Scripture In Disciplemaking
Disciplemakers Handbook, Inter-Varsity Press, 1989

Most people know who Miss Scarlet is. At least most people who are under fifty and grew up in the English-speaking world. She is, of course, one of the heroines of the famous game Cluedo. Larry was a Cluedo fan, but he wasn't so sure about doing Bible study. When I first met him, he was a brand new Christian, unsure of his faith and unskilled in reading Scripture. He liked to throw out difficult questions, aiming particularly at his Christian friend, Bob.

Bob had told me about Larry. In fact, lots of Bob's friends had prayed that Larry would become a Christian. God had answered that prayer, but Larry was still in the spiritual delivery room. When I came on the scene, I asked him if he would like to investigate some of his questions in light of Jesus' teaching in the Gospels. We became detectives, looking for clues, not about Miss Scarlet or Professor Plum, but about how Jesus would deal with Larry's questions.

I learned alongside him. We challenged each other each week to act on what we had just seen in the passage studied. He couldn't believe that there was so much material relevant to his own personal struggles.

One study came from a question he had about his parents. He was angry with his father, so angry he didn't want to see him again. But he was willing to see what Scripture had to say about it. We looked together at Matthew 18:21-35 (the parable of the unmerciful servant). As we studied Jesus' words, '[Forgive] not seven times, but seventy-seven times,' Larry began to cry.
'But how?' he asked. 'I just don't have the strength.'

It was not easy for him. It was at least a month before he was ready to begin a new relationship with his father. But the power of the Holy Spirit was at work in his life to change his attitude about his parents. It took him years to develop a strong relationship with them. But that passage and others that we studied gave him strength and hope that he could begin again.

Larry became convinced that the Bible is powerful, relevant and life-changing. I saw Larry's own life and attitudes change before my eyes.

The Power of Scripture

I have not always seen Scripture as life-changing. When I became a Christian, I began to memorize Scripture and read it regularly. But I didn't think of Scripture as actually being alive or being God's Word. I watched other Christians discuss the Bible and try to live their lives by its teaching. But at first I didn't connect what I saw with the power of Scripture. Then I realized that the people I respected were growing primarily because they studied the Bible and applied it to their own lives. I decided that there must be something very special about that book.

About that time a conference speaker helped me see snow in a different way. What he said changed my view of Scripture.

It had snowed on the Saturday morning of the conference. The speaker reminded us of the snow covering the ground outside. Great ammunition for a snowball fight, he said. Fun to ski on. Lots of work to shovel. Beautiful and peaceful. But the most amazing thing about snow is that it brings life. As it melts, rivers flow, reservoirs are filled, the water table rises, and flowers bloom. Then the speaker reminded us that this is what the Word of God does also. 'As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so as my word' (Is. 55:10-11, emphasis mine).

God's Word gives life. It causes growth. It is the primary way God helps Christians change. It is itself living and active. It penetrates our thoughts and attitudes (Heb. 4:12). It has power over sin (Ps. 119:11). It has power to give strength when we are weak (Ps. 119:28). Helping someone learn to find this life, this power, is one of the most important parts of disciplemaking.

Jesus knew how important Scripture would be in the lives of his followers. 'Everyone who hears these words of mine,' he said, `and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. . . . It did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came . . . and it fell with a great crash' (Mt. 7:24-27, emphasis mine).

Jesus' words are serious business. People do not like their houses to fall down. I know of a residential area built on clay. Many of the houses have cracked foundations. Needless to say it's not easy to sell properties in that area.

When we help young Christians study Scripture, we are helping them build spiritual houses which can weather; many storms. Moses wrote to the Israelites, 'The commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates' (Dt. 6:6-9). Paul wrote to Timothy, urging him to continue living according to the 'Holy Scriptures' which Timothy had known from infancy. Paul reminded him, 'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work' (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It is interacting with Scripture more than anything else which equips a young disciple to grow.

When my friend Ben became a Christian, someone advised him to become 'saturated with Scripture'. Ben took that advice very seriously. He read the Bible. He learned how to study the Bible on his own. He listened to teaching based on Scripture. Most of all, he tried to live out the truth of Scripture in his life. Personally, I am glad he did, because my own life has been influenced by his love of Scripture. He has become a teacher of Scripture. His model of a godly husband and father is a constant reminder to me of the value of Scripture in living out our faith. His model makes me want to be saturated with Scripture too.

Interacting with Scripture in a way that saturates our lives can take place in many settings. It can happen in church as the minister teaches. It can happen in small Bible-discussion groups. It can happen as a casual comment is passed on from friend to friend. Those you disciple will probably learn God's Word in all these settings. But let me give you five specific suggestions for what you can do in your discipling relationships to help your friends meet God in the Bible: emphasize discoveries, list inftuential passages, emphasize biblical stories, address your friends' needs and be patient.

Emphasize discoveries

Educationalists tell us that people learn best when they discover an idea on their own. This is true in Bible study as well as in other areas of life.

I had the experience of interacting with an older Christian for a period of several weeks. During that time I made several very significant and very personal discoveries about my walk with God. Later, I heard my mentor speaking to a large group of people. He gave them a list of observations which he thought were critical to understanding the Christian life. Every one of his points was one of `my' discoveries! I had not known that he was teaching them to me.

The gift my mentor gave me was to let me discover these things on my own. They are my truths now. Years later, I am still influenced by them. If he had just told me the `answers', I'm certain I would have forgotten them by now.

The method of Bible study which best allows for discovery is the inductive method or, if you will, the detective method. It is the approach to Scripture which looks at what it says and then tries to solve life's mysteries by the truths available.

First, observe. What are the facts you know from this passage?

Next, interpret. What do these facts mean? What does this mean about the nature of God? of man? of life?

Then apply. What does God want me to be or to do, right now, in light of this passage?

Develop the skill of asking questions naturally. This is especially important when there are only two of you in the study. When you're in these relationships, try to be a comrade-in-arms with your friends, discovering truth together. You are not the authority, the expert. Scripture is. You are, furthermore, modelling for your friends what to do when questions arise and you are not around. Your friends can look for clues to solve the mysteries of life independently. This is much more valuable to them than a list of ready-made answers, which may or may not prove helpful in their own situations.

List influential passages

Another suggestion for using Scripture in disciplemaking is to develop a working list of Scripture passages that have influenced your life. You can use passages you have studied in your own devotions, heard about in a sermon or read about in a book. Your list can be topical or by Scripture reference. They should be passages that you are excited about because they have influenced your life. If you have not been moved by the text, you are probably not the one to present it to a friend.

When I asked Ray to lead a Bible study in our church, he definitely was not interested. Then as I began to share my excitement about a passage I had just studied myself, he began to reconsider his reluctance. Eventually, he led a study on that same passage.

Emphasize biblical stories

Emphasize stories in Scripture, especially at the beginning. We live in a visually oriented society. Most people under thirty grew up watching television. We are accustomed to seeing and relating to stories and pictures. Stories help us to think and process the message. But this was nothing new to Jesus. He continually used stories and metaphors throughout his ministry. He knew what would capture people's attention. We need to be as wise. Our Bible studies should include many real-life stories, either from character studies actually in the Bible, or from the applications we can make of biblical truth to our daily lives. Along with your list of Scripture topics, you might want to develop a working list of character studies and real-life dramas described in Scripture.

Address your friends' needs

Find out what your friends' interests and questions are. You may love eschatology and want to study Revelation. Your friends may want to learn how to pray or how to live with their flatmates or how to handle relationships with the opposite sex. Tailor-make your Bible studies to fit your friends needs. Develop a short-term plan for Bible study, about six weeks long. The discipling process takes much longer, of course, but your plan at this point should be short. Be flexible. The important thing is for young Christians to see that the Bible speaks to their daily needs and that studying Scripture can really change who they are and how they respond to life's struggles.

Be patient

Don't push your friends to grow too fast. Have patience.

I have struggled with this in my relationship with Karen. When she began coming to our Bible study, I thought she was a Christian. She seemed especially sensitive to Scripture and anxious to apply it to her life. She was open in the group and with me. Yet slowly it became apparent that Karen did not know Jesus. And when this became clear to her, she was eager to meet him. Her conversion was dramatic and exciting for both of us:

But it didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Karen is growing much too slowly for me. She has never established a quiet time. She struggles to be consistent in her walk with God. She chose not to go to a weekend seminar that would have helped her in so many ways. I felt it was important that she attend. But she did not seem to be concerned. Though she cannot share the story of her conversion without tears, it seems to go no further.

I was shocked at my response: anger, impatience and hurt. My expectations were not being met. I was helpless. And I came to the conclusion that all I could do was pray. Even as I am still praying, rather than talking, suggesting or persuading, I continue to struggle with why her growth seems so minimal over these six years. I am trying to turn over the responsibility for results in her life to God. Maybe Karen is growing in different ways than I expected. Or maybe God sees her growing when I cannot. I have asked him to deal with my impatience, pride and lack of compassion.

When I am impatient for growth, both in myself and in my friends, I remember the words of a Scottish hymn writer of the last century, Horatius Bonar:

The Creator, in the silent majesty of power, noiseless yet resistless, achieves by a word the infinite wonder of omnipotence! In order to loose the bands of winter . . . He does not send forth His angels to hew in pieces the thickened ice, or to strip off from the mountain's side the gathered snows, or to plant anew over the face of the bleak earth, flowers fresh from His creating hand. No! He breathes from his lips a mild warmth into the frozen air; and forthwith, in stillness, but in irresistible power, the work proceeds.

So it is God's work from the beginning to the end: He began by speaking his Word. Now he uses his Word to bring about growth. He has given us his Spirit which breathes life into those who hear his Word. And he has given us the grace to work beside him, loving, teaching and supporting the young Christians in our lives.