“,,,Ye of little faith…”  (The Gospels)

“When Jesus heard it, [H]e marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”  (Matthew 8)

 

One of  the dangers of writing is being misunderstood or being read out of context, or readers reading something into your words that simply are not there. Another danger, is a reader thinking that an article is specifically about them and taking offense and feeling attacked. These dangers are also present in a small ministry.

In a large ministry, the pastor can speak about certain and specific sins and his words are spread over a large group of persons and the great majority of those present have no idea who the preacher may be speaking of.  In a small  ministry, however, when the pastor is forced to deal with  an issue all present or most present knows waht’s going on. The preacher’s intent can and very often be misread.

In this article we will (DV) look at the dangers of writing. Not very long ago I read an article and I commented on that article. The writer of said article replied by saying we should not continue our correspondense (A correspondense that was over twenty (20) years old). Needless to say, I was hit right between the eyes. It seemed to me that my friend was reading something into my response to his very well written article that was not meant or I worded thoughts in a way that I meant not. We went back and forth and eventually was worked out, but there will forever remain a blotch on our relationship. This is how Christ-ian love works, two (2) may disagree heartily, and yet still love one another.

One needs to be very careful when writing to another for the above reasons. We understand the emoji is helpful but one cannot use an emoji in professional of serious correspondense. I have been an advocate for letter writing, in dealing with misunderstandings, for years in the place of face to face confrontation. While face to face is, in theory, the best way to clarify or clear the air, it is not in practice unless the two (2) parties involved are able to keep closed their mouth and listen when the other person is speaking and vice versa, however how often does this happen. Much of the time persons speak over  each other and cannot listen because they are formulation their next statement.

When writing a letter, one can make one’s point without interruption and vearing off on to rabbit trails and things that are not relavant to the discussion. The person who receives the letter can take time and really consider what is being said and then reply in a like manner. However, again there is danger even in this manner of communication, as said above, context, wording, and tone can be misunderstood. Thus the difficulty in communicating with another. When communicating with another, regardless of the manner of communication, is filled with possible pitfalls.

The above is germaine (Having to do with) one’s reading and study of Scripture. [SideNote: A person could read my parenthetical above and be offended…”Does he think I’m stupid and do not know what germaine means!?”  You might know the definition, but others may not.] When one reads Scripture, often times or even the majority of the time, we don’t know the tone of the Words. For example, “Ye of little faith,” when Christ says this, is He upbraiding them and speaking roughly with them or is He teasing them about their short coming. His words can be taken in both senses. He said this often and sometimes He seem angered and frustrated and other times He seems for teasing.

However, in our second (2nd) text above,, we find our Lord encouraged and encouraging and discouraged and reproving. The centurion demonstrates a great faith in the power of Christ’s Words and Christ is encouraged to see this exercise of faith and He rewards the centurion with His exhorting Words and the healing of the centurion’s servant. Then at the same time, He speaks of a lack of faith in the Jews.  The tone of His Words cannot be mistaken.

In John 19:11, we have our Lord saying to Pilate, “Thou couldest have no power at all against [M]e, except it were given thee from above: Therefore he that delivered [M]e unto thee hath the greater sin.” When some read this, they understand Christ speaking boldly and condescending to Pilate. However when I read this, I see Christ looking at a man who is so internally conflicted and tormented regarding Christ’s execution and Christ is bring comfort and consolation to this weak man, thus “he that delivered me….hath the greater sin.” Christ was telling Pilate that everything is out of his hands and he was playing a role God cast him in.

When Christ was castigating His enemies in Matthew 23, no one can misunderstand Christ’s tone, no not one. When, in John 2, Christ is cleansing the temple, His tone cannot be misinterpreted. In John 8, we find Christ, again rebuking His enemies in very truthful and rough Words and there is no need for clarification on what Christ meant.

In Second (2nd) Corinthians, we read Paul making very sarcastic comments regarding the Corinthians and false teachers, but his sarcasm can be missed if his words are not closely read. In Galatians, again, he is strong and very strait-forward regarding the Galatians and false teachers and his tone cann ot be misconstrued.

The above gives us reason to pray before we read and or study Scripture, pray while we are reading/studying, and after reading/studying.  We might pray and ask God to grant us insight and understanding before we walk in His Word. While we are in the Word, we should continue to pray, Lord lead me in understanding, and if we do not understand something we should ask God for clarification. He may not grant it then and there but He will grant it, sometimes, out of nowhere. After our time in the Word, let us thank God for that time and for that which we learned or understood. When reading/studying the Scriptures, it should be done in and with prayer…always.

The above is also a reason to invest in study aids such as, commentaries (Matthew Henry, Calvin, J.C. Ryles on the Gospels, Spurgeon, Pink on John’s Gospel, John Macarthur are just a few), a Bible with study notes, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Concordance (Young’s Analytical is my favourite). However, never become dependent upon these helps, never, never, never.

Do not allow these helps to usurp the office of God’s Spirit. It is the office of the Holy Spirit to teach us, to guide us, grant us understanding, etc. (Isaiah 11:1-2) An analogy: When a person uses pain pills too much, the human body will cease to make the natural pain killers, endorphins.  When a Christ-ian leans too much upon helps, the Spirit will cease to lead and will be grieved. It is the same as a persons leaning on good works for salvation, Christ will benefit them not.

One thing is for certain, God will never misunderstand us and we will not misunderstand Him when He wants His will revealed and made known.

Godspeed.