Faithful to the Word

This semester at Crossroads has been the most fruitful for me yet. With this fruitfulness, of course, comes growth pains. I have been stretched more in the last couple of months than what I probably had been in the last five years. Clearly, it has been a while since I have been stretched this much. Albeit, school has not been the only thing stretching me. Church has as well. As I have been entrusted with more responsibilities at the church I am a member at, Crossroad Community, I find myself moving out of my comfort zone and building relationships because of it. It has been amazing! Even with all this, though, the biggest growth and most challenging issue I have faced this semester is a result of a course of I have been taking titled “Hermeneutics”. For those of you who may not know what that word means, it is the science and art of interpreting and applying the Bible. Not only has this been the biggest growth point, but it has also affected my other courses and my studies at church as well. It has cause me to stop and think about how I am handling the Word of God.

Right up front I want to say this: I want to be faithful to the Word of God. I realize now more than ever that to 2 Timothy 2:2 & 4:2 are critical to the ministry that God blesses and entrusts me with. I realize that to preach the Word of God is to preach the gospel. Although I feel it should have been obvious to me before, I am now aware that when I go into studying a text, my first question should be, “What does this teach me about God?” and not “How should I apply this to my life?” (There is a time for application for the individual but it is not of first importance.) Furthermore, when going into a text I must see how it points to Jesus Christ. That being the case, it is important to see at what point in redemptive history the text takes place. You can, then, be able to show how the passage points to fullness in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why the Christian message is unique!

In conclusion, I have been so affected by this course and the teaching that my hope is to possibly, if time and opportunity permit, share these concepts and teachings with the young adult group I have been blessed to be a part of. I know that as I want to be faithful to the Word, my fellow young adult brothers and sisters in the faith want to be as well. I believe this could greatly help and encourage them in studying the Bible. This course has also made me grow in appreciation for men of God who preach the gospel week in and week out even though it may not always be popular. For that, I would like to thanks the pastors God has allowed me to learn under and from, Andy Lee and McKeel Bowden. I, likewise, would like to thank Professor Nicholas Piotrowski for his heart on wanting Christian leaders to teach and preach with the right hermeneutics. May we stay faithful to the Word!