Chapter II: Biblical and Theological Culture

The great work of a pastor is instruction in the truths of the Bible; and wherever else he may fail, he must at least be a master in the Gospel. Ignorance on some of the topics already mentioned, though unfortunate, may still be tolerated, but in the man who ventures into the pulpit as a public instructor in the Bible, a want of biblical knowledge and the utterance of crude, undiscriminating statements of truth can never be excused. No mere rhetorical power or seeming earnestness can atone for a want of thorough mastery of the themes of the pulpit. Biblical and theological investigation should, therefore, have a large place in the pastor's plan of study.

1. _Here, first of all, and most important, is the direct study of the Bible, bringing the mind into living contact with God's Word._ As students in the Hebrew and Greek, let a part of each day be given to careful, critical study of the Scriptures in the Divine originals as they were indited by the Holy Spirit. No translation, however perfect, can possibly give one the whole impression of the original. A little careful work each day in reading the original Scriptures will soon make the process easy and delightful, and its value is above all price. But, whether in the inspired original or in a version, the Bible should be carefully studied. It is God's own Word, the great instrument of His power, "the sword of the Spirit." The Holy Spirit works only through Divine truth, and that must ever be the mightiest pulpit which most fully and clearly unfolds these living words of God. (1.) As accessory to biblical interpretation, I suggest the study of the geography and history of Bible lands. The power to localize the characters and events of Scripture and place them in their historical surroundings is of the highest importance. Thus, in reading the Pentateuch and earlier historical books, how much more vividly are the events conceived if you are familiar with the localities in Egypt, the desert, and Palestine; or in reading Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel if you have clear ideas of the place and history of Assyria and Babylon; or in the New Testament if you have studied the condition and localities of the Roman Empire, then dominant! For this such works as Smith's _Old and New Testament History,_ Rawlinson's _Five Ancient Monarchies,_ and Milman's _History of the Jews_ or Stanley's _Jewish Church,_ would furnish the historical information, while a good biblical atlas, kept always open before you, would give the needed maps. Full historical and topographical discussions will be found in Smith's _Bible Dictionary,_ Robinson's _Biblical Researches,_ or Thompson's _Land and the Book._ (2.) The Bible, I also suggest, should be studied in its unity. The book of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is one whole, from first to last unfolding, by successive steps, one system of truth and method of redemption. It is not a mere fortuitous collection of sacred writings, but one grand revelation from God, each part related to every other and essential to the whole. The types and prophecies and symbols of the earlier Scriptures contain the germs of the later Gospel, and no man will thoroughly understand the one Testament without a careful study of the other. This interior, vital unity in the several parts of Scripture is developed in such works as Fairbairn's _Typology_ and the _Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation._ (3.) The books of the Bible should be studied in their chronological and historical connection. Suppose one is studying the prophecy of Isaiah: he will ascertain its meaning far more clearly if he have carefully studied the period when Isaiah lived, the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah as given in Kings and Chronicles. Or suppose he is reading the Epistles of Paul: their interpretation will be far more clear if he have studied the character of Paul and the circumstances under which he wrote as they are developed in the Acts and the Epistles, aided by such a work as Conybeare and Howson's _Life and Epistles of St. Paul._ (4.) The Bible should also be studied analytically. A cursory reading of the Scriptures does not interpret them; they must be carefully analyzed if one would penetrate into their full meaning. For example, one is reading Romans; he begins, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God, which He had promised before by His prophets in holy Scripture, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord; who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, but declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Now analyze or extract the propositions here contained. It is affirmed here of Paul, 1. That he is a servant (_doulos_) of Jesus Christ; 2. That he is a Divinely-called Apostle; 3. That as an Apostle he is set apart unto the Gospel of God. It is said of the Gospel, 1. That it was foreannounced by the prophets in Holy Scripture; 2. That its subject-matter is concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. It is declared of Christ, 1. That as to His flesh, or human nature, He descended from David; 2. That as to His spirit of holiness, or Divine nature, He was clearly shown to be the Son of God by the fact of His resurrection. Now, the man who will patiently, steadily work out such an analysis of God's Word as he studies it will penetrate the heart of it, and its richness will astonish him. The great thoughts of God will be laid open to his view as they never can be to the careless, superficial reader; and if, with such biblical work in the study, the pastor devotes a part of the Lord's Day either to expository preaching or to a lecture in his Bible school, this direct connection of the work of the study with that of the pulpit will add interest and force to both.

2. _In the study of the Christian doctrines it is, first of all, important to have a system._ This plan of work should be so arranged that in a course of years, taking one subject at a time, the pastor may make a thorough investigation of all the leading topics. As the basis take such a work as Hodge's _Outline of Theology,_ or any good compendium of theology, and, following the order of subjects, work in each until its main points have been mastered. For illustration, suppose the subject is the doctrine of inspiration. First work out carefully the questions in your chosen text-book, and read some of the best authors on the subject, as Lee, Woods, Gaussen, and Hodge. All the points involved will thus be brought distinctly before the mind. Then collect the leading passages of Scripture bearing on it and examine each critically and patiently and note down your own impressions. Follow this by writing a full and careful statement of your own view as the result of the investigation. Or suppose the subject to be that great central doctrine of the Gospel, the atonement. After working out the questions as presented in your text-book and reading the best authors accessible to you, so as to become master of the vital points, then examine the priesthood and sacrifices of the Old Testament, the predictions of the atonement in prophecy, and the passages bearing on this doctrine in the New Testament. Having thus before you the elements of a decision, write out fully your own view. Such a process of theological investigation, steadily pressed year after year, and connected as it would be with the reading of the great masters in theology, could not fail to make the pastor a clear, strong religious thinker and his pulpit a power in leading religious thought. Let me also urge the study of the history of doctrines in connection with such a course of theological investigation. Take such a work as Hagenbach's or Shedd's _History of Doctrines,_ in which the course of theological thinking on each of the great truths of the Bible is traced through the ages, and the varying phases of the doctrine through successive periods, and the forms in which it has been held by the world's profoundest thinkers are presented. Such a study is wonderfully stimulating to thought and affords a broader basis for the formation of opinions. If also, in direct connection with this investigation of a great truth, the pastor should preach on the leading points involved in it, he would greatly add to the definiteness of his own views, while the work of the study would thus come into the work of the pulpit, enhancing the interest and power of the sermons.