Mission Statement

In the past few years, I have made a note that among the Christian community, the Holy Scriptures have been taught less and less, or less and less accurately. The result has been a damaging weakness to the Church which has put the very Gospel at risk of corruption.We must be very wary of this trend because should the Gospel become corrupt, the Church has not only become unproductive, but has become a tool of the devil in insuring that souls may not believe and be saved. We must avoid this at all costs and the tool to do so is the Holy Scriptures. It literally fills our pews and homes, but is more ignored than ever.

It is easy to blame the teachers in the church for their lack of teaching the Scriptures. I am truly convinced that they are not intentionally submitting to the work of Satan or working with the dark powers. However, it can be assured that the devil rejoices in this trend none the less. It is also easy to want to rise up and declare them wrong. However, that is the job of the Lord when he come to judge the works of his church, the Apostle James confirms this. The best that we can do is insure that we ourselves as a Christian expose ourselves to the scriptures.

In the interest of insuring my exposure to the true Gospel as controlled by the Scriptures, I have endeavoured to set about working through the Epistles of the accepted protestant New Testament. The reason I have selected this part of the Scriptures is twofold. The first is because the Epistles are not incredibly difficult to teach from, in contrast to Job. The second is that the Epistles were written mostly to struggling churches, which I would qualify our current churches as.

I am of the intent to use a standard Literal-Grammatical-Historical-Rhetorical method of hermeneutics. I have found this to most accurately find the original meaning of the text. I will try to avoid having any attachment to previous errors in interpretation and take the text as intended. I find that much of the interpretation that the Scriptures have been subjected to over the years unfairly tie them to teachings that they never intended. As I work through the text, I will create what hopefully will become an archive of starting places as well. As I have begun to speak in my church from time to time, these may be used in future lessons that I may teach as a place to jump off from when preparing a lesson.

I must address that I write this as a personal project of growth, but as it is part of the public internet, there is no telling who may reach this. There are so many perspectives in the world, and even in just the Christian tradition. I feel that I am putting a disclaimer when I say that I do not intend to offend or upset anyone, but that is truly not my intent. Should anybody read this and be offended by something I have said, communicate with me about it. It is entirely possible that I made a mistake, in which case I am eager to correct it. It is also possible that something was read improperly and I need to provide a better explanation. It also may happen that your understanding runs contrary to the plain teachings of Scripture. I ask that nobody storm away angry, but seek understanding above all else.

There should be a note given that as much as I care for the Scriptures and want to see them handled properly, the Lord has also given me some challenges to overcome. My use of the English language may be, from time to time, wrong. This includes everything from issues with spelling and the misuse of spell check's in correcting it to issues arising from my affinity for incredibly long sentences which I share with the Apostle Paul. I will do my best to eradicate such mistakes, but some will also slip through. I apologise for these and request that these be treated with respect. If a reader wishes me to correct these, by all means contact me. Just know that I am trying to apply as much care as I can in writing.

In writing, I have also found it necessary to use an English translation of the Scriptures. This comes partly from the fact that my Greek is too weak to provide my own translation of the Scriptures and partly that my audience does not largely understand Latin, so my use of the Vulgate is limited to my banner photo. (The translation of that is "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" [Authorised Translation], by the way). I will use, as much as possible, the English Standard Version (ESV). I use this out of respect for the translation work of the council of translation and will not profit from its use. I am, however, a big fan of comparing the various translations into English to get a clearer view of the intent of the Biblical languages. Keep your eyes out for citations.

One of the issues that comes with the use of an English translation, though, is the artificial division of the text by scholars throughout the years. These include both chapter and verse divisions as the Epistles were originally written as a single continuous text. While holding a personal disdain for these artificial divisions, I acknowledge them as being useful for the communal study of the Scriptures, so have left them in the text as I write. Many translations, the ESV included, also put topical section divisions, which I find more useful, but also foreign to the text. I may reference these from time to time, but have omitted them from my printing these in the text. It is the tradition also of the ESV publishers to publish their translations with the words of Christ in red. I have taken it a step further and will publish all Scriptures in a slightly reddened text to distinguish my mortal, fallible words from those of the immortal, infallible words of God.

I have also created my own artificial divisions of the Scriptures in selecting to publish my teaching in posts. I have used my judgement to create these divisions in the name of practicality, but would like to quote the last person I asked about the length of a text I intended to teach. "You've got thirteen verses? You could teach for thirteen weeks. But, for your purpose, thirteen verses will be fine for a lesson." Every word (and thus verse) is inspired and thus equally important to read and understand. Context is important too, so I seek to strike a balance.

I would also like to acknowledge that I find that hymns and Christian songs often provide a beautiful way of expressing ideas, but as the intent of this blog is a commitment to the teachings of the Scriptures, I will try to avoid their use. However, sometimes I can't help my self. And before anyone jumps on me for a lack of self control, I would remind you that we are taught by the Scriptures to control our flesh, not out faith. My occasional use of music is an outpouring of faith.

Above all else, I want this whole blog to be an outpouring of faith. I will admit that I will have to take care to not allow this to become an outpouring of my pride in my intellectual prowess. The centre of my life must be the Gospel and the Scriptures in all things. My pride in my own abilities will detriment the teachings of the Scriptures and every word of teaching out of pride will bring judgement upon me. In light of this I will endeavour to undertake all humility that this may be a work pleasing to God.

In light of this I intend and commit to undertake a true teaching of the Scriptures as to communicate the truth of the Gospel and conduct of the Christian life to insure that the pleasure of my God and Saviour be fulfilled through my life, his church, and the conduct thereof. I pray for God's blessing in this and all my ways that it may not be what I do, but what he has done in the sacrificing of his son for my sins. Amen.