Studying and Salvation

I was a pirate last night! At least that is what I told everyone when they asked me why I had an eye patch on my eye. It was fun to mess with people and say, "Arrrr" alot! I love the opportunities to confirm for others what they already know: I'm a dork! And this is a random opening paragraph to lead into a deeper topic.

Even with a one-eyed facilitator last night, our discussion went well. We continued our "You Asked For It" class discussing salvation. It was cool to see how quickly everyone went to emphasize the on-going nature of salvation. One of the first texts from the Bible referenced was Philippians 2:12-13:

"Therefore my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

The difficult part in our conversation was understanding how "working out our salvation" translates practically into everyday living. At one point I asked, "Does it count as an example of working out our salvation when I am studying for an exam and being a good student?" There was a lot of silence as the great minds in the room were thinking. In fact, I almost smelt smoke!

How could studying for an exam count as continuing to work out your salvation? Here are some of my thoughts.

First, as I've mentioned before, I am one who consistently refuses to accept (and even recognize) the ginormous chasm most of us have between our spiritual life and any other aspect of our life (even academic life). No! We have one life! That's it! And each aspect of our life is connected to all the others! It is impossible to have one aspect of my life (say, academic studies) isolated and uninfluenced by another aspect of my life (say, how I treat my parents)! That is why our studies gets a boost of newfound energy when we come home from Spring Break having had a little time to rest. (btw...the opposite is equally true if our Spring Break experienced some sort of parental bomb shell!)

So! Studying counts as working out your salvation.

Attending to academic studies is a venue through which students can consider themselves as working out their salvation. Attending to your studies is a living-fully-alive-as-God-created-us exercise. It is a loving-the-Lord-your-God-with-all-your-mind thing. You are growing up into the fullness of Christ when you are growing in knowledge. It is all related.

I love how practical this is for students! Want to work on growing up in your salvation in Christ? Study! Review! Take good notes! Listen to your professor! Ask them questions! Sleep at night! Eat well! Grow!

This sounds like the Jesus I read about in Luke 2:46, 52. His parents "found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. .... And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

Bible Study

As we were driving back in from Dallas Monday night (we went to Kent Brown’s funeral [father of Kyle & Jessica Brown] in Ft. Worth), I thought about how I really haven’t spent much extensive, focused time in the books of the Bible. I wanted to spend more time digging, researching, and applying the skills I have learned in Grad school. I then decided to go through a book of the Bible in a month (maybe two months, but we will see).
For each book that I am studying, I want to filter what I read through several different categories. I hope to spend 12 days asking text questions. What does the text say? How is it translated? What is my outline? What do I learn from the text about the author, the intended audience, and the setting? What are critical or key issues that the text addresses? What do introductions, dictionaries, articles, books, etc. say about my text?
Then I hope to spend 5 days asking history questions. What is the historical context of my text? What is the history of translation for this passage? How did the early church fathers interpret and apply this text? What do other major historical figures say about this text?
Then I move to theological questions. I hope to spend another 5 days asking these. What do we learn about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit? How does my text address sin, salvation, and mankind?
Finally, the last 8 days are spent asking pastoral questions. This centers around application. How does this text address the way we live? What does it teach about church? What are real-life applications of this text? How can this text be used in a congregational setting? In a campus ministry setting?
In the end, I am still not sure what I want to do with this studying of God's word. Do I write a synopsis of my research? Do I just keep the notes handy for future reference? Do I need a longer period of time to bring everything together? What is a good balance of Old and New Testament books? Any suggestions would be helpful.
I guess I will figure this out as I go. For now...I started yesterday going through 1 Peter. May God be near as I journey through his word.