Video Transcript:
I wanted to pick up where I left off thematically from the last video talking about the sacredness of texts and how the different language groups I've worked with over the years have valued not just what is written in the Bible, but how it is written. This is one reason why they are more and more resistant to common, up-to-date versions of their Bible translations, because they value a sacredness to the old way of saying things.
In the last generation or so, there's been such a hyperfocus on globalization, on the flattening of particularity in cultures. When you go to a mega city like Bangkok, the buildings all look like mega cities in other countries around the world—like Tokyo or Manhattan or even some up-and-coming cities in parts of Africa. They are just tall, cement, metal buildings. Not a lot of color, not a lot of cultural nuance, just plain and very industrialized, hyper-manufactured cities without much cultural, local flair and flavor to them.
One thing that I’ve noticed that Christians value in a lot of language groups is this sense of belonging to a legacy, to a spiritual family that is transgenerational, that comes across the generations, that unites the people. I've learned from even the local language group that I work with that they value the original, initial Bible translation in their language because there's an attachment they have to the believers that have come before them.
Now, there are always offers to update the Bible translations, and sometimes they need to be updated. I work with translation ministries and I do my own translation projects. One of the hardest things is to motivate enough locals to want a new Bible translation because they are very dedicated. They are very loyal to what was handed down to them.
I'm thinking of a passage from 2 Timothy 1:13 that says this: "Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me." Paul is telling Timothy this pattern or form or standard of sound words that had been passed on from Paul to Timothy had been heard from him in the faith. Whenever there's a definite article on faith in Paul's writing, he's identifying not just this ethereal sense of belief in God. It's implied, but when he uses the definite article, "the faith," he's talking about gospel doctrine. He's talking about the doctrine of Christ, the whole package of what is taught about the truth of Christ that saves—what you need to know to be a believer.
So, "the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me, that I’ve passed on to you verbally in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." The content is gospel doctrine, the systematic teachings of the Bible when it comes to salvation doctrines, in the manner of the love that is in Christ. It's not just content, but it also corresponds to the character of Christ. It's the word of Christ, the word from Christ, the word about Christ, in the manner of Christ.
What is key here is not so much the content of the instruction or the character of the instruction. What is key here is the pattern, the standard, or in the KJV it says "the form." This word for the pattern of sound words, or the standard in the LSB, or the form in the KJV, (I'm using the ESV here), it really means like a super example. It means a super type, like you get the word typology from part of this word. It's a point of reference. It's this sense of something that is fixed and that is passed down as a pattern, an example, a figure, a form that needs to conform what you think and how you think.
Paul is talking about there is a standard of words that comes out of my mouth that I have so invested into you, my disciple Timothy, that you need to pass on. That is the faith, that is the gospel doctrine that I have passed on to you. Paul is putting so much emphasis on a way words come out of his mouth, a rhythm, a standard, a pattern of words that should be impressed upon disciples, upon the people of God.
I think Paul is probably referring to his old Hebrew practices, which he learned as a good Hebrew, and then he’s passing on to Timothy. This is Bible memory. That was the catechesis, that was the content of training back then. You had to memorize large chunks of scripture and be able to defend them, know what you believe and why you believe it.
Paul is basically saying that this practice of immersing ourselves in the standard of the words of scripture—not just general ideas about scripture, not just summary statements, as important as those are, because that's where we get a lot of our creedal and systematic teachings—but there is a fixed nature, a fixed point of focus to memorizing scripture that is the content of discipleship.
What they would do in discipleship, and I’ve seen this in our local churches, is they'll memorize a lot of scripture and then they'll summarize the statements in a similar way to catechism or a creed or a confession. If you look at any ancient creed, confession, or catechism, they're going to make a statement that is a summary statement about scripture, and then they're going to have a bunch of verses that supports that, that you can go to and argue from. This was a very common method. In fact, I would argue, the implied biblical method of discipleship.
I see that in a lot of these hill tribes churches that I work with. Some of them do it instinctively. They've never really been taught to do it this way, but I’ve learned to notice it in them and then to play to their strengths. I don't want to come to them with a book study or a new Bible study package. I want to just do what they already are doing instinctively and then show them how it's very biblical and how to make it even more practical and give them tools for using the small underdeveloped methods that they're instinctively practicing. I'm trying to help them develop those out and use what is already culturally there that corresponds to what the Bible teaches and to show them, "Hey, when you memorize scripture, when you sing scripture to the kids when you're down at the river or you're out in the rice fields, or you're washing dishes or you're going to get water, when you're singing scripture, you're actually discipling the kids using a pattern of sound words, and that is very biblical." Here are some ways we can maximize the memory of scripture and how you can impress upon the next generation a pattern of sound words that corresponds to the faith, the gospel doctrine in Jesus Christ.
One of the things I do is I try to ground people's sense of assurance and conviction and comfort in the written word of God. It's not just what comes from the pastor. It's not just what is memorized in the songs. It's what comes from the mouth of God. So I'm trying to take these small little practices that they're already doing, showing them where they divert from scripture and how to course correct, and then also showing them where they actually correspond to scripture and how to play to their strengths and how to make the best of practices they're already doing, and then to give them tools to be self-feeders and to access scripture for themselves.
You can pray for us, pray for me as I work in translation and training and working with people who are first-generation believers. Sometimes they're just cultural Christians. They've gone to church or their family has gone to church, but they don't know the gospel. They're so close to the gospel. They're like Nicodemus. They're right up against the kingdom of God, and they just need a small, soft push over the line into the kingdom of light from the dominion of darkness. You can pray for us, pray for me as I make clear, I make plain the goodness of the gospel in Jesus Christ.