Do you take joy in your job or career? Do you feel called to the work that you do? Or is it just something you have to do for a paycheck? Do you consciously or unconsciously check your Christian faith at the door when you clock in at your job?
Christian speaker and businessman Os Hillman believes that Christians are called to do much more with their careers than collect a paycheck and dutifully progress up the corporate ladder. He’s written a daily devotional called TGIF—Today God is First—to explore the ways that faith brings purpose to a Christian’s work, as well as the ways that faith challenges cultural assumptions about how and why we work in the first place.
Working with Os, we’ve selected 14 of the best devotionals from TGIF and have made them available as a free daily email devotional experience here at Bible Gateway. When you sign up, you’ll receive a short daily reflection from Os exploring topics like effective leadership, integrity in the workplace, and healthy relationships with your colleagues. Click here to sign up.
Os’ devotions are especially relevant for Christians in the business and corporate worlds, but will resonate with anyone who wants to find more meaning behind the work they do each day, whether that work is as a church leader, a stay-at-home parent, or anything else. We think this two-week devotional experience will help you understand your work not as a necessary evil, but as a calling and a ministry. Sign up today!
This lesson is part of Mel Lawrenz’ “How to Study the Bible” series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.
I always feel a little insulted when I read instructions on something like a tube of antiseptic ointment and they tell me: APPLY TOPICALLY. NOT TO BE INGESTED. I figure that much is obvious. There is a real problem, of course, if someone somewhere swallows a medicine that is supposed to be applied to the skin.
Application is the last step in the so-called inductive method of Bible study. The first step is to observe (examining the words, the structure, the details), the second is to interpret (figuring out what the author meant), and then application. We know that if our observation is incomplete or our interpretation is askew, we will miss the truth and power of Scripture. But it is also true that misapplication of the meaning of biblical texts is invalid and even dangerous.
Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid when applying Scripture:
1. Imagining a spiritual meaning in a narrative text that is not embedded in the text itself.
Narrative texts—whether they are the stories of the Old Testament historical books, or the four Gospels, or the book of Acts—mostly tell us the unfolding of real-life stories. We gain lessons about life from the stories, but usually there is not a simple “moral to the story” unless indicated by the text itself. The way God guided the Israelites through the wilderness is not the way he guides you or me to a job opportunity. The military tactics of Joshua are best understood as a description of what happened, not as a strategy for successful living. The transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain was a unique historic event. Its significance is about the identity of Jesus, and does not really have a parallel in my life. Narrative texts have meaning in the context of the whole sweeping story of the people of God. But their details may be applied only when clearly indicated or there is a transcendent principle like Joshua telling the people “choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15).
2. Taking historical narratives as prescriptive rather than descriptive.
Narratives tell us what happened, they don’t necessary tell us what should have happened then, or what should happen today in our lives. For example, we glean from the book of Acts how the first generation of Christians lived, but that does not mean these prescribe how we should live. Acts 2:46 says the first believers met every day in the temple courts. That does not mean that believers today are obligated to gather every day in one specific place. They sold their property and gave the proceeds away, an example of generous, open hearts, but not a command that believers should be socialistic in their lifestyle. We know that in the first century churches were led by elders, sometimes supervised by an apostle or apostle’s representative (like Timothy). Later in the New Testament the role of deacons was developed. But this does not mean it is wrong today for a church to have a senior pastor, or for there to be pastors of children and evangelism and worship or small group leaders.
2. Using an application that is not connected with the actual meaning of the text.
Jesus’ statement: “I am the bread of life” is not about physical nutrition. Hebrews 12:1‘s “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” is not about competing with your co-workers or neighbors. It is about perseverance, as is directly stated in the text.
3. Reading your own theology into the text.
If someone has strong convictions about baptism, that’s fine, but it is a mistake to see baptism wherever there is water splashing about in the Bible. Grace is amazing, it really is. And it appears throughout Scripture, including in words like mercy, love, benevolence. But grace is balanced by truth. Likewise, someone who loves to proclaim truth must not leave grace behind. It is hard for us to see what our theological presuppositions are, but if we do not, we will frequently apply Scripture in unbalanced ways, and we are less likely to have the joy of discovery of truths we had not seen before.
Applying Scripture is the reward of study well done. We just need to make sure we’re applying the truth exactly where it belongs.
Mel Lawrenz trains an international network of Christian leaders, ministry pioneers, and thought-leaders. He served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for ten years and now serves as Elmbrook’s minister at large. He has a Ph.D. in the history of Christian thought and is on the adjunct faculty of Trinity International University. Mel is the author of 18 books, the latest, How to Understand the Bible—A Simple Guide and Spiritual Influence: the Hidden Power Behind Leadership (Zondervan, 2012). See more of Mel’s writing at WordWay.
When Jesus walked the Earth, he gave his followers more than 100 life-changing promises. He also gave more than 100 teachings for living in line with God’s priorities—commands that lift up rather than weigh down. What if you had been there to hear him speak?
Why do you believe Christians need to immerse themselves in the words of Christ?
Steven K. Scott: Jesus made at least 21 miraculous promises about his words, that he didn’t make about the rest of Scripture. And he made those promises exclusively to his followers who will “abide” in his words by hearing and “doing” them! In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus tells us that if we will hear his sayings and do them, we will be like a house built on the rock that will withstand the storms of life. He then says in verses 26-27, that those who hear his words and don’t do them will be like the man who built his house on the sand.
In John 14:21-24, Jesus tells all of us that we love him and the Father the way they want to be loved when we obey Jesus’ commands. He also says, those who don’t love him don’t obey his commands. Jesus tells us that his words are “Spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). Unlike other words that merely inform, his words actually infuse his Spirit and his life into our spirit and life. Jesus’ words provide the path to experience continuous intimacy with him and the Father. In John 15, Jesus tells us that his words are the key to having our prayers answered, bearing fruit, glorifying God, remaining in his love, having his joy in us, and having our joy overflow. Finally, he tells us that we are to “make disciples” by “teaching them to obey everything I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). In all, the Gospels record nearly 2,000 life-giving statements of Christ.
What does Jesus say will happen if we abide in his words and obey them?
Steven K. Scott: In John 8:31-32, Jesus tells brand new believers, “If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The fact that he said this to believers who were only “minutes old” in their belief in Christ, means it’s a universal truth. It applies to any believer, regardless of age or gender. Whether they’ve been a believer for 20 minutes or 20 years, they can become Jesus’ disciple by “abiding” in his words.
Describe your book, its format, and how it helps people abide in Christ’s words.
Steven K. Scott:Jesus Speaks provides 365 teachings on the teachings of Christ. Each day starts with a red-lettered statement. The entry then springboards off of that statement and reflects or paraphrases Christ’s other statements on that day’s topic. The entry then ends with a second red-lettered statement that reinforces that day’s message. So there’s over 700 red-lettered statements in the book. Each entry is about a 3-minute read and provides a very easy gateway into the practice of abiding in Jesus’ words.
What do you say to people who may think casting your devotional content in the first person of Jesus to be presumptuous?
Steven K. Scott: I understand their concern. Jesus said, “What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!” (Matthew 10:27 NLT). Each night as I wrote the entries, I would start with a red-lettered statement. Then the Holy Spirit would perform the ministry Jesus said he would when he said that the Holy Spirit will “bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26 NLT). He would flood my mind with Jesus’ words, and then a little “sermonette” based entirely on the words of Christ would quickly come into my mind, and that’s what I would type. At the bottom of each page I give a reference to that day’s topic in The Greatest Words Ever Spoken, so readers could then see everything Jesus said on that topic. When they do, they’ll realize my paraphrasing did not misrepresent the teachings of Christ on that days’ topic. In fact, they’ll be amazed at how much Jesus said about the subject that was touched upon in the devotional.
How can we learn about God the Father through the words of Jesus?
Steven K. Scott: Jesus said, “No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). So if a believer doesn’t know what Jesus said about the Father, any concept he has about the Father will be incomplete. Jesus made over 100 statements about the Father and over 100 assertions about his relationship with the Father. Most believers I’ve met know very little about what Jesus said about the Father and his relationship with the Father. In Jesus Speaks, believers will not only discover the heart and mind of Christ, they’ll come to see the Father from Jesus’ point of view. In his review of the book, Charles Stanley wrote, “I’m certain that readers will grow in their intimate relationships with the Father as they focus on Jesus’ words daily…” That’s one of my greatest hopes for the reader: to begin to know the Father through Jesus’ words.
How did meditating on the words of Jesus affect the late Gary Smalley?
Steven K. Scott: I gave Gary the manuscript last May, and the first week he texted me and then called me and said, “This book is changing my life!!!” He would not only read the three-minute devotional each day, but would then spend up to an hour-and-a-half reading everything Jesus said on that day’s topic in The Greatest Words Ever Spoken. He said he was coming to know the Father and Jesus more intimately than he had ever known them. He said it changed everything!
What do you hope will happen with people who read this devotional?
Steven K. Scott: My hope for all of the readers is that they will experience what Gary Smalley and I have experienced:
they will come to know the Father and Jesus more intimately, and that they will discover the joy of knowing the heart, mind, and will of the Lord Jesus Christ
they will begin to live according to his teachings, and experience the joyful and miraculous life that he has called them to live
they will store up treasures in heaven and influence countless others to know and follow Christ.
What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and the Bible Gateway App?
Steven K. Scott: I am SO grateful for Bible Gateway. I use it daily as an instant “go to” for every Scripture that I look up. I use it for every book I write! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Trinity Sunday is June 12, 2022. Browse resources about the Trinity in the Bible Gateway Store.
The New Testament writers present the Trinity in a variety of orders; not only “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Is the order intentional? Should it impact our understanding of God and the mission of the church? Does the order of the three names correspond to a particular purpose of God?
What first led you to take notice of the way God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are ordered differently in various Bible verses?
Rodrick Durst: While reading the Bible in 2005, I noted the unexpected triune order in the apostle Paul’s benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14, “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The order of this triune reference was Son-Father-Spirit. And I asked myself, why did Paul reorder the Trinity in this verse? This set me off on a quest to discover just how many instances of identifying the three persons by name in the triune God could be found in the New Testament no matter the order of those three.
How many Scripture verses include a triadic order of divine reference?
Rodrick Durst: In my search through the New Testament, I quickly found 75 instances in which God is named in one of six different triune orders. We know that any three entities can be ordered in six different ways and the New Testament repeatedly makes use of all six possible orders of Father, Son, and Spirit.
Liturgical: Holy Spirit, Father, Son (e.g., Jude 20-21)
What is the triadic order in the majority of the verses?
Rodrick Durst: I organized all of this biblical data into an Excel spreadsheet so I could analyze it. The traditional order Father-Son-Spirit is used 18 times or 24% of the total Trinitarian references. The Son-Spirit-Father triad is used 15 times or 20% of the whole, with the Son-Father-Spirit order coming in a close third with 14 instances or 19% of the time. All of the remaining orders occurred at least eight times each.
Why is the way the Trinity is ordered in these verses important?
Rodrick Durst: This project took on a much larger significance when I began to wonder if specific Trinitarian orders were used consistently in specific contexts. I studied all of the instances of the traditional Father-Son-Spirit order and discovered that this order normally occurs in a mission will context. This order is God sending. The context of Matthew 28:18-20 is the sending out of the disciples to the nations. This same mission will order is repeated in John 20:21. Whenever the reverse order, Spirit-Son-Father, is used, the context is generally related to the church being united as one. In Ephesians 4, where the whole context is Paul’s doctrine of the church, we read “one Spirit… One Lord… One God and Father” in verses 4-6.
Explain the prayer experiment you gave your class.
Rodrick Durst: I decided to offer the students a prayer experiment based on my research into the Trinity and the New Testament. I gave them the chart of 75 instances of the six orders of the three persons in the Godhead. I pointed out that if the New Testament authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, used all six different orders, why couldn’t we? I asked them if they would be willing to pray to God in one of the orders that made the most sense to them that night. I gave them five minutes to pray and worship and then we debriefed.
The most memorable response was the female student who shared that she had been raised in a home where her relationship with her father was so abusive that she had never been able to call God “Father” until that night. She said she prayed in the order of Jesus the Son, then to God the Spirit, and finally she was able to break through and call God Father. Her testimony made me realize that my research was more significant than I thought.
What do you mean by the “mystery of the triadic orders” and “matrix of Trinitarian consciousness”?
Rodrick Durst: We all crave simplicity rather than complexity, but God is a mystery and part of that mystery is not only how three can be one and one can be three but how the three can be in many different orders. Those six different orders make up a matrix of how Jesus taught his disciples to be God conscious. The references to the Trinity are so abundant in the New Testament that I conclude that Trinitarian thinking is the default way of thinking and writing about God used by the disciples and that they learned this from Jesus himself.
How have the triadic orders been used throughout church history?
Rodrick Durst: The doctrine of the triune God is not an easy one. There have been 2000 years of heretical attempts to deface the doctrine through either Unitarianism and rigid Muslim monotheism, which over-emphasizes the oneness and eclipses the three, or to surrender to Watchtower subordinationism, which makes the Son an incarnate archangel and the Spirit an impersonal force. The church has always retained the doctrine of the Trinity through its use at baptisms and in benedictions. Despite not giving due attention to those five other orders, the textual pressure from the New Testament, with its 75 instances of naming the triune God, called the church to retain its orthodox theology and construct the famous Trinitarian formulas like “three Persons in the one Divine substance.”
What is the significance of referencing the order of the Trinity in a particular way in a person’s everyday life?
Rodrick Durst: One of my favorite Trinitarian orders is Spirit-Father-Son. This order occurs nine times in the New Testament for 12% of the total instances. You can find this order in the narrative of the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 7:55. There Stephen has finished his long sermon exalting Christ with the result that his audience was enraged. “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
Whenever we anticipate going out in the community to share Christ and serve others in Christ’s, we can call on God the Spirit, asking him to fill us so that we can see God the Father high and exalted and reigning, and asking the Father to enable us to see the Lord Jesus standing tall for us at the cross, and then we can ask the Lord Jesus to stand stall in us that we might be faithful for him. I have found that worshiping God in this biblical fashion in preparation for living for Christ in our fallen world is enormously effective.
What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and the Bible Gateway App?
Rodrick Durst: I have the Bible Gateway App on my iPhone and have used Bible Gateway innumerable times to find the most effective English translations for my sermon preparation.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Rodrick K. Durst: I tried to make Reordering the Trinity as helpful as possible to pastors since I know it can often be difficult to preach on the Trinity and to say something new. I built eight sermon starters related to each of the six orders, to the triune God in the Old Testament, and also related to the doctrine of the Trinity in church history. In the appendices, I included directions for the Trinitarian prayer experiment plus a 40 day meditation experience on the Trinity orders. There are also directions on how to talk to children and to teenagers about the doctrine of the Trinity.
Bio: Rodrick Durst (Rick) is professor of historical theology at Golden Gate Baptist Seminary in Mill Valley, California and is the director of the seminary’s new Bay Area Campus now under construction in Fremont, California. He has served the seminary in a variety of roles from vice president of academic affairs to the founding director of its online education program. Prior to coming to the seminary in 1991, Durst was a pastor in Santa Rosa and Vallejo for 12 years. He and his wife of 38 years have three children and three grandchildren. Durst is also a contributing author to the 2015 B&H publicationMinistry in the New Marriage Culture and is co-author of Church Fails: 100 blunders in Church History & What We Can Learn From Them.
Did you know that most of the books that comprise the New Testament are actually letters? These letters (also known as “epistles”) contain both general Christian teaching and specific instructions for the congregation to which they were addressed. As part of our Letters to the Church series, we’re taking a brief look at each epistle in the New Testament. This week, we look at Paul’s shortest and most challenging letters.
When was it written? Around A.D. 60, during one of Paul’s stretches of imprisonment in Rome.
To whom was it written? Philemon and Apphia (possibly husband and wife), members of the Colossian Christian church.
Why was it written? Like many people who lived in the Roman empire, Philemon was a slave owner. One of his slaves, Onesimus, had escaped and converted to Christianity—and Paul wrote an impassioned plea to Philemon to welcome Onesimus back as a brother in Christ, and to release him from slavery.
What does it say? This very short letter (just a few hundred words in length) packs quite a punch, dealing as it does with an incredibly sensitive topic: slavery. Paul had befriended the escaped slave Onesimus, but was now sending him back to his owner… with a strong request that Onesimus be freed.
This letter evokes many different reactions in modern readers and raises difficult questions about how Christians should respond to social evils like slavery. Paul does not challenge Philemon’s legal right to own slaves, or to punish them for escaping—but he also challenges Philemon to rise above his legal rights and treat Onesimus as a free man and fellow Christian. Some readers may be disappointed that Paul does not more directly challenge the injustice of the institution of slavery (which was a widespread practice at the time). Other readers are struck by Paul’s insistence that the gospel of grace takes precedence over human laws and privileges.
We don’t know how Philemon and Apphia responded to this unusual letter, but the tone of Paul’s letter (and his confidence in sending Onesimus back to his master) suggest that Paul expected his request to be granted.
Noteworthy passages:
Philemon 1:8: Paul knows he could simply order Philemon to free Onesimus, but instead he chooses to challenge Philemon to do the right thing of his own volition.
Philemon 1:15-16: Philemon might have considered Onesimus’ escape to be a great injustice, but Paul offers a different perspective.
Philemon 1:17-21: Offering to pay any of Onesimus’ debts, Paul removes any last excuse Philemon might have used to reject Paul’s request.
What can we learn from Philemon? Philemon is a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ at work in a corrupt and unjust world: the brutal and often inhumane Roman empire. Paul’s letter might not be exactly what we expect, but in the context of Paul’s world, it’s a message of revolutionary grace. In Christ’s kingdom, all stand equal as human beings loved by God. What unjust rights or privileges do we enjoy today, that God calls us to renounce with acts of grace?
Consider these questions as you read Philemon today:
Why do you think Paul didn’t simply use his authority as an apostle to order Philemon to do the right thing?
Why do you think Paul restricted his request to the case of Onesimus, rather than more generally challenging the morality of slave ownership?
How does this letter inform our reaction to legally-endorsed social evils?
This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday! After the overwhelming excitement of Easter, Pentecost sometimes seems like a minor event. But Pentecost (which actually brings a close to the liturgical season of Easter) is a key moment in the history of the Christian faith. Let’s take a few minutes today to walk through the significance of Pentecost.
Pentecost (a reference to the 50 days that have passed since Easter) is a peculiar event that took place after Jesus’ ascent into heaven (which was celebrated last week on Ascension Day). It’s described in the second chapter of the New Testament book of Acts. Here’s the key part of the account:
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” —Acts 2:1-13 (NIV)
On the surface, the Pentecost story is interesting but doesn’t seem especially significant. God empowered his disciples to be understood in many different languages—amazing, to be sure, but doesn’t this “just” a miracle like the countless other ones described in the New Testament? Not so fast—while Pentecost is certainly miraculous, its background context makes it especially important and noteworthy.
Pentecost Had Been Promised
Pentecost is important because Christians understand it to be the long-awaited fulfillment of prophecy. In other words, Pentecost was important enough to have been predicted hundreds of years in advance. In the Pentecost story linked above, the disciple Peter reminds his audience of the Old Testament prophecy that was being fulfilled right in front of them:
[Peter explained that] this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy….”
That prophecy can be found in Joel 2:28-32, and had been made many hundreds of years earlier. But the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost had also been predicted much more recently by Jesus himself. Just before his ascension, Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would empower them to preach to the nations of the world:
“…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” —
An earlier promise by Jesus seems also to be a reference to the events of Pentecost:
“The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised….” — Luke 24:46-49 (NIV)
If you want to reach much farther back into the Old Testament, you could also consider Pentecost to be a mirror reflection of the ancient story of Babel (read about it in Genesis 11), in which people were confused and divided by language as punishment for their rebellious actions. At Pentecost, God has reversed the confusion of Babel, uniting people across language barriers.
So Why is Pentecost Important?
You might be thinking, “That’s all very interesting, but why is Pentecost important?” It’s important because it infused the small community of Jesus-followers with the core mission that would define the Christian church ever after: to share the message of Jesus Christ with the entire world.
Consider that in the weeks following Christ’s death and resurrection, many of his followers were undoubtedly still processing the incredible events they had witnessed, and were probably wondering what God wanted them to do now that Jesus had carried out his mission. On Pentecost, God made it clear what Christ-followers should do with the news of Jesus Christ: share it with others. And not just with the Jewish communities in which they lived; the multi-linguistic nature of this miracle made it plain that the Gospel message was not confined to one community, nation, ethnicity, or language.
Pentecost is when the Christian church received, and was empowered to carry out, its grand assignment of evangelism. For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes referred to as the “birthday of the Christian church.”
The mission given to Christians on Pentecost still stands, thousands of years later. We are to share the saving message of Jesus Christ with the world—and as we do so, we should rely on the presence of the Holy Spirit, who empowered the early church to share the gospel, and continues to do so today. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon, reflecting on Pentecost, challenged Christians to appreciate the gift of this remarkable event:
“[The Holy Spirit’s] power was gloriously manifested in and after Pentecost. He remains at this hour the present Immanuel–God with us, dwelling in and with his people, quickening, guiding, and ruling in their midst. Is his presence recognized as it ought to be? We cannot control his working; he is most sovereign in all his operations, but are we sufficiently anxious to obtain his help, or sufficiently watchful lest we provoke him to withdraw his aid? Without him we can do nothing, but by his almighty energy the most extraordinary results can be produced…. The Holy [Spirit] is no temporary gift, he abides with the saints. We have but to seek him aright, and he will be found of us.” — Charles Spurgeon
Images: the 16th-century painting “Pentecost” by El Greco, and Michelangelo’s 16th-century fresco “The Prophet Joel.”
The hard work of Scripture translation has been ongoing for more than 2,000 years. Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text into a target-language text. As anyone who speaks more than one language knows, it takes perseverance and dedication to become so fluent that the original meaning is not lost in translation.
Explain the work of Wycliffe Associates and how it differs from Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Bruce Smith: Wycliffe Associates accelerates Bible translation by freely providing open-license biblical resources, innovative training, and technical resources to serve local churches as stewards of God’s Word in their language. We see local churches as God’s instruments for spiritual impact in their communities—including Bible translation. Wycliffe Associates supports only Bible translations that use literal common language terms for Father and Son of God.
You announced the launch over the course of 30 days of at least 10 new Bible translation projects where persecution of Christians is severe. Are these projects now underway? And why are you concentrating your efforts in these dangerous areas?
Bruce Smith: These projects are now underway. All of Wycliffe Associates’ support for Bible translation is in response to requests from local churches. The churches in these dangerous areas are thirsty for God’s Word and are ready, willing, and able to face the challenges in their arena in order to get Scripture to their people. They are unwilling for another generation to die without hope; without understanding the eternal salvation of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for them. Our response is in response to their urgency.
Explain what MAST (Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation) is.
Bruce Smith: MAST is an innovative Bible translation method that enables the local church to draft and quality-check scriptures in a very short time period. It developed from educational and language-learning principles applied with local Christians working in Bible translation. Traditional Bible translations typically involve a few people working for many years, while MAST involves many people working for just weeks or months. Church leaders, elders, and community members work together as a team to quality-check scriptures immediately as they’re drafted. The pace of translation progress in MAST is primarily a function of the number of church translators involved in the process. Small translation teams using MAST are drafting and checking the entire New Testament in about one year. Larger translation teams using MAST have reduced the time required to months or even weeks.
Why has it become controversial?
Bruce Smith: Many New Testaments translated by foreign missionaries have required more than 25 years to complete. In recent years some New Testament translations have been accomplished in around 10 years by relying on local translators who already know the language and culture. These translations are typically based on a linguistic research model that significantly lengthens the timeline. MAST is controversial because it recognizes the authority and ability of the local church to steward God’s Word for themselves, and it enables churches to accomplish in weeks or months what required foreigners years or decades to accomplish.
What does it mean to be a Mother Tongue Translator?
Bruce Smith: A mother-tongue translator translates Scripture from an existing Bible translation into the language he or she spoke first as a child. Other-tongue translators translate from a Bible translation in their own first language into a language they are just beginning to learn.
What does it mean to “translate the books of the Bible in parallel”?
Bruce Smith: Traditional Bible translation engages a few translators working through the verse, passage, book, and Testament in series. They all work on the same verse together, one at a time. The MAST method has translators working simultaneously, in parallel, on different passages. While one translator is working on Matthew chapters 1-9 other translators on the team will be working on Matthew chapters 10-18 and 19-27. With larger translation teams while some groups are working on the Gospels others are working on Paul’s epistles, John’s books, and other New Testament books.
How do you respond to those who say this method results in major inconsistencies in style and terminology?
Bruce Smith: Experience is showing that MAST actually improves consistency in terminology because a much broader cross-section of the church and community are involved in the translation.
Why is speed of Bible translation so important?
Bruce Smith: In the words of one national church leader, “While translation gurus, agencies, and theologians argue about who is wrong and right, millions of people in the global south are perishing and walking straight into hell because they’re yet to read, know, and make the decision to receive Jesus Christ as their personal savior, Lord, and be his disciples.”
Wycliffe Associates Achievements
Currently Accelerating the work of Bible translation in 75 countries
In 2015 mobilized 6,279 volunteer and staff members to advance the cause of Bible translation throughout the world in 75 countries
Installed 509 Bible Translation Acceleration Kits (BTAKs) in 46 countries for 806 language communities since started installing BTAKs
103 new translation projects started using Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation (MAST) workshops since WA started using MAST
Improved hundreds of facilities for Bible translation around the world
How can MAST guarantee Bible translation accuracy if Mother Tongue Translators are not fluent in the biblical languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic?
Bruce Smith: During the past century most Bible translations into minority languages have depended heavily upon Bible translations from majority languages. In this regard MAST begins with the same starting point. Consistency with the original biblical languages is included in the MAST quality-checking process as church leaders, seminary graduates and professors, and denominational authorities are engaged in the checking process.
What is the Wycliffe Global Alliance (WGA) and why didn’t Wycliffe Associates renew its affiliation with it?
Bruce Smith: The Wycliffe Global Alliance is an alliance of organizations that subscribe to the WGA philosophy of Bible translation and partnership principles. Recent changes to the WGA partnership agreement reduced our ability to assure that we do not support Bible translations that use alternative terms for Father and Son of God. For this reason Wycliffe Associates chose not to renew our affiliation with the WGA.
Does that also mean Wycliffe Bible Translators is no longer affiliated with Wycliffe Global Alliance?
Bruce Smith: Information on organizations affiliated with the Wycliffe Global Alliance is available online.
Why is the literal translation of “Father” and “Son of God” not negotiable for you?
Bruce Smith: Wycliffe Associates believes that these literal terms are essential to understanding the trinity. Literal father and son terms exist in every language worldwide, were used by the originally inspired authors of Scripture, and are used by evangelical and orthodox church authorities in all widely accepted Scripture translations.
How does no longer being affiliated with WGA affect WA?
Bruce Smith: Wycliffe Associates remains committed to working in partnership with all WGA partners, and local church partners, that are committed to using literal common language terms for Father and Son of God. This includes the vast majority of all Christian churches and ministries worldwide.
Language/Translation Facts:
Languages currently spoken in the world: 6,887
Languages that need a Bible translation project started: 3,287
Languages that have Scripture: 2,932; of these, 554 have an adequate Bible, 1,333 have an adequate New Testament, and 1,045 have at least one book of the Bible
Total number of languages in which Bible translation is in progress: 2,267
What can the average Christian do to encourage the work of Bible translation?
Bruce Smith: Every Christian can pray, give, or go. Bible translation is part of the spiritual warfare of our lifetimes. Prayer is an essential and integral part of this work. Everyone can pray. Financial resources to support Bible translation come from Christians who choose to prioritize it in their stewardship. God owns “the cattle on a thousand hills,” but he puts some of these in our pastures and gives us responsibility for their stewardship. Everyone can give.
God has also equipped his people with tremendously valuable skills and experience to serve his church. Churches globally are asking for our assistance as they take responsibility for Bible translation. Wycliffe Associates has numerous service opportunities for Christians interested in serving the church. Just give us a call!
What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and the Bible Gateway App?
Bruce Smith: Bible Gateway is a tremendous online compilation of English-language biblical resources. These are a huge blessing to the online English-speaking community. How can we partner in increasing online and offline biblical resources for non-English speaking communities?
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Bruce Smith: Thanks for the opportunity to elaborate on how God is moving in new ways to speed his Word to the nations!
Bio: As President and CEO of Wycliffe Associates, Dr. Bruce A. Smith has made it his life-long goal to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel through the ministry of Bible translation—affecting hundreds of language groups who still need the Bible translated into their heart language. Bruce and his wife Jan have two daughters, two sons-in-love, and are the proud grandparents of four grandsons.
This lesson is part of Mel Lawrenz’ “How to Study the Bible” series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).
This passage says that there are a variety of ways the word of Christ goes deep enough to dwell. Teaching is paramount, so we need to keep searching like eagles for teachers, authors, and Bible study leaders who explain and apply the word faithfully. “Admonishing with wisdom” suggests a flow of quality conversation among believers about what they are learning from God. “Singing” praise is another powerful way the word of God is carried deeply into our hearts. Singing “with gratitude in [our] hearts to God” is a way that the crusty and hardened exterior of our lives gets cracked open, and seeds drop deeply in, and they begin to live and grow.
Here is the connection between Bible study and worship. Why sing? So the word will dwell richly. Why a variety of sounds (psalms, hymns, spiritual songs)? So the word will knock on every door of our hearts that is the least bit cracked open. Why teach? So that the word will be clearly explained and powerfully applied. Worship is not the span between the start and the end of singing, but this great and varied advance of the word of God on our souls. God takes up as many fronts as he needs to so that we will stop and listen.
And then there is meditation—a way of reading Scripture in such a way that it has a chance to get planted. Meditation is a word that the Bible uses to describe a way of holding and pondering God’s truth so that it sinks in. It is wise, pensive concentration.
At the edge of the promised land, Joshua told the people they were going to need real spiritual muscle. Wars lay ahead. Three times at the Jordan River he said: “be strong and courageous,” and then: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).
The Psalms speak about meditating on the word of God, and continuing that meditation through every pulse of life. Psalm 119 describes a committed discipline of taking the word in:
“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways” (vs. 15).
“Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees” (vs. 23).
“Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders” (vs. 27).
“I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees” (vs. 48).
“May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts” (vs. 78).
“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (vs. 97).
“I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes” (vs. 99).
“My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises” (vs. 148).
Okay, now, be honest. Did you just skim over those verses, or did you ponder them? If you’re like me, then you will find yourself occasionally reading over quotations of Scripture instead of reading through them. How hurried we can be!
That’s what Christian meditation is all about—turning hurry into rumination. Slowing from a run into a walk. Tasting and digesting instead of devouring. It’s the only way to build spiritual muscle for the good times and the tough times.
Mel Lawrenz trains an international network of Christian leaders, ministry pioneers, and thought-leaders. He served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for ten years and now serves as Elmbrook’s minister at large. He has a Ph.D. in the history of Christian thought and is on the adjunct faculty of Trinity International University. Mel is the author of 18 books, the latest, How to Understand the Bible—A Simple Guide and Spiritual Influence: the Hidden Power Behind Leadership (Zondervan, 2012). See more of Mel’s writing at WordWay.
Have you seen this conversation between Bono—lead singer of the rock band U2—and Eugene Peterson, author of The Message Bible? It’s an interesting glimpse of two very different artists discussing the ways that Scripture inspires and challenges them. Here’s the video:
The video was produced by FULLER Studio, which has a large amount of additional material on the Psalms and a variety of other topics. Here’s a bit of additional context for the video above.
First, you certainly noticed that the Psalms come in for praise from both Bono and Peterson. The U2 song “40,” for example, is based on the words of Psalm 40:
If you’re not familiar with Psalms, it’s a book of the Bible that collects 150 ancient Hebrew poems, prayers, and songs, many of them written by the famous Old Testament king David. The psalms are noteworthy for expressing the full range of human emotion, from joy and gratitude to frustration and confusion. One reason the psalms are so widely read today is that no matter what you’re feeling or where your life is at the moment, there’s almost certainly a psalm that speaks to you.
The book of Psalms contains some of the Bible’s best-known passages. You can start reading Psalms from the beginning by clicking here, but if you’re new to this book of the Bible, you might want to instead start by reading some of these particularly famous examples:
Psalm 23: A short but much-loved assurance that God watches over his children like a shepherd watches his flock.
Psalm 46: Another beautiful description of God as a protector; in this psalm God is likened to an unbreachable fortress surrounding his people.
Psalm 22: Not every psalm is upbeat and joyful in tone. In Psalm 22, the author cries out in frustration at God’s apparent absence from his life.
There are too many noteworthy and famous psalms to list here, but those make a good starting point for exploration. For some good introductory background for reading the book of Psalms, take a look at these two short articles:
How Should We Read the Psalms? Pastor Mel Lawrenz explains what to expect from the psalms, and what to watch for as you read through them. A good introduction for beginners, briefly covering the different ideas you’ll encounter there.
Why Study the Psalms?: Outlines the book of Psalms, with links to some more famous psalms and to an article explaining the great value of reading them.
The other topic you may have noticed in the video above is regular mention of The Message Bible. What is this Message Bible that Bono finds so inspiring?
The Message (its full name is The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language) is one of the more unique Bibles produced in recent years. It’s a Bible translation (carried out by Eugene Peterson, Bono’s discussion partner in the video above) that makes very heavy use of modern idiom and slang with the aim of being easily understood by modern readers who struggle with the more “old-fashioned” language found in most other Bible translations. Of course, most Bible translations aim for readability and understandability, but The Message goes farther than most in using modern-sounding language. Here’s how the publisher describes it:
Some people like to read the Bible in Elizabethan English. Others want to read a version that gives a close word-for-word correspondence between the original languages and English. Eugene Peterson recognized that the original sentence structure is very different from that of contemporary English. He decided to strive for the spirit of the original manuscripts—to express the rhythm of the voices, the flavor of the idiomatic expressions, the subtle connotations of meaning that are often lost in English translations.
To give you a sense of how The Message reads, let’s compare the same passage in The Message with a different famous English Bible. Here’s how the classic Authorized King James Version of the Bible translates the famous Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. — Psalm 23 (AKJV)
And here’s how The Message translates the same passage:
God, my shepherd!
I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
makes me feel secure. — Psalm 23 (MSG)
That’s quite a difference in style, isn’t it? Which approach speaks more clearly to you? The style of Bible translation you read is a matter of personal preference, without an objectively right or wrong answer; and many Bible readers find it useful to refer to several different Bibles in the course of serious study to make sure they’re grasping all the nuances of a Bible passage. If you’re interested in reading more of The Message, you can find it in Bible Gateway’s online library—click here to start reading Genesis 1 in The Message. You can also buy a print copy in the Bible Gateway Store, if you prefer a physical edition.
I hope this has been a useful bit of background for the Psalms, The Message, and the Bono/Peterson video above. And I hope you’ll take a few minutes to explore the remarkable book of Psalms for yourself—as both Bono and Peterson suggest, they contain some of the most beautiful and challenging words in all of the Bible!
The Bible Gateway Blog features the latest news, announcements, and reflections from Bible Gateway. We hope what you find here will add to your understanding of and appreciation for the Bible.
Do you take joy in your job or career? Do you feel called to the work that you do? Or is it just something you have to do for a paycheck? Do you consciously or unconsciously check your Christian faith at the door when you clock in at your job?
Working with Os, we’ve selected 14 of the best devotionals from TGIF and have made them available as a free daily email devotional experience here at Bible Gateway. When you sign up, you’ll receive a short daily reflection from Os exploring topics like effective leadership, integrity in the workplace, and healthy relationships with your colleagues. Click here to sign up.
This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday! After the overwhelming excitement of Easter, 
Pentecost is important because Christians understand it to be the long-awaited fulfillment of prophecy. In other words, Pentecost was important enough to have been predicted hundreds of years in advance. In the Pentecost story linked above, the disciple Peter reminds his audience of the Old Testament prophecy that was being fulfilled right in front of them:
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