Most
who study biblical Hebrew and Koine Greek in seminary, like most who study
Spanish in high school, do not retain the skills they are exposed to in those
classes. It is unfortunate so many who invest time, energy, and money in
learning the biblical languages would not continue using them and growing in
the understanding of them, but it is particularly lamentable that ministers
fail to do so. Knowledge of the biblical languages should be a prerequisite, in
most cases, to ordained Christian ministry, and maintenance of them should be
an important part of the minister’s work.
Ezra’s
example as a scribe who “set his heart to study
the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules” (Ezra
7:10) ought to be a model for all who aspire to be teachers in the church (cf.
Jas. 3:1). How are we to teach what we do not understand? How are we to
understand what we cannot read? How are we to know what is written if the
language in which it was first revealed remains a mystery to us?
Psalm 119 powerfully
and prayerfully describes the righteous man’s devotion to God as he has
revealed himself in the Scriptures. It is not merely God’s person or God’s
truth that the psalmist treasures; it is the very words God has spoken.
The psalm uses many different terms to describe the written word of
Yahweh. God’s Word is communicated
in words, and while those words can be translated and their essential meaning
communicated in other languages, the servant of God who aspires to teach God’s
Word ought to treasure and pursue the very words which God spoke by the Holy
Spirit through holy men of old.
Unfortunately, the demands of
ministry and the modern, American context of it often leads ministers to focus
more time and energy on programs and pleasing people than on pursuing serious
study of God’s Word. Some ministers and pastors are content simply to pass the
required language classes (or never take them at all) and then move on to more
pragmatic pastoral practices; others might desire to sustain a working
knowledge of the biblical languages but find themselves unable to do so because
of the significant demands placed upon them. Yet Scripture itself indicates the
minister’s first priority must be on the faithful handling of the Word of God
(cf. 2Tim. 3:14-4:5). Paul exhorts Timothy:
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to
exhortation, to teaching.… Practice
these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep
a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing
you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1Tim. 4:13, 15-16)
Pastoral needs are certainly
important, and no minister should be commended for attending to the Word to the
neglect of the flock under his care. But every minister ought to recognize the
greatest need of his flock is to hear the Word of God in purity and with
clarity, and in order for this to be done their shepherd must devote himself to
the careful study of it.
Many people today seek a local church where their felt-needs will be met, a church where they will feel welcome, where the worship is a satisfying experience, where their children can enjoy entertaining programs, and where they can feel more encouraged than convicted. No doubt, many are led to Christ in churches just like these, and we can rejoice that the gospel is proclaimed, even if we sometimes regret the context (cf. Php. 1:15-18). But many are liable to attend such churches for most of their lives and end up in Hell because they never knew Christ (Matt. 7:21-23). What people need is not entertainment but enlightenment, not to be satisfied with themselves but to be satisfied with Christ, not to be happy but to be holy. In order for this to be so, we must hear God’s Word. The church needs ministers who can stand up and faithfully proclaim, “Thus says the Lord.” This requires more than reading the Bible in its original languages, but it should not require less. –JME
Many people today seek a local church where their felt-needs will be met, a church where they will feel welcome, where the worship is a satisfying experience, where their children can enjoy entertaining programs, and where they can feel more encouraged than convicted. No doubt, many are led to Christ in churches just like these, and we can rejoice that the gospel is proclaimed, even if we sometimes regret the context (cf. Php. 1:15-18). But many are liable to attend such churches for most of their lives and end up in Hell because they never knew Christ (Matt. 7:21-23). What people need is not entertainment but enlightenment, not to be satisfied with themselves but to be satisfied with Christ, not to be happy but to be holy. In order for this to be so, we must hear God’s Word. The church needs ministers who can stand up and faithfully proclaim, “Thus says the Lord.” This requires more than reading the Bible in its original languages, but it should not require less. –JME
