In Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount (often called the Sermon on the Plain), Jesus says:
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognised by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, or grapes from briers. Good people bring good things out of the good stored up in their heart, and evil people bring evil things out of the evil stored up in their heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:43-45).
People have strange ways of reading the Bible sometimes, looking for either a command to obey, an example to follow or what is often called a “necessary inference.” When the Bible doesn’t give an explicit instruction, we make necessary inferences by using logic and inductive reasoning to determine what we are supposed to do. This method of Bible reading, which focuses solely on what we should do in response to the Scriptures, brings up all kinds of issues. First, it doesn’t help us understand what the text means, it’s only a method of applying the text to our lives. Second, one person’s “necessary inference” is hardly universal.
There are other problems with this form of Bible study, but the most important issue of all is that this method of reading the Bible is ungodly. I mean that last word in a precise way, approaching Scripture in this manner is ungodly in that it’s completely unconcerned with God. It’s what could be called an “anthropocentric” (man-centred) way to read the Bible, because it is completely concerned with humans and what we should do. Or (even worse) it’s concerned with others and what you think they should do. God is hardly even a factor.
A theocentric (God-centred) approach first asks what a particular text reveals about the character and nature of God. Then it asks how we might apply this text to our lives in such a way that we become more like Him.
Of course, reading the Bible that way takes a lot more work, and that’s probably why some people prefer the other approach. But those folks often have a really hard time trying to figure out what in the world Jesus wants them to do. Take the above paragraph from Luke, for instance. There’s no command. There’s not even an example. And the whole necessary inference thing is confusing for most people anyway.
So what does Jesus want us to do?
To ratchet up the tension even further, He adds: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Because You haven’t told us what to do, Jesus!
This gets to one of the most frustrating things about Jesus’ teaching, He rarely gives an outright command. And sometimes when He does, it’s outrageous. Does Jesus really want you to pluck out your eye or cut off your hand?
How do you obey Jesus when He won’t give you a decent command?
While we’re here, let us ask this. Have you ever heard someone say that before you can follow Jesus you have to “obey the gospel”? Well, if the gospel is the Good News that Jesus came and lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death and rose victorious over the grave to secure your pardon from sin and purchase for you a new life characterised not by fear and shame but by hope and peace and joy — if the gospel is the availability of life in God’s kingdom — if it is an historical event, well, how do you “obey” an historical event?
The answer to both questions above is the same: You live as if it were true.
How would we live if we believed Jesus’ words in Luke 6 to be an accurate depiction of reality? How would we live if we believed the Good News were really true?
Maybe that’s what Jesus was getting at in His teaching ministry — not some tutorial offering new and improved rules for living, but a better picture of reality, sharing with us what life would be like in this Kingdom He was bringing. And maybe what He desires of us most is that we begin to live as if it were true.
Holy Father, Your Word is truth. It brings life, hope, purpose, fulfilment and power to all who submit to its authority and put it into practice. I want to receive it, reflect on it, internalise it and apply it. Your Word gives me the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, and it teaches, corrects, reproves and trains me in righteousness. Your magnificent promises are sure. Your perfect character is unchanging. Your loyal love is unwavering and Your boundless grace is constant. I can lean with full confidence on Your promises and precepts, because they are the anchor for my hope and the foundation for my wellbeing. Teach me the way in which You want me to order my steps so that I will fulfil Your benevolent desires for my life. By Your grace may I follow You, trust in You, hope in You and please You.
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