From fifth grade through twelfth grade, I had the privilege of attending a Christian school. The friendships that I cultivated with other students and faculty/staff members forty years ago are ones that I still enjoy today (albeit primarily through social media). The discipleship I received at home from my parents was largely reinforced and supplemented at my church and its Christian school, for which I’lll be forever grateful. Little did I know at the time just how many lessons learned during these formative years I would carry with me the rest of my life.
One such lesson was the Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”), which means that Scripture is our supreme authority on any matter on which it speaks. As the Westminster Confession of Faith states,
The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in scripture, or by good and necessary consequence, may be deduced from scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.
One teacher in particular at our Christian school would quote Bible references to students throughout the day, applying Scripture to various situations. He wouldn’t quote the verse itself, just the reference. Of course that would make the students curious about which verse the teacher was alluding to, so they would grab their Bibles to find out.
Two different verses seemed to be his favorites, perhaps because in the teacher’s mind they so perfectly addressed the situation at hand.
During seat work time, a boy would be goofing around with his friend next to him, and the teacher would look at them and say, “First Thessalonians 4:11.” The only Bible version we used in that school was the King James Version (KJV), so I’ll quote that translation of the verse here: “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.” Haha, what a great verse for boys who are goofing around during seat work time!
The teacher would see a female student behaving immaturely or foolishly in a given moment, and he would call her “Miss Smith” (or whatever her last name was) and then say, “Proverbs 11:22.” The young lady would open her Bible and read: “As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.” This verse indicates that a lack of discretion in a lovely lady is as out of place as a ring of gold in a pig’s nose. Point taken!
It may be that in at least the first case the teacher was proof-texting, which is using a biblical text to prove your point without regard for the context of the passage you’re citing. Paul’s statement in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 is really about Christian men working to support themselves instead of meddling in other people’s business as they mooch off other believers.
While proof-texting is something we must be careful to avoid, I think the far greater danger is not appealing to Scripture at all — either because we don’t know it well enough, or we don’t respect it as our supreme authority, or both. We would do well to remember:
When Scripture speaks,
God speaks.
At any given moment on any given day in any given situation, we as believers should automatically think, “What does the Bible say about this matter? What scriptural commands, principles or promises come into play?”
The psalmist testified, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). I like how the New Living Translation of Isaiah 8:20 correlates to this truth, saying,
Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.
That’s why one gentleman in a previous church I pastored would challenge unbiblical propositions and statements by saying, “Chapter and verse! Chapter and verse!” He could be a bit obnoxious, but I appreciated his commitment to examine everything in the light of Scripture. Luke, the author of Acts, tells us that when Paul preached at the synagogue in Berea, “these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
May we as believers today develop a Berean mindset. “Chapter and verse! Chapter and verse!”