5 Roadblocks to Missions

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,

for it is the power of God to salvation

for everyone who believes.”

 Romans 1:16

Leland Miller will be focusing on “The Takeaway” this Sunday at church, and the discussion should raise some interesting questions about missions and about how we can best do the work of missions.

Last week I suggested some ways we can do the work of missions here in our community. This week I’d like to take a look at some roadblocks to missions and suggest ways to get by them. See if you agree with my list of these Five Roadblocks to Missions:

Doubt

We live in a pluralistic society, and we are bombarded daily with messages of toleration. We are told that we should ‘live and let live,’ and we are exhorted to maintain a nonjudgmental attitude toward differing lifestyles and religious beliefs. These messages are preached from the podiums of political offices and from the lecterns of schoolrooms.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ is not a message of toleration. It is not a message of the acceptance of alternative lifestyles and of differing religious opinions. It is built on the presupposition that there is only one true God, and that He has revealed Himself fully in the person of Jesus Christ. And it is also  built on the presupposition that man is sinful and stands condemned before holy God. Indeed, the reason the Gospel is Good News is that it tells how man can escape eternal condemnation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We who are believers know these things. We know, for instance, that the worship of Allah, as expressed in Islam, is abhorrent in His sight. We know that the pantheism of Hinduism and Buddhism is an abomination. And we know that only the fool says in his heart, “there is no God.” And, most importantly, we know that it is only through the preaching of the Gospel, through the hearing of His Word, that one comes to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ.

And yet, it seems, we doubt. And in many different ways. Some doubt whether the message of the gospel is truly exclusive. Some doubt that Jesus truly is the only way to the Father. And some doubt whether the God we worship is truly as holy as He says He is.

This must be the case, because if we did not doubt, we would be very bold in our proclamation of the gospel.

But what is the answer to doubt? The answer is faith.

We overcome doubt through faith, a reasonable faith that examines the Scriptural truth claims, considers their presuppositions, and determines to act accordingly. I do not act as a Christian with the hope of gaining faith. I act as a Christian because I have faith.

So, today, if you examine your heart, and you find that you have a heart of unbelief, I encourage you to study the Scriptures. Determine for yourself whether these things are true. Then, be settled in your own heart, and act accordingly.

Idolatry

Some people come to Christ and then continue to battle with idolatry. Their gods are the gods of their former lives, and they can be literal (as in the false gods of Eastern religions) or they can be figurative (e.g. self, family, education, career, wealth, health, and leisure).

Idolatry expresses itself in misplaced priorities. Idolatrous believers assert that God and His program are of the highest priority, but their day-to-day schedules reflect something different. They invest in things of temporal value at the cost of things of eternal value. They find it impossible to find time to devote to evangelism, but they find the find time to do the things that they, in their flesh, desire to do.

The answer to idolatry is worship of the true God.

If we will focus our hearts and minds fully upon Almighty God, if we will allow our senses to be filled with and captivated by his Holiness and Glory, we will find our desires for the things of the flesh diminished. Indeed, ultimately, we will find them abhorrent. And as we contemplate the eternal realities of who He is, we will make His desires ours -- and that means we will prioritize the work of missions in our lives.

Sloth

But let’s be honest. Sometimes it isn’t a matter of doubt or idolatry. Sometimes it is just plain laziness. Our minds are convinced, but our volitions are unaffected. We feel tired, and the work of missions seems like just too much work.

The answer to this roadblock is fairly simple: repent and do the work.

That said, I do wonder whether the frenetic pace of our society leads us, ironically, to slothfulness in this area. We are always busy. Though there is more wealth now than ever before, more of us are engaged in full-time work earning wealth. Perhaps, if we are too tired to do the work of missions, we should slow down the pace of our lives, embrace simplicity in terms of material possessions, and develop greater margin in the edges of our lives. This greater margin will provide us with increased opportunities and emotional resources for the work of missions.

Fear

The usual reason people cite for not doing the work of missions is fear. Typically this boils down to a fear of rejection. In America, the rejection we usually experience is social, though sometimes we may be verbally abused. These are realities of living in a sin cursed world.

The answer to fear is faith. One must believe that God is able to protect, preserve, and reward those who are His own. Such faith seems fundamental to the bold proclamation of the Gospel.

Another answer to fear is fear. The problem is not that people are afraid. Fear itself is not the problem. The problem is that they are afraid of the wrong person. Why would you fear someone who can injure your body or your societal standing but could not damage your soul? Would not it be wiser to fear the One who has authority over your soul and to do the thing that is pleasing in His sight, even at the cost of physical or societal injury? This is just a way of articulating the flipside of faith. Because we know that God is, and because we know Who He is, we seek to persuade others. Because of faith, faith in Him, we are able to overcome our fear of others.

Hatred

            The last roadblock I see is hatred.

Most of us Christians, if we were asked why we did not share the gospel, would not say that it is because wehate the person with whom we could have shared. But our actions speak otherwise.

A month or so ago, my wife shared a video with me. In that video, the famous magician Penn Jillette described an encounter he had with a Christian. Penn is an outspoken atheist, but he spoke of this particular Christian with great respect. He said that this man had come to him with the openly stated purpose of proselytizing him. This man’s desire was that he would lead Penn to the Lord. Penn listened to what he said and ultimately rejected it, but he said he respected the man for being bold and sharing what he believed. Penn then said that he had no respect for Christians who did not do that. He said, in effect, “How much must you hate someone to not share with them something you believe means the difference between eternal punishment and eternal life?”

It’s a great question. If we have the answer to man’s sin condition, and we are able to share with another person the way to eternal life, and we choose not to, how much must we hate that person?

The answer to this roadblock is, of course, love. We must love others enough to risk all in the sharing of the Gospel with them.

Well, there it is… a quick list of five roadblocks in doing the work of missions. Are there others that you would add? Do you agree with my suggestions and how they can be overcome?

How will you engage in the work of missions today?

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?

And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

Romans 10:14

--Christian PIlet

5 Ways To Do Missions Today

“Be a missionary everyday!

Tell the world that Jesus is the way!

Be it in the town or country, or the busy avenue,

Africa or Asia, the task is up to you!”

Children’s song

Leland and Ben Miller recently returned from a missions trip to Ecuador, and I have asked them to share about their experience this coming Sunday morning. I am excited to hear what they are going to say, as the purpose of their trip was not to domissions, per se, but to experience missions. Hopefully, hearing about how missions is done in another part of the world will give us greater clarity concerning how we can do missions here.

Missions here? Yep, that’s what I said. We are all called to be missionaries and to do the work of evangelism. And wherever the Lord has placed us today, that is where He has called us to be missionaries today!

That got me thinking. How can we be effective missionaries today? So I put together a list of five simple and practical ways you and I can engage in missions today. See if you agree with my list…

§         Invite.

The simplest way you can be a missionary today is to invite someone into your life. If you are a follower of Jesus, your life itself should be a testimony of God’s grace. That means your daily activities should reflect your love for Christ, your desire to see Him honored, and your passion to share Him with others. So, inviting someone into your life ends up as a witness to that grace.

Yes, I know. Someone just read this and thought, “Well, that’s fine for other people, for those whose lives really reflect their Christian lives. But my life doesn’t really do that. So I guess I won’t invite anyone.” To that, I have two answers. First, if your life doesn’t measure up, change it. Ask God to show you what needs fixing, and then get to work. He’ll help you make it right. And, second, you don’t need perfection in this area. The testimonies of our lives are much more than a rigid adherence to a moral code. They are testimonies to God’s all-sufficient grace, even when we blow it. What matters most is the heart attitude.

But what, specifically, can you invite someone to? Well, here are a few suggestions: to church for a worship service, to a restaurant (for lunch, dinner, or just a snack), to your house (to hang out, play video games, or watch a movie), or to the church’s game night THIS FRIDAY at 6:30 PM!

Whom can you invite today?

§         Publish.

Another simple way you can be a missionary today is to publish your testimony online. Most people in our community access the Internet, and social media presents a tremendous opportunity to make your voice heard.

Now, by testimony, I don’t mean the whole account of how you came to Christ. I just mean a witness about what He has done for you or what He is doing for you today. Then again, if you want to give the whole account, that’s cool too.

You can do this using a Twitter account, Facebook account, or a blogsite. The least demanding of these are the first two. A Twitter account provides you with an opportunity to share a daily devotional thought or verse, and the very brevity demanded by the format (each tweet has a 140 character limit) means your investment and effort remains minimal. A Facebook page provides you with a way to keep in touch with your friends, and you can easily post favorite verses or Christ-centered thoughts daily.

Many professional athletes are using Twitter to witness for Christ. One example I know of is Russell Wilson, the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. He tweets Bible verses and encouraging thoughts every day. Anyone who ‘follows’ him on Twitter knows he is a Christian. It’s a great example that we can all follow.

That said, I should probably give a word of caution. Be sure your Twitter account and Facebook accounts reflect a Christ-centered life. If you’re doing things you shouldn’t be doing, and people know that from your other posts, they’ll probably look doubtfully on your Christian testimonies. So, again, if you need to clean things up, clean them up – and then start publishing!

What can you publish today?

§         Distribute.

A third simple way you can be a missionary today is to distribute Gospel-centered literature. Tracts may not be as popular today as they once were, but they still have their place. It is amazing what people will read when they’re trapped and bored. (Think of some of those terrible magazines at the doctor’s office!)

My favorite tract is the Bridge to Life tract published by Navpress, but there are many excellent tracts out there. The reason I like the Bridge to Life tract is that it presents the Gospel clearly, using simple diagrams and carefully chosen Scripture verses to explain the need for salvation and how to come to faith in Christ.

The key to using tracts effectively is wise distribution. I think there are two effective methods to distribute them. The first method is to give them as you share a personal Gospel presentation. The tract gives you something to place in the hand of the person to whom you are witnessing, and you can use the tract as you share to reinforce your points and lead the conversation forward.

The second method is to ‘plant’ the tracts in places where people will see them, pick them up, and read them. The possibilities are endless, but I’ll mention a few of ideas. My favorite is to place a tract on top of the toilet paper dispenser in a public bathroom. Another possibility is to place a tract beside the nozzle at a gas pump. (This one can be a bit tricky, since inclement weather can reduce the likelihood of the tract being picked up and read.) A third possibility, and probably my least favorite, is to leave a tract at a restaurant with a tip. (I used to work as a waiter, and I know from personal experience that very few of these tracts are read. Still, if you do leave a tract, please be sure you leave a really great tip, and, again, make sure your behavior through the meal was consistent with your Christian testimony.)

Where can you distribute today?

§         Engage.

Yet another effective way to play the missionary today is to engage other people in ‘redemptive’ conversations. This means to engage them in strategically focused conversations for the purpose of sharing Jesus. This approach may be tough for some people. Everyone has different comfort levels when it comes to talking with other people. Some folks engage with strangers without any difficulty, and others find the experience painful. But if you are an outgoing person, this may prove an exceptionally effective method.

The people I find to be effective with this method tend to be people who are genuinely interested in other people, in their lives and interests. They ask open-ended questions, avoid the expression of strong opinions on minor issues, and subtly and skillfully point the conversation to Jesus.

We can all do better in this area. I know I can. I sometimes fail in this area because I permit myself to be distracted from my ultimate purpose – the sharing of Jesus. I find myself mired down in a discussion of politics or something else – something of relative importance, but not ultimate importance. So now I try to remind myself, going into a conversation, of my end goal – to share the wonderful blessing of knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

The opportunities for these sorts of engagements are never-ending. Here’s a few: waiting at school to pick up kids, at the dentist’s office, buying groceries at the store, checking out books at the library, getting coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, and on and on.

When can you engage someone today?

§         Provide.

“Don’t tell me how much you love me until you show me how much you care.” We’ve all heard similar statements. Words of love without actions of compassion are like clouds without rain – full of promise, but disappointing.

My fifth suggestion concerning an effective way to play the missionary today is to provide micro-helps. A micro-help is a small act of compassion done for the purpose of putting ‘feet’ on the Gospel and of providing a doorway for the proclamation of the Gospel.

We all believe in the importance of helping others. Loving others is an essential part of Christian life. It is an expression of our very love for Christ. But sometimes we are at a loss for how to put that love into action. The bigness of the tasks sometimes proves overwhelming. The answer is ‘micro-helps.’ This means determining, as the day begins, that you will be available to help others in small ways as the day progresses. This may include helping an elderly person with groceries, picking up trash from a community playground, assisting someone with a flat tire. It may also include occasional visits to nursing homes, hospitals, and the like. Again, the possibilities are endless.

Providing help to others is a wonderful way of expressing the love of Christ. I encourage you to seek opportunities to help, and, as you do, don’t forget to share your Christian faith. You don’t need to share your whole salvation testimony. Just find some way to share the source of your hope and life – Jesus Christ.

How will you provide today?

Well, there it is… a list of five simple and practical ways we can engage in missions today. Do you agree? Are there other ways I should have added? Do you agree that these really are simple and practical?

Let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

“Be a missionary everyday!

Tell the world that Jesus is the way

The Lord is soon returning: there is no time to lose,

So be a missionary, God’s own emissary,

Be a missionary today!”

Children’s song

-- Christian Pilet

The Christian and Physical Health

 “Man does not live by soap alone;

and hygiene, or even health, is not much good

unless you can take a healthy view of it or,

better still, feel a healthy indifference to it.”

G. K. Chesterton

One of my favorite films is Gallipoli. It was made in 1981 and depicts two Australians sprinters who are sent to fight in Turkey during World War I. At the end of the movie, one of the men crouches in his trench awaiting the whistle. The sound of that whistle will commence a senseless charge, a leap from the trench into the no-man land that separates the Australians from their enemies. And as he huddles there, the man scans the faces of his comrades on either side. They are all lost in their thoughts, lost in the awareness that they will all soon face death. He returns his gaze to the rifle in his hand, steadies his nerves and grits his teeth.

The whistle sounds, and the men lurch forward. As they do, the rat-a-tat-tat of the enemy’s Gatling guns fills the air, and the men begin to fall. They fall at the crest of the trench; they slump to the ground a yard from its edge; they stagger and collapse ten yards forward. The sprinter throws his head back and charges, his legs turning like pistons. He outruns all his comrades. And, then, twenty yards from the enemy’s trench, he is struck and thrown backward. The picture freezes as his arms splay out. Albioni’s Adagio begins to play.

It was a futile charge. Every one of the men was mowed down by the machine guns. The slow, the fast; the weak, the strong. They all died.

I find in this scene a powerful metaphor of death. – I am thinking here of physical death. – The whistle is man’s physical birth (or, theologically, Adam’s fall into sin), and the charge is the time of his pilgrimage here on earth. He is forced forward. He must breach the edge of the trench and lurch forward. (The movie doesn’t show that any of the men hid in fear or shrank from obeying the call, but, even if they did, it would only demonstrate that trench warfare was the lesser of the two harsh realities. In the battle of life, no one can exempt himself.) And then, the bullets that strike, these herald the arrival of death. No one escapes the moment of death. It comes to all, be they strong or weak, good or bad, prepared or unprepared.

As we Christians consider the topic of physical health, I believe it is essential that we begin with a consideration of our mortality. Its recognition and acceptance is a critical theological and philosophical reality upon which such a discussion must be founded.  It contextualizes all our endeavors and causes us to look with sympathy upon those around us. We all fall short. No one’s striving for health will prevent an ultimate demise.

That said, in the meantime, I would like to suggest three simple principles to remember as we think about our physical health:

• We have been given bodies for a reason.

When God made man and woman, He created them with bodies, and He saw that what He had created was “very good.” (Gen. 1:31) Material bodies are not a result of humanity’s fall into sin; they are a result of a good Creation. Men and women were meant to have physical bodies.

But, of course, humanity’s fall into sin brought death; and the bodies of men and women began to die. (Gen. 3) Or, to use the analogy mentioned above, the whistle sounded, and humanity’s sprint into death commenced. This condition, the introduction and inevitability of corruption within the physical realm, is called entropy. On that day, entropy became a part of humanity’s (and all of Creation’s) physical experience. Our bodies would decay, they would incur illness, and they would ultimately die.

But man was not given a body originally in order to experience death! Man was given a body “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” He was to serve God by loving Him and worshiping Him, and by fully enjoying the Creation over which He had given dominion.

I won’t belabor the point. We all know that the introduction of sin caused man to pervert the body’s God-given purpose. Man began to use his body, its members, for his own selfish purposes; and, doing so, he occasioned immediately the spiritual death (separation) from God that would be evidenced progressively in his physical body.

Praise God that we weren’t left in that state! Amen? God, in His mercy, sent Christ Jesus to die in our place, to pay the penalty for our sins, and to give us the right to become children of God! And when we believed on Him, that is what we became – and we were spiritually ‘born from above’ or ‘born again.’ Praise God.

And yet, we remain, physically, in our unglorified, sinful bodies. Thus came a new conflict.

We find now, as children of God, that we experience both the desires of our unglorified bodies, the flesh, and the desires of God’s Spirit within us. A war rages, with God on one side and our sin nature (the old man) on the other. But, praise God, even in this, we can now be victorious. We are to consider ourselves ‘dead to sin, but alive to God’ in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6) We are to use our members (our fleshly bodies) now as instruments of righteousness. And this we can do, by God’s grace. We are empowered to join in Paul’s joyful declarations in Romans 8.

Having said all that, I want to point out that our new life in Christ occasions also a new calling. We, who were formerly at enmity with Him, are now called to follow Him wholeheartedly and put His desires first in our life. And that means, simply put, that our primary attitude now is to be love – for God and others – and our primary action is to be the making of disciples.

Love and discipleship should now shape all of our considerations of physical health. If we have been blessed with physical health, we should use it in the present by loving God and others, and by making disciples of others. If we can improve our physical health, and, by doing so, occasion greater love and making disciples, we should do so. If our physical health faces harm, but the result of embracing that harm is that love is expressed and others are made disciples, we should permit it. And if our physical deterioration is permitted within God’s perfect, sovereign love, we should accept it.

Ultimately, we should always see our bodies as His, to be used for His purpose, according to His purposes.

• We have been given stewardship over our bodies. 

The considerations above lead naturally to this principle, that God has given us stewardship over our physical bodies. Wisdom principles apply, and we ought to use common sense in the treatment of our bodies. That means we should avoid things that we know will cause harm to our bodies. We should try to keep our cholesterol down, diet off those extra pounds, brush our teeth and take our multivitamins. And we should get some exercise and stay mobile.

But these things are not an end in themselves. It is essential that we keep things in perspective. The value of physical health is that it permits us to love and serve our Lord. Any other reason for pursuing physical health is ‘iffy.’ Seeking better health or prolonged health for the sake of being useful to the Master is appropriate.

• We will receive glorified bodies in the future. 

Our ultimate hope is not in this world, anymore than our ultimate home is here. We are pilgrims, a people merely walking through the foyer of eternity. We look forward to the day when our bodies will be raised incorruptible, a day when we will experience physical health in a way we have never experienced it before. Accordingly, we are hopeful and optimistic concerning the future. Even as Christ has been raised with a glorified body, we too will one day. And in that day, all the suffering, illnesses and hardships of this day will appear as nothing. So don’t get too worked up about the physical struggles you face today. They are only temporary. The best is yet to come.

So, there it is. Three simple principles to guide us Christians as we think about our physical health. What do you think? Are there other principles you would add? Let me know.

“For bodily exercise profits a little,

but godliness is profitable for all things,

having promise of the life that now is

and of that which is to come.”

1 Timothy 4:8

-- Christian Pilet

Living in the Light

“Daylight Saving Time:

Only the government would believe that

you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket,

sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”

Anonymous

This Sunday morning, at 01:59:59.9 standard time, to be exact, the ‘official’ clock will jump forward to 03:00 Daylight Standard Time (DST). Technically, that day will contain only 23 hours, and we will not regain that hour until the switch back from DST to standard time this autumn. – Another way to say that is: “Don’t forget to ‘spring forward’ this weekend!”

The pros and cons of this shift in time have been debated for centuries. Benjamin Franklin himself suggested such a shift in order to save candles. His suggestion was meant satirically, but it has been taken seriously ever since.

Although the shift to DST has not evidenced any modern energy savings (surprisingly), it has proven profitable for some sectors of commerce. Retailers and sporting goods makers have profited, as people have shown themselves more likely to shop and participate in outdoor afternoon sports. So, DST is good for Sears and the local driving range. Remember that when you struggle to get up an hour earlier this Sunday. It’ll make you feel better.

For most of us, DST is both an inconvenience and a blessing. We enjoy a later sunset, but we bemoan the loss of an hour’s sleep. Beyond that, we find ourselves forced to wander the house fixing all the clocks that weren’t automatically updated through the Internet. It’s a little tedious and a bit annoying.

In the Scriptures, ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ are used figuratively to describe two spiritual spheres: righteousness (‘light’) and unrighteousness (‘darkness’). In Christ at salvation, believers are granted full positional righteousness – they are joined to Him Who is the True Light of the world, Jesus Christ. Indeed, they are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Also, in Christ at salvation, by the power of the Holy Spirit, believers are able to experience and express, in an increasing way, a practical righteousness, by doing those actions that express genuine love for God. In this, they manifest the light of Christ to a sin-darkened world.

These two realities for the believer – positional righteousness and an increasing practical righteousness – are called justification and sanctification, and they sum up the believer’s current experience. Paul says it this way in Ephesians: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” The first part of this verse (“you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord) speaks of that work of grace that began our life in Christ and sustains it now and for eternity. The second part of the verse (“walk as children of light.”) speaks of our responsibility. We are called to respond in obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We are to ‘walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called.’

Choosing light over darkness is not always easy. Choosing righteousness is not always easy. But because of who we are in Christ, because of who we have already become, we can do it! We can choose the light. We can, and we should.

This Sunday morning, as your alarm sounds an hour earlier than normal and you struggle against the temptation to roll over and pull the blankets over your head, let your mind to drift back to this idea. Remember that God has called you to be a child of the light and choose to walk as one!

 “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, His own special people,

that you may proclaim the praises of Him

who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

1 Peter 2:9

-- Christian Pilet

A Passion for Participles

“Let them not drag me into court

if the text does not agree with the original word for word,

for, try as you may, it cannot be done.”

Erasmus, Apologia 170:20-1

  

Translating accurately from one language to another is not easy. Translation is both science and art, and it always occurs within a spectrum. That spectrum ranges from the paraphrase on one end to the semi-literal on the other end. And every translation is dependent upon the skills of the translator. This is what makes Bible translations such a difficult (and prickly) topic. But just so we get a picture of how tough translation can be…

  

Imagine that you happen to be fluent in both English and Icelandic, and, today, you are working as a translator for an English speaking guide and a group of Icelandic tourists. Your group is hiking in the woods. You round a corner and suddenly the guide stops and turns to you. “There are bears around here,” he whispers. “Tell them” – he waves at the group of Icelanders – “to keep their eyes peeled!”

Ok. You turn to the group and start to translate his comment. “There are bears around here, be sure you…” Oh, oh. Now what? You are faced with a dilemma. Should you choose a ‘literal’ word-for-word translation (“Maintain your eyes in a sliced-open, outer-layer pulled back position!”) or an ‘idiomatic’ translation (“Watch what is happening around you!”)?

Well, this may seem like a silly question. You’ll choose the latter, of course. But if you do, you have affirmed that, in some cases, a paraphrase is a more helpful and accurate translation than a literal translation. Hmm.

This illustration highlights only one of the many challenges that translators face. There are many more. In the case of Bible translation, translators are also confronted with a multiplicity of manuscripts some with slight variations in their texts.  How should they determine which is the original text? And, then, when they have determined the most likely text, should they use a paraphrase, an idiomatic translation, or a semi-literal approach?

Bottom line? Accurately translating and effectively communicating the truths contained in the Scriptures is a complex task.

That said, what, then, are we to make of all the different translations? And which one is best?

My suggestion is that there is no one “best” translation. There are many excellent translations and paraphrases, and they all have their use.

But let’s get specific. Let’s list a few of the available versions and briefly discuss their merits.

Semi-Literal Translations. I would include here: The King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the English Standard Version (ESV). Each of these attempts to mirror the text as closely as possible. One benefit of these translations is that they often leave syntactical decisions to the reader. Participles, for instance, are often (though not always) left as participles, permitting the reader to determine for himself or herself the relationship it has with the main verb. One possible drawback of these translations (when compared to others) is that their methodology may increase one’s need for well-developed critical thinking skills, for knowledge of the texts’ far and near contexts, and for a higher-grade-level reading ability.

Dynamic Equivalence Translations. The main example of this sort of translation would be The New International Version (NIV). The translators of this version seek to translate by meaning as well as by terms. One benefit of this is that it may aid readers in comprehension. Many syntactical decisions are made by the translators, and the reading grade-level is lower. One possible drawback of these translations is that the translators’ theological biases are more likely to slip into the translation. (And we all have biases. No one is neutral). I have a friend who believed the NIV was unfairly biased in favor a those with evangelical theologies!

Paraphrases. The two examples of these which come to mind are The Message and The Living Bible (not to be confused with the New Living Translation). These paraphrases seek to ‘say again’ the meaning of the text in the culturally relevant forms of one’s environment. One benefit of this is that such paraphrases are generally very readable. They often read more like a modern storybook than as an ancient text. In addition, this may make complicated ideas more accessible. One possible drawback of paraphrases, however, is that they may wander too far from the intended meaning of the text and abandon the true meaning of the text.

  

Those are just a few examples. There are many other translations out there, such as the Holman Standard Christian Bible (HSCB) and the New Living Translation (NLT).

http://www.christianuniversitiesonline.org/the-bible/

So, having looked at the various types of translations, which ones should you use for your Bible reading? And is it better to use one than another?

My suggestion is that you use them all. Just use them wisely. The most important things to know about a translation is what sort of translation it is, whether those who translated it were qualified to produce a trustworthy translation, and whether the translators had adequate access to the manuscripts and fragments. All these can be learned by reading the introduction included in your Bible.

For myself, I use the semi-literal translations when seeking the most accurate wording of the text, comparing them to see where they agree and differ on wording. This helps me recognize where texts vary. (I also use the texts in the original languages, but you can have great confidence in your English resources. The translations you have are extremely accurate, and you can determine the textual nuances with great precision by comparing the various translations.)

I use the dynamic equivalence translations to gain an overall flow of the text. I find this particularly helpful in the Old Testament, particularly in the poetic books. The NIV seems to capture the spirit of Hebrew poetry exceptionally well. I also find the NIV helpful as a resource to see how the translators evaluated and understood syntactical relationships, such as how a particular participle should be understood.

And I use paraphrases the same way I do commentaries. They help me to see how other Christians understand the text. Sometimes they help me to see things in ways I hadn’t seen them before.

Generally, I think of reading the Bible in differing translations as being a bit like fine-tuning a radio signal. In the old days, our car radio had a push button that brought to the general location of a radio station. Then, we would use the knob to fine-tune our reception of the signal. A little to the left, a little to the right, until we could hear clearly. As I read differing translations, the Holy Spirit enables the Word of God to become clearer and clearer to me, informing my understanding, convicting my heart, and calling for wholehearted submission.

Finally, let me say why I entitled these thoughts “A Passion for Participles.” I like participles, and I like them to be left as participles when they are translated. Doing so permits me to determine for myself the relationship that participle has with the rest of the sentence.

Let me briefly explain. Here’s a sample sentence: “Running, he arrived at school.” There are many possible ways to understand the nuances of this sentence. It may mean, “Although he ran, he arrived at school.” (That’s a concessive usage.) Or it may mean, “He ran to school.” (That would be an instrumental use, thus stressing the means by which he arrived at the school.) Or it may mean, “While he ran, he arrived at the school.” (That would be a temporal usage, stressing the fact that his arrival at school occurred during the act of running.) And there are many other possibilities. You can see that the original sentence can be interpreted and then translated in many different ways.

My problem with this sort of thing is that a translator who changes a participle into a verb or adjective has taken a step away from translation toward interpretation.

But I can hear what you’re saying. Doesn’t the example given at the beginning of this discussion demonstrate that all translation involves interpretation? Well, yes, it does. Good point.

The question isn’t whether translation efforts require interpretation. All translations do. The question is one of extent. I, personally, prefer those translations that leave as much interpretation as possible with the reader. And that means keeping the participles in the text. And, generally, for me, that means sticking with the semi-literal versions.

So, there it is. Just a few thoughts on Bible translations. Which translations do you use when you read the Bible?

 “So they read distinctly from the book,

 in the Law of God; and they gave the sense,

and helped them to understand the reading.”

Nehemiah 8:8