustration of the young Christian trying to witness to a college friend, and what his or her educational responsibilities are, in order to address the friend’s questions. If all that Heaven expects the Christian to do is pray and quote verses, then it seems reasonable that he or she need pursue neither further college education nor self-education (not everyone can afford a firsthand college experience, but we can learn from the writings and resources of those who can). Perhaps two quotes can move us in the right direction, one from Peter and one from C. S. Lewis:
“Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15).
“If all the world were Christian, it might not matter if all the world were educated. But a cultural life will exist outside the Church whether it exists inside or not. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”—C. S. Lewis (accessed from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/573332-if-all-the-world-were-Christian-it-might-not-matter).
Part III: Life Application