BIBLE TRANSLATIONS CONFUSE ME

Galatians 4:4 [NASB 1995]

But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,...

The world was ripe for God’s miraculous intervention of the birth of Christ that became the dividing point between BC and AD.

The Roman Empire was maintaining a peace throughout much of Europe, Asia Minor, and northern Africa! Their system of roads and enforcement of safety sustained much safer trade routes and travel.

The Old Testament books had been officially recognized and accepted as the foundation for Jewish belief and the emerging new Christian movement. Koine Greek was thoroughly established as the common language of the empire! Essentially it was the right time religiously, culturally, commercially and politically!

Koine is simply the Greek word for “common.” Many people may recognize the word koine from the word koinonia, which means “fellowship.” Fellowship is having something in common.

Koine Greek was simply the common language of the Mediterranean world in the first century. As Alexander the Great conquered the “civilized world” of his time, he spread Greek language and culture. Much like English has become today, Greek became the most common and pervasive “international language” of the day. Since most people could understand Koine, it was uniquely suited to proclaim the gospel throughout the world.

Not only was Koine Greek common in the sense it enjoyed widespread usage throughout the Roman Empire, but it was also common in the sense that it was not the language of the intellectual and academic elites. Classical Greek was used by the educated class. Koine Greek was the language of the working man, the peasant, the vendor, and the housewife—there was nothing pretentious about it. It was the vernacular, or vulgar language, of the day. The great works of Greek literature were written in Classical Greek. No scholar today would care to study anything written in Koine Greek, except for the fact that it is the language of the New Testament. God wanted His Word to be accessible to everyone, and He chose the common language of the day, Koine.

[https://www.gotquestions.org/Koine-Greek.html]

If this use of the common language of the people was important in the beginning, then it is equally important today!

The period we know as the Reformation began a familiarizing with the Bible to the common people. John Wycliff translated the Bible into English in the late 14^th century [pre-printing press]. Martin Luther translated the Bible into the German Language between 1522-34. William Tyndale translated much of the Bible into the English language [and was executed in 1536 for doing so]. 

In 1611, the King James Version was produced under the direction of King James I. It became very popular and was the dominant English version into the twentieth century. The twentieth century produced many translations:

·         King James Version – 1611, 1769

·         American Standard Version – 1901

·         Revised Standard Version – NT 1946  OT 1952

·         New American Standard Bible – [ASV] 1971, [NASB] 1995, 2020

·         Amplified Bible - 1965

·         Good News Bible - 1976

·         New International Version – 1978, 1984, 2011

·         New King James Version  - 1982

·         New Revised Standard Version – 1989, 2021

·         New Century Version – 1991

·         Contemporary English Version – 1995

·         New Living Translation – 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015

·         English Standard Version – 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016

·         The Message – 2002

·         The Voice Bible – 2012  [This is a delightful version that included artists in its translation work. It is written in script form that is very conducive to use in worship!]

I personally became more focused on reading the Bible when I was a teenager and Ken Taylor’s LIVING BIBLE was being published - literally one book at a time - as he worked on it progressively!

It was later revised by large groups of scholars to add authenticity!

In the 21^st century – when THE MESSAGE came out – there was another explosion of reading the Bible! Many - in the church - struggled with Eugene Peterson’s use of the language of the 1990’s. I was in active ministry during those years and found people to be very receptive to this new version!

Taylor and Peterson represented the same spirit as the Koine Greek New Testament! They translated the Bible into the language of the people: Taylor – the language of the 1960’s; Peterson – the language of the 1990’s. And people’s attention was brought back to the Word of God!

Since this is an opinion piece on my personal blog, I can state unequivocally that I am in favor of things that convince people to read the Bible.

Bible translation is a complex subject that we can’t fully embrace here. Some aim for a literal translation from Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic to Word-for-word English. This is a nearly impossible task because of the massive differences in these languages!

Others aim for a thought-for-thought translation that is faithful to communicating the essence of the message without the stilted results often associated with literal versions.

Still others opt for a paraphrase approach that observes the original text and then produces something in the language of the day for readers to reflect on.

Most pastors will – like me – involve people in reading these modern translations to get them engaged with the Word. However, I have ALWAYS stressed that Bible study should be done with reliable texts like the New American Standard Version or the New International Version.

For instance, during my college and seminary years [1969-1980’s] I was usually required to use the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. It was noted for being painfully faithful to the original texts! However, it was not recognized as being a fluid, readable version!

Later the New International Version became the standard for study [1978]; followed by the New American Standard Bible in 1995.

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This article illustrates the complexities involved in Bible translation! There is room for disagreement. But hopefully, there is also room for agreement!

It seems to me that versions that increase Bible reading – such as The Living Bible and The Message – are a blessing that should be celebrated by people who love the Lord!

FIRST LIE

I was probably 6 or 7 years old.

At the dinner table, my father caught me in a lie. I don't remember the specifics.

The results were shocking - this had never happened before. He told me to leave the table, go to the living room and sit on the couch. 

I remember that at the time we had a comfortable, deep-blue, soft couch.  I sat in the middle of it wondering what was going to happen.

My parents and my sister, Beverly, seemed to eat the rest of the meal in silence.

After what seemed like a long time, my parents walked into the living room and stood across the coffee table from me. I felt so small. They looked so big.

My father spoke.

My mother stood beside him quietly crying.

"Son, up until today you've always told the truth. But from here on in, when you speak with us we're always going to be wondering: 'Is he telling us the truth, or is he telling another lie?'"

I wondered why I'd lied. I felt terrible that I had disappointed my parents! I loved them and they loved me. 

I didn't realize it at the time, but it was a pivotal moment for me.

In my young mind - I reasoned things out and determined that I had a choice to make. I would either be a liar or a truth-teller. 

There was no debate!

After seeing the pain my lie had caused my parents, I made up my mind - in that moment - that I would be a truth-teller!

And to this day, I am still committed to be a truth-teller.

It guides me in conversations, in filling out forms, and in filing our taxes. I felt the anguish of being caught once and I never want that to happen again! 

THIS WAS NOT THE WILL OF GOD!

Words from William Barclay [1907-1978] resonate deeply within me this morning. As a pastor, I have frequently been in situations such as he describes - and always felt the same as he did!

He speaks of a 24-year-old daughter who died in a bizarre accident with no possible explanation. The chief investigator described it as so impossible that it could only be described as "an act of God".

Barclay sees this as a blasphemous phrase!

"What kind of God can people believe in when they attribute the accidental death of a girl of twenty-four years of age to an act of God? How can anyone who is left possibly pray to a God who would do a thing like that?"

[Barclay continues] "During my own parish ministry I was never able to go into a house where there had been an untimely and tragic death or sorrow and say, 'It is the will of God.' When a child or young person dies too soon, when there is a fatal accident, maybe due to someone's mistake or misjudgment, that is not "an act of God", neither is it the will of God. It is, in fact, the precise opposite of the will of God. It is against the will of God, and God is just as grieved about it as we are."

I have made this very same statement repeatedly over the years to parishioners in the face of terrible pain and loss!

[Barclay continues] "If a terrible and an incurable disease strikes someone, if a child is run down and killed by a motor car, driven as it may be by a reckless or drunken driver, if there is a disaster in the air or at sea or on the railway or on the roads, that is not the will of God. It is exactly and precisely what God did not will. It is due not to God's will, but to some human failure or to some human mistake."

He ends with the following:
"God gave men free will because there could neither be goodness nor love without free will and exactly for that reason the action of men can run right counter to the will of God."

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The image of God grieving with us is a POWERFUL one!

It reminds me of a few closing lines to James Weldon Johnson's poem, The Creation:

This great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till he shaped it in is his own image...

Jesus wept at the death of His friend, Lazarus!

Imagine! A god who weeps! A God who acknowledges in His Word to us that "There is a time to cry...and a time to be sad" [Ecclesiastes 3:4].

A God who included in His Book a section titled: Lamentations! [A lamentation is an expression of sorrow or mourning.]

A God who sent to His people a prophet who became known as the weeping prophet - Jeremiah!

A God who responsively reached out to an inconsolable Mary on the morning of His resurrection. Jesus immediately removed the barrier to her recognition so that He could comfort and encourage her!

I remember a story told by United Methodist Bishop, Earl Hunt, while I was a young student at Asbury Theological Seminary.

He told of being a young pastor appointed to follow a pastor who had been in place for many years.

Upon hearing of the death of a child in one of his families, young Pastor Hunt went immediately to the home. Upon arriving, he shared a scripture of hope with the family and prayed with them.

At that point, the former pastor arrived at the door. Upon entering, he opened his arms and the family fell into his embrace as he wept with them and prayed over them.

The young pastor Hunt was struck immediately - not with anger or jealousy - but with an increased sense of understanding about what it meant to be a pastor!

Part of the role of a pastor has traditionally been to walk with those who are hurting and, in doing so, give them an increased understanding that God is hurting and grieving with them! 

But the CEO role that has been thrust upon maturing pastors in recent decades doesn't encourage or model this level of caring. I had a conversation recently with a younger person who is active in their church. When I shared about Pastor Jerry Dodds [Bethel EPC] coming to visit Debbie while she was in the ER a while back, he simply commented that he couldn't even imagine his pastor doing something like that! 

It struck me: could this be one of the reasons that we are seeing such a decline in church attendance in America? Perhaps that's a topic for the next blog?

SATAN’S NUMBER ONE WEAPON AGAINST THE CHURCH!

It’s an easy answer: DISTRACTION! And churches can become distracted so easily! 

Good things can distract the church from its mission!  It happens regularly.

·         Building programs can easily become a distraction from our primary objective of going into the world and making disciples of all nations!  There’s a reason why pastors who oversee large building programs often leave the church shortly after it’s completed. Dissension and brokenness over the massive number of decisions to be made drain the people of unity and focus!

·         Satan will stir any pot possible to divide a church and distract it from its God-assigned purpose! For instance, a conflict between two key leaders can dampen the presence of God in worship and cause a major disturbance among the people who are part of the church.

·         Other major decisions about programming can become sources of frustration and discontent. If these are not quelled by open discussion and transparency, then discontent and suspicion can run rampant!

·         Election of leaders and votes on controversial issues frequently become oppositional and cause friction among the membership. The highest level of integrity must accompany this process with plenty of opportunity for discussion, questions and information sharing.  Leaders must exhibit Christian grace in their dealings with one another and with the congregation.

·         Expansion of staff can raise concern and questions that must be addressed. This will typically only occur within larger congregations where it is genuinely needed. But first attempts to hire help in a growing church can be vigorously challenged. Great patience must be exercised to help the people understand the need and be willing to accept another leader.

·         In smaller churches there can be strong feelings about the finances of the church. Certain individuals will focus on this area with great scrutiny. Of course, finances should be transparent and subject to frequent review by finance teams, auditors and leadership teams.

In most cases these kinds of concerns are not known to the vast majority of attenders in churches over 300 in size. However, in smaller churches there is a greater sense of ownership and control on the part of members.

Listen, Satan’s task is really easy! All he wants is to see the church be distracted from influencing lost and hurting people toward the Kingdom of God! He doesn’t care WHAT distracts the church; only that it BE DISTRACTED!!!!

Happy, comfortable small churches where the focus is on loving one another and living together in harmony are not a concern to Satan! He will essentially leave them alone! They’re not a threat to his kingdom. A church that registers no new converts year after year gives him no reason to oppose them or even distract them! THEY’RE ALREADY DISTRACTED!

I suppose the weapon that is next in line would be COMPLACENCY! When a church is happy and content with maintaining things as they are, they are not a threat to his dominion. He’s happy to leave them alone with their ‘we four and no more’ attitude!

But let new leadership arise that begins to teach about discipleship and evangelism and the enemy will take note and begin to make attempts to bring dissension, opposition and confusion.

He will stir up good, Christian people to use manipulative and deceitful methods to disrupt the body. He will catalyze bully-types to outwit, outmaneuver and over-speak milder, less confident people.

He will influence people toward gossip, secret associations and malicious and underhanded actions.

He will raise up bitterness, hurt, division, and general nastiness that demeans and discourages  others.

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Church leaders must be on guard for signs of the above! Our mission is far too important to allow ourselves to become distracted! People are headed for an eternity of misery and we must intercept them with the saving message of Christ!

Leaders must be courageous in confronting and guiding the church body through these times of temptation and opposition. The pastor/shepherd role becomes highly significant at times like this by pointing out the reality that the church may be under attack and urging congregation members to seek the Lord and pray for the restoration of passion for God’s priorities to reign!

Lord of the Church: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

 

We are weak but You are strong!

Keep us Savior from all wrong!

 

Help us to recognize the clear reality of being distracted from our God-given mission!

Help us to care enough about the lost to make whatever concessions and confessions that may be necessary to put us back in Your graces!

 

Help us to remember and realize that it’s NOT about us and what we want,

But IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU AND WHAT YOU WANT!

 

Grant us the clarity to see what is wrong with our attitude and perspective.

Correct us through intercession and Your Holy Word!

Speak clearly to us – through the fog of distraction – and encourage us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord!

 

Jesus, we are Your body!

As Your Father sent You, so You have sent us!

We don’t want to disappoint You!

We want to be full of love and compassion – especially for the spiritually lost!

 

Have Thine own way, Lord,

have Thine own way!

Thou art the Potter

we are the clay.

Mold us and make us

after Your will

while we are waiting

yielded and still!

 

FOR THE KINGDOM’S SAKE, AMEN!

THOUGHTS ON LEAVING THE CHURCH

In reviewing an old blog, I came across a comment I made that startled me:

"I feel like the only way to be a missional follower of Christ would be to leave the church as I know it!"

Did I really write that?

It was something I wrote on the blank page at the end of a book I had read [which has been a custom of mine for years]. Clearly the book - which I have since given away - addressed the issue of getting outside of our buildings to influence the world toward Christ and His Kingdom principles.

This has been the theme of many books written in the 21st century. Creativity and innovation are not exactly premium resources in most established churches. Too often these qualities are expressed - not by generative thinking and deliberation - but by copying what leading churches with highly recognizable pastors do. The problem becomes noticeable when the smaller church doesn't have the resources or recognition that the larger churches have!

In his 2005 book, REVOLUTION, pollster and church clinician, George Barna, gave us a wake-up call announcing that already - by that time - massive numbers of believers had vacated the church.

He was not decrying their departure. Rather, he was trying to help the established church realize that there is a growing group of deeply committed followers of Christ, many of whom simply have chosen not to affiliate themselves any longer with the organized church.

He writes:

"The United States is home to an increasing number of Revolutionaries. These people are devout followers of Jesus Christ who are serious about their faith, who are constantly worshipping and interacting with God, and whose lives are centered on their belief in Christ. Some of them are aligned with a congregational church, but many of them are not. The key to understanding Revolutionaries is not what church they attend [or IF they attend*]. Instead it's their complete dedication to being thoroughly Christian by viewing every moment of life through a spiritual lens and making every decision in light of biblical principles. These are individuals who are determined to glorify God daily through every thought, word and deed in their lives." [p.8]

* my addition

Not many will confirm my thought of leaving the Church in order to actually BE the Church. But - in reality, many [if not most] churches fail to mobilize their people toward the mission of Christ to "seek and to save the lost."

One of our Free Methodist bishops taught - well into the 21st century and based on actual church statistics - that it was taking [at least in our denomination] 85 Christians to bring one person to Christ per year! How can anyone miss the pathetic nature of this stat?

The evidence is well known that within seven years of joining a church, a person will have replaced almost all of their lost friends and co-workers with Christian friends from church. How can we impact lost and hurting people if we only associate with Christian people?

We have to admit that there is an argument for leaving the church [as we know it] with the hope of being a greater influence for Christ by venturing out and making friends with sinners.  According to Barna, we’re already realizing this reality!

If Jesus is repeatedly accused of being a friend of sinners, isn’t that something we should give greater consideration to? It has to do with letting our light shine in a dark place. How bright can our light be when we’re shining in the midst of a bunch of other lights? Isn’t it obvious that our light will shine best in a darkened environment!

I’ve served as a pastor for over forty years. Transitioning a church from ‘plateaued’ to ‘growing’ is a phenomenally hard task that takes time, focus and determination!

Just maintaining a plateaued church takes almost no energy or creativity at all! It would be like navigating in a self-driving car!

But having been a part of seeing three churches make that transition, I can report that the end result is excitement, joy, peace and a genuine anticipation for worship times!  This is a church where the people will authentically say with David: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the House of the Lord!’” [Psalm 122:1].

In these churches, anticipation is high, joy is common, love is expressed, concessions are made willingly and Kingdom growth is front-and-center! To be frank, in this kind of church, no one gets to have it all ‘their way’. Everyone lives with some measure of discontent with the goal of maintaining unity and preserving the priorities of Christ! 

At one of these churches, we lighted a large candle on Sundays when someone had made a decision for Christ as a result of the influence of one of our members. When people entered our foyer-door, many would slip to the back of the sanctuary to see if the candle was lighted! That’s ANTICIPATION AND EXPECTATION!

But many pastors today aren’t knowledgeable about how to direct and initiate this kind of transition. Perhaps they lack the patience and courage required to address the stagnancy of the church and point in the direction of hope and change? Wisdom would seem to send them to a mentor who has had proven experience in bringing about this kind of transformation? But I don't know of any cases where this kind of pursuit is happening.

Without this kind of transformational change in the way we do church, it is likely that more and more will – like me – wonder if it might be better to just leave the church – as I know it – and strike out as one of Barna’s ‘revolutionaries’.

WHAT IS AN 'ENGLISH CORNER'?

Thirteen years ago today, the weather in Changchun, PRC, had already turned cold! It was 29 degrees, felt like 22 degrees with 6 inches of snow on the ground!  Brrrrr...  This would be the norm - only significantly colder - until April!

One of the things we enjoyed about living on a large university campus was the weekly opportunities to be involved in 'English Corners'. 

An 'English Corner' was a voluntary meeting of students and others who were interested in refining their use of the English language. It was led by students who usually provided some structure for the evening. The typical format allowed for the forming of small groups that would allow more engagement by more people. Involvement was encouraged, but not required.

The following is a description from my journal of a particularly interesting evening when Debbie accompanied me.  [FYI - our students adopted English names.]

In the evening, Deb and I attended the West Campus English Corner.  Alexander and Viola - students from my classes - led the evening with great finesse and clarity.  After a very cute video clip and a presentation of imitating, we were turned loose to have a discussion around the following questions:

·         What is the greatest gift that you have received?

·         How do you pursue your true love?

·         What can you not afford to do without?

·         What do you think is more important:  power or freedom?

When Deb, Rie, Peter, or I are in a group, it often goes in other directions following the interests of the students.  This is obviously fine;  the purpose of the evening is to give the students an opportunity to speak English.  We alternated groups after about half of the time was gone, so each of us worked in two different groups of students.

Each time, Debbie ended up with groups of girls from my classes crowded around her.  They grilled her on questions about how to develop a great relationship and how to make a great marriage.  My groups also wanted to talk a lot about marriage.  The girls in my group were fascinated when I explained that I was a one-woman man!  Once again, our marriage has become a focal point here on campus! 

You can imagine how I responded to questions like:

1.      What is the one thing you cannot do without?

2.      What is the best gift you ever received?

3.      How do you celebrate Christmas?

I was asked these question over and over at this event!  The harvest is white!  I felt like a farmer sowing seed;  digging deep into the bag and throwing seed far and wide!  I felt deeply privileged!  I felt like I was working in direct partnership with God!  I experienced a joy unlike any I have known before!  I felt a greater satisfaction from this one evening than I did from years in ministry in America! 

At the end of the evening we walked home with Jason and Jack and Bob who are post-graduate students who live on South Campus (where we also live).  We are feeling drawn to build bridges to these students.  We keep meeting them at various places and at English Corners;  they often find it difficult to find people to speak English with!  

I wish I had a picture of one moment from this evening.  As we left building one on West Campus, we went down many stairs.  I was walking and talking with one of my students.  These three guys (just mentioned) all took great care to help Debbie down those slippery stairs.  They cared for her like she was their own grandmother.   There was no way she was going to fall while going down those stairs!  Hahaha...  She was deeply respected by all the students and so many others as well!

THE PRIORITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Barnabas and Saul [note the order of names at the beginning] were set apart for a special work by the Holy Spirit by the Antioch church’s prophets, teachers and people. After laying their hands on them, these two men [and a younger man, John Mark] were sent out by the Holy Spirit. [Acts 13:1-4] [All quotes from the CEV unless otherwise noted]

They went to Seleucia [due east of Antioch on the Mediterranean], and from there sailed to the island of Cyprus. When they came to a city named Salamis, they preached the Good News of God in the synagogues [v.5]. Then, they went across the whole island to Paphos where they met a magician named Bar-Jesus. He was a false prophet who always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, the governor and a smart man. [vs.6-7]

Sergius Paulus invited Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the message of God,… Elymas…tried to stop the governor from believing in Jesus. [v.8]

But Saul, who was also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas and said, “You son of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of evil tricks and lies, always trying to change the Lord’s truth into lies. Now the Lord will touch you, and you will be blind  [vs.9-10].

Then everything became dark for Elymas and he tried to find someone to lead him by the hand. When the governor saw this, he believed because he was amazed at the teaching of the Lord. [vs.11-12].

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OBSERVATIONS

1.    During the first stop on their mission, Paul emerges as the leader. 

Verse 4 – Barnabas and Saul

Verse 13 – Paul and Barnabas

 

2.    This mission team is clearly being directed by the Holy Spirit who seems to tell them where to go and how to proceed.

 

3.    Paul is no longer going by his earlier name – Saul [see v.9]. Apparently, he uses the name change to signify his heart change!

 

4.    Paul is given boldness in standing up against the evil in Elymas which was surely due to his dedication to serving demonic forces that had enabled him to do magic [see v.8].  Paul demonstrates – under the leadership of the Holy Spirit – that the power of God is far more significant than the power that was directing Elymas!  Elymas went from walking in spiritual darkness to walking in actual darkness!

 

5.    The governor – Sergius Paulus – believed because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord [v.15]. 

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LORD GOD: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

 

Raise up Spirit-filled and Spirit-led leaders for Your American Church!

Leaders who are willing to make sacrifices [such as going without food] to be enabled to hear from and follow You!

 

Help us – as Your people – to discern genuinely committed leaders from those who may be simply seeking a following that gives prestige and wealth!

 

Keep us mindful that we live in the age of the Spirit!

His power has not diminished!

What He did 2.000 years ago – He is still capable of doing TODAY!

 

Move your Church from nonchalance to fully engaged,

from tepid to boiling,

from aimlessly wandering to being led by the Spirit!

 

And start this work in ME!

 

AMEN!